"The height of this floor above the bottom of the well, was near 18 feet; above the foot of the mast, 33 feet ; above the rock on the higher side, 27 feet ; and above the foot of the building on the lower side, 37 feet. ht all this height, no cavity of any kind was intended for any purpose of depositing stores. ,ke. From the rock to the bottom of the well, all was solid, as we have shown ; but as the building increased in height, and consequently was more out of the heavy stroke of the sea, a less degree of strength and solidity to the former, and therefore admit of the convenience of a staircase within the building, with a passtore into it : which last, being made upon the east side, would he withdrawn from the heavy shock of the seas from the south-west quarter, and the rock being there highest, the ascent by the iron stair upon the outside, would be the least ; the whole therefore, to the height of the store-room floor, as above-mentioned, having been made with all possible solidity, was denominated the solid.
"The height of Ali. 1Zudyerd's store-room floor was fixed as high as the floor of N r. Winstanley's state-room, which was over his store-room ; and as many were doubtless still living who had seen and examined Mr. Winstanley's light house, during the lour years that it stood in a finished state ; and as in that time there would lie an opportunity of knowing, from experience., to what height the unbroken water of the waves mounted in bad weather, we may very well suppose that Mr. Iludyerd regulated the height of his solid from that information.
" We have already seen, that the two compass courses of wood, which capped the first bed of moor-stone, and termi nated the entire solid, were forcibly screwed down by ten large iron bars, or bolts, to the beds of timber below the moor-stone, and these by the trenails and branches to the rock. We must suppose this precaution to have been taken to prevent any de rangement from the heavy strokes of the sea in storms, and hard gales, which were liable to happen in the very finest part of the season, before there was any proper opportunity of con necting the upper part of the work with the lower, by means of the upright timbers that were to form the outside case; be cause, till the work was brought to that height, there could be no proper means of beginning to fix them ; and as we do not find any traces or mention of binding the upper courses with the lower, after the staircase was set forward, we must sup pose that the outside casing had been then begun from the rock, and carried on progressively, so as to become a bond of the upright kind ; for, all such timbers as were high enough having been screwed fast to the compass courses, would be thereby secured to the lower courses ; otherwise, from what 1 have myself experienced of the situation, I should have expected, that whenever the two courses of compass timber were put upon the second bed of moor-stone, if a hard gale should have come on at south-west, it would not only have lifted up and carried away the timber beds, but possibly would have deranged the moor-stone courses, notwithstand ing the upright cramps to the outside stones.
" The solid being in this manner completed, the upper part of the building, comprehending four rooms, one above another, was chiefly formed by the outside upright timbers; having one kirb or circle of compass timber at each floor, to which the upright timbers were screwed and connected, and upon which the floor timbers were rested. The uprights were also jag-bolted and trenailed to one another. and, in this manner, the work was carried on to the height of 34 feet above the store-room floor, and there terminated by a plank ing of three inches thick, which composed the roof of the main column, as well as served for the floor of the lantern, and of the balcony round it.
"Thus the main column of this building consisted of one simple figure, being an elegant frustum of a cone, un broken by any projecting ornament, or anything whereon the violence of the storms could lay hold ; being, exclusive of its sloping foundation, 22 feet 8 inches upon its largest circular base, 61 feet high above that circular base, and 14 feet 3 inches in diameter at the top ; so that the circular base was somewhat greater than one-third of the total height, and the diameter at top was somewhat less than two-thirds of the base at the greatest circle, "The junction of the upright timbers upon each other was by means of scarfs, as they :•e technically called in shipbuilding and carpentry ; that is, the joining of timbers end to end by over-lapping. The timbers were of different lengths, from 10 to 20 feet, and so suited. that no two join ings or scarfs of the uprights might fall together. The number of uprights composing the circle was the same from top to bottom ; and their number being seventy-one, the breadth at the bottom would be 1 foot nearly ; their thickness there was 9 inches ; and, as they diminished in breadth towards the top, they also diminished in thickness. The whole of the outside seams were well caulked with oakum, in the same manner as in ships; and the whole payed over with pitch ; consequently, upon a near view, the seams run ning straight from toil to bottom in some measure resembled the flutings of columns ; which, in so simple a figure, could not fail to catch the attention of the beholder, and prove an agreeable engagement of the eye.