Tlie Return 



miles long by 1 5 miles in width, of extremely 

 mountainous and picturesque surface ; that its 

 inhabitants are of Portuguese race, with some 

 admixture of Moorish and negro blood ; and 

 that from it came the rich wine so beloved by 

 our ancestors, and still drunk in Russia, Sweden, 

 France and other countries less dominated by 

 gout than ours. " II y a — beaucoup de — vin de 

 Madere — ici, — n'est ce pas ? " said, with great 

 deliberation, an English admiral, in a laudable 

 effort to make conversation during a recent 

 official call from the Governor. And so there 

 is, although much of the wine so labelled in 

 Europe knows not its supposed birthplace ; but 

 with the loss of the English market the wine 

 trade is shorn of its former glory. Yet it still 

 provides a living for numerous English families 

 which form a permanent element in the cosmo- 

 politan society of the place. Years ago Madeira's 

 soft and genial air was regarded as a suitable 

 "cure" for consumptive patients, but the island 

 has more recently been abandoned by them 

 for the High Alps and the deserts of South 

 Africa and Colorado. It is now the winter 

 resort of many foreigners who are unable 

 to find so equable and gracious a climate in 



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