164 LABYRINTH OF ROCKS IN SILESIA. 



for other lights the rates are as high as a penny and twopence per ton 

 upon British and foreign ships respectively. The ships belonging to 

 countries with which we have treaties of reciprocity, are entitled to 

 admission to our ports on the same terms as English vessels, and 

 accordingly pay no higher rate of duties. The Trinity House has 

 relinquished, in those cases, the right to any increased charge, but in the 

 case of those light-houses which are held by private individuals, the 

 difference is made good to those parties out of the customs revenues. 



Light dues are collected not only upon ships frequenting our ports for 

 commerce, but such also as are driven in by stress of weather, or if they 

 come within sight of our light-houses in. their voyage from one port to 

 another : this is most unjust, and has been greatly complained of by 

 foreigners. 



THE LONGSTONE LIGHT-HOUSE. 



This is situate near the group of barren rocks, called Fern Islands, on 

 the coast of Northumberland. It is only an ordinary light-house, but 

 has excited much attention of late, and acquired a time-enduring 

 celebrity as being the scene of the heroic efforts of Grace Darling ana 

 her gallant father, in rescuing part of the passengers and crew (nine in 

 'number) out of 53 persons, from the wreck of the Forfarshire Steam 

 Packet, on the 1 7th September, 1838. No eulogy, however brilliant, 

 can add to the glory of this gallant achievement, performed as it was 

 under the frightful dangers of a most tremendous storm. 



EXTRAORDINARY LABYRINTH OF ROCKS, IN SILESIA. 



** FROM Trautenau, I proceeded," says a recent traveller, in his 

 interesting tour in 1836, " to visit Andersbach, the famous labyrinth of 

 rocks a natural phenomenon I believe unique of its kind, at least for 

 magnitude and extent, being upwards of four leagues in length and two 

 in breadth. That in Westphalia, called Exteretein, so celebrated by 

 travellers, and which I had seen some years before, is a mere baby's toy 

 compared with this. In short, the only freak of Nature that I ever saw 

 at all comparable to it, is that in Upper Styria, called Johnsbackerthal, 

 These rocks are entirely composed of sandstone, and form a part of the 

 same sandstone ridge, which runs through the province of Glatz on one 

 side, and through Saxon Switzerland towards Dresden on the other. 

 Among the various theories that have been advanced to explain this 



