in the Bay of Biscay in hard gales, at south-west, continues in those deep waters for many days, though succeeded by a calm; insomuch, that when the sea is to all appearance smooth and even, and its surface unruffled by the slightest breeze, yet those librations still continuing, which are called the ground swell, and meeting the slope of the rocks, the sea breaks upon them in a frightful manner, so as not only to obstruct any work being done upon the rock, but even the landing upon it, when, figuratively speaking, you might go to sea in a walnut-shell. A circumstance which still farther increases the difficulty of working on the rocks is there being a sudden drop of the surface of the rock, forming a step of about four and a half, or five feet high, so that the seas, which in moderate weather come swelling to this part, meet so sudden a check, that they frequently fly to the height of thirty or forty feet

Notwithstanding these difficulties, it is not surprising that the angers to which navigators were exposed by the Eddystone rocks, should make a commercial nation desirous of having a light-house on them. The wonder is, that any one should be found hardy enough to undertake the building. Such a man was first found in the person of Henry Winstanly, of Littlebury, in Essex, gent. who, in the year 1696, was furnished by the master, wardens, and assistants, of the Trinity-house, of Deptford Strond, with the necessary powers to carry the design into execution. He entered upon this undertaking in 1696, and completed it in four years. This gentleman was so certain of the stability of his structure, that he declared it to be his wish to be in it " during the greatest storm

that ever blew under the face of the heavens."

Mr. Winstanly was but too amply gratified in his wish, for while he was there with his workmen and light-keepers, that dreadful storm began, which raged most violently on the 26th of November 1703, in the night; and of all the accounts of the kind which history furnishes us with, we have none that has exceeded this in Great Britain, or was more injurious or extensive in its devastation. The next morning, November 27th, when the violence of the storm was so much abated that it could be seen whether the lighthouse had suffered by it, nothing appeared standing; but, upon a nearer inspection, some of the large irons by which the work was fixed upon the rock still remained; nor were any of the people or any of the materials of the building, ever found afterwards.

In 1709, another light-house was built of wood, on a very differ ent construction, by Mr. John Rudyerd, then a silk mercer or Ludgate-hill. This was a very ingenious structure; after it had braved the elements for forty-six years, it was burnt to the ground in 1755. On the destruction of this light-house, that excellent mechanic and engineer Mr. Smeaton, was chosen as the fittest person to build another. It was with some difficulty that he was able to persuade the proprietors, that a stone building, properly constructed, would in all respects be preferable to one of wood, but having at last convinced them, he turned his thoughts to the shape which was most suitable to a building so critically situated. Reflecting on the structure of the former buildings, it seemed a material improvement to procure, if possible, an enlargement of the base, without increasing the size of the waist, or that part of the building which is between the top of the rock, and the top of the solid work. Hence he thought a greater degree of strength and stiffness would be gained, accompanied with less resistance to the acting power. On this occasion, the natural figure of the waist, or bole, of large spreading oak, occurred to Mr. Smeaton. "Let us (says he) consider its particular figure. Connected with its roots, which lie hid below ground, it rises from the surface with a large swelling base, which at the height of one diameter is generally reduced by an elegant curve, concave to the eye, to a diameter less by at least one-third, and sometimes to half its original base. From thence, its taper diminishing more slowly, its sides by degrees come into a perpendicular, and for some height form a cylinder. After that, a preparation of more circumferance becomes necessary, for the strong insertion and establishment of the principal boughs, which produces a swelling of its diameter. Now we can hardly doubt, but that every section of the tree is nearly of an equal strength in proportion to what it has to resist; and were we to lop off its principal boughs, and expose it in that state to a rapid current of water, we should find it as capable of resisting the action of the heavier fluid, when divested of the greater part of its clothing, as it was that of the lighter, when all its spreading ornaments were exposed to the fury of the

wind; and hence we may derive an idea of what the proper shape of a column of the greatest stability ought to be, to resist the action of external violence, when the quantity of matter is given of which it is to be composed."

With these views, as to the proper form of the superstructure, Mr. Smeaton began the work on the 2d of April, 1757, and finished it in August 4th, 1759. The rock, which slopes towards the south-west is cut into horizontal steps, into which are dovetailed, and united by a strong cement, Portland stone, and granite. The whole, to the height of thirty-five feet from the foundation, is a solid of stones, ingrafted into each other, and united by every means of additional strength. The building has four rooms, one over the other, and at the top a gallery and lantern. The stone floors are flat above, but concave beneath, and are kept from pressing against the sides of the building by a chain let into the walls. It is nearly eighty feet high, and since its completion has been assaulted by the fury of the elements, without suffering the smallest injury.

We regret that we cannot with propriety trace out the progress of this great work, and shew with what skill and judgment this unparalleled engineer overcame the greatest difficulties; we, however, beg to recommend to our curious readers, Mr. Smeaton's own account of the Eddystone light-house, not doubting that they will be highly gratified by the perusal. According to the requisite tables, this light-house is situated in lat. 50. 8 N., long. 4. 24. W. of Greenwich; or 4. 18. 23. W. of London.

JOHN PAUL JONES.

John Paul Jones was born at Arbingland, in Scotland, July 6, 1747. His father was a gardner, whose name was Paul; but the son assumed that of Jones in subsequent life, for what reason is not known. Young Paul early evinced a decided predilection for the sea, and, at the age of twelve, was bound apprentice to a respectable merchant of Whitehaven, in the American trade. His first voyage was to America, where his elder brother was established as a planter. He was then engaged for some time in the slave-trade, but quitted it in disgust, and returned to Scotland, in 1768, as passenger in a vessel, the captain and mate of which died on the passage. Jones assumed the command, at the request of those on board, and brought the vessel safe into port. For

this service, he was appointed by the owners master and supercargo. While in command of this vessel, he punished a sailor who afterwards died of a fever at the island of Tobago-a circumstance which gave rise to an accusation against Jones, of having caused his death, by the severity of the punishment upon him; but this has been completely refuted. Jones was afterwards in command of the Betsy, of London, and remained some time in the West Indies, engaged in commercial pursuits and speculations, by which it is said he realized a handsome fortune. In 1773, he was residing in Virginia, arranging the affairs of his brother, who had died intestate and childless, and about this time took the name of Jones. In Virginia he continued to live until the commencement of the struggle between the colonies and mother country. He offered his services to the former, and was appointed first of the first lieutenants, and designated to the Alfred, on board of which ship, to use his own language in one of his letters, "he had the honor to hoist, with his own hands, the flag of freedom, the first time it was displayed on the Delaware.' Soon after this, we find Jones in command of the Providence, mounting twelve four-pounders, with a complement of seventy men, cruising from the Bermudas to the Gut of Canso, and making sixteen prizes in little more than six weeks. In May, 1777, he was ordered to proceed to France, where the American commissioners, Franklin, Deane and Lee, were directed to invest him with the command of a fine ship, as a reward of his signal services. On his arrival in France, he was immediately summoned to Paris by the commissioners. The object of this summons was to concert a plan of operations for the force preparing to act against the British in the West Indies, and on the coast of America. This plan, which certainly did great honor to the projector, though untoward delays and accidents prevented its immediate success, was afterwards openly claimed by Jones as his own, without acknowledging the assistance or participation of the American commissioners or the French ministry. The Ranger was then placed under his orders, with discretion to cruise where he pleased, with this restriction, however, that he was not to return to France immediately after making attempts upon the coast of England, as the French government had not yet declared itself openly as the ally of the U. States. April 10, 1778, he sailed on a cruise, during which he laid open the weakness of the British coast. With a single ship, he kept the whole coast of Scotland, and part of that of England, for some time, in a state of alarm, and made a descent at Whitehaven, where he surprised and took two forts, with thirty pieces of cannon, and set fire to the shipping. In this attack upon Whitehaven, the house of the earl of Selkirk, in whose service the father of Jones had been gardener, was plundered, and the family plate carried off. But the act was committed without his knowledge, and he afterwards made the best atonement in his

But

power. After his return to Brest with two hundred prisoners of war, he became involved in a variety of troubles, for want of means to support them, pay his crew, and refit his ship. After many delays and vexations, Jones sailed from the road of St. Croix, August 14, 1779, with a squadron of seven sail, designing to annoy the coasts of England and Scotland. The principal occurrence of this cruise was the capture of the British ship of war Serapis, after a bloody and desperate engagement, off Flamborough head, Sept. 23, 1779. The Serapis was a vessel much superior in force to Jones's vessel, the Bon Homme Richard, which sunk not long after the termination of the engagement. The sensation produced by this battle was unexampled, and raised the fame of Jones to its acme. In a letter to him, Franklin says, 66 For some days after the arrival of your express, scarce any thing was talked of at Paris and Versailles, but your cool conduct and persevering bravery during that terrible conflict. You may believe that the impression on my mind was not less strong than on that of the others. I do not choose to say, in a letter to yourself, all I think on such an occasion." His reception at Paris, whither he went on the invitation of Franklin, was of the most flattering kind. He was every where caressed; the king presented him with a gold sword, bearing the inscription, Vindicati maris Ludovicus XVI remuneratur strenuo vindici, and requested permission of congress to invest him with the military order of merit-an honor never conferred on any one before who had not borne arms under the commission of France. In 1781, Jones sailed for the U. States, and arrived in Philadelphia, February 18th, of that year, after a variety of escapes and rencounters, where he underwent a sort of examination before the board of admiralty, which resulted greatly to his honor. The board gave it as their opinion, "that the conduct of Paul Jones merits particular attention, and some distinguished mark of approbation from Congress." Congress passed a resolution, highly complimentary to his "zeal, prudence and intrepidity." General Washington wrote him a letter of congratulation, and he was afterwards voted a gold medal by Congress. From Philadelphia he went to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to superintend the building of a ship of war, and, while there, drew up some admirable observations on the subject of the American navy. By pernission of Congress, he subsequently went on board the French leet, where he remained until the conclusion of peace, which put a period to his naval career in the service of the U. States. He then went to Paris, as agent for prize-money, and, while there, joined in a plan to establish a fur-trade between the north-west coast of America and China, in conjunction with a kindred spirit, the celebrated John Ledyard. In Paris, he continued to be treated with the greatest distinction. He afterwards was invited into the Russian service, with the rank of rear-admiral, where he was disappointed in not receiving the command of the fleet acting