UIHEIRA GRANDE. d 



is brightly coloured, but not so beautiful as the 

 European species: in its flight, manners, and place 

 of habitation, which is generally in the dryest val- 

 ley, there is also a wide difference. 



One day, two of the officers and myself rode to 

 Ribeira Grande?, a village a few miles eastward of 

 Porto Praya. Until we reached the valley of St. 

 Martin, the country presented its usual dull brown 

 appearance ; but here, a very small rill of water 

 produces a most i-efreshing margin of luxuriant 

 vegetation. In the course of an hour we arrived 

 at Ribeira Grande, and were surprised at the sight 

 of a large ruined fort and cathedral. This little 

 town, before its harbour was filled up, was the prin- 

 cipal place in the island : it now presents a melan- 

 choly, but very picturesque appearance. Having 

 procured a black Padre for a guide, and a Span- 

 iard who had Served in the Peninsular war as an 

 interpreter, we visited a collection of buildings, of 

 which an ancient church formed the principal part. 

 It is here the governors and captain-generals of 

 the islands have been buried. Some of the tomb- 

 stones recorded dates of the sixteenth century.* 

 The heraldic ornaments were the only things in 

 this retired place that reminded us of Europe. The 

 church or chapel formed one side of a quadrangle, 

 in the middle of which a large clump of bananas 

 were growing. On another side was a hospital, con- 

 taining about a dozen miserable-looking inmates. 



We returned to the Venda to eat our dinners. 

 A considerable number of men, women, and chil- 

 dren, all as black as jet, collected to watch us. Our 

 companions were extremely meny ; and every- 

 thing we said or -did was followed by their hearty 



* The Cape de Verd Islands were discovered in 1449. There 

 was a tombstone of a bishop with the date of 1571 ; and a crest of 

 a hand and dagger, dated 1497. 



