10 THE HERCULES TOWER. ing inscription: "Perspectiva que de muestra el estado de la torre antiqua llamada de Hercules quando se emprendio sureedificacion, y revestimiento de canteria por orden del Real consulado du la Coruna,”—“View exhibiting the condition of the ancient tower called Hercules when its rebuilding and facing with cut stone were undertaken by order of the royal consulate of Corunna ;" and beneath this the line-" Fecit Trueva Alumnus Academiæ ex Civitate portus Brigantini, anno, 1797.”* "The most remarkable circumstance attending this tower is the coincidence of an account of its building being preserved in the oldest Irish MSS., and the most remote traditional history of Ireland, which appears to be but an allegorical account of the acts of the Phoenicians. The Gadelians are, in Irish history, stated to have migrated over all the known world of the ancients, 'from their original country to Egypt, from thence to Crete, from Crete to Scythia, from thence to Gothia, then to Spain, from thence to Scythia, again to Egypt, then to Thrace, then to Gothia, again to Spain, and then to Ireland.' This apparent rigmarole, in other words means nothing more than that the Celtæ, or Gadelians, carried on commercial navigation to and from all these countries, and eventually found their way to Ireland. This is related by Giolla Keavin, an Irish poet, who lived about A.D. 1072, in a poem called Reim re Riogh, or the Race of Kings. 'Braha the son of worthy Deyaha Sailed from Crete to Sicily In four good ships, which after Bore him to Spain, in the south of Europe.' "Braha is said to have had a son Breogan, who had a son Galamh, or the victorious, who was afterwards in Irish history called Milespan, or Milesius. It is related of Breogan that he built a watch tower in Galicia in Spain, and that there had been traffic between Spain and Ireland previously to the building of this tower, which was for the purpose of assisting in the intercourse between the two countries. Ith, the son of Breogan, is said to have seen Ireland, like a cloud in a winter's evening, from the top of Breogan's Tower. That is, in more simple language, he contemplated the direct passage across the sea, even in the winter, by means of the lighthouse erected on the Bri gan, bɲ), mountain, gan, extreme, or the farthest mountain to the north. Whether there was ever such a man as Breogan, or whether he obtained the name from building the tower, is a question not necessary to inquire into, but the fact of such a tower still existing in this spot, and there being the same tradition ITS CONNECTION WITH IRELAND. 11 The height of this tower is about 139 English feet; the architecture bespeaks it of no older period than that of the Romans, and tends to support the view taken of it by Humboldt and Laborde already referred to. The inclined marks on the exterior appear to have been the remains of an external winding stair, although the tower itself was hollow. The right-hand figure exhibits the appearance of the present modern tower, or “facing with cut stone," that surrounds the antique building, from a sketch made in 1829, and in which the original plan of the pharos is preserved. There can, I think, be little doubt but that the earliest beacon-that mentioned by Sir W. Bet ham, in the translation of the Etruscan tables and the Irish records-stood likewise upon this spot, which is one of the most valuable and respecting it in Galicia is a strong corroboration of the truth of the Irish historical tradition. "In the Annals of the Four Masters is an account of this tower, and also in the Book of Ballymote, in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy, is the following passage: “Bai mac maith ag brath .i. breogan aga noernad tor mbreagan 7 in ċatair .i. brigandha a hainm a trr breogain .0. ad ceas crir ifeascur geaimriġ .i. oidċe šaṁna ad condaire ith me breogain ain;l ro ċan gilla caeman in dsan. "Brath had a noble son, viz. Breogan, by whom was built the Tower of Breogan, and the city called Brigandsia. From the tower of Breogan, by the bye, Ireland was beheld, on a winter's evening, namely, on the night of Laman (i. e. All-Hallows.) Ith, the son of Breogan beheld it, as Giolla Caemhan has sung : STANZA XXXIX. do bris mor camloñ is cat Great skirmishes and battles were fought By him was founded Brigandsia. "The meaning of the name Brigandsia, is the mountain most remote, bri gand sia, and the founding alluded to the tower, rather than a 12 THE HERCULES TOWER. most commanding sites for a lighthouse in the world; and it is of the highest interest to find so much recorded in history and so well established by the actual existence and preservation in situ, of one of the most curious relics of antiquity in Europe. There are many traditions in this part of Spain about Hercules and his companions; and at Betanzos, a few leagues hence, there is some curious old architecture, and also a museum, where they go so far as to exhibit the very arms of the hero, and the leather money used in his time! There can be no doubt, however, that the Hercules here referred to was the Phoenician, and not the Grecian. Orosirus, a writer of the fifth century, gives an account of a very fine column or pharos, which tradition in his day said had been erected by Hercules on the coast of the Celtiberian Galicia, as a guide to ships coming there from Britain. Mr. G. Higgins supposes the town of Corunna took its name from this column, and says, "there is every reason to believe that the sea coast was possessed by the Sidonian race the whole way from Sidon to Corunna, with the exception perhaps of the Delta of Egypt. Under these circumstances, it is very evident that a voyage to Britain must have been very easy, even town. The same account is to be found in Leabhar Gabhaltas, or Book of Conquests, a History of Ireland of good reputation. "The authority of Keating has been so much stigmatised, by the translation published by Dermod O'Connor, that I have been unwilling to quote any thing from him, but the original is written in an honest spirit, free from the many absurdities and amplifications of the translator. The translation by W. Haliday is much better. Henry O'Hart, a schoolmaster in the county Sligo, about 1686, made a good translation, the original of which is in my possession. The following extract from it shows that he considered Corunna and Breoghain's Tower the same, though Peter Walsh makes it Compostella : "Then Lughaigh, the son of Ith, went to Tuir Breoghan, or Corunna, and showed his father's dead body unto the posterity of Breoghain, &c.' "Again—Then they ship themselves at Corunna, or Tuir Breoghain, in Galicia, (leaving Spain among the forraigners, like a boane among a company of quarrelling curres,) and to sea they goe in thirty shippes, each whereof carried thirty valiant men, besides their women, and a number of the vulgar sorte under their forty-nine commanders, viz. eight sons of Breoghain, viz. Breagha, from whom Magh Breaghe, or Meath," &c. &c. [Etruria Celtica-Etruscan Literature and Antiquities investigated, by Sir William Betham. 2 vols. 8vo. Dublin, 1842.] APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. 13 with very indifferent ships." We must recollect that the Sidonian colonists spread themselves chiefly along the African shore, and crossed over to Tartessus in Spain by the pillars of Hercules; Cartago being probably their first settlement in Europe, except Greece. It is sometimes called the "Iron Tower," and near it, about a mile and a half from the town, one of the embarkations of the English troops took place. On our way to it we saw an old Moorish castle upon a rock, not far from the shore, and northwest of the town. From thence we passed over a wide uncultivated common covered with innumerable land shells, a small and very beautiful species of the common helix; with a great variety of small motley green lizards, and grasshoppers of all hues, chirping and springing about in all directions in the warm sunshine. The Datura Stramonium grows here and there in great luxuriance, and was then in both flower and fruit, and also a small shrubby daphne, with a white flower, and reddish berry. The meadow saffron (colchicum autumnale) flourishes here in great profusion, the hills about the light-house being literally covered with it, and as it is now in full blow, its light pink flowers produce a very gay, lively appearance; and the charming belladonna lily lends its graceful form to beautify nature's verdant carpet. The soil, which is of a light and sandy character, is principally cultivated with Indian corn. On the morning of the 2nd of October we set forward to view the memorable field of Corunna, accompanied by old George Daboish as our guide. Before we proceed further, we must introduce this personage to our readers. His history is remarkableby birth a Russian-an Italian by descent-married to a Spaniard -and, although naturalised in Spain, claiming England for his country. Few men in his condition have seen more of what is termed life. He has with truth, "braved many a rough sea's storm" in his day—and often been the very sport of the element he made his home. At an early age he was bound to the master of an English merchant-man trading to the Black Sea; out of which he was, shortly after, pressed on board a British man-ofwar; from this he took French leave at Cork, and having travelled across the country for some days, alone and pennyless, he found himself at what he not inaptly calls "the mutiny of Vinegar Hill." Shortly afterwards he re-entered the merchant service, and some years subsequently was wrecked returning from the West Indies 14 OLD RUSSIAN GEORGE. as mate, having suffered unspeakable hardships in an open boat for three weeks, during which time the crew were reduced to the horrible alternative "When out they spoke of lots for flesh and blood, And who should die to be his fellow's food." From this state of misery and privation they were providentially rescued by a Kinsale hooker; to the inhabitants of which place he still retains feelings of the utmost gratitude. He again entered the navy, and immediately after served at the Nile; was wounded at Trafalgar on board the Bellerophon; boasts the honour of an acquaintanceship with Nelson, and was present at the execution of Parker, after the mutiny at the Nore. He served in one of the transports in the bay of Corunna at the time of the retreat, and seems perfectly acquainted with all the transactions concerning it. After this he betook himself once more to the merchants' service; soon rose to be a master, and had acquired some wealth, but was again shipwrecked, and he alone of all his crew saved. He was thrown ashore, and beside him lay his ship's compass, the sole remnant of all his earthly possessions. He still preserves it with the greatest veneration, and exhibits it with delight to strangers. The ocean's greedy wave had robbed him of his home; the rocks and sands had spoliated his wealth; the drenching spray had damped, but could not quench, that fire of enthusiasm, so characteristic of his calling-till love, all powerful, induced him to resign the fickle element for one of the dark-eyed maids of Corunna. He married, and here, by years of industry and perseverance, he rose to comfort, if not to wealth. Short-lived was his day of happiness. In the year 1823, when the French bombarded this town, his house, which stands outside the walls, was struck by a random ball, and in the very spot* where he had concealed all his treasure, (some thousands of dollars,) which the French soldiers soon pounced upon, and fearing their vengeance for concealing his property, he had actually to swim for his life to one of the Spanish vessels in the harbour. Still he has weathered the storm, and supports himself in some comfort by the proceeds of a small Posada Secrata, or lodging This is still to be seen, and the account is verified by the British Consul. |