222 THE LOGAN STONE. 



and by regarding it as the touch stone of truth, acquitted or condemned 

 the accused by its motions. Mason alludes to this supposed property in 

 the following lines 



-" Behold yon huge 



And unknown sphere of living adamant. 

 Which pois'd by magic, rests its central weight 

 On yonder pointed rock : firm as it seems, 

 Such is its strange and virtuous property, 

 It moves obsequious to the gentlest touch 

 Of him whose heart is pure j but to a traitor, 

 Tho' e'en a giant's prowess nerved his arm, 

 It stands as fix'd as Snowden." 



The rocks are covered with a species of byssus, long and rough to the 

 touch, forming a kind of hoary beard. In many places they are deeply 

 furrowed, carrying with them a singular air of antiquity, which combines 

 with the whole of the romantic scenery to awaken in the minds of the 

 poet and enthusiast the recollection of the Druidical ages. 



An act of wanton mischief was committed in 1824, by a Lieutenant 

 Goldsmith, of the preventive service, who, with his men, threw down, for 

 a lark, the Logan Stone from its time-honored seat ! However, the 

 gentleman was obliged by the Board of Admiralty to replace it at his 

 own expense, which was a task of no ordinary difficulty. 



The process of its restoration was thus described by an eye witness : 



" Penzance, Nov. 6, 1824. 



" The Logan rock is replaced, and rocks as before: it was put up on 

 Tuesday last, after three days' labor, by the help of three pair of large 

 sheers, six capstans, worked by eight men each, and a variety of pulleys. 

 Large chain cables were fastened round the rock, and attached to the 

 blocks by which it was lifted. Altogether there were about sixty men 

 employed. The weight of the rock has been variously computed by 

 different persons, at from seventy to ninety tons. On the first day, 

 when the rock was first swung in the air, in the presence of about two 

 thousand persons, much anxiety was felt by those who were present, as 

 to the success of the undertaking ; the ropes were much stretched ; the 

 pulleys, the sheers, and the capstans, all screeched and groaned ; and 

 the noise of the machinery was audible at some distance. Many were very 

 apprehensive lest so vast a weight might snap all the ropes, and tumble 

 over the precipice, bearing the sheers and scaffolding away with it; 

 however, the whole has gone off with great success. The materials 



