year: the undertaking having originated in
consequence of the loss of the ship _Clarendon_ (see p. 85). From the
frequent wrecks on this most dangerous part of the coast, it is rather
surprizing that such a warning friend to the hapless mariner was not
erected before: because many of the catastrophes were owing to the want
of some light or signal in the night, which could be distinctly seen by
seamen long ere they reached the fatal shore. It is true indeed, that
between 50 and 60 years ago, a Light-house was built on the summit of
St. Catharine's down, but for some reason not known to the public, it
never was equipped and lighted: and was in fact very soon abandoned. It
has been said that the site was too elevated, that it would be quite
obscured by fogs and mists in those very seasons when its friendly ray
was the most required;--it might be so, but certainly that was never
proved by the experiment: and it seems strange that these grounds of
objection were not suggested to the projectors in time.

The new Light-house stands near the edge of the sea-cliffs, at an
elevation of about fifty feet above the beach. The stone Tower is 101
feet high from the surface of the ground, besides the lantern of about
20 feet more: and the foundation is of _solid masonry_ to the depth of
thirty feet! The requisite offices for the two light-keepers are built
round the foot of the tower, and are comparatively low, so that at a
distance the lofty fabric appears as a magnificent column, or

"Like some tall watch-tower nodding o'er the deep,
Whose rocky base the foaming waters sweep."

Inside the tower a broad stone staircase winds spirally to the top; and
many visitors make the ascent, for the sake of the beautiful view
afforded of the adjacent part of the Undercliff, as well as for
examining the splendid and complicated lantern.

* * * * *

As the carriage-road now pursues its mazy course through ...

"Crags, knolls, and mounds, confus'dly hurl'd,
The fragments of an earlier world,"

We soon reach the locality of the SANDROCK CHALYBEATE SPRING: easily
recognized by the low thatched roof of the Dispensary Cottage, that
stands nearly on the brow of the cliff, as the water issues from a rock
considerably below, inclosed in a plain piece of masonry. It has been
proved by repeated analyses, that there is a larger proportion of iron
and alumine in this than in any other mineral water yet disc