FimcJial and its Gardens 



mysticism, and what their would-be instructors 

 designate as superstition. One would suppose 

 that the heathen of the neighbouring Dark 

 Continent offer a more suitable, if less agree- 

 able, field for such endeavours. 



The general aspect of Funchal, apart from 

 the unfortunate condition of the river-beds, 

 which is due to neglect of duty on the part of 

 the local government, is pre-eminently clean. 

 The inhabitants have a positive mania for 

 whitewash, with its pink and yellow varieties. 

 They carry its use to the excess of plastering 

 and washing all their garden walls, a practice 

 which creates a dead level of uniformity and an 

 unnecessary glare. If, as applied to the exterior 

 of houses, whitewash may not always be a sign 

 of inward grace, yet it is something to look 

 clean, and in this respect Funchal far surpasses 

 the towns of Italy and other Mediterranean 

 countries. And in the matter of street smells 

 it only achieves a very modest distinction. 



On the western side of the town, in the 

 neighbourhood of the " Ribeiro Secco," a river 

 which, except in very wet weather, does not 

 belie its name, the ground is less precipitous 

 than elsewhere, and as it faces the higher 



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