MADEIRA. 11 
This sledge is dragged by two very small oxen, and slips easily 
on the pavement, which is occasionally wet with a cloth. It is no 
doubt the best mode of transportation in Funchal, for their wine, on 
account of the great steepness of their streets. Smaller burthens 
are transported on men's shoulders, or in hampers and baskets on 
the backs of donkeys. 
The middle gutters are now for the most part closed, and made 
subterranean, no longer the stranger's nuisance. Funchal may 
compare with most places for the cleanliness of its streets. Little 
improvement has as yet taken place in the cleanliness and discipline 
of its prisons. 
I was surprised to learn that all misdemeanours are referred for 
trial to Portugal, and that persons having committed small crimes 
are kept for years without any disposition being made of them by 
those in authority. They are maintained at the expense of the 
complainant, consequently crime is scarcely noticed or complained 
of. On the one hand it makes the punishment very severe, and on 
the other, persons are inclined to take the law into their own hands 
against petty thefts. It is impossible to avoid many painful sights 
in passing the prisons. Caps on sticks are thrust through the iron 
gratings, and requests are made for alms, first in beseeching tones, 
and afterwards, if nothing is given, one is pained with hearing cries 
of execration. The occupants are in keeping with the premises, 
and did not fail to excite both our commiseration and disgust. 
Among the lions of Madeira is a villa once belonging to Senor 
Jose de Carvalhal, a wealthy nobleman who died about a year 
before our visit. The gardens are well taken care of, and contain 
many trees and plants from various quarters of the globe. The 
grounds embrace extensive deer parks, but I was not much struck 
with the manner in which they were laid out. The present pro- 
prietor is the nephew of the late Count. 
The convent is also a place to which strangers resort, and the 
fair nuns of twenty years' standing, I will not dwell on, lest truth 
might compel me to destroy some of the reputation of those charms 
which former visiters have done honour to. Feather-flowers con- 
tinue to be sold here, and the nuns to jest with, and receive the 
homage of their guests. Since the overthrow of Don Miguel in 
1824,°monasteries have been abolished and liberty given to the nuns 
to return to the world, of which privilege some of them availed 
themselves. They do not now exceed eighty in number, and as 
