BELL ROCK, the name of a rock in the German ocean, formerly called the SCAPE, and the INCH CAPE. The word Scape, in reference to this rock, may be considered a corruption of scamp, or sea/p, a bed of shell fish ; or as arising from a resem blance which the rock may at one time liav' had to a bee-ltive. The term Cape, a headland or promon tory, applied to a sunk rock, otherwise than by sup posing it a wrong pronunciation, seems preposterous, and undeserving of serious attention.
To account for Bell Rock, which has now become the prevalent name, it is said that the abbots of the monastery of Aberbrothwick caused a bell to be erected upon it, in such a manner that the tides brought certain machinery into action, which rang the bell, to, warn seamen of their approach to the rock. Tradition says, that this apparatus was car ried away by a Dutchman, who, to complete the story., was afterwards lost upon the rock, with his ship and crew. It would be difficult to conceive any machine of this kind, which, such a situation, could have been useful. Its removal in the way re-, presented is disgraceful to human, nature, and, be sides according ill with the proverbial honesty of the Dutch, is incompatible with the veneration which all seamen are known to possess for landmarks.
The probability rather seems to be, that we are indebted only to traditionary-story for the bell, and that this name took its rise in a more natural way, from the shape of a part of the rock, now removed, to make way for the scite of the lighthouse lately erected upon the rock. Although this rounded part was only about four feet above the general level of the rock, yet, by supposing it the nucleus of a larger mass, it might readily suggest the idea of a bell, and give rise to the Scottish phrase, a bee-scape.
Scape is the name found in the oldest sea charts ; Cape, or Inch Cape, in those of more modern date ; and Bell Rock in the charts of the present day, which renders the other names obsolete.
The Bell Rock may be viewed as directly oppo sing the entrance of the firths of Forth and Tay to all vessels from a foreign voyage ; and lying more or less in the way of coasters, as their track may be northward or southward of the island of May. It is
situated in W. Long. 2° 22', and N. Lat. 56° 29', 11 miles south-west from the Redhead in Forfarshire, 17 miles north-east from the May lighthouse, and 30 miles north by east from St Abb's-head, in Ber wickshire.
The rock is a red sandstone, apparently of the same formation with the Redhead in Forfarshire, and similar to the stone af Dunglass; in Berwickshire. In some places it is variegated with stripes of white passing into brown ; it is fine granular, containing minute specks of mica, and is hard and difficult to work. Its angle of inclination with the horizon is about 15°, and it dips towards the south-east. The strata are thick and unequal, strongly connected to gether, and run in the direction of north-east and south-west.
The surface of the rock is very rugged, being full of cavities, owing to the fracture and overlapping of ' the strata. It may be described as consisting of an upper and a lower level. The north-east end, which is the higher, is only partially left by the tide at low water of neap tides ; while the south-west, or lower level, appears only in spring tides. Taking the di mensions of the rock at low water of spring tides, the greatest length of the higher part measures 127 feet, and 230 feet in breadth. The greateit length of the reef, or lOwer part, which the water never wholly leaves, extends 1700 feet from the main rock, • in the direction of the stratification : the breadth of ? this reef is less than that of the main rock, and di.
minishes towards the western extremity. The great est length of the rock seen at low water of spring tides is 2127 feet, and the greatest breadth is 230 feet. The reef, or south-west part, being on a level with low water of spring tides, is consequently, at high water, under the whole rise of the respective tide ; while on the higher part, which is in general about four feet above low water-mark of spring tides, and consequently about twelve feet under water at the height of ordinary spring tides.