CHAP. I.] 



BERMUDAS TO MADEIRA. 



31 



as they choose. In this way the blocks seem to be driven into 

 the positions in which they can best resist the particular forces 

 to which they are exposed, and they are subsiding into a solid 

 foundation on which the building work is making satisfacto- 

 ry progress. Ponta Delgada is much larger than Horta ; the 

 streets are wider, and there are many more good-sized houses. 



Fig. 8. — Altingia excelsa, in the Garden of M.Jose doCauto, San Miguel. {From a photograph.) 



The churches are numerous and large, but commonplace and 

 immemorial ; the only one which has any claim to a monu- 

 mental character is an old church near the centre of the town, 

 which was formerly attached to a Jesuit convent. 



The market at Ponta Delgada does not appear to be very 



