The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-07-19
THE LOST GRANDMOTHER
By LEWIS E. Mac BRAYNE
tcopyrtshted 1911 by Harper & Rros.o

anchor here in 1903 on his return iron his first voyage of discovery, and Ponts De1gada was basl1ing irldolently in ths
 sunshine even then.
 .l When the fleet of fowboats put of
 from the shore in the morning to lanC
 the steamships passengers, I was actua ted by some motive of charity, or other prompting to offer my services to the Landscams for the few hours they migh have ashore. I have not mentioned the si fact that Mrs. Landseam was modest
 self-possessed little woman, who ap- peared to have discounted her husband I long ago and gone her own way more o1 less without him. They both appeared
 to be grateful for my proHer of assist 1 ar1ce and we went ashore together, land ing at a weedy flight of very old granite
 steps just below the customs house. As had a small matter of business tc | to the Church of Saint Sebastian, close I by, knowing well that they could profit ably spend a half-hour whereabouts. Ii 1 Is by no means the most wonderful basil ica in the world. but it is the finest religious edihce on the island, having been erected in I523 as a propitiatory offering to God after plague had ravaged the city, and 1t is always alive with country people on a market day and well worth visit.
 l The Landscams were still enjoying the 1 inspection of the building when re- l turned for them with an open carriage. The driver had been recommended to me at the consulate as one who had picked up quite knowledge of English from returning mericanos-Islanders who had lived in the United States for few years and come back with their savings- and who was qualified to act as guide, counsellor or friend but I had also been 1NA hat Fa Ia 9 f0 geek out American tourists because he had lost track of his mother-in-law in the l United States and lived in the persistent hope of getting news of her. The con- st1late had done what it could for him through official channels, but so far with out success.
 Manuel proved to be fully up to his recommendation, and the Landscams were delighted with him. We had visited the old Franciscan monastery lnow turned into a hospitaD, the theatre, and the college, and l doubt not that the special adventure had we not driven next to the Graca, as they call the public market
 You must fill in the picture for your selves as I describe it booths and stalls upon three sides of rectangle, against a background of acacia trees: beyond the trees, mules browsing contentedly amid a litter of empty baskets and merchandise already purchased to be taken back to the country; within the market-place tempting piles of fruits and vegetables that bore testimony to the lavish produc- tiveness of the sen1i-tropica1 land Here were pyramids of violet maracuja; bas- kets of gold nespera; quantities of fresh picked strawberries purple green capu- cho which one recognized for the goose berry of the islands; great clusters of luscious grapes; pineapples so ripe that one could eat them like a juicy pear golden oranges that may have come down from the tabled fruit of the Hesperides; the red pimento, which is much esteemed for stews the lupin bean. almost a staple article of food on the islands; open sacks of the bright yellow tramoca cortido; artichokes and great sweet-potatoes; apricots brought over from Pico in open boats, that very morn- ing and yams gathered in Furnas. I Man is a very material creature al best, and MT. Landscam was not above the average There was something about that market-place which appealed to him with compelling fascination, nor was he satisfied with repeated promenade about the premises.
 Its no suse," he said at length, paying some heed to our polite ir1timations that there were other points to be visited about the city. efYou can't bring me up any more buildings after seeing this and unless you want to drive out in the country where these things grow I'll stay right here until the boat sails"
 | As this was by no means bad sug- gestion it was agreed that we should drive into the countrya plan that caused Manuel to beam upon us with approval Indeed, he knew beautiful drives, he explained, and if we desired to see some of the estates, like that of the Viscount das Karanjeiras and per- haps that of some very small farmer, he could obtain the permission to enter. So we visited the estate of the viscount, which had an endless variety of bamboos and among other things some shrubby mallows from Syria, and then drove on by villas and farms to visit the little farmer" The islander delights to sur round his estate, whether 1t be large or small with a wall; and each wall in turn is alive with cacti and fuchsias and delicate creepers ablaze with blossoms barrier that fascinates by it's very suggestion of hidden gardens and vine yards.
 Manuel disnaounted at length before the wooden gate of such wall, opened 1t hurnb1y, and with hat in hand bade us enter. sstAGy home, if you please, he said Please oblige me to be welcome. We entered into garden in whicfs was set white-washed stone cottage of two or three rooms, and beyond it the sheds that served as stables for the cattle Ii was possible to see at a glance that the dwelling, built from the basa1tic rock o1 the island was primitive in its con- struction and minus all those necessities that are classed as modern conveniences yet every foot of the small estate moi occupied by the buildings or the narrow
 paths was teerning with abundant yegeta- ton, such as compelled one to marvel al
 the thrift of the tenants. The vegetable gardens were beyond the sheds; about
 the cottage there b1oomed in abundance striped Lancaster roses, the fragrant ross de Alexandria, yellow bonina, sweet scented basil, 3 heath shrub covered witt