HISTORICAL SKETCH 135 



at first frightened them back ; and it is suggested 

 that, as the soil of Madeira shows traces of volcanic 

 disturbances as, indeed, does the whole formation 

 of the island these disturbed waters might well 

 have been in its neighbourhood. 



In the fourteenth century both the French and 

 Spaniards claim to have touched at the islands ; 

 but if such were the case, it seems unlikely that 

 their discovery would have been relegated to 

 oblivion, though in the Medici map in Florence 

 the group of islands now known as Porto Santo, 

 Madeira, and the Desertas appear, under the names 

 of " Porto Sto," " Ila Legname," and " I. Deserta." 

 If these names were inserted when the chart was 

 made (A.D. 1351), the Genoese might claim to have 

 been the true discoverers ; but as the names are 

 merely Italian translations of the Portuguese, it is 

 more likely that they were added after their present 

 owners had taken possession of them. 



It is through the medium of another legend, as 

 some still call the romantic story of Machim and 

 his lady-love, Anna Arget, or Harbord, that we 

 appear to arrive at the true history of the discovery 

 of Madeira. The story, though it is more sugges- 

 tive of fabulous romance than history, has been 

 accepted as being the medium of the tales of 



