MADEIRA.
9
felt for the first time, but it passed away soon, a wish to live and die far from my native country; it seemed for a moment that it would be poetical happiness to dwell with one loved companion amidst those quiet mountains, and gaze at evening on the lovely sea and the lone Dezertas on the horizon. I did not choose any of the gay and luxurious houses which adorn the bosom of the amphitheatre above the town: I admired, like all the world, their perfect elegance and glorious prospect, but they did not fill my heart with that fondness which I felt for one simple mansion in the distant parish of Camacha. I often hear the brawling brook at night, and think myself seated on the bench of green turf, drinking that cool bottle of wine, with a view of Rosa and the pretty church beyond. If the ancients had known Madeira, it would have been their plusquam fortunata insula, and the blessed spirits of the Gentiles, after a millennium of probationary enjoyment in the Canaries, would have been translated thither to live for ever on nectar and oranges. Pour toujours Ce rivage Est sans nuit et sans orage. Pour toujours Cette aurore Fait ĂŠclore Nos beaux jours. C'cst le port De la vie; C'est le sort Qu'on envie.