MADEIRA. In the Great Curral. BY ELLEN M. TAYLOR, AUTHOR OF "MADEIRA; ITS SCENERY AND HOW TO SEE IT," ETC. vast amphitheatre. Even on the south side the mountains seem to enclose the valley, where the river narrows, before it emerges into the wide Ribeira dos Soccoridos. The ascent in hammocks from the Curral hamlet to the Torrinhas Pass is a very arduous undertaking, but a party with double sets of bearers will speedily reach the top, from whence a magnificent view presents itself. From this point the traveller commences a descent on the north side of the island through the Boa Ventura Valley, almost, if not quite, the grandest of the many great ravines in which Madeira abounds. Here are combined forest trees, waterfalls, interesting ferns, mountains, and mighty masses of perpendicular rocks. Madeira is especially rich in basaltic rocks. One great pinnacle standing alone on the slopes of Pico Ruivo, called the "Homen em pe,' or Standing Man, rises as a gigantic sentinel guarding the ascent. There it has stood for ages, unmoved by the wild tempests that at times rage about these mountain peaks. The traveller who has the energy to take a three hours' journey from St. Anna to see the sunrise from the top of Ruivo, passes this mighty rock in the dim light, which adds much to its majestic and mysterious appearance. In the Ribeira do Fayal, on the north coast, there are also some curious basaltic pillars. Visitors to Madeira who only see the south part of the island can have no idea of the variety and grandeur of the scenery in many parts of the north side, the deep ravines clothed with evergreens and heaths in great luxuriance, and many interesting plants, wild flowers, and ferns. Between Porto da Cruz and Fayal stands the majestic Penha d'Aguia, a mountain standing alone at the mouth of the valley, with one of its sides rising to a height of 1,915 feet from the ocean; its outline from every side being grand and picturesque, especially when viewed from the Lamaçeiros, one of the favourite excursions from Sta. Cruz. Its summit is wooded with well-grown shrubs, the most numerous being the pomegranate and myrtle. The ascent is very difficult, and seldom undertaken. For those who cannot take these longer and more fatiguing excursions, there are several pleasant and easy rides within a short distance of Funchal, which will give some idea. of the scenery of the island. Some content themselves with an expedition to the Curral dos Romeiros, or Little Curral, as it is generally called, within a short ride. from Funchal. This is a deep and wide ravine of great beauty. The mountain ridges are in many places clothed with pine woods, reminding one of parts of Switzerland. On the 15th of August, Dia de Nossa Senhora do Monte, the Festival The Basalt Monolith. "Homen em pe" (Man standing upright). Picturesque groups sitting on the hillside enjoy their picnic repast under the shade of wide-spreading Spanish chestnut and oak trees. The waterfall in the Curral ravine is well worth a visit, and is about an hour's walk from Funchal. Ascending the Caminho do meio and striking on a levada, or watercourse, to the west, you soon find yourself in the heart of the mountain gorge, the cliffs around and above you clothed with an indigenous and interesting vegetation, and a waterfall of no mean altitude dashing in clouds of spray from rocky ledges, verdant with ferns and mosses. The levadas are constructed on various levels from the rivers in order to facilitate the irrigation of the terraced uplands so industriously cultivated by the pea santry up to a certain altitude. Beyond that the vegetation consists of pine woods, and again, higher on the mountains, only laurels, bilberry bushes, great heaths and ferns will thrive; but in the glens, and on the borders of levadas, a lovely and interesting variety of plants, ferns, and mosses afford much pleasure to those plant-loving travellers who penetrate so far. Fructuoso, in his "Chronicles," tells a curious story in connection with this part of the country. Among the early settlers was one Marcos de Braga, a noble from Portugal, a man of immense strength and courage. His estate was about three miles from Funchal. When upwards of seventy years of age he signalized himself in the following way. A mulatto slave had escaped from his master into the wild serras above Marcos de Braga's house, and having clothed himself in skins, to which he would attach anything that would rattle, he would await solitary travellers and attack them, robbing them of all they had, and adding a thrashing if they had no victuals with them. His wild appearance and violence struck such terror all around that folks accounted him as no less than the devil. Marcos de Braga, hearing these reports, determined to satisfy himself as to their truth, and started off alone to the locality as a traveller. Suddenly out of the brushwood leapt this rattling figure. Mar cos, instead of running away, as all the others had done, closed with the creature, and after a prolonged struggle so completely overcame him that, pinioning him down, he divested him of his skins and rattles, and beheld the runaway slave. Festening him securely, he brought him to his house, and employed him, yoked to an ox, to plough his lands. After thus chastising him severely, he delivered him over to his former master, to the great satisfaction of those who had suffered at his hands. Fructuoso also records a wonderful feat of strength accomplished by this same man. Braga was in a measure prisoner on parole in his own house, about two miles above the town, for some crime which he had committed. There were to be great festivities in Funchal on the birth of a prince of Portugal, and a bull-fight on an open space before the cathedral was looked forward to as one of the chief sports. Braga sent a petition to the judge that he might have liberty for that day, and take his turn at the bull-fight. Leave having been granted, he further begged that the largest and strongest bull might be reserved for him. Awaiting his turn in a neighbouring house, at last he appeared clad in a handsome costume of the period, with simply a stout staff in his hand. The bull rushed into the arena with so wild an aspect that the bull-fighters retired in haste, leaving Braga alone to face the animal. Advancing with his staff in one hand he waved the other at the bull, who, putting down his head, plunged forward as if to toss him. Braga received the shock on his staff, which he had planted firmly before himself, and before the bull could recover himself, placing his hands on the bull's horns, he vaulted heavily on to his neck and broke it, the animal falling dead at once. This feat of strength was greeted with shouts of applause. There appears to have been some remarkable men among the descendants of those who first settled in Madeira, men who had seen active service in the fierce and sanguinary wars of that period; and such names as Albuquerque, Aragão, Beringuer, Bettencourt, Cabral, Castro, Doria, Drummond, Spinola, Jervis, Mondragão, and Schomberg are still well known. Noblemen from many courts of Europe seem to have been attracted by the romantic history of the discovery of Madeira, the beautiful island so lately colonized and so productive. The vines and sugar-canes sent from Sicily by order of Prince Henry the Navigator, were then in full beauty and luxuriance, bringing a plentiful return, and encouraging those who were industrious to bring into further cultivation many almost inaccessible spots on the highlands above the town. * RECREATIVE EVENING SCHOOLS. BY MRS. THORPE, AUTHOR OF "KING FROST," ETC. in the children's lives. IT T has been lately stated by an eminent | present system, some terrible gaps are found writer that the religious question and the social question are the two which will be the important ones for the end of the nineteenth century. At the root of the social question lies the education of the children who will in a few years be the men and women of the country, who will then be either its backbone, brain and skilful hands, or a mass of formless inadequacy which will sink us low in the scale of nations. Does the Compulsory Education Act, in its present form, render the future of these children an assured one, as it was meant to do? If not, what remedy can we find? These questions have been anxiously asked by men of wide experience and philanthropy, and the Recreative Evening Schools are an attempt at an answer. After eighteen years' experience of the "The Religion of the Future," by M. Emile de Lavelaye, in the Contemporary Review for July, 1888. We find the attendance at the old night schools decreasing year by year. Between 1880 and 1886 there was a decrease of about 20,000, which decrease still continues. Indeed, these schools were only meant for those who had not been taught at all. We find our children passing the required standard and leaving school at an age which becomes earlier every year-the average varies from eleven to twelve or thirteen. It is lowest in manufacturing towns, where the children are quick-witted and fairly well fed. We find these boys and girls turned adrift to earn their own living at an age when the Factory Act itself forbids their full employment, so that they are left without even the discipline of regular work at a time when brain and body are alike plastic, when they are too young to have formed fixed habits of any kind, too young to have that "love of learning which Sir John Lubbock tells us "is better |