CHAPTER NINE.
ACCOUNT OF THE WAR CONTINUED.
"Now then, my lads," said Smeaton, on the 12th of June 1757, "we shalllay the foundation to-day, so let us go to work with a will."
"Faix, then," whispered Teddy Maroon to John Bowden, as they proceededto the wharf, where the ready-cut stones were being put on board theEddystone boat, "it's little good we'll do av we _don't_ go to work wida will."
"I believe you, my boy," replied John, heartily. John Bowden said anddid everything heartily. "An' we won't be long," he continued, "aboutlaying the first course, it's such a small one."
"Hallo!" shouted the man in charge of the boat, as they came in sight ofit, "come along, lads; we're all ready."
According to directions they ran down, and jumped on board "with awill." Smeaton took his place in the stern. They pushed off with awill; sailed and pulled out the fourteen miles with a will; jumped onthe rock, landed the heavy stones, went immediately into action, cleanedthe bed, and laid the first stone of the great work--all under the samevigorous impulse of the will. This was at eight in the morning. By theevening tide, the first "course," which formed but a small segment of acircle, was fitted with the utmost despatch, bedded in mortar andtrenailed down. Next day the second course was partly landed on therock; the men still working with a will, for moments out there were moreprecious than hours or days in ordinary building,--but before they gotthe whole course landed, old Ocean also began to work with a will, andeventually proved himself stronger than his adversaries, by drivingthem, in a terrific storm, from the Rock!
They reached the _Buss_ with difficulty, and lay there idle while themad waves revelled round the rocks, and danced through their worksderidingly. It seemed, however, as though they were only "in fun," for,on returning to work after the gale abated, it was found that "no harmhad been done." As if, however, to check any premature felicitations,old Ocean again sent a sudden squall on the 18th, which drove the menonce more off the rock, without allowing time to chain the stoneslanded, so that five of them were lost.
This was a serious disaster. The lost stones could only be replaced bynew ones being cut from the distant quarries. Prompt in allemergencies, Smeaton hurried away and set two men to work on each stone,night and day; nevertheless, despite his utmost efforts, seconded bywilling men, the incident caused the loss of more than a week.
Fogs now stepped in to aid and abet the winds and waves in their madefforts to stop the work. Stop it! They little knew what indomitablespirits some men have got. As well might they have attempted to stopthe course of time! They succeeded, however, in causing vexatiousdelays, and, in July, had the audacity to fling a wreck in the veryteeth of the builders, as if to taunt them with the futility of theirlabours.
It happened thus: On the night of the 5th a vessel named the _CharmingSally_, about 130 tons burden, and hailing from Biddeford, came sailingover the main. A bright lookout was kept on board of her, of course,for the wind was moderately high, and the fog immoderately thick. The_Sally_ progressed charmingly till midnight, when the look-out observed"something" right ahead. He thought the something looked likefishing-boats, and, being an unusually bright fellow, he resolved towait until he should be quite sure before reporting what he saw. With ajovial swirl the waves bore the _Charming Sally_ to her doom. "Rocksahead!" roared the bright look-out, rather suddenly. "Rocks under herbottom," thought the crew of seven hands, as they leaped on deck, andfelt the out-lying reefs of the Eddystone playing pitch and toss withtheir keel. Dire was the confusion on board, and cruel were the blowsdealt with ungallant and unceasing violence at the hull of the _CharmingSally_; and black, black as the night would have been the fate of thehapless seamen on that occasion if the builders of the Eddystone had notkept a brighter look-out on board their sheltering _Buss_. John Bowdenhad observed the vessel bearing down on the rocks, and gave a startlingalarm. Without delay a boat was launched and pulled to the rescue.Meanwhile the vessel filled so fast that their boat floated on the deckbefore the crew could get into it, and the whole affair had occurred sosuddenly that some of the men, when taken off, were only in theirshirts. That night the rescued men were hospitably entertained in the_Buss_ by the builders of the new lighthouse, and, soon after, the ribsof the _Charming Sally_ were torn to pieces by the far-famed teeth ofthe Eddystone--another added to the countless thousands of wrecks whichhad been demonstrating the urgent need there was for a lighthouse there,since the earliest days of navigation.
Having enacted this pleasant little episode, the indefatigable buildersset to work again to do battle with the winds and waves. That thebattle was a fierce one is incidentally brought out by the fact that onthe 8th of August the sea was said "for the first time" to haverefrained from going over the works during a whole tide!
On the 11th of the same month the building was brought to a level withthe highest point of the Rock. This was a noteworthy epoch, inasmuch asthe first completely _circular_ course was laid down, and the men hadmore space to move about.
Mr Smeaton, indeed, seems to have moved about too much. Possibly thehilarious state of his mind unduly affected his usually sedate body. Atall events, from whatever cause, he chanced to tumble off the edge ofthe building, and fell on the rocks below, at the very feet of theamazed Teddy Maroon, who happened to be at work there at the time.
"Och, is it kilt ye are, sur?" demanded the Irishman.
"Not quite," replied Smeaton, rising and carefully examining his thumb,which had been dislocated.
"Sure now it's a sargeon ye should have bin," said Teddy, as hiscommander jerked the thumb into its place as though it had been thedisabled joint of a mathematical instrument, and quietly returned to hislabours.
About this time also the great shears, by means of which the stones wereraised to the top of the building, were overturned, and fell with acrash amongst the men; fortunately, however, no damage to life or limbresulted, though several narrow escapes were made. Being now on a goodplatform, they tried to work at night with the aid of links, but theenemy came down on them in the form of wind, and constantly blew thelinks out. The builders, determined not to be beaten, made a hugebonfire of their links. The enemy, growing furious, called upreinforcements of the waves, and not only drowned out the bonfire butdrove the builders back to the shelter of their fortress, the _Buss_,and shut them up there for several days, while the waves, comingconstantly up in great battalions, broke high over the re-erectedshears, and did great damage to the machinery and works, but failed tomove the sturdy root of the lighthouse which had now been fairlyplanted, though the attack was evidently made in force, this being theworst storm of the season. It lasted fifteen days.
On the 1st September the enemy retired for a little repose, and thebuilders, instantly sallying out, went to work again "with a will," andsecured eighteen days of uninterrupted progress. Then the ocean, as ifrefreshed, renewed the attack, and kept it up with such unceasing vigourthat the builders drew off and retired into winter quarters on the 3rdof October, purposing to continue the war in the following spring.
During this campaign of 1757 the column of the lighthouse had risen fourfeet six inches above the highest point of the Eddystone Rock. Thusended the second season, and the wearied but dauntless men returned tothe work-yard on shore to carve the needful stones, and otherwise toprepare ammunition for the coming struggle.
Sitting one night that winter at John Potter's fireside, smoking hispipe in company with John Bowden, Teddy Maroon expressed his belief thatbuilding lighthouses was about the hardest and the greatest work thatman could undertake; that the men who did undertake such work ought notonly to receive double pay while on duty, but also half pay for theremainder of their natural lives; that the thanks of the king, lords,and commons, inscribed on vellum, should be awarded to each man; andthat gold medals should be struck commemorative of such great events,--all of which he said with great emphasis, discharging a sharp littlepuff of smoke between every two or three words, and winding up wi
th adeclaration that "them was his sentiments."
To all this old John Potter gravely nodded assent, and old Martha--beingquite deaf to sound as well as reason--shook her head so decidedly thather cap quivered again.
John Bowden ventured to differ. He--firing off little cloudlets ofsmoke between words, in emulation of his friend--gave it as his opinionthat "war was wuss," an opinion which he founded on the authority of hisdeparted father, who had fought all through the Peninsular campaign, andwho had been in the habit of entertaining his friends and family withsuch graphic accounts of storming breaches, bombarding fortresses,lopping off heads, arms, and legs, screwing bayonets into men's gizzardsand livers, and otherwise agonising human frames, and demolishing humanhandiwork, that the hair of his auditors' heads would certainly havestood on end if that capillary proceeding had been at all possible.
But Teddy Maroon did not admit the force of his friend's arguments. Heallowed, indeed, that war was a great work, inasmuch as it was a greatevil, whereas lighthouse-building was a great blessing; and hecontended, that while the first was a cause of unmitigated misery, andproductive of nothing better than widows, orphans, and national debts,the second was the source of immense happiness, and of salvation tolife, limb, and property.
To this John Bowden objected, and Teddy Maroon retorted, whereupon a warof words began, which speedily waged so hot that the pipes of bothcombatants went out, and old John Potter found it necessary to assumethe part of peace-maker, in which, being himself a keen debater, hefailed, and there is no saying what might have been the result of it ifold Martha had not brought the action to a summary close by telling hervisitors in shrill tones to "hold their noise." This they did afterlaughing heartily at the old woman's fierce expression of countenance.
Before parting, however, they all agreed without deciding the questionat issue--that lighthouse-building was truly a noble work.