8 NORTH SHORE BREEZE and Reminder 
The Ipswich Lights, or as they should be termed, the 
Plum Island Lights, are of the oldest on the Shore and 
have always been considered among the most important. 
They are situated on Plum Island at the mouth of the 
Merrimac River, before which there is a dangerous, shift- 
ing sand-bar, and one of the lights is occasionally moved 
in order to keep both lights in one, for the leading mark 
over the bar. They are about a third of a mile apart, 
with the lanterns nearly forty feet above the sea level, 
and with the lights fixed. The Marine Society of New- 
buryport made the first effort to secure the lights, which 
were so sadly needed in this dangerous place, when in 
the fall of 1783, it erected two beacons on the Island “to 
serve as marks for coming in over the bar as well as to 
hoist lights on in the night,” which was justly considered 
“essentially necessary for the preservation and safety of 
the navigation of the river Merrimack.” It was not un- 
til some years later, in 1808, in fact, that anything further 
was done. On July 28 of that year the society appointed 
a committee to confer with a committee of merchants 
“respecting the rebuilding of the light-house on Plun 
Island on an enlarged plan,” as the beacons were felt to 
be decidedly inefficient and inadequate. The resulting 
appeal to Washington secured the building of the ligh*- 
houses, which have proved such a boon to navigators. 
There can be no more delightful experience, espe- 
cially to new-comers to the Shore, than to visit these 
lighthouses, where the keepers are more than hospitable 
and have a fund of romantic tales, with which they are 
glad to regale the casual visitor. One of the best to visit 
is that at Eastern Point, at the entrance to Gloucester 
harbor, as it may be reached by land, and has, moreover, 
one of the finest views of any spot along the North Shore. 
The lighthouse is on the very tip of ihe Point, and is a 
really lovely walk from the car line at Rock Neck, af- 
fording a glimpse of lovely gardens and the contrast be- 
tween ‘peaceful Niles Pond, and the pounding surges out 
beyond. ‘Automobiles Not Allowed’ on the govern- 
ment estate. The first light was built on Eastern Point 
in 1832, and the present structure was built about thirty- 
five years ago to take the place of the old one. ‘The 
lantern is about thirty-seven feet above the sea level, and 
the red light revolves with a ten second flash. 
In walking around the Point to reach the lighthouse, 
you choose the route, which will give you the best view 
of the far-famed Mother Ann amid the rocks. About a 
mile off shore there is a whistling buoy, which any of the 
Gloucester folk will tell you is “Mother Ann’s Cow.’ 
Tolstoi’s Vision of 
[\ the fall of 1910, Leo ‘Tolstoi was requested by the 
Czar, through Countess Nastasia Tolstoy, to compose 
a message intended for himself, the King of England, 
and the Kaiser of Germany, the two last mentioned hav- 
ing suggested it. They wanted something from the old 
man that had never been published and was not intended 
by him for publication. To the Countess he responded 
by dictating the following words: 
This is a revelation of events of a universal char- 
acter which must shortly come to pass. Their spiritual 
outlines are now before my eyes. I see floating upon 
the surface of the sea of human fate the huge silhouette 
of a nude woman. She is—with her beauty, her poise, 
her smile, her jewels—a_ super-Venus. Nations rush 
madly after her, each of them eager to attract her espe- 
cially. But she, like an eternal courtesan, flirts with all. 
In her hair-ornament of diamonds and rubies is engraved 
You enter the covered passageway leading from the house 
to the light and you are impressed with the ship-like or-_ 
The gray and white walls, the shin- 
ing oil-cans and measures, are absolutely clean, and a 
little, brass cannon attracts your attention. The keeper 
tells you a thrilling tale of its history. It was taken from 
os yacht, which was caught and sunk more than’ twenty 
years ago while smuggling Chinamen into the country. 
You ascend the spiral staircase and the more fear- 
sone ladder, and listen with as much apparent. intelli- 
gence as possible to the explanation of the intricate ma- 
chinery, which runs the light, and you exclaim over the 
shining lantern with its rows of red chimneys ready for 
the night, and then you climb through a small window 
to the narrow, encircling platform outside, for a sight of 
the extent of water and land, which will repay you for 
the long walk, the time you have taken from business or 
pleasure, for Eastern Point commands a wonderful view 
of ocean and the islands and the Shore. 
If the day is very, very clear, you may be able to see 
in the far distance the faint outline of Cape Cod, but if 
‘i is only a little more than ordinarily clear you can see 
the Custom House tower at Boston, about in line with 
Half Way Rock. The beautiful coloring of the sea, the 
islands and the mainland, including Marblehead Neck, 
Magnolia Point, Dolliver’s Neck, and Freshwatér Cove 
into “the fine and sweet harbor’ of Gloucester, “where 
twenty ships may easily ride therein,” delight your soul. 
As you stand there to watch the beauties Nature has 
spread before you with such a lavish hand, you see a 
sloop scudding toward the North, closely followed by a 
flock of hovering gulls. Out of Gloucester a. fishing 
vessel with a seine boat on board is heading for George’s 
Banks, and, watching it, you forget that the good ‘old 
days of sailing craft are almost over, and that across the 
Harbor you may see the wireless station where the young 
genius, John Hays Hammond, Jr., controls his marvellous 
little boat. You leave regretfully, fully resolved to come 
again, and when you have safely reached the bottom of 
the stairs, the light-keeper will take you to the spotless 
engine room, and show you how the fog bell is rung when 
Dolliver’s Neck cannot be seen through the fog. As 
you walk back to Gloucester you turn for a farewell look 
at the simple, pleasant dwelling, and the warning light, 
which is so important to the fishermen, who have made 
Gloucester’s prosperity, and you get the last glimpse or 
Mother Ann, and one of your pleasantest experiences is 
ended. 
der and ‘simplicity. 
Europe in Flames 
her name—“Commercialism.” As alluring and bewitch- 
ing as she seems, much destruction and agony follow in 
her wake. Her breath, racking of sordid transactions, 
her voice of metallic character like gold, and her look of 
greed are so much poison to the nations who fall victims 
to her charms. 
And behold! she had three gigantic arms with three 
torches of universal corruption in her hand. ‘The first 
torch represents the flame of war that the beautiful cour- 
tesan carries from city to city and country to country. 
Patriotism answers with flashes of honest flame, but the 
end is the roar of guns and musketry. 
The second torch bears the flame of bigotry and 
hypocrisy. It lights the lamps only in temples and on 
the altars of sacred institutions. It carries the seed of 
falsity and fanaticism. It kindles the minds that are still 
in cradles and follows them to their graves. 
June 25, 1915 
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