on the Eddy stone. 247 
witness the departure-movements from Britain_, and that 
an ideal watch-tower would be one situated well out in 
waters o£ the English Channel, for there the birds could be 
observed actually en route from our Islands to their southern 
winter-quarters, and there, too, the movements would be 
free from the complexities, due to coasting-propensities, so 
common to birds at most land-stations. The famous Eddy- 
stone I^ighthouse offered all these advantages. 
On making known my project to Professor Newton, he, 
with his characteristic kindness, at once offered his valuable 
assistance, with the result that, through his instrumentality 
and that of Sir Michael Foster, my application for per- 
mission to reside in the Lighthouse was forwarded to the 
Trinity House by, and with a strong recommendation from, 
the Royal Society. The request was most graciously granted 
by the Elder Brethren, and I took up my residence on the 
Eddystone on the 18th of September last and remained 
there until the 19th of October. 
Life on a rock-station has, of course, its little trials. He 
who seeks to dwell therein must, among other things, be 
prepared to share in all respects the lot of the keepers, and 
also to be shut off from communication with the outer world 
until the monthly "relief" comes round, when, weather 
permitting, his incarceration ends and he returns to the 
ordinary comforts of everyday life. I may say at once, 
however, that the novelty of the situation, the interesting 
nature of my self-imposed work, and last, but not least, the 
great kindness of the keepers, far outbalanced those little 
discomforts which are inseparable from such a life; and 
I shall ever look back upon my sojourn in that lonely 
observatory with extreme pleasure and satisfaction. 
The Eddystone rocks consist of three contiguous reefs, 
which lie fourteen miles south-west of Plymouth. The 
central reef is the most extensive, its exposed length at low 
water being some 150 yards, while its jugged crest then rises 
about 15 feet above the sea. At high water all the rocks are 
either submerged or have their highest points awash. The 
lighthouse stands isolated at the northern extremity of the 
