BY WILLIAM CHRISTY, JUN. 307 



perpendicular red rocks are covered with immense cacti, and 

 crowned with orange and other trees, through which the quintas 

 (or country villas) peep out delightfully. All the monasteries 

 here are suppressed, and the convents so far so, that no new 

 nuns are permitted to enter. The English church is pleasantly 

 situate on the edge of the town, in a beautiful garden full of 

 curious trees, shrubs, and flowers; the walls of a narrow pas- 

 sage leading from the street are covered with Heliotrope, at 

 least eight feet high, the scent of which is quite overpowering. 

 The interior is fine ; the dome is supported on handsome 

 pillars, and the pews are of polished mahogany, beautifully 

 kept. We made an excursion to the Gorgulho, a rocky pro- 

 montory about two miles from the town ; it is unquestionably 

 a lava stream projected into the sea. Passing along the edge 

 of the cliffs, which are very fine, we found many rare plants. 

 Whilst there we got a few shells, and hope to do more on 

 future visits. We have yet seen very few insects ; indeed it is 

 a bad season for them. A few British species of Lepidoptera 

 are all we have observed. We have taken a few Diptera, and 

 have seen some grasshoppers with pink under-wings. By the 

 fragments I see on the shore, I think there are some good 

 Crustacea here. I got a few specimens of a small hermit or 

 soldier crab, which 1 think quite diflTerent to our British one. 

 The shrimp here is a totally distinct species from any of ours ; 

 but as I have only seen it in its edible capacity at table, I 

 cannot accurately describe it. Our house, like all here, is 

 overrun with millions of villanous little ants, which exempt 

 nothing from their tormenting presence. 



27^'/^ — To our great surprise, yesterday morning, the moun- 

 tains, to within three thousand feet of the sea level, were covered 

 with snow. To-day it is all melted, and we have just returned 

 from a delightful ramble up the ravine behind our house. 

 Thickets of myrtles and brambles intermingled, cover the green 

 slopes. The haresfoot fern waves in profusion from the same 

 rocks that afford support to our English ivy ; and many other 

 of our commonest plants are intermixed with those we cultivate 

 as rarities in our greenhouses. The different species of house- 

 leeks have a very curious appearance before reaching their 

 flowering state ; their enormous flat green rosettes contrasting 

 strongly with the dark red rocks on which they grow. The 

 only path through the greater part of the ravine is along the 



