VILLA GARDENS EAST OF FUNCHAL 61 



part of the year 1826 by a traveller in Madeira 

 and Portugal, and shows that even in its early days 

 the garden was well cared for : 



"To-day we have removed to Deanery, our 

 country-house. The house is a very pretty one. 

 It has not long been built, and, in fact, only a 

 portion of the apartments has as yet been used for 

 residence, but there are more than enough for our 

 accommodation. The situation is delightful 

 scarcely a quarter of an hour's walk from Funchal, 

 and enjoying, from its comparative elevation, a 

 beautiful view down the valley to the city (which, 

 though so near, is scarcely visible from the orange- 

 trees and cypresses that embower us), and to the 

 bay and coast and the blue Desertas beyond. 

 Close on the west is the Santa Luzia ravine, 

 the farther side of which rises to a considerable 

 height, its cliffs terraced, in the way I previously 

 described, into little gardens and vine-grounds, 

 and crowned by the trees and trellises of the 

 Achada Quinta. 



" Our great luxury, however, is the garden. It 

 is one of the largest and most beautiful in the 

 island. A spacious vine corridor runs round nearly 

 its whole extent, under the green arches of which 

 in summer, you may either ride or walk in cool 



