cottages are scattered on its gently inclining sides, whilst on the summit of the hills may be seen to the south-west a church and convent now, alas, in ruins and serving the purposes of a barn, which until the suppression of the religious houses was occupied by Friars of the Order of St. Francis. On the south, in front of the Quinta, the scene is varied by hamlets, wind mills, and small plantations of pine trees, whilst on the north and lying behind the Quinta are the two villages of Pera, each with its wind mill. Through the middle of the valley there runs a narrow public road hedged with canes, which give it
HOUSE FORMERLY OF THE MARQUIS OF VALADA.
the appearance of a brook. At the western extremity beyond the opening where it pierces the hills, and at the distance of about a mile, a part of the Atlantic is discried, the hollow roar of whose waves beating on the shore is incessantly heard.
Immediately below the Quinta stands the country house, formerly belonging to the Marquis of Valada, which, half concealed behind a tuft of ancient lofty trees, forms a picturesque object, particularly on a summer evening, when as in former times the cattle were let loose to feed on the neighbouring fields. The valley is
