1890 THE CANARIES 153 



To HIS Youngest Daughter 



Bella Vista Hotel, Funchal, 

 May 6, 1890. 



Dearest Babs — This comes wishing you many happy 

 returns of the day, though a little late in the arrival. 

 Harry sends his love, and desires me to say that he took 

 care to write a letter which should arrive in time, but 

 unfortunately forgot to mention the birthday in it ! So 

 I think, on the whole, I have the pull of him. We 

 ought to be back about the 18th or 19th, as I have put 

 my name dowTi for places in the Conway Castle, which is 

 to call here on the 12th, and I do not suppose she will 

 be full In the meanwhile, we shall fill up the time by 

 a trip to the other side of the island, on which we start 

 to-morrow morning at 7.30. You have to take your 

 own provisions and rugs to sleep upon and under, as the 

 fleas la has are said to be unusually fine and active. We 

 start quite a procession with a couple of horses, a guide, 

 and two men (owners of the nags) to carry the baggage ; 

 and I suspect that before to-morrow night we shall have 

 made acquaintance with some remarkably bad apologies 

 for roads. But the horses here seem to prefer going up 

 bad staircases at speed (with a man hanging on by the 

 tail to steer), and if you only stick to them they land 

 you all right. I have developed so much prowess in this 

 line that I think of coming out in the character of 

 Buffalo BiU on my return. Hands and face of both of 

 us are done to a good burnt sienna, and a few hours more 

 or less in the saddle don't count. I do not think either 

 of us have been so well for years. 



You will have heard of our doings in Teneriflfe from 

 M . The Caiiadas there is the one thing worth see- 

 ing, altogether unique. As a health resort I should say 

 the place is a fraud — always excepting Guimar — and 

 that, excellent for people in good health, is wholly unfit 



