To The Gold Coast for Gold: A Personal Narrative. Vol. IBurton, Richard Francis, Sir
History
To The Gold Coast for Gold: A Personal Narrative. Vol. I
Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
Ghana -- Description and travel; Gold mines and mining -- Ghana
includes in his Six Fortunates; and the Isle of SS. Borondon and
Maclovius the Welshman (St. Malo). The run from Lizard's Point is laid
down at 1,164 miles; from Lisbon, 535; from Cape Cantin, 320; from
Mogador (9° 40' west long.), 380; and 260 from Santa Cruz, Tenerife. The
main island lies between N. lat. 32° 49' 44" and 32° 37' 18"; the
parallel is that of Egypt, of Upper India, of Nankin, and of
California. Its longitude is included within 16° 39' 30" and 17° 16' 38"
west of Greenwich. The extreme length is thus 37-1/2 (usually set down
as 33 to 54) miles; the breadth, 12-1/2 (popularly 15-16 1/2); the
circumference, 72; the coast-line, about 110; and the area, 240--nearly
the size of Huntingdonshire, a little smaller than the Isle of Man, and
a quarter larger than the Isle of Wight. Pico Ruivo, the apex of the
central volcanic ridge, rises 6,050-6,100 feet, with a slope of 1 in
3.75; the perpetual snow-line being here 11,500. Madeira is supposed to
tower from a narrow oceanic trough, ranging between 13,200 and 16,800
feet deep. Of 340 days, there are 263 of north-east winds, 8 of north, 7
of east, and 62 of west. The rainfall averages only 29.82 to 30.62
inches per annum. The over-humidity of the climate arises from its lying
in the Guinea Gulf Stream, which bends southward, about the Azores, from
its parent the great Gulf Stream, striking the Canaries and flowing
along the Guinea shore. (White and Johnson's Guide-Book, and 'Du Climat
de Madère,' &c., par A. C. Mourão-Pitta, Montpellier, 1859, the latter
ably pleading a special cause.)
CHAPTER III.
A FORTNIGHT AT MADEIRA.
I passed Christmas week at the 'Flower of the Wavy Field;' and, in the
society of old and new friends, found nothing of that sameness and
monotony against which so many, myself included, have whilom
declaimed. The truth is that most places breed _ennui_ for an idle
man. Nor is the climate of Madeira well made for sedentary purposes: it
is apter for one who loves to _flâner_, or, as Victor Hugo has it,
_errer songeant_.
Having once described Funchal at some length, I see no reason to repeat
the dose; and yet, as Miss Ellen M. Taylor's book shows,
[Footnote: _Madeira: its Scenery, and how to see it._ Stanford,
London, 1878. This is an acceptable volume, all the handbooks being out
of print. I reviewed it in the _Academy_ July 22, 1882.]
the subject, though old and well-worn, can still bear a successor to the
excellent White and Johnson handbook.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account