Baron Von Buch's Observations on Madeira. 381 



deception : he leaped walls to reach the woods of Donax, whose 

 summits the breezes waved gently and delightfully over the 

 vines that grew among them. As he ran enthusiastically 

 from flower to flower, it was scarcely possible to prevail upon 

 him to enter the town. On an elevated situation, appeared a 

 lawn of lofty trees, of Justicia, Melia Azederach, and Datura ar- 

 borea, completely covered with gorgeous and gigantic flowers, 

 that loaded the air with perfumes. The large leaves of the Ba- 

 nana were waving over the walls, and the splendid palm trees 

 rose high above the houses. The singular shape of the Dragon 

 tree, the all-pervading fragrance of the blossoms, and the mas- 

 sive leaves of the Orange trees, attracted us involuntarily to the 

 gardens. Here the Coffee trees form hedges and copses, en- 

 closing large beds, in which Ananas without number are culti- 

 vated in the open air. Mimosas, Eucalyptus, Melaleuca, Pro- 

 tea, Mamea, Clitoria and Eugenia, all plants of which we ob- 

 serve only mere fragments in our hot-houses, are here elevated 

 to tall and stately trees, displaying their far glittering blossoms 

 in the most delightful climate upon earth. 



" How shall I relate to you,'' said Smith, in a letter to his 

 friends in Norway, " how shall I express what I have seen and 

 felt — how can I convey to you an idea of the variety and singu- 

 larity of these forms, of the beauty and briUiancy of these co- 

 lours, and the general glorious aspect of nature with which I 

 am surrounded ! We have climbed the declivity of the moun- 

 tains that environ the lovely Funchal ; — we have at length seat- 

 ed ourselves on the margin of a rivulet which leaps from fall to 

 fall through bushes of rosemary, jessamine, laurel and myrtle. 

 The town, with its fortifications, its churchs, its gardens, and 

 its vessels in the road-stead, are lying at our feet. Groves of 

 chesnut and pine trees are stretched above us, among which 

 are scattered flowers of spartium and lavender. The vast 

 number of Canary birds among the branches are filling the air 

 with their warblings; and the snow, sometimes appearing through 

 the clouds that wrap the summits of the mountains, is the only 

 object that can recall my native land."" 



Every step was instructive, every plant between the stones of 

 the pavement a new discovery. The light-hearted children of 

 the neighbourhood collected, and accompanied the industrious 



