585 



I have, however, to thank him for having noticed the subject, 

 even in the manner which he did, for it has led to the disco- 

 very of a most interesting manuscript and two drawings, the 

 only ones, I believed, in existence, of the ancient and modern 

 Towers, which I beg leave to lay before the Academy, and 

 which I procured in the following manner : 



" When Sir William's book appeared I wrote to the 

 British Consul at Corunna, requesting him to procure me 

 some information upon the subject of the ' Hercules Light,' as 

 well as plans or drawings of the ancient and modern tower ; 

 and also to have made for me a copy of, or extracts from, 

 any work or archive, either in manuscript or print, which 

 might be still extant at Corunna, Betanzos, or Brigantia, or 

 any of the towns bordering the s})lendid harbour of Ferrol, 

 and where such a record would be most likely to have been 

 preserved ; at the same time, from the present unsettled state 

 of Spain, and the various revolutions with which that un- 

 happy country has been visited, I hoped for, more than anti- 

 cipated, a favourable answer to my communication. After 

 the lapse of a considerable length of time I have received the 

 most confirmatory proof of my original position in these two 

 drawings, together with the Spanish manuscript, which I now 

 exhibit to the Academy, and which were discovered in the 

 bureau of an old architect in Corunna. This document, en-' 

 titled, ' Copia de la representacion y mas documentos que 

 con f ha de 16 de Mar so de 1786, dirigio, esta Junta de Go- 

 bierno condor Pianos al Ecmo Sr. Marques de la Sonora,' 

 appears to be a Report presented to the Marquis De La So- 

 nora by a Government Commission, empowered to inquire 

 into and report upon certain improvements destined to be 

 put in force in the harbours of Corunna and Ferrol, in 1786. 

 In this ' Memoria Sobre la antiquedad de la Torre de Her- 

 cules,' it is recommended to repair the ancient Tower or 

 Pharos standing at the extremity of the peninsula, * the 

 3c 2 



