$58 
fishing, and travelling, were here 
moved together in one eK | 
body, so as to render it indifferen 
to them, whether they should return 
to the home from whence they came, 
er take up a new abode in any 
other part of the forest. 
On the Island of Madeira. From 
Barrow’s voyage to Cochinchina. 
The few good dwelling-houses 
that are found in the town (of F'un- 
chal) are those which are occupied 
by the British merchants, who 
have established themselves here in 
the wine trade. These houses are in 
general sufficiently spacious, but 
neither commodious nor comforts 
able. These and a few others ex- 
cepted, all the rest have rather a 
mean appearance. Their roofs are 
chiefly covered with tiles, on which 
large loose stones are laid to pre- 
vent their being carried away by 
the blasts of wind that occasionally 
blow with great violence from the 
mountains behind the town, ‘lhe 
extent of Funchal may be nearly a 
mile in a line parallel with the 
beach, and rather more than half a 
mile in depth. It is said to contain 
two thousand houses, occupied by 
about twelve thousand inhabitants. 
There are besides six other small 
towns or villages on.the island, the 
whole population of which, includ- 
mg Funchal, is estimated to amount 
to about ninety thousand persons. 
At a little distance behind the 
government-house, which stands 
within the fort Lorengo, and overs 
looks the bay, is'the Passao Publico, 
the public mall, a short but very 
pretty walk, well shaded with 
erange or lime trees, willows and 
poplars. On oneside of the entrance 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1806, 
stands the theatre, which is seldom 
opened, and on the other the hos. 
pital. Funchal, like other towns — 
and cities of Roman Catholic coun. 
tries, has no scarcity of churches 
and convents ; but we met with 
little in any of them that could be 
considered as deserving of particular 
notice. The beams and the roof of 
the cathedral are pointed out to ’ 
strangers as being of cedar, a spe- 
cies of tree with which it is said the 
island was at its discovery nearly 
covered. Another curiosity which 
is shewn in the town is a chamber in 
one of the wings of the Franciscan 
convent, the walls and ceiling of 
which are completely covered with 
rows of human skulls and human 
thigh bones, so arranged that in the 
obtuse angle made by every pair 
of the latter, crossing each other 
obliquely, is placed a skull. The 
only vacant space that appears is in 
the centre of the side opposite to 
the door, on which there is an ex- 
traordinary, painting above a kind 
of altar, but what the subject is in- 
tended to represent I am really at a 
loss to decide. A figure in the pic- 
ture, intended probably for St. 
Francis, the patron saint, seems to 
be intent on trying in a balance the 
comparative weight of a sinner and 
a saint. But a very accurate 
drawing, from which a print was 
taken for Mr. Barrow’s. work, 
by Mr. Daniell, will perhaps best 
explain the subject. 
A dirty lamp suspended from 
the ceiling, and just glimmering in 
the socket, served dimly to light up 
this dismal den of skulls. The old 
monk who attended as shewman 
was very careful to impress us with 
the idea that they were all relics of 
holy men who had died on the 
island ; but I suspect they must oc- 
casionally 
