"At four o'clock on Monday morning the 27th, the weather serving, 1 went out with Richardson and company, in the Eddystone boat ; we got to the buss at ten, and found the Weston at the transport buoy, but could not land till the afternoon's tide, being a complete week since we had been last upon the rock. We first replaced the ladder, and after wards proceeded, without more than usual interruptions, till the 30th in the evening, w when we closed and completed the Course No. II., and began upon Course Ill. The execution of these two courses had taken us up from the 12th to the 30th inclusive, and though they consisted of no more than seventeen pieces of stone in the whole, yet I found myself no ways disheartened ; for, in establishing these two courses, I considered the most difficult and arduous part of the work to be already accomplished, as these two courses brought us up to the same level where my predecessor Mr. Rudyerd had begun.
Friday, July the 1st, we were able to land. I observed, that during the last tide. the swell had ‘•ashed some of the pointing out of the exterior joints, and also some of the grouting out of the upright joints; but as a heavy sea seemed likely to come on with the tide of flood, I judged it to be to no purpose to repair the cement while a violent swell con tinued ; I therefore employed the company in cutting off the iron stanchcons belonging to the former building, as they now began to be in our way, and as the hold we got of them ceased to be of use, in proportion as we got more fastening from the Lewis holes of our own work.
"The weather having become more favourable, on Sunday morning, the 3.1 of July, I went on board, accompanied by Mr. Jessup and his party, to whom, as they had never had the opportunity of setting a stone, it behoved me to attend. We, however, not only met with a repulse this day, but could not make any farther attempt to go out till Tuesday, the 5th ; and then the wind, though gentle, being contrary, had not the company on board the buss come with their two yawls and towed us thither, in all probability the day would have been spent in fruitless attempts. Our difficulty was considerably increased by the coming on of so thick a fog, that, all our efibrts united, we had much ado to regain the buss. Richardson told me they had had such bad weather, that the slide-ladder had again broke its lashings and driven away ; that they had, however, got all the irons cut ,ffelose to the rock ; but that the last tide, though there was only a breeze at south-west, the swell was so great, and came on so suddenly, as to put them in great danger of being washed off from the top of the rock, before they could quit it.
At two o'clock this day we landed, and Jessop's company set six pieces of stone, and effectually repaired the cement ; and next day a proportionable dispatch was made, though the weather was not very mild.
"On Monday, the 11th, I again went out ; Course III. consisting of twenty-five pieces, was closed on the following day, and Course IV. begun.
" Thursday, the 14th ofJuly, the company pursued the work of Course IV.; and now, both companies being fully instructed in the method of setting the basement courses, I returned to Plymouth ; from whence I proposed to visit each company as often as should seem expedient, but always once in each company's turn, if wind and weather should permit.
"Contrary winds, ground-swells, and heavy seas for several days, interrupted the regularity of our proceedings ; however, taking such opportunities as we could, the Course IV., con sisting of twenty-three pieces of stone, was closed in the morning's tide of the 31st of July, (see Plate Ill.); and in the evening's tide five pieces of Course V. were set. Our work went on regularly for some days together; and, visit ing the work upon the 5th of August, 1 found the Course V. containing twenty-six pieces, closed in. (see Plate 111.); but that by some inadvertency in proceeding with the interior part, the masons had been obliged to set two of the outside pieces so as to be farther out than they should have been by an inch each. However, as I found the work was sound and firm, I thought it better to cut off the superfluous stone from the outside, than to disturb the work by the violence that must have been used in unsetting the pieces; I there fore determined to let them stand as they were, till the cement was become so hard as to support the edges of the stone while the faces were working afresh ; and which, from the mortar of our first and second course, we found was likely to be the case before the close of the season. One of the dovetails had also given way in driving a trenail, owing to a flaw in the stone ; for the remedying whereof' we applied a cramp.
"The Sth of August, at noon, the weather being exceeding fine, with a low neap tide, I took the opportunity of drawing a meridian line upon the platform of Course VI. the sea never going over the work during the whole tide, which was the first time it had not washed over all, since we began to build : we therefore took this favourable opportunity of care fully making good all our paintings and gr(nit ings, wherever the water had washed during the had weather that had succeeded the last departure of the Eddystone boat ; and which was the case with it, in places where it had not had time to set before a rough tide came on ; but I observed, with much satisfaction, that whatever, not only of the original work, but of the repaired pointing, had once stood a rough title without giving way, the same place never after failed. I also observed, that as in mending the paintings we had in some places made trial of I )uteh tarras as well as puzzolana, interchangeably, the puzzolana, for hard service, was evidently superior to the tarras : and some particular joints had proved so difficult, that I was obliged to try other expedients ; the best of which was to chop oakum very small, and beat it up along with the mortar. This was our last resource, and it never failed us.