destroyed by fire.  It was the work of years to construct and build a lighthouse on a rock in the midst of the stormy seas, but a third was built by Smeaton in 1759, this time made of granite and Portland stone, and modelled after the shape of the trunk of an old oak tree.  The stones had been prepared on land, and were sent to the rock as required for the various positions, and so the lighthouse was raised in about four months.

This one was strongly built, and braved the storms for more than a hundred years, and was still in position when we visited Plymouth; but a portion of the rock on which it was built was causing some anxiety, as it showed signs of giving way.  A fourth lighthouse was therefore prepared during the years 1879-82, being built wholly of granite, the old lighthouse doing duty meanwhile.  This was designed and carried out by Sir James Douglas, at a cost of about L80,000.  It was a substantial structure, and built on a different foundation 133 feet high, being 50 feet taller than its predecessor, and containing a number of rooms.  It had two 2-ton bells at the top to sound in foggy weather, and the flash-lights could be seen from a distance of many miles.

The greater portion of the old lighthouse built by Smeaton was carefully taken down and removed to Plymouth, where it was re-erected on the Hoe as a lasting memorial to the man whose wonderful genius had conferred such a benefit on the sailors of all nations—­for it was impossible to calculate how many lives had been saved during the 120 years his lighthouse had been protecting the ships of all nations from the dangerous reef on which it stood.  The old lighthouse now forms a conspicuous object on the Hoe, and contains some interesting relics, and in the lantern are the candlesticks in which the lights were placed that guided the mariners across the stormy ocean in past ages.  Over the lantern are the words “24 August 1759” and “Laus Deo” (Praise to God), for the goodness of the Almighty was always acknowledged in those days both in construction of great works and otherwise, and another inscription also appears which seems very appropriate: 

   Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it.

Plymouth at first sight had the appearance of a new town, with so many new buildings to attract the eye of a stranger.  Elihu Burritt, however, when he, like ourselves, was journeying to Land’s End, described it as “the Mother Plymouth sitting by the Sea.”  The new buildings have replaced or swamped the older erections; but a market has existed there since 1253, and members have been returned to Parliament since 1292, while its list of mayors is continuous from the year 1439.  It was to Plymouth that the Black Prince returned with his fleet after his great victories in France in the reign of Edward III.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Plymouth was the port from which expeditions were sent out to explore and form colonies in hitherto unknown places abroad, and in these some of the most daring sailors the world has ever known took part.