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was completed on the 1st of February, 1811. It was four years in execution, the work being attended with the same difficulties which were encountered in constructing the Edystone Light-house, and so ably overcome by Mr. Smeaton; whose plans were, in great measure, adopted by Mr. Rennie. The Bell Rock Light-house is a circular building of stone; the diameter below is 42 feet; the extreme height, from the base to the top of the lantern, 115 feet; of which the lower 30 feet are solid masonry; the walls above being 7 feet diameter, gradually diminishing to one foot at the top of the parapet. The entrance door is placed immediately above the solid foundation, and is entered by a rope ladder, which is suspended to reach the water. The interior contains six chambers, with ample accommodation for the light-men; who are also provided with excellent quarters in the town of Arbroath, about twelve miles distant, where their families reside: they keep watch for six weeks together, by turns, at the Light-house. The light is seen at the distance of twenty miles, and is readily distinguished from others on the coast, being produced by oil burners set in silver plated reflectors, each two feet broad, and arranged on a frame of four sides, which is so contrived as to turn round by machinery once in six minutes. A shade of red glass is placed before two of the reflectors; so that in each revolution two of the lights appear red, while the others remain of their natural pale colour. Two large bells, each weighing twelve hundred pounds, are tolled by the same machinery, during thick weather, to alarm any vessels approaching the rock, when unable to discern the lights.

The name given to the Bell Rock is of considerable antiquity. We remember to have listened with great pleasure to a ballad which our distinguished friend, Sir Walter Scott, repeated at his own table in Edinburgh several years ago, descriptive of the Bell Rock, under its ancient character. The monks of Arbroath, or Aberbrothock, so early as the 14th century, had erected a bell upon this

dangerous reef, as a warning to mariners, so contrived as to be tolled by the motion of the waves. The ballad relates that a Scottish pirate once landed upon this rock: and, in a desperate frolic, tossed the bell and its apparatus into the sea; and having executed this mad prank, proceeded on his voyage, in pursuit of his lawless trade. In the course of a successful cruise he seizes several rich captures, commits every act of licentiousness, and returns homeward, laden with plunder and stained with blood. As he approaches the rugged coast of Scotland, a furious tempest arises; the sea runs mountains high; the land is obscured by the threatening clouds that burst upon his head; while the seabird screams aloft (ever a bad omen to sailors), as the devoted corsair plunges through the roaring surge. The terrified crew gather round their chief; who, with a perplexed and gloomy aspect, stands upon the prow, gazing anxiously towards the shore. Suddenly the vessel strikes upon the hidden rocks; she splits into a thousand pieces; and, as the pirate sinks downward to destruction, his ears are stunned with the deep echoes of the bell which tolls him to his fate.

L.

THE BREAKWATER.

SOME of our inland readers may not as yet have heard much of a great national undertaking now advancing towards its completion, which does high credit to the spirit which planned, and the abilities which have been displayed in the execution of a work so eminently serviceable to the British navy. Plymouth, which is the second port of Great Britain, possesses accommodations of the greatest importance as a naval station. Its capacious anchorage, its numerous inlets, and the advantages derived from the beautiful river Tamer, which pours its clear stream into the ocean beneath the walls of the dock-yard, combine

to render it one of the finest ports in Europe. But navigators had long complained that it was exposed to the gales from the south-west to the south-east, which, blowing directly into the harbour, produced a heavy sea; and at such seasons the shipping often suffered serious damage for want of proper shelter. Nevertheless, it is remarkable how long this objection was felt without any attempt to remedy the evil. Various schemes had, indeed, been contemplated: amongst which it had been often proposed to erect a mole, to project across Plymouth Sound; but though the activity of our maritime operations, and the rapid increase of the Royal Navy, added yearly to the necessity of such a work, no plan was ever reduced to practice, nor actually undertaken, until about fifteen years ago.

In 1806 Lord Howick (now Earl Grey) being placed at the head of the Admiralty, the attention of his Majesty's Ministers was turned to this important object, it is believed at the suggestion of the Earl of St. Vincent. This distinguished officer, while in command of the Channel fleet, employed in watching the enemy's movements on the coast of France, had often felt the risk and inconvenience of seeking shelter with his heavy three-deckers in Torbay, for want of that accommodation which Plymouth might be rendered capable of affording. A careful survey of Plymouth Sound was thereupon directed to be made by Mr. Whidbey, Master Attendant of the Dockyard at Woolwich, in conjunction with the late Mr. Rennie, a man whose profound science and abilities as a civil engineer have been conspicuously displayed in the erection of Waterloo and Southwark bridges across the Thames at London, and by works of still greater magnitude in various other parts of Great Britain. These gentlemen reported favourably as to the practicability of effecting the wishes of government; and, rejecting various other proposals, they devised the scheme of the Breakwater, which has been since carried into effect under their superintendence. Repeated changes in the administration of our naval affairs delayed the commencement of the un

dertaking, until the Right Hon. Charles Yorke succeeded to the Admiralty. He embraced the project with that zeal and judgment which has ever distinguished his public conduct; and under his auspices the engineers immediately proceeded to its execution. The plan adopted was to form an impenetrable barrier of large stones, across the middle of Plymouth Sound, extending from east to west 1700 yards, and leaving an entrance on each side sufficiently capacious to allow the largest men of war an easy passage in and out of the harbour. The centre

of this Breakwater was to be 1000 yards in a straight line, continued 350 yards more at either end, at an angle of 120 degrees, by which form it was expected the force of the waves would be more effectually resisted. The breadth of the base was fixed at 210 feet-at the top 30 feet, and the depth from the upper surface to the bed of the sea 40 feet. This bulwark, when finished, was proposed to be surmounted by a cut stone pier, terminated at each extremity by a handsome light-house. In addition to this great work, it was further proposed to extend a strong pier from Ardburn Point on the eastern side of the Sound towards the Breakwater, by which Bouvisand Bay would be converted into a secure harbour for small vessels. It was computed that two millions and a half of tons of stone would be required to construct the whole work, and the entire cost was calculated at £1,171,000 sterling.

Every thing being determined, a quarry of limestone, or rather grey marble, containing about twenty-five acres, was purchased of the Duke of Bedford for the sum of £10,000. This lying contiguous to Catwater, at the head of the harbour, presented a secure spot to embark the stones. Twelve vessels of a suitable construction were built in the dock-yard, and forty others hired, to convey the stones to their appointed station. Seven hundred artificers and labourers of all descriptions were engaged for the whole service. The first stone was deposited on the 12th of August 1812, being the anniversary of his present Majesty's birthday.

Nothing could be more ingenious and simple than the contrivance by which the vessels were laden and discharged. Small iron trucks, each capable of carrying a stone of from two to six tons weight, were conducted along an iron railway, leading from the quarry, through the stern port, into the vessel's hold. Each vessel carried sixteen of these trucks. The place where they were to discharge their cargo was marked by buoys, and by sights erected on the shore. On arriving at the spot, the trucks, with their burdens, were drawn out successively to the entrance port, the fall of which dropped the stone into its place, while the carriage remained suspended by the tackle. In this manner a cargo of 80 tons was discharged in 40 or 50 minutes.

At the end of two years the Breakwater was so far advanced as to prove a very sensible security to the harbour. The work stood the utmost fury of the elements until the winter of 1816-17, when some damage was done to the upper stratum of stones, which was washed over to the inner side, but produced no other mischief; and it was the opinion of the oldest seaman, that had it not been for the Breakwater, even in its unfinished state, every vessel in Catwater would then have been wrecked. Since that period the work has proceeded rapidly towards its completion.

While expressing the most unqualified approbation of the manner in which this great work has been constructed, we cannot refrain from mentioning our regret that considerations of public economy highly honourable to his Majesty's government, have abridged the entire benefit which the Breakwater might have conferred on this important port. It is the opinion of the most distinguished officers in the navy whom we have had the honour to consult, that it should have been situated at the entrance rather than within the port, thus including Cawsand Bay, and rendering the whole compass of Plymouth Sound a secure harbour to the largest fleet which might seek shelter there. The able engineers

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