chap, ni.j l'este. 45 



then you can always get out of doors for some part of the day. 

 When the wind is in the north and east there is seldom much 

 rain ; if the wind goes round to the west by the south, a con- 

 tinuance of wet may be expected, but if by the north, it soon 

 veers round again, and there is not much rain. 



l'este. 



Madeira has its Sirocco, called by the natives L'Este, a 

 term expressive of the quarter from which the wind blows. 

 It bears so near a resemblance to the easterly wind known on 

 the opposite coast by the name of Harmattan, in its chief 

 peculiarities, that we may conclude it owes them to a similar 

 origin : like it, hot and dry, it is yet not insalubrious*. In- 

 valids find relief from its influence, though it is felt oppres- 

 sive by persons in health. It produces a parching of the 

 skin, and even curls up paper and the binding of books. If 

 you try to escape it by ascending the hills, you find it unmiti- 

 gated, and of the same hot, dry, relaxing quality. Meat and 

 milk will not keep whilst it lasts. Even in the hills, in 

 winter, and at an early hour of the morning, the thermo- 

 meter often stands at upwards of 70 degrees Fahrenheit 

 in the shade. In the summer of 1850 Dr. Lund observed 

 the thermometer stand at 91° F., at Santo Antonio da Serra, 



* A curious example of the benign influence of the L'Este is given in an 

 account of the awful visitation of cholera during this year (1851) in the 

 Grand Canary, communicated by Mr. Houghton, H.B.M. Vice-Consul, and 

 which appeared in the "Times" of July 16. Mr. Houghton writes, "The 

 deaths during the night have materially declined in number, and it is said 

 that many of those who were in a desperate state overnight show symptoms 

 of improvement. I must here mention, that since the middle of the night 

 the weather has changed. We have now what is called here 'a levante,' 

 being a hot dry wind." 



