28 



tions, but only by the difference of time. Al- 

 though time-keepers extend the limits of our 

 geographical knowledge, they often contribute 

 to propagate the mistake in the longitude of the 

 point of departure, because they render the po- 

 sition of the coast in the most distant regions 

 dependent on this single point. 



The ports of Ferrol and Corunna communi- 

 cate with the same bay, so that a vessel driven 

 by bad weather towards the coast may anchor 

 in either, according to the wind. This advan- 

 tage is invaluable, where the sea is almost always 

 tempestuous, as between the Capes Ortegal and 

 Finisterre, which are the promontories Trileu- 

 cum and Artabrum * of the ancient geography. 

 A narrow passage, flanked by perpendicular 

 rocks of granite, leads to the extensive basin of 

 Ferrol. No port in Europe has so extraordinary 

 an anchorage, from its very inland position. 

 The narrow and tortuous passage, by which 

 vessels enter this port, has been opened, either 

 by the irruption of the waves, or by the reiter- 

 ated shocks of very violent earthquakes. In 

 the New World, on the coasts of New Andalusia, 

 the Laguna del Obispo, (Bishop s Lake) is formed 

 exactly like the port of Ferrol. The most cu- 

 rious geological phenomena are often repeated 

 at immense distances on the surface of conti- 



* Ptolemy cites the port of the Artabri : Geogr. Lib. ii. 

 cap. 6. (Bertii Theatr, geograph. vet. AmsteL, 3613, p. 34.) 



