49 



towards the northern coast. I cannot indeed refrain 

 from quoting the following, since it portrays the cha- 



over, of Madeira as it was, and not of Madeira as it is. More or 

 less of cultivation during a period exceeding four centuries, in con- 

 junction with the overwhelming fire which completely devastated 

 the entire south of the island, immediately after its first settlers had 

 taken possession of it, and which is stated (in the accounts which 

 are transmitted to us) to have smouldered on for nearly seven 

 years, have so altered the features of the country, that it is only in 

 the untouched regions of the north (on which the woodman's axe is 

 nevertheless encroaching, season after season, with lamentable 

 rapidity) that we can catch even a glimpse of its pristine condition. 

 The dense forests which then everywhere abounded must have 

 caused an amount of moisture and exhalation of which even the 

 northern districts as they now are (though saturated, even yet, with 

 dampness ; and at a certain elevation almost constantly enveloped 

 with clouds) can give us but a faint idea. So tremendous indeed 

 must have been the aqueous accumulations which then hung 

 around the island, that even the splendour of a southern sun cannot 

 have penetrated the atmosphere as it does at present ; and, hence, 

 the historical fact that Madeira proper (although separated by a 

 channel of only thirty miles in breadth, and now usually visible in 

 bold relief against the sky, during a portion, at least, of every day, 

 from a far greater distance) was not discovered for an entire year 

 after the colonization of Porto Santo, on account of the thickness of 

 the canopy which shrouded it from view, is at once rendered in- 

 telligible. It is narrated, that, in the year 1419, Prince Henry of 

 Portugal organized an expedition to attempt the doubling of Cape 

 Bojador ; but the commanders, having lost their reckoning, were 

 driven ashore on an island, which they named Porto Santo, in 

 commemoration of their escape from the perils of the sea. " On 

 their return," says Mr. Harcourt, " Prince Henry sent out Zargo, 

 Vaz, and Pestrello, to plant a new colony in the island. It was not 

 long before a dark spot was observed on the western horizon of 

 Porto Santo. This was regarded by some with superstitious awe ; 

 but Zargo concluded it to be clouds attracted by high land ; and 



D 



