Rambles in Madeira

Under the title Rambles in Madeira and in Portugal in the early part of M.DCCC.XXVI, a rather curious work attributed to Mr. Lyall was published in London in 1827. It provides many insights not only about various locations in Madeira worth visiting, but also about the history and climate of the island, and the customs and habits of its inhabitants. Referring to the Funchal ladies, the author of the work says that they only usually go out to attend mass or to visit a friend from time to time, going in a palanquin on such occasions and wearing their best clothes. Describing a Portuguese ball he attended, he adds that the ladies were transported in palanquins and received at the door by the owner of the house and other gentlemen who escorted them to the upper floor. Seeing them gathered in a room is a dazzling spectacle for a foreigner not accustomed to encountering such a large number of big, dark eyes. The author of Rambles in Madeira also refers to the habit of Funchal ladies frequenting the windows, where they receive the greetings of passing gentlemen, to the theater ordered to be demolished by Governor D. Álvaro, to the Shrovetide, Ash Wednesday, and Easter processions, and also sought to provide as accurate a description as possible of the physiognomic traits of Sister Maria Clementina de Vasconcelos, whom we have already discussed in this Elucidário.