The Republican journal., 1869-12-09
LIFE IN AN ENGLISH LIGHT HOUSE.

until they shine out from the blackness of
night with q strange, unearthly splendor in
the glare" The sailor, too, overtaken by the
night, tindsherc and there, starting as it were
out of the sea, friendly lights, which guide
him on his way, Or warn him of treacherous
rocks and shoals. The pillars of light far
away from land, surrounded by dark and
often angry sea, are glorious witnesses of our
civilization; and they stand as monuments of
human skill and perseverance, and Of mans
triumph over the dangers and difficulties of
building firm and enduring structures upon
isolated rock at sea.
The Wolf Rock, which rears its Jagged
head about nine miles south west of the Lands
End, and on which many a vessel has struck,
is on the eve of being converted from treach
erous enemy OF the mariner into & trustwor
thy guide and a true friend. The last stone
Of a lighthouse on this rock was laid q short
time since, and comforting beams of light
will soon shine out from it over the neighbor-
ing waters.
The erection of the lighthouse on the Wolf
Rock rivals the great works of former days.
The rock is completely covered at high water,
and shows only two feet above low water.
In 1861 the Trinity House authorities resolv-
ed to commence the building ola lighthouse
on it; in March, 1862, work was begun on
the rock
Slowly and surely it has progressed in
spite of innumerable obstacles. A workyard
was established at Penzance, where the stones
We're prepared and fitted into one another by
dovetailing horizontally and vertically be-
fore being sent off to the rock; in fact, the
tower was built at Pcnzance. Then, as OPP
portunitles of tide and weather occurred for
working on the rock, so shipments Of stone
were dispatched. During the whole seven
years from 1862, men have not been able to
work on the rock more than 173 days of ten
hours q day. OF course, such hazardous
work could not be free from disaster, and il is
rccountcd how at different times the sea
swept away masonry, and hent great iron
bars and how, in the winter Of 1865, thirty
two of the large stones (the whole Of one
course of masonry, and nearly a seasons
work) We're carried away, the strong iron
bolts being wrenched completely out of their
places by the force of the sea. Landing on
the rock and getting off again. was, and is
now, q hazardous performance. The work
men have frequently found it so. Sometimes
it would happen that while the men were
working, a sudden wind would spring up and
rouse the sea into furious state or perhaps
there would be 4 dead calm, and the sea
would seem like glass, when all at once, with
outMpparent cause, great rollers would come
E'hOme" and dash themselves on the exposed
rock, creating Il tremendous uproar. These
rollers arc known to be the results of violent
storms somewhere in mid-ocean; they came
in, swollen with pentup wrath probably from
dreadful scenes of tempest and wreck far
away, and dash their gathered fury with tre-
mendons violence on the rock. Then, the
men, who always work in cork jackets, cling
to their ropes, with their heads to the sea,
and hold on like grim death while the great
waves rush over anu past them. If there be
no chance of u cessation of the violence, they
look out for a rope from the little vessel that
lies pitching and tossing outside, so that they
may be hauled Off the rock while the great
waves are dashing and crashing with
dous fury all around them. just such 4 scene
Us this occurred when the first stone of the
tower was laid. But at last our engineers
have overcome the tremendous obstacles
which threatened to make it impossible to
place Il light-towcr on the dreaded Wolf; and
now, in this fcarful-cxposcd situation q state
" column lifts its head.
1t is to be hoped that the light will be
shown at the beginning Of next year. We
are promised something unusually splendid
in the way of illumination. The light is to
be a first order dioptric, revolving light
This sounds grand, and ought to be magniti-
cent. In order to give it a distinctive char
acterit is intended that there shall be alter
nate flashes of red and white light Of
course it is necessary so TO arrange the differ
ent lights around the coast that they may
not be mistaken by the sailor; consequently
as many changes as possible have to be rung
on different varieties Of lights; there are
royolsing, flashing. intermittent, fixed and
double lights; and these may be further
varied by colors Of red, white or green. In
a hundred miles of coast it is probable that
no two lights exactly alike could be found.
These alternate flashes of red and white light
have not yet been adopted anywhere, but it
is thought they will have a very brilliant
and beautiful effect.
We have given IL true picture Of the Wolf
Rock, and no doubt many readers Of this a.
ticle will feel inclined to pity the men who
will have to live in the solitary tower and
keep a good light burning at night. We,
who have comfortable homes, who can wander
about the country at our own sweet will, who
can look out on the lovely face of nature
with hearts fill of joy, can hardly realize q
life in | way obeaten tower, with only great
canopy of SKY above, and a wide expansc of
sea be-ow; the nearest approach of humans
ty in any shape being passing vessels, which
take great care to give the rock and its light
ofthe keepers at some of the rock light houses
how some have been brought ashore raving
mad, and how others had committed suicide
but such eases are, happily, very rare Act
ual experience shows there is a reliable class
of men to be found who are well suited to the
work, who do not 60 mad or commit suicide,
or do any thing else that is mischevous; they
go about their work in a steady, matter-Ot-
fact way, are quite accustomed to the fury of
the elements, and are not at all put out by the
most violent weather They accept their posi-
ton without much regard to risk or discom-
fort, apparently content to earn their daily
bread without stopping to count the cost.
There is some amount of pleasure i'll almost
any state of being, and, as Il rule, lghtkeep-
ers are happy, after q fashion. Certainly
they are not jovial, merry fellows; there is
not much scope for rollicking fun in their 81
lent watches of the night; but they are pleas
ant men, who do not assert their own indiv-
iduality with oud-tongued assurance; they
are mild, cleared-eyed mcditative men, for
whom one can not help feeling a considerable
amount of respect. And they take great pride
in their calling; the rehectots must not show
the tiniest speck of dust; the glass of the Ian
terms must be made SO clean that one doubts
if there is really any glass there; the brass
and copper work must never lose its original
brightness; the light must be made to throw
out as much light as the resources at COM
mand will allow; altogether the whole es-
ia hi Shmnnt nnCt hp n model Of Or1ar NJ Il