March 1904MARCH 1904.
MARCH 1904.
Ofthe mighty steeds of illustrious riders, from the Bucephalus of Alexander down to the famous chargers of our present-day Generals, much has been written and even sung. Favourites of fortune, their lives were mostly cast in pleasant places; and after a brilliant career, more or less useful, permitted to end their days in secludedluxury—a privilege, by the way, not always extended to their riders. The subject of these remarks is in no way connected with the glorious achievement of arms, nor is it recorded that he ever scented the battle even from afar; yet, though compelled to wear, so to speak, the hodden grey of equine society, his claim to distinction may none the less be justified.
In July 1810, a somewhat queer procession might have been seen wending its way through Edinburgh towards the Port of Leith. Upon a cart, drawn by a powerful horse, decorated with bows and streamers of various colours, and driven by James Craw, the famous Bell Rock carter, similarly bedecked, lay the last principal stone of the Bell Rock Lighthouse. From the centre of the stone rose a flagstaff, carrying the national flag, while seamen andstonecutters—a strangecombination—gaily bedecked with variegatedribbons—the latter donning brand new aprons for theoccasion—marched in joyful procession. When abreast of the Trinity House of Leith, they were joined by the Officer of that Corporation, resplendent in full uniform, and bearing his staff of office; and on arriving at the harbour, where theSmeaton—engaged in transporting material to the BellRock—lay, the entire shipping hoisted their colours in salute, thus indicating the amount of public interest evinced in the progress of the Lighthouse.
An item of interest, at this time, was a visit by Mrs Dickson, a daughter of Smeaton of Eddystonefame—whose principles were largely taken advantage of in the construction of the Bell RockLighthouse—to inspect the vessel, named in honour of her distinguished father. “In stepping on board,” writes Mr Stevenson in his ‘Bell Rock Lighthouse,’ “Mrs Dickson seemed quite overcome by so many concurrent circumstances tending in a peculiar manner to revive and enliven the memory of her departed father; and, on leaving the vessel, she would not be restrained from presenting the crew with a piece of money.”
Though the site of the workyard in connection with the building was situated in Arbroath, from its contiguity to the Rock, it was found necessary, owing to the liability of the stones procured from Mylnefield Quarry, near Dundee, to injury fromfrost—from which cause many valuable stones had already beenlost—to procure stones for the cornice of the building and parapet wall of the lightroom which would admit of being wrought with safety during the winter months. The desired qualities of durability and immunity from injury by frost were ultimately found in the famous Liver-rock of the Craigleith Quarry. At Greenside, Edinburgh, a vacant piece of ground was procured; and here the cornice and parapet wall were hewn and built in position for the fitting of the huge cast-iron lantern.
The horse in question had, with his driver, been employed in the workyard at Arbroath, and was computed to have drawn the materials of the lighthouse, extending to upwards of two thousand tons in its finished state, three or fourtimes—in removing the blocks of stone from the ship to the workyard, again to the platform upon which each course was temporarily built, from the workyard to where they were shipped for the Rock, besides occasional movements to and from the hands of the stonecutters. Deciding that “Bassey” and his driver should have the honour of participating in the closing scene of the undertaking, they were accordingly transported by sea to Leith.
In the course of their passage in theSmeaton, the vessel narrowly escaped shipwreck. Under orders to call at the Rock for lumber, they had apparently lost their bearings through fog; for, suddenly startled by the sound of the smith’s hammer and anvil, they had just time to put the ship about and escape running full tilt on the north-west portion of the Rock, which, from this incident, still bears the name of “James Craw’s Horse.”
On the completion of operations at the Rock, the horse “Bassey,” failing somewhat from age, was pensioned off by the Commissioners, and allowed to roam at liberty on the island of Inchkeith till his death in 1813. “The fame of this animal’s labours,” writes Mr Stevenson, “together with his strength and excellent proportions as a draught-horse, having attracted the attention of Dr John Barclay, that eminent anatomist procured the bones and set them up in his museum. This valuable collection, it is understood, is to be bequeathed to the College of Surgeons of Edinburgh; so that the bones of the Bell Rock horse” (to use the doctor’s own language) “will be seen and admired as a useful skeleton and a source of instruction when those of his employers lie mingled with the dust.”
With the exception of a few days, the weather this month has been extremely favourable; indeed, for the greater part, summer-like—a pleasant change from what we have experienced of late. The peculiar white rubber-like folds of ribbon which have been adhering to the Rock surface for the past two months, and which we erroneously supposed to be the ova of some fish, turn out to be the spawn of the slugs I have already described, and with which the Rock has been freely invested oflate—proof of which several have been seen in the act of extrusion. These shell-less molluscs have been much in evidence this season; and representatives of three distinct families are to be met with, namely, the Onchidoridæ, Tritoniidæ, and Eolididæ. Cannibals, they attack their own species without compunction, and devour each other’s spawn. Darwin computed that some “ribbons” contained as many as six hundred thousand eggs. The acorn barnacles which have escaped the voracity of the white whelks have in some places attained a height of two inches. On examination, each shelly casement is seen charged with spawn, which, later on, will be liberated as free swimmers, totally unlike the parent form, to enjoy a brief period of unrestricted freedom before settling down on the Rock surface, or, for that matter, any immersed object that comes handy, and ultimately assuming the adult form. The young swimmer, feeling itself gradually becoming invested with a shelly covering, casts about for a suitable site to pass the remainder of its existence. Selecting the Rock surface, it attaches itself by its head, the antennæ become cemented to the surface, the eyes remain in a rudimentary form, the shelly plates which latterly form the door of its domicile appear, a few more pairs of legs are developed, and by a series of frequent moultings (like other crustaceans) arrives at the perfect state. The bunches of “fingers” which we see this animal protrude and withdraw when under water are in reality its feet, of which there are twelve pairs, the rhythmic expansion and contraction of which induce a current in the water attracting to its mouth the minute objects upon which it feeds, thus giving rise to the saying that this animal stands on its head and literally kicks its food into its mouth. In all other crustacea the sexes are distinct, the barnacles alone having the peculiarity of being bi-sexual, or having both sexes united in the same individual. The general tendency throughoutnature—the evolution from a lower to a higher order, from the simple to thecomplex—appears in the case of the barnacle to be reversed. Gifted in the initial stage of its existence with all the functions of a free-swimming animal, and possessing organs which ultimately become rudimentary, the final phase in which all power of volition is lost, certainly does not appear one of progression.
Hermit crabs are at present abundant, and also demonstrate their wonderful fecundity.Starfishes—principally the five-rayedvariety—are now numerous, and garnish each shallow pool. Sea-urchins, though never plentiful here, are occasionally met with, some having been found recently no larger than a pea. On the 20th the advent of the paidle-fish was announced by a small patch of ova underneath a projecting ledge of rock, and, on the same date, by a reconnoitring “cock.” The young of last summer are met with adhering to stones in the shallow pools; and, contrary to our expectations, though only two inches long, were found to contain spawn. The spring migratory movement has sent but few birds our way this year. A few thrushes, blackbirds, larks, starlings, and a couple of pied wagtails composed our list. By the middle of the month, the longtailed ducks had gone north to nest, and but four pairs of eiders now remain.