craft and building apparatus at the rock, were found to answer every purpose much beyond expectation. The operations of this season, therefore, afforded the most flattering prospects of the practicability of completing the solid part of the building, or first 30 feet of the light-house in the course of another year."

The builders returned to their barracks and work-yard at Arbroath, for the winter; and, on the tender's entering that harbour, the artificers were greeted with cheers from their comrades and friends ashore, who thronged upon the quays to welcome their return. This season's success, however, was chequered with a cross accident, in the loss of a sailor from one of the stone-lighters.

In the spring of the year 1809, the operations recommenced. Every thing was found to have withstood the effects of the winter's storm; all the courses which had been laid, and the beacon itself, now in the third year from its erection, remaining quite entire. The tried stability of the beaconhouse rendered the artificers more confident and more impatient of the inconveniences inseparable from landing and relanding from the attending ship; and, before the beaconhouse was fully fitted up as a barrack, they took possession of it throughout the day. On one of these occasions, however, they were overtaken by a sudden gale of wind, which prevented the boats from taking them off in the evening. Mr Peter Logan, and Mr Francis Watt, two of the overseers at the rock, with eleven of the artificers, were necessarily left there for 30 hours, while the waves occasionally washed over their yet imperfectly formed abode. On this occasion, the mortar-gallery immediately below them was carried away by the seas, and one of the cranes was broken to pieces by the violence of the waves. During the early part of this season, one division of the artificers was employed at completing the railways upon the rock, while it was accessible; and when it was covered by the tide, this squad was occupied in fitting up the beaconhouse as barracks. Hitherto the operations of the builders were wholly confined to the low water-work. From the great exertions, however, made by the shipping department, in supplying materials this season, the builders now made rapid progress. On some occasions, no fewer than 50 blocks of stone were brought to the rock in the course of a tide; 30 of which, during the same period, were sometimes laid by the builders.

In the month of June 1809, the work met with some check

by the fall of a crane; on which occasion, one of the artificers was severely bruised, and several of them narrowly escaped. The building having now attained the height of the ninth course, the guy-ropes of the usual description of beam-crane became too upright, or taun! (to use the sailor's phrase), and it was found necessary to resort to other measures. A new machine, called a Balance-crane, was therefore put in preparation for the use of the works next season; in this, the upright shaft was to be retained in an erect position, by a weight acting on the opposite end of the loaded beam, which was thus to be kept in æquilibrio.

The lighthouse now began to make a considerable appearance upon the rock at low water; and the tide's work, in moderate weather, extended to five or six hours, or an hour or two after the rock was under water. The beacon-house was now fully occupied as a barrack, smithy, and mortargallery; and between this fabric and the rising walls of the lighthouse, a rope-ladder of communication was distended.

Sunday, the 20th of August 1809, was a remarkable day upon the Bell Rock, the entire 22d course of the building consisting of 51 blocks, being this day laid; after which, for the first time, prayers were read in the beacon-house, the whole workmen being assembled in one apartment, and two of them joining hands to form a desk to support the bible during service. On the 25th of this month, the building operations were brought to a conclusion for the season.

"To-day," says Mr Stevenson, "the remainder of the Smeator's cargo was landed, and the artificers laid 45 stones, which completed the 24th course, reckoning above the first entire one, and the 26th above the rock. This finished the solid part of the building, and terminated the height of the outward casing of granite, which is 31 feet 6 inches above the rock or site of the foundation-stone, and about 17 feet above high-water of spring-tides."

At the commencement of the works in spring 1810, a great stock of prepared materials was in readiness at Arbroath, excellent sandstone having been procured from Milnefield Quarry, in the Frith of Tay. The stones for the cornice and light-house, which had been procured from Craigleith near Edinburgh, had, in like manner, been prepared, and were in readiness for shipping at Leith. It still, however, remained a matter of doubt, whether it would be practicable to complete the lighthouse in all its compartments during this season. But, calculating from the success of the two former

years, while the work was low in the water, and when about 1400 tons of stone had been landed and built, it was reasonable to conclude that 700 tons of masonry might be erected, together with the light-room and its apparatus, in the course of the summer months.

A large gangway or bridge of timber had been prepared during the winter, to render the communication between the beacon-house and light-house more perfect than by means of the rope-ladder. This gangway was also calculated to be of great use for raising the materials upon the building. At taking possession of the beacon-house, in the month of May 1810, the lower parts of the principal beams, and the joisting of the lower floor, were found thickly coated with a fine downy conferva, while the upper parts were whitened with the mute of the numerous sea-fowl which had roosted upon it during winter.

The first circumstance attended to in commencing the building operations of 1810, was to fix upon the proper position of the entrance-door of the lighthouse. In this Mr Stevenson was assisted by carefully observing the range of the sea upon the solid part of the building, and by tracing the growth of fuci and confervæ on the walls. The heaviest seas being in this manner determined to be from the north-east, the door was consequently laid off towards the south-west. This and other preliminary steps having been taken, the first cargo of stones was brought to the Rock about the middle of May; and, from the very complete and systematic arrangement of the works, the building operations were brought to a close during the month of August, without any material obstacle having been experienced. This greatly increased facility in building was ascribed partly to the experience acquired by practice in former seasons, in landing and raising the materials, and partly to the admirable adaptation of the Balance-crane, formerly mentioned, for laying the stones in their places upon the building.

The works were, however, occasionally interrupted, by the shipping being dispersed in gales of wind, when they were sometimes driven upwards of forty miles" from their station. At such times the artificers were closely cooped up in their barrack upon the rock, in a state of painful inactivity, and with prospects often very forlorn. A curious, and rather alarming effect of the limnoria, was discovered this summer on the beams of the Beacon-house. Though the lower parts of the fabric were regularly charred with blazing furze, and

coated with thick pitch, to prevent the attacks of this insect, while the upper parts were laid over with white-lead paint; yet these insects had made their way under the soles of the several beams, where they rested on the rock, and which could not be reached with such applications: the beams were found to be hollowed out to some extent by the depredators, while the exterior fibres of the timber, to a considerable thickness, were left quite entire.

The several departments of this work seem to have been laid out by the engineer in a manner which gave much promptitude and effect to the operations. "In particular, Mr David Logan, clerk of works at the work-yard at Arbroath, was held responsible for providing every thing contained in the requisition of the foreman-builder at the Rock; while Mr Kennedy, engineer's clerk, was answerable for the other parts of the respective requisitions from the tender and beacon, and for the despatch given in the loading and sailing of the vessels. The masters of the stone-vessels were accordingly directed, on their arrival by night or day, to deliver all letters to the office. In the same manner, before leaving the Rock, regulations for the proper conduct of the works there were also instituted; where the assistants were also held responsible for the duties of their several departments; Mr Peter Logan, for the execution of the masonry; Mr Francis Watt, for the good condition of the Beacon-house, railways, and machinery; Captain Wilson for the state of the praams and other boats employed in the landing of materials, and for the safety of the stones and building-materials in transporting them from the ship's hold till they were placed upon the waggons on the Rock. The steward, Mr John Peters, was answerable for making the necessary requisitions for a sufficient stock of provisions, water, and fuel: while Captain Taylor, master of the tender, was to see a proper stock of these articles landed and kept in store upon the Rock. From the great hazard with regard to fire, the Beacon-house being composed wholly of timber, there was no small risk from accident; and on this account one of the most steady of the artificers was appointed to see that the fire of the cooking-house, and the lights in general, were carefully extinguished at stated hours."

It deserves also to be remarked, that in the whole course of these extensive operations, not a single stone was lost, or even so damaged as to render it unfit for the building, notwithstanding the numerous changes and shiftings from hand to

hand, which each stone underwent before it was finally laid with mortar. In some instances, indeed, blocks of stone were lifted from their beds by the run of the sea: but none were carried entirely away.

The fixtures for the door and window-hinges are of a peculiar construction, and seem to be admirably suited to the situation; their composition, of tin and copper, is the best that could be devised. Their form cannot easily be described, but will be readily understood by examining Plate XIX. of Mr Stevenson's work. The weight of a set of these hinges, with their Lewis-bat tails and boxes, is no less than 2 cwt. They are so applied as to be easily withdrawn and replaced, without interference with the masonry.

The trenailing and wedging with oak timber was continued to the height of upwards of forty feet, or throughout the solid part of the building. But Mr Stevenson is induced to conclude, that trenailing should be resorted to only under very particular circumstances, as the boring of the trenail holes is apt to disturb the bond or connexion of the last laid course. It is only, therefore, where the walls are to be exposed to the heavy wash of the sea that trenailing should be applied. The staircase was constructed like that of the Edy

stone.

When the lighthouse had attained the height of the staircase, it admitted of full day's work to the artificers; when materials could be landed, they had even, not unfrequently, pay for six extra hours per day, and were thus in the receipt of about two guineas of wages and premiums per week, while the foremen had double allowance. The whole were kept board-free at the rock; and even the postages of their letters were paid.

At

We have already noticed the manner of attaching the lower courses of the stones, which was similar to that resorted to at the Edystone, and we shall now advert to the plan followed for the upper or habitable part. the stone stair-case, leading from the door to the first floor, the walls are of the medium thickness of about seven feet; this thickness gradually diminishes upwards, till, under the cornice of the building, it extends only to eighteen inches. The stones of the walls of the several apartments are connected at the ends with dove-tail joints, instead of square joggles, as in the solid and the stair-case; while the bed-joints are fairly imbedded into each other by means of a girth raisupon the one stone and sunk into the other. The floors

ed