Whidbey consisted of a pier or breakwater across Plymouth Sound, of 1,700 yards in length at the top, 1,000 of which at the middle part was to be straight, and 350 yards at each end was to incline to the straight part in an angle of about twenty degrees, leaving an opening at either end for the passage of vessels, &c. The top of the breakwater was to be ten yards in width at the level of ten feet above the low water of an ordinary spring tide, and to have a slope on the south or sea side of three feet horizontal to one foot perpendicular, and on the north or land side one and a-half horizontal to one perpendicular. The work was to be constructed by blocks of stone, thrown promiscuously into the sea, in the line of the intended breakwater, leaving them to find their own base, and the top was to be composed of a cut stone pier.

The work, however, did not commence till six years after. The first stone of the work was laid on the 12th of August, 1812, after which vessels continued to discharge their cargoes, consisting of stones of from half-a-ton to seven tons in weight, upon the line of the direction of the intended work. By the 30th of March, 1813, a small part of the breakwater was visible at low water, and by the 30th of July following the work was dry at low water to the extent of about 720 yards. The work progressed so rapidly that in the month of March, 1814, first-rate ships of war were enabled to anchor in the Sound, instead of in Cawsand Bay, as they had previously done. In November, 1814, it was determined to bring up the breakwater to the height of twenty feet above low water of spring tides, and to finish it with rubble, instead of with a cut stone pier, as originally intended. In August, 1815, 1,100 of the 1,700 yards of the intended length of the breakwater were brought up above the level of low water, spring tides. Up to

this time 615,057 tons of stone had been deposited. The design was at first ridiculed by numbers of persons, who thought it impracticable.

The first storm which materially affected the work occurred in January, 1817; and in the month of November, 1824, another storm occurred, far exceeding in violence any that had preceded it since the work began. The wind blew from the S.S.E. to S.W., and the tide rose seven feet higher than the usual flow of spring tides. At this period 1,241 yards in length of the breakwater were completed, of which 796 yards were overturned and deposited upon the north slope during the storm, which lasted only a few hours, leaving only 445 yards remaining, not much damaged, at the east end of the main arm. The slope as left by the sea on this occasion, from low water upwards, was about five feet horizontal to one foot perpendicular, and in some places rather more. It was, therefore, determined in April, 1825, to form the breakwater regularly from the level of low water, spring tides, with a casing of rough squared blocks of granite and limestone on the top and on the exterior or south side, with a slope of five to one, and on the inner or north side with rough blocks of limestone, with a slope of two to one. It was also determined to change the centre line, by placing it thirty-nine feet six inches to the northward, so as to leave the great mass of materials to seaward, and to increase the width on the top to forty-five feet. Although the breakwater was so much affected by this great storm, and considerable damage was sustained by the shipping then in harbour, the generally received opinion was, that had the breakwater not been in existence, the shipping would have sustained still greater damage, and the lower part of the town of Plymouth been swept away. In 1830 it was

found necessary still to add to the south side, by depositing about 60,000 tons of stone as a foreshore, fifty feet in width from the toe of the south slope at low water at the west end, and thirty feet at the east end of the main arm. In 1833 it was proposed to complete the extreme western end of the breakwater with a circular head of solid masonry, with an inverted arch, as the foundation of an intended lighthouse. In February, 1838, a storm removed about 8,000 tons of stone from the foreshore at the west end, and threw them over to the north side, and disturbed a portion of the masonry, where it was unconnected or in an unfinished state. A further extension of the foreshore at this part was consequently agreed upon. Another severe storm in November of the same year, producing nearly similar results, occasioned the construction of a buttress, not only for the purpose of securing the foot of the south slope, but also to afford protection to the intended lighthouse, by breaking the force of the sea, and preventing the stones composing the foreshore from beating against the lighthouse. The force of the sea at this part of the work is so considerable, that stones of fifteen and even twenty tons have been taken from low water, and carried over the top of the work. The buttress, as well as the work round the west end at the foot of the slope at low water, is composed of granite masonry, dovetailed horizontally, and vertically fixed with iron lewes or cramps, the rough blocks formerly deposited being first removed by the aid of a diving-bell, to the depth of from three to five feet below low water, and the masonry then laid at the above-mentioned level.

It was originally calculated that 2,000,000 tons of stone would be required to construct a breakwater, according to the plan of Messrs. Rennie and Whidbey; but from the various

extensions of the work the quantity has necessarily increased, and the total amount deposited from the commencement of the work, on the 12th of August, 1812, up to the 12th of August, 1845, was 3,576,234 tons! The greatest number of tons of stones deposited in any one week amounted to 15,329, and the greatest quantity in any one year to 332,407.

The estimated cost of the breakwater, as originally planned in 1806, was £1,013,900; but this amount cannot fairly be brought into comparison with the actual outlay, owing to the frequent alterations which have taken place in the mode of executing the work, and the consequent increase in the quantity of materials required for the purpose. The expenditure upon the whole undertaking (including the lighthouse) has been about £1,300,000.

On the 22nd of February, 1841, the lighthouse was com→ menced, upon an inverted arch, the foundation of which was laid about one foot six inches below the level of low water, spring tides. It is constructed of granite finely dressed, the diameter of the base or first course being thirty-two feet. Ten steps cut in the solid granite lead from the breakwater to the outer or storm-door, which is formed of bell metal, and is in two parts, moved on rollers. The breadth of the opening at this door is three feet, and the height seven feet. Four feet further in is an inner door, made of wood, and fixed on hinges, in a bell-metal frame. Within the inner door is the ground floor, used as a store-room; it is nine feet in diameter and eight feet six inches high. Under the floor of the storeroom is a well or tank for fresh water, eight feet deep and five feet in diameter. From hence twelve granite steps lead to the second floor, which is used as a living-room; it is fourteen feet in diameter, and nine feet six inches high. Over it is a

sleeping room and a watch-room, each of the same dimensions as the living-room. The largest granite stone used in the building was in the first course, and measured nine feet two inches in length, and weighed eight tons. All the granite was brought to the work ready dressed, and the stones are vertically fixed by dovetailed slate dowells. The lantern is twelve feet wide, and seven feet six inches high, and shows a dioptric fixed light of the second order, with mirrors. The south half shows a red light, to distinguish it from the coast lights; and the north side, towards the Sound, is white.

The Breakwater is nearly one mile in length, and its width, at low water, is about eighty yards, and at top fifteen yards; its height above low water of spring tides is six yards and two feet; the south or sea slope is at an inclination of five to one, and the north or land slope two to one.

In Devonport the wonders of nature are all but surpassed by those of art. You must not leave without seeing the Royal Dockyard, which is worth a journey of a thousand miles. It exhibits the head and crown of British mechanic power. It is a monster magazine of marvels. The scale on which every action is performed, and everything exists, is gigantic, imperial, stupendous, imparting an overwhelming impression of the greatness and grandeur of the English nation. But it is impossible to survey these prodigious monuments of British wealth, and British skill in naval architecture, without the thought, which cannot be banished from the heart of the observer, that this region of maritime wonders has been created by the genius of war-that here is the treasury of Death, and that here, to a vast extent, have been prepared those instruments of wrath and destruction by which England has broken the power of Europe on every sea, and awed the wide world.