Promontory

“ Here, as he surveys the shore that presents itself before him, the first object which attracts his eye is a lofty promontory which he sees rising in sublime and sombre majesty above the surrounding country, and at the same time jutting boldly into the sea. ”

“ Weird legends connected with these and the Cornish coast generally had been handed down from father to son from remote antiquity, and the wild and lonely Goonhilly Downs, that formed the centre of the promontory, as dreary a spot as could well be imagined, had a legend of a phantom ship that glided over them in the dusk or moonlight, and woe betide the mariners who happened to see it, for it was a certain omen of evil! ”

“ A couple of hundred yards distant, and about fifty feet below us, a bare promontory jutted out from the hillside, affording an unobstructed view of the whole region—the crumbling mountains upon the horizon, the power plant at the base of the cliff, and the bare space behind us where the mines were about to end the career of the sorcerers’ workshop. ”

“ Never did a spot more easily lend itself to such rude defence by virtue of natural position, although where the construction begins the summit of the promontory is inaccessible from below. We are skirting dizzy precipices, feathered with light greenery and brightened with flowers, but awful notwithstanding, and in many places the stones have evidently been piled together rather for the sake of symmetry than from a sense of danger. ”

“ Between p. 277the west and north a long triangular promontory, low and level, advances to a considerable distance, and narrows into a neck of land, which is terminated by a few rocks and a strong fortress, the work of Portuguese builders, but worthy of taking rank among Roman ruins—so solid are the walls, so compact the masonry and well-selected brickwork, against which three long centuries of sea-storm have broken themselves in vain. The greater part of the promontory itself is covered with ruins. ”

“ Some miles farther to the eastward, the long, low, hilly, narrow, projecting promontory called the Antibes protrudes still more into the sea, and affords additional protection, while it creates another fine bay, greater in extent, in which a fleet of French men-of-war is often seen lying at anchor or at exercise. ”

“ Trucks laden with produce are propelled merrily along. Great sheds line the shores. A big terminal railway-station skirts the sea-face, where once the waves lapped the strand. A noble observatory crowns the promontory above. ”

“ The face of this promontory toward Taloo is one verdant wall; and at its base the waters lie still and fathomless. On the left hand, you just catch a peep of the widening mouth of the bay, the break in the reef by which ships enter, and, beyond, the sea. To the right, the inlet, sweeping boldly round the promontory, runs far away into the land; where, save in one direction, the hills close in on every side, knee-deep in verdure and shooting aloft in grotesque peaks. The open space lies at the head of the bay ”

“ Occasionally the lonely river-stretches caught a sudden human interest in some gracefully modelled canoe gliding out with a crew of Chinook Indians from the shadow of a giant promontory, propelled by a square sail learned of the whites. ”

“ Just below it is the turbulent estuary, formed by the rushing waters of the streight, opposed by those of the Sea of Marmora, where, in the calmest day, they wheel and boil among the rocks with a turbulence and agitation quite extraordinary in the still and placid surface of the water around them. Rising from hence, the promontory displays a succession of picturesque objects, clothing its surface−kiosks, and grottos, and thickets, and hanging gardens−till they ascend to the summit, crowned with the dome and minarets of a mosque, and the noble barracks of Scutari. ”

“ Two thousand feet of rock making 19 degrees (the Captain guesses) seemed quite beyond my powers. However, I had come so far; and, to tell you the truth, I was so cowed with fear and disgust that I dared not go back on the adventure in the interests of my own self- respect. Presently we came up with the leper promontory: lowland, quite bare and bleak and harsh, a little town of wooden houses, two churches, a landing-stair, all unsightly, sour, northerly, lying athwart the sunrise, with the great wall of the pali cutting the world out on the south. ”

“ The promontory was there very barren and it seemed to Roger that the girl was going to lead him out into the shallow cove that faced them, but a few more steps showed him that just here the point of land curved around this cove, which swept far inland, and broadened out wonderfully into several acres of meadow-hay dotted with sparse, stunted cedars.
Directly before him lay a wet, shining beach, for the tide was half gone, and a hundred yards out, the tops of what might almost [51] have been a built wall of nasty pointed rocks formed a perfect lagoon across the face of the promontory. ”

“ Within half an hour after passing Cape Sagami, they made another bold promontory from the west, forming a second entrance to the upper bay. In the bight formed by it lay the town of Uraga, visible from the ships, which, sounding their way, anchored within a mile and a half of the promontory,—a mile or more in advance of the anchorage ground of the “Columbus” and “Vincennes.”
As the ships dropped their anchors two or three guns or mortars were fired from the second promontory, and four or five boats put off. ”

“ There is a promontory, distant about 15 stadia from the wall of Chersonesus, which forms a large bay, which bends towards the city. Above this bay is a sea-lake, where there are salt pits. Here was the harbour Ctenus. The generals of the king, in order to strengthen their means of resistance in case of siege, stationed a garrison on the above-mentioned promontory, which was further protected by a fortification. The mouth of the Gulf was closed by an embankment which extended to the city, and was easily traversed on foot. ”

“ Port Arthur is the sharp beak of the promontory, which cuts into two waters and can guard the lands of Japan, Korea and China. As you stand then on the top of “203 Metres Hill” you have at your back hills, in the front the towns, the circling mountains about the water, the advanced cliffs of the defensive works and the bays and the sea. Your guns can command any point and your view has every detail before it. ”

“ As I was in a state of extreme debility, I resolved to sail directly towards the town, as a place where I could most easily procure nourishment. Fortunately I had money with me. As I turned the promontory I perceived a small neat town and a good harbour, which I entered, my heart bounding with joy at my unexpected escape.
As I was occupied in fixing the boat and arranging the sails, several people crowded towards the spot. ”

“ That formality—a very pleasant one—disposed of, we gladly accept a proffered escort to the fortifications. If the day be warm, we take the path through the thick woods, winding around and about up to the top of the promontory. ”

“ From the Top of this Promontory, to the left Side of it, there falls a Valley with a gentle Descent, to the Distance of five hundred Paces, where it descends into another Valley, which divides the Promontory from the seventh Hill. The fifth Valley seems to cut through the Ridge of the Promontory. This may easily be discerned by the right and left Descent of the two Hills which lie nearest to it; for there is a very easy Ascent from the Height of this Valley, to the Top of either Hill. ”

“ Passing by a bold promontory, on which the light-tower stands, the tide [Pg 65] carries you swiftly through the Narrows to the anchorage before the town. Ships of any class may be carried into Castine, while its adjacent waters would furnish snug harbors for fleets. You have seen, as you glided by the shores, traces, more or less distinct, of the sovereignty of Louis XIV., of George III., and of the republic of the United States. Puritans and Jesuits, Huguenots and Papists, kings and commons, have all schemed and striven for the possession of this little corner of land. ”

“ Towards the north a promontory ran into the sea, after hiding a part of the bay. An island of moderate size rose from the field of ice, three miles from the mainland, so that it offered a safe anchorage to any ship that could enter the bay. In a hollow cut of the shore was a little inlet, easily reached by ships, if this part of the arctic seas was ever open. ”

“ The promontory is of chalk, intermixed with flint; and the isolated rocks, called the Needles, show that it formerly projected much farther into the sea than it does at present; as they are evidently the remains of a portion from which the softer parts of the chalk have been washed away, while the flint and the firmer parts have been left. When Mr. Merton’s party reached the promontory, they left the carriage; and Mr. Merton waited at the light-house, while Mrs. Merton and Agnes walked over the downs towards the cliffs. ”

“ In this situation it became necessary for the travellers to relinquish (which they did with regret) their original intention of prosecuting their researches as far as Wilson's Promontory, and thence, commencing the exploration of the sea-coast, its inlets and outlets; and to take, instead, the straight course for Western Port, the nearest point whence fresh supplies could be obtained. ”

“ The harbor is the southeastern arm of the bay, and is completely sheltered, with regular soundings and excellent holding ground. It is formed by a bold-peaked promontory, standing well out from the high land of the main, with which it is connected by a low sandy isthmus, and which, appearing at a distance as an island, may be easily recognised. ”

“ If you descend, you perceive the passage widens, and becomes more important; its dark sides assume greater height, and a more wild and sombre magnificence; and at last they extend upwards, above 220 feet, through which the tourist arrives at the massive débris which crowd the base of the mighty promontory, where the northern ocean rolls his threatening billows. ”

“ Its encircling mountains, which appear generally bright in the photograph, especially along the eastern border, where the sunlight strikes directly against their slopes, are in many places steep and abrupt. At one place, on the southwestern side, there is a mountainous promontory 11,000 feet in height. ”

“ But to east and north there are irregular bays or openings, so that the furthest points of the promontory stretch out like fingers. At the tips of these are reefs of sunken rock falling down to deep water and whose existence can only be suspected in bad weather when the rush of the current beneath sends up swirling eddies or curling masses of foam. ”

“ Governor King, in addition to ordering Grant to return and survey the deep bay which he had passed in Bass Strait between Cape Sir William Grant and Wilson's Promontory, instructed him to ascertain the correct latitude of the promontory and of the islands lying off it. He was also told to survey King Island, then to sail to King George's Sound and, in returning to Wilson's Promontory, to make a general survey of the whole of the south coast, going to the head of every inlet as far as possible. Dr. ”

“ To proceed with our survey we may re-embark on the Propontis and skirt the promontory by water from end to end of the land-wall, passing through the mouth of the 35 Bosphorus between Europe and Asia and finishing our circuit in the upper reaches of the Golden Horn. The single south wall, rising from the brink of the sea, is similar to that of Anthemius, and the towers exhibit the same diversity of form. ”

“ It is likewise stated of the country beyond the Pillars of Hercules, that the most western point of the habitable earth is the promontory of the Iberians named the Sacred Promontory.747 It lies nearly in a line with Gades, the Pillars of Hercules, the Strait of Sicily, and Rhodes;748 for they say that the horologes accord, as also the periodical winds, and the duration of the longest nights and days, which consist of fourteen and a half equinoctial hours. ”

“ The low ground at the back and to the south-east of these capes is thickly covered with date-trees, but their summits are now bare of wood and destitute of any vegetation: the sand-stone in fact is fast crumbling away, and the height of the promontory is every day diminishing. The appearance of this triple cape coincided so well, in our estimation, with the description given by Strabo of the Cephalas Promontorium [13] , that we have not hesitated to pronounce it the same with that headland. ”

“ In this great feat of construction more than four thousand men found employment in various capacities. When they had carried their line four miles further east, the Central and the Union men met each other, the point of connection being known as Promontory. ”

“ I reluctantly consented, and saw our whole convoy drawn by an animal whose agony increased its strength. As we drew near the shore, I endeavoured to steer so that we might not strike and be capsized. I sawafter a few minutes that our conductor again wanted to make out to sea; I therefore hoisted the sail, and the wind being in our favour, he found resistance vain, and, tugging as before, followed up the current, only taking more to the left, towards Falcon’s Nest, and landing us in a shallow, rested on the shore. ”

“ In the front of this view, and towards the right, a man-of-war cutter is seen running out of the harbour; and, from her heel to leeward, and the agitated state of the water, we may perceive that it is blowing a stiff breeze. Vessels of her class are chiefly employed in the coast-guard service and as admirals' tenders, or as packets on short voyages, or in communicating between one naval depôt and another. In the distance, to leeward of her, the Dock-yard semaphore is perceived; and more to the right, but nearer to the eye of the spectator, is seen the Round Tower ”