Leaves from a Madeira Garden 



climate that dangerous chill which is common 

 in Mediterranean and African countries. The 

 twilight is, of course, less prolonged than in 

 more northern lands, but the night comes with 

 less haste than in the tropics ; and even if 

 clouds have obscured the mountain-tops during 

 the day, they generally disperse at sunset, and the 

 line of peaks stands hard and clear against the 

 sky. 



The gardens of Funchal and Its neighbour- 

 hood are not only, as noted in a former chapter, 

 all different, they are, in fact, of quite sur- 

 prisingly various character. Some are remark- 

 able especially for their collections of trees 

 and shrubs from many countries and many 

 climes ; others for the dignity imparted by 

 the growth of a century ; others again for 

 the success with which flowering plants 

 are cultivated, the plants, not only of our 

 English gardens, but of our stoves and 

 greenhouses. Some own the special charm 

 of that heightened repose which the contrast 

 of busy streets immediately adjacent suggests. 

 The garden of the Quinta do Deao, "the 

 Deanery," perhaps bears the palm in more 

 than one of these qualities. It is situate close 



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