still greater than his appointments are liberal; yet his whole
income is barely 2000/. a year, about 200/. of which is in the
shape of a present from the English merchants.
The accidental discovery of Madeira is attributed, by most
of the early voyagers and historians of Portugal, to an Englishman
; and the subject is said to be painted on the walls of
a room in the government-house. Whether the fact be really
so or not, the adventures of Robert Macham and the lovely
Anna d’Arfet furnish an interesting and an affecting story, the
incidents of which are extremely natural, and not improbable.
Goncalvez, indeed, who, after Macham, may be considered
as the discoveiei of Madeira, was so much convinced of the
truth of the story which was then prevalent, that he named
the place of his first anchorage Porto dos Ingtezos; and, on
his second voyage, changed it to that of Porto de Machino,
in honour of the unfortunate discoverer, which at this day is'
corrupted into Porto Machio or Machico. At this place are
still shewn the remains of a cross, that was supposed to have
been erected over the grave of the beautiful and amiable
Anna d’Arfet, and which they pretend to have been cut out
of the very tree under which she died and was buried.
Whoever might have been the discoverer, it is certain the
Portugueze were the first to take possession of i t ; and in
doing this they, are not chargeable with any injustice or
violence, for there was not found a single inhabitant of the
human species upon it. Since that period it has not been
out of their possession; nor could it perhaps be better placed
for the commerce and convenience of all nations, than in the
hands of a power which has neither the means nor the inclination
to go to war. In the possession of a great maritime state,
it might be made instrumental, in time of war, in materially
interrupting the commerce of the East and West Indies, as almost
all the outward bound ships to both countries pas^ within
sight of Madeira or Porto Santo. Eor the mere improvement
of the island, and of the condition of the people, the English
ought to be the masters ; whilst misery and ruin would be the
inevitable consequence of its falling into the possession of,the
French. The defences qf the island are by no means contemptible,
nor neglected. The Peak castle which commands
the town on the west, the fort and wall extending along the
beach, the works on the Loo rock, and the fort of St. Jago
on the east point of the bay, with proper ordnance and a
garrison of two or three thousand men, might oppose a very
obstinate resistance to a much superior force. The best and
perhaps, indeed, the only practicable landing-place is at
Funchal, where the shot from the castle striking the pebbly
beach, which is from sixty to eighty yards in width and
flanked by batteries at each extremity, would occasion a
dreadful havoc among the invading party, in the attempt of
making good their landing. On the whole island there are
said to be from twelve to fifteen tin. usand well-appointed and
regularly trained militia, of which four or five thousand could
be brought, in the course of a few hours, to act at any given
point.
In order to pick up a few native plants, and to gain some
little information as to the produce and the rural economy of
the island, we determined to make a. long day’s excursion
D