THE ARCHIPELAGO OF BREHAT. 123 



seemed the beacon tower, which stood forth from 

 the sky with its lofty granite column and glass 

 lantern, protected by that magical rod which is able 

 to attract and safely conduct to earth the destructive 

 force of the thunderbolt. We landed, and at once 

 began our inspection of this colossal rock, which has 

 been upreared by the hand of man on the Epees de 

 Treguier, which, once the dread of the seaman, have 

 become his protecting guides through the storms 

 and darkness of night. 



The Hehaux lighthouse would be regarded as a 

 most remarkable monument, even in our principal 

 towns, but standing, as it does, alone in the midst of 

 the ocean, it acquires by its very isolation a character 

 of severe grandeur, which impresses the mind most 

 powerfully. Figure to yourself a wall of granite, 

 where the current and the storm do not even permit 

 the hardiest Fucus to take root, with here and 

 there a twisted and deeply wave-worn mass project- 

 ing beyond the rest of the rocky ledge. It is here 

 that the architect has laid the foundation of the 

 tower. The base, which is of a conical form, is 

 surmounted by a circular gallery. The lower 

 portion curves gracefully outwards, spreading over 

 the ground like the root of some colossal marine 

 plant springing up from the foundation stones which 

 have been inserted far within the rock. On this 

 base, Avhich measures about twenty yards across, 

 rises a column, twenty-six feet in diameter, sur- 

 mounted by a second gallery, whose supports and 

 stone balustrades c:dl to mind the portcullis and 

 battlements of some feudal donjon. From the 



