have been taken prisoner," and our progress in the art of naval architecture might have been long delayed. The Nore Light which now revolves far above high-water mark in the well-known lightship,* originated with the trial * Life on board the lightship at the Nore was thus described to us later on by "An Old Hand"-one of the crew : "There are eleven hands belonging to the ship-the master, the mate, three lamplighters, and six seamen; but there are only seven of us on board at a time, and four ashore. We commence the day at seven bells (7.30); all hands then turn out, lash up their hammocks, and get breakfast, ready for duty. Two hands are always on deck day and night; that is the routine. But sometimes we get a gale of wind to shake us up a bit, and then we have to keep a sharp look out for any ship that may require assistance; and if the Mouse Light Vessel make any signal, we have to answer it. Our signal is answered from Southend Lifeboat Station. Then we have the postman to look out for. The first question asked when we go on deck in the morning is about the pilot-cutter, for that is our postman. You should see how anxious everybody is when the letters are put on board, to see if there is one for him. We have an iron hoop with a net fastened to it; this is fixed on a long staff, which we hold out to the cutter, and they drop the letters in it. Then we begin the ship's duty. The lantern has first of all to be attended to, and that occupies the lamplighter a great part of the day. There are nine lamps in the lantern, and nine large reflectors. The lamp has to be cleaned and trimmed and the reflectors polished every morning; and the revolving gear in the lantern, and the clock by which the lights are revolved, have all to be kept perfectly clean and in good working order. The Nore is a bright revolving light, which flashes every thirty seconds, and is worked by clockwork. We have all our part of duty to do towards keeping the ship clean both on deck and below, for cleanliness is one of the first rules of our service : there is no mistake, a lightship is kept clean. When the ship's regular work is finished, we all find something to do to pass the time away. I have seen a little of almost everything done on board a lightshipcarpentering, mat-making, shoe-making, knitting. I think knitting is the favourite work on board the Nore now; but I have seen everything done, from a child's toy to the mending of clocks and watches. We make ourselves as comfortable as we can among ourselves. Sometimes in the dog-watch, which is from four to eight in the evening, we have a little music on the accordion and singing. We have a little bird, a chaffinch, and he is noways behind in helping us with his song. Jackey is his name. You will find Jackey is all there when any music or singing is going on. We have had him a long time; he is well cared for. We should all be sorry to lose him. "Our master and mate have one month on board and one on shore ; the lamplighters and seamen have two months on board and one on shore. The relief is on the 15th of every month; we all then anxiously look out for the steamer; and it would be a smart craft that would pass the Nore that day without the watch seeing her. You will say it must be a very lonely life for us; and it is so. Two months is a long time to be on board at a spell. Still, we get used to it in time-I suppose we can get used to almost anything-but it is better than going to sea in a South Spainer. When the relief comes, we say of the four that go ashore: 'Well, boys, all your troubles are over for a month." VOL. II. 4 on this spot of a patent light, by a Mr. Hamblin, in 1731, in a vessel called the Experiment. Its benefits were at once seen, and the Nore Light was soon afterwards permanently established and placed under the control of the Trinity Board. How many a wreck must have taken place here before this light was placed on the spot! And how many thousand ships has it warned to keep in the course of safety! The buoy at the Nore has repeatedly been honoured by the poets! Poor Tom Hood will be thought of by many who recall his humorous song beginning with "I'm the tight little Boy at the Nore; A fine walk extends eastward for the adventurous visitor. The breadth of the Thames Estuary at the Nore* is six miles. Let us survey the island. It is understood that the snuff arising from the refuse-sweepings of the tobacco warehouses, and returned to the Customs for drawback by the manufacturers (not being merchantable), is thrown out at the Nore, while the bags in which it is brought are burnt in the Government kiln. CHAPTER IV. THE SENTINEL OF THE THAMES AND MEDWAY. THE HE Isle of Sheppey, with its dockyard, its fortifications, and its batteries, may well be called the Sentinel of the Thames and Medway, and thus claim an interest that might not otherwise be felt in it. Let us make its acquaintance. A walk along the beach eastward—a most pleasant promenade-leads us to the cliffs,* whose breezy heights are rich in fossiliferous remains, telling us of the time when this little island was the home of those forest monarchs, reptiles, and delicious fruits which are found only in the tropics. The cliffs of Sheppey afford perhaps an unequalled field for the geologist, and a very delightful one for the botanist. They are not like the cliffs on some other parts of the Kentish coast-one dead monotonous white from top to bottom and from end to end-but present a constant diversity of colour, from chalky-gray to rich ruddybrown, deepening under distant shadows to a hazy purple, the outlines fringed with greenery and nodding wildflowers in profuse variety, with clumps of palm-willows, gorse, and other trees and shrubs. As they continually crumble and fall away, the various strata are finely developed * Some question having arisen as to the height of Sheppey Cliffs, and other elevated parts of the Island, we find on referring to the Ordnance Survey maps that the altitudes upon the higher portions of the cliffs are as follows: Merriman's Hill, opposite Minster, the first principal rise, is 110 feet. The next rise, or Round Hill, is 124 feet. At the Royal Oak 100 feet, rising near the coastguard station to 147 feet, while opposite Bell Farm the greatest height is attained. In old histories the average height of 90 feet is mentioned, evidently from a guess, and this is very generally repeated by subsequent writers. With respect to the hills, that of Minster is set down as being 192 feet high, Mill Hill is 200 feet, Chequers Hill is 240 feet, and the highest point of all in Sheppey is at the Blue Cottages, near East Church, which is 250 feet.-Sheppey Paper. and fossils of many kinds are brought to light. About 700 distinct species of fossils have been found in this island, and flowers may be seen springing up, as the soil is uncovered, from seeds buried ages ago. The view from the cliffs is perhaps, however, the most interesting to the casual visitor. Looking back, westward, he may see in the far distance the lordly Thames making its way towards the main, and the Medway winding through the fertile valleys of Kent to meet it ("One of these days," said Dickens, "I shall show you some places up the Medway with which you will be charmed "*); the Isle of Grain, with its martello tower; the marriage of the Thames and Medway, as celebrated by Spenser ;† the ships lying in Sheerness Harbour; Garrison Point; the Dockyard; and the town and district of Sheerness. Then, turning himself slowly to his right, Southend, Shoeburyness, and the Essex coast (about six miles distant across the water); the Nore Light-ship (established here by Government in 1732); the estuary, more or less covered with craft of all kinds‡-men-of-war, stately Indiamen, excursion and other steamers and sailing ships, fishing vessels, pleasure boats, etc.-passing out to or coming in from the German Ocean, which stretches beyond to the horizon. (All the argosies of the world pass up and down on their way to or from London.§) Above, too, may be heard the voice of the lark, singing as he soars: * Forster's "Life." + "The Faërie Queene." During the sale of the Gillott Collection, a picture by Turner- "Sheerness and the Isle of Sheppey," with the junction of the Thames and Medway from the Nore; fishing-boats working in a heavy squall in the foreground, but the distance lighted by a beautiful gleam of sunshine— realized 4,350 guineas. Should the reader meet with this picture, or an engraving of it, he may remember-and it will enhance his pleasure-how often the youthful Nelson, while stationed at Chatham, navigated these waters. His little vessel-a launch decked and rigged as a cutter-had frequently to navigate the Medway down to the Great Nore, and from thence up the Thames to be receiving ship for volunteers and impressed men lying off the Tower of London, or down the intricate channels, and round the North Foreland to the Downs. It was a humble service, but even humble services can be well performed; and in no situation of life may a young man of apt faculties fail to acquire skill that will fit him for higher callings. The boy Nelson-for such he really was-became a clever pilot for those parts, and gained a confidence in his own knowledge that increased as he grew older. § As has been said, "there is but one port of London in the world, and there is but one way for shipping to get there." Every ship that enters or "Like a poet hidden In the light of thought;"* while butterflies, numerous and beautiful—especially the red admirals and tortoise-shells-range amid the flowers around. The general absence of trees is, however, very remarkable, considering that the island was, as it would appear, once covered with wood. If the scientific visitor descends to the beach (as he readily may here and there with safety in dry weather by the trackpaths), he will find in abundance-besides fresh and salt water shells, zoophytes, and seaweeds-the tinted masses of indurated clay known as Septaria,t which are filled with bright-yellow crystals (sulphate of barytes), and usually contain some fossil; turtles and terrapins; the remains of nautili; teeth and vertebræ of sharks, fragments of crustacea, molluscs, and corals; together with leaves, fruit, and stems of plants, etc., that originally formed the nucleus around which the clay collected ere it hardened, and which prove not only the marine origin of the former, but (as it would seem) the at one time glacial and at another time tropical character of the climate of Sheppey in the days of old. Remains of the elephant, the crocodile, and the boa-constrictor have been found here, and as many as 220 distinct kinds of beasts, birds, fishes, and insects. It has indeed been well called a Geological Library.§ He will also find mica-like and sometimes very beautiful forms of selenite; and the iron pyrites, which also abound with fossils, and from which copperas is made. The cliffs tell us, indeed, of an age when the hyrcotherium and the mammoth walked here; when the ostrich-like Dasorius Londinensis haunted the thicket-covered shore whence the serrated jaws of that other famous bird, the Odontopteryx, leaves the Thames must pass Sheerness. This is a sea view which no other watering-place can boast. * Shelley. + From this the famous Roman cement is largely manufactured. See "A Leaf from the Oldest of Books" in Household Words, June 7, 1856. § See Household Words, vol. xiii., p. 500. The first manufactory of green copperas in England was founded about 1579 by Matthew Falconer, a Brabanter, who "did try and draw very good brimstone and copperas out of certain stones gathered in great plenty on the shore near unto Minster, in the Isle of Sheppey." |