There Is A Sufficient Depth Of Water, And
Room Enough For The Whole Navy Of England.
On the right hand, as
you enter the port, there is an elegant fanal, or lighthouse,
kept in good repair:
But in all the charts of this coast which I
have seen, this lanthorn is laid down to the westward of the
harbour; an error equally absurd and dangerous, as it may mislead
the navigator, and induce him to run his ship among the rocks, to
the eastward of the lighthouse, where it would undoubtedly
perish. Opposite to the mouth of the harbour is the fort, which
can be of no service, but in defending the shipping and the town
by sea; for, by land, it is commanded by Montalban, and all the
hills in the neighbourhood. In the war of 1744, it was taken and
retaken. At present, it is in tolerable good repair. On the left
of the fort, is the basin for the gallies, with a kind of dock,
in which they are built, and occasionally laid up to be refitted.
This basin is formed by a pretty stone mole; and here his
Sardinian majesty's two gallies lie perfectly secure, moored with
their sterns close to the jette. I went on board one of these
vessels, and saw about two hundred miserable wretches, chained to
the banks on which they sit and row, when the galley is at sea.
This is a sight which a British subject, sensible of the blessing
he enjoys, cannot behold without horror and compassion.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 239 of 535
Words from 64175 to 64432
of 143308
