206 TRANSACTIONS OF THE PLYMOUTH INSTITUTION. 
to pass the dead man in the lantern, of neglecting to kindle the 
lamp during one night, and of thus being the occasion of the 
wreck upon the reef itself of a large vessel, and the loss of all 
her crew. The narrative is a very thrilling one, but full of 
anachronisms. 
So well did Kudyerd's lighthouse answer the purpose for which 
it was built, that the storms of forty-five winters passed over it ; 
and it was not till the morning of December 2nd, 1755, that those 
on the look-out from Plymouth and Cawsand, discovered that it 
had been attacked by an enemy totally unforeseen. A thick cloud 
hanging over the top of the lighthouse led the observers to con- 
clude that it was on fire. This was only too true. 
On going into the lantern about two o'clock on that morning, 
Henry Hall, one of the keepers, found it full of smoke. This 
proceeded from the roof, and Hall immediately fetched buckets 
of water, and endeavoured to extinguish the flames with 
them. 
The height to which the water had to be thrown, and the 
distance to be traversed by the other two men in fetching it from 
below, made their efforts in this direction of little avail. They 
had to retire before the flames from room to room, and at last 
were obliged to take refuge in the natural cavern at the base 
of the rock — fortunately it was low tide at the time. From this 
situation they were rescued by some fishermen from Cawsand. 
Admiral West, who was then in the Sound with his fleet, sent out 
a launch with an engine, but their efforts did not avail to prevent 
the total destruction of the building. 
On reaching land, the principal lighthouse-keeper, a man over 
ninety years of age, was found to be so exhausted with the strain 
he had undergone, that medical treatment had to be afforded him. 
He told a curious tale ; how that while throwing up the water in 
the hope of extinguishing the fire in the cupola of the lantern, a 
shower of molten lead had fallen over his head and shoulders, 
and he persisted in the belief that some of it had even entered 
his mouth, and passed down his throat. Although Mr. Spry, the 
surgeon who attended Hall, used every means to alleviate the 
old man's pain, and to cure the burns that were apparent, he 
could not believe that Hall had really swallowed any of the 
molten metal. However, after lingering twelve days Hall died, 
and a post-mortem examination revealed the fact that his idea 
