"The :20th, I perceived with my telescope, from the Iloa, the buss to ride safe, but could not see the shears, or indeed anything else upon the rock distinctly, except the breakers. The day following being more clear, and the sea somewhat subsided, I immediately went on board the Eddystone boat to reconnoitre. The wind being northwest, I passed the rock several times under sail, but there was no possibility of landing. I observed, that not only all the work which had been completely set was entire, but that the two stones mentioned to have been simply lowered into their places,also remained therein, and that the five hundred weight still rested upon the stone whereon it was left. The west face of the building had got so complete a coat of sea-weed, that it was only distinguishable from the rock by its form ; but the shears and triangles were entirely gone; the two pieces of stone, that had been chained together and to the work, were also gone; the windlass frame broken and much damaged, and the roll gone; the fender piles and the transport buoy, however, remained in their places.
" It was the 3rd of September before the company could make a landing to do anything upon the rock ; so that, since the 18th ult., there had been an interval of fifteen days, in which we had been totally interrupted by bad weather, in the very prime part of the season. however, everything having been expedited on shore, to get refitted for work, this day I went out therewith, and began to set up our new shears, windlass, &c., and with the shears got up the piece of Portland, of Circle 6, which was set, as also the others that had been left loose in their dovetails ; but the tide or flood coming on, had deepened the water too much before we could try to get up the other.
" September the 5th, the seventh circle was finished and the eighth begun ; and this duty the wind being variable, from north-east to north-west, and very moderate, was very re markable, as being the first time of the people having worked till they were obliged to quit the rock for refreshment : and now everything being reinstated, it Nyas sonic time before we met with anything but the ordinary interruptions.
"The fineness of the season continued to fiivour the expe diting of our works, insomuch that Course which was begun upon the 8th, was executed in five days, being entirely completed on the 13th, at the Sallie hour. Everything went regularly on till the 20th ; so that, in return fur our conti nued interruption from the stormy weather for fifteen days, our works had an uninterrupted progression for eighteen days, when Course IX. was advanced to the fifth circle." A series of land-swells from the south-west prevented further proceedings till the 30th September, when Course IX. was completed, " and the masons proceeded to rectify the thee of the work, where it was in any degree wanting thereof, that there might be no need hereafter to disturb any part of the coat of weed, which was likely to fix upon it during the winter." This ended the operations for the
year 1757.
On the 12th of May, 1758, Mr. Smeaton examined the work, and Ibund it perfectly entire, except a small spa•l, which had been washed from the rock itself; the whole did not seem to have suffered a diminution of so much as a grain of sand since the time he left it on theist of October of the preceding year : on the contrary, the cement, and even the grouted part, appeared to be as perfectly hard as the Port land stone itself ; the whole having become one solid mass, entirely covered with the same coat of sea-weed as the rock, the top of the work excepted. This was washed so clean and w kite, that the lines upon it appeared more distinct than when they were in the work-yard ; the cube-holes and lewis holes, how ever, from their hieing constantly filled with water, were grown over with green weed, like the outside. The fender piles were indeed all gone, but this was a trifling disaster, as they could soon be renewed.
The tenth course was set on the 5th of July, the eleventh on the 18th, the twelfth on the 24di, the thirteenth on the 5th of August, and on the 8th of that month the fourteenth, which completed the fundamental From the top of this course begins that part of the build ing, also called the so/id, which includes the passage from the entry door to the well-hole of the stairs as described /late IV. J"iqures '2, 4, from which a more adequate idea can be obtained than any words could convey.
Mr. Sineaton then proceeds to describe his method of regulating the superstructure : As "for the sake of the well-hale, we must necessarily lose our centre-stone, the four stones, which in the thriller courses were united to it by dovetails, were, as now prepared, to be united to each other by hook-scarf-joints, so as to compose, in effect, one stone : and as, in consequence, we had also lost our centre cubes, it became expedient. that the work might have a uniform texture and strength, that those four stones, making a com plete circle flu' the staircase, should be provided with cubes, to prevent their being shifted by any shock applied hori zontally, (see Figure 4,) as well as with the trenails to hinder them from lifting. By this means the principle of consoli dation would be effectually preserved : but as the top of the fourteenth, or entry-door course, was twelve feet above the top of the rock, that is, twenty feet four inches above the base of the first course, the stroke of the sea must here become less violent, and therefore a less degree of resistance would be equally sufficient. And as the large cubes would too much cut the work, which was here of considerably less area ; and as several cubes would be requisite for the well hole stones, I had determined, above the entry-door course, to increase the number of cubes from eight to sixteen, and to diminish their size from twelve to six inches ; but still to be of solid gray marble, and two of' them to be introduced into each of the four well-hole stones.