Ch. XTH.] HOESBUEGH lighthouse. 287 



and quite calm, so that I was able to land at some steps 

 cut in the almost perpendicular side of the rock upon which 

 the lighthouse is built. Although the rock, however, is 

 naturally very inaccessible, a sort of movable pier is con- 

 structed, by means of which a landing can be effected at 

 almost any ebb tide. The lighthouse, a testimonial to the 

 iavaluable services of the author of the " Directory," is a 

 cylindrical building, with a basement and six. stories, which 

 are ascended by narrow ladders, to the hght-room at the 

 top. This contains nine cata-dioptric lights, arranged in 

 sets of three, movable by clock-work, so that the angle 

 between each set shows dark. The light is visible once iu 

 a minute, and is seen 15 miles. The rock upon which the 

 lighthouse is built, is an irregular, much broken, rounded 

 mass of grey and compact granite, extending out north- 

 ward in a reef, but with only a few roUed stones at the 

 south. It was commenced in 1850 and finished in 1851, 

 and in many respects closely resembles the Bell Rock 

 Lighthouse, 11 miles east of Arbroath. . The chief light- 

 keeper is an Enghshman, who is assisted by Malays. 



On the rocks a number of Grapsi were running about, 

 and a few Ligise ; but no other marine animals except 

 fishes were visible, although it was nearly low neap tide — 

 the rocks being too smooth and too much exposed to har- 

 bour the more delicate species. The leaping-fish (Perioph- 

 thalmus), of a large size, were pretty numerous, and it was 

 amusing to see them climb up the steep and smooth sides 

 of the rocks by a series of jumps, assisted by a wriggling 

 movement from side to side — so that each time they alighted 

 the tail was strongly curved on either side alternately. 

 Some low black rocks in the neighbourhood looked as if 

 they were covered with snow, but a telescope resolved 



