"August 2nd - this first thing in the morning looked upon Madeira, the white houses glittering beautifully in the sun and its high cliffs rising nobly at the back. We went ashore at 3 o'clock and were received at Miss Keir's, a splendid house for the reception of passengers belonging to the ships who trade with their house. The garden belonging to the house is the most perfect thing of the sort I ever saw: long walks covered with trelliage and vines - fountains, etc. amidst all the luxuriant produce of this almost tropical climate; - fusias, - bananas, - guavas, - papas, - pines, - cactus, - aloes, - canes, etc. etc. - Add to all this, the magnificent rocky scenery that surrounds three sides of the horizon, with white houses and green vineyards occupying every spot that presents itself, and in the distance a sea-view of twenty or thirty miles, and you may have some idea of this enchanted place" (Extract from Marianne James's diary)