A MONTH ON THE EDDYSTONE 291 



brilliant revolving beams of light. Those which winged 

 their way up the beams towards the lantern were 

 innumerable, and resembled streaks of approaching light. 

 These either struck the glass, or, recovering themselves, 

 passed out of the ray ere the fatal focal point was reached. 

 Those which simply crossed the rays were illumined for 

 a moment only, and became mere spectres on passing 

 into the gloom beyond. Some of those that struck fell 

 like stones from their violent contact with the glass ; 

 while others glanced off more or less injured or stunned, 

 to perish miserably in the surf below. Others, again, 

 beat violently against the windows, in their wild efforts 

 to reach the source of the all-fascinating light. Many 

 of those that freed themselves from the dazzling streams 

 of light came in sharp contact with the copper dome of 

 the tower, making it resound like a drum, and then fell 

 like flashes into the water below, followed slowly by a 

 cloud of feathers, resembling a miniature shower of 

 golden flakes. Finally, above and below the madding 

 crowd in the illumined zone, great numbers of the 

 migrants flitted around in all directions in the semi-dark- 

 ness, and in almost weird contrast with the brilliant multi- 

 tudes gyrating in the adjacent vistas of light. The babel 

 of tongues, too, was a very striking feature. These were 

 by no means the cries of enchantment, but of surprise and 

 alarm ; and they varied from the loud rattling notes of the 

 Blackbird and the harsh angry "churr" of the Mistle- 

 Thrush to the faint and dainty twitter of the Goldcrest. 

 Some Skylarks every now and then, under the impulse of 

 excitement, no doubt, broke out into a few notes of song. 

 Not a few strange voices were heard, some probably 

 uttered by species with whose ordinary notes one was 

 quite familiar ; but migrants, especially waders, have a 



