22 ANNA D'ARFET. 



presents some of the finest views in the neighborhood of 

 the town. The most prominent object in the distance is 

 the Peak Fort, the principal fortress in Madeira. Its com- 

 manding position renders it a picturesque object from 

 many points of view. 



The following story relating to the discovery of Madeira, 

 and narrated by a historian may be interesting to the 

 reader. 



" Anna D'Arfet, the heroine of the tale, was a lady of 

 high family and distinguished beauty. She was beloved by 

 Robert Machim, an English gentleman of great merit, but 

 her inferior in rank and wealth ; the attachment, though 

 mutual, was not countenanced by the proud family of 

 D'Arfet, and finding her insensible to their admonitions, a 

 warrant was procured from the King, Edward HE., by 

 which Machim was arrested and cast into prison, she being 

 in the meantime compelled to ally herself with one more 

 her equal in station. Machim on his release, determined 

 to spare no means to become possessed of the object of his 

 affections, and by the assistance of a friend, who intro- 

 duced himself to his mistress in the character of a groom, 

 succeeded in effecting her escape from a castle near Bris- 

 tol, where her husband resided. Guided by their trusty 

 friend, they embarked in a vessel bound for France ; but 

 in crossing the channel they were driven out of their course 

 by a-f earful storm. For thirteen days they were tossed 

 about in the open ocean, where, being without a pilot, they 

 knew not in what direction to steer. At length a faint 

 haze in the horizon indicated their aj^proach to land, and 

 soon, to their infinite joy, they saw before them a beautiful 

 and richly wooded island. Machim and his mistress, ac- 

 companied by some friends, landed under the shade of a 



