[Monday, 17th Aug.]

The tide happening to fall late in the evening of Monday
the 17th, the party, counting twenty-four in number, embarked

on board of the SMEATON about ten o'clock p.m., and sailed
from Arbroath with a gentle breeze at west. Our ship's

colours having been flying all day in compliment to the
commencement of the work, the other vessels in the harbour

also saluted, which made a very gay appearance. A number of
the friends and acquaintances of those on board having been

thus collected, the piers, though at a late hour, were
perfectly crowded, and just as the SMEATON cleared the

harbour, all on board united in giving three hearty cheers,
which were returned by those on shore in such good earnest,

that, in the still of the evening, the sound must have been
heard in all parts of the town, re-echoing from the walls and

lofty turrets of the venerable Abbey of Aberbrothwick. The
writer felt much satisfaction at the manner of this parting

scene, though he must own that the present rejoicing was, on
his part, mingled with occasional reflections upon the

responsibility of his situation, which extended to the safety
of all who should be engaged in this perilous work. With such

sensations he retired to his cabin; but as the artificers were
rather inclined to move about the deck than to remain in their

confined berths below, his repose was transient, and the
vessel being small every motion was necessarily heard. Some

who were musically inclined occasionally sung; but he listened
with peculiar pleasure to the sailor at the helm, who hummed

over Dibdin's characteristic air:-
`They say there's a Providence sits up aloft,

To keep watch for the life of poor Jack.'
[Tuesday, 18th Aug.]

The weather had been very gentle all night, and, about
four in the morning of the 18th, the SMEATON anchored.

Agreeably to an arranged plan of operations, all hands were
called at five o'clock a.m., just as the highest part of the

Bell Rock began to show its sable head among the light
breakers, which occasionally whitened with the foaming sea.

The two boats belonging to the floating light attended the
SMEATON, to carry the artificers to the rock, as her boat

could only accommodate about six or eight sitters. Every one
was more eager than his neighbour to leap into the boats and

it required a good deal of management on the part of the
coxswains to get men unaccustomed to a boat to take their

places for rowing and at the same time trimming her properly.
The landing-master and foreman went into one boat, while the

writer took charge of another, and steered it to and from the
rock. This became the more necessary in the early stages of

the work, as places could not be spared for more than two, or
at most three seamen to each boat, who were always stationed,

one at the bow, to use the boat-hook in fending or pushing
off, and the other at the aftermost oar, to give the proper

time in rowing, while the middle oars were double-banked, and
rowed by the artificers.

As the weather was extremely fine, with light airs of
wind from the east, we landed without difficulty upon the

central part of the rock at half-past five, but the water had
not yet sufficiently left it for commencing the work. This

interval, however, did not pass unoccupied. The first and
last of all the principal operations at the Bell Rock were

accompanied by three hearty cheers from all hands, and, on
occasions like the present, the steward of the ship attended,

when each man was regaled with a glass of rum. As the water
left the rock about six, some began to bore the holes for the

great bats or holdfasts, for fixing the beams of the Beacon-
house, while the smith was fully attended in laying out the

site of his forge, upon a somewhat sheltered spot of the rock,
which also recommended itself from the vicinity of a pool of

water for tempering his irons. These preliminary steps
occupied about an hour, and as nothing further could be done

during this tide towards fixing the forge, the workmen
gratified their curiosity by roaming about the rock, which

they investigated with great eagerness till the tide
overflowed it. Those who had been sick picked dulse (FUCUS

PALMATUS), which they ate with much seemingappetite; others
were more intent upon collecting limpets for bait, to enjoy

the amusement of fishing when they returned on board of the
vessel. Indeed, none came away empty-handed, as everything

found upon the Bell Rock was considered valuable, being
connected with some interesting association. Several coins,

and numerous bits of shipwrecked iron, were picked up, of
almost every description; and, in particular, a marking-iron

lettered JAMES - a circumstance of which it was thought proper
to give notice to the public, as it might lead to the

knowledge of some unfortunateshipwreck, perhaps unheard of
till this simple occurrence led to the discovery. When the

rock began to be overflowed, the landing-master arranged the
crews of the respective boats, appointing twelve persons to

each. According to a rule which the writer had laid down to
himself, he was always the last person who left the rock.

In a short time the Bell Rock was laid completely under
water, and the weather being extremely fine, the sea was so

smooth that its place could not be pointed out from the
appearance of the surface - a circumstance which sufficiently

demonstrates the dangerous nature of this rock, even during
the day, and in the smoothest and calmest state of the sea.

During the interval between the morning and the evening tides,
the artificers were variously employed in fishing and reading;

others were busy in drying and adjusting their wet clothes,
and one or two amused their companions with the violin and

German flute.
About seven in the evening the signal bell for landing on

the rock was again rung, when every man was at his quarters.
In this service it was thought more appropriate to use the

bell than to PIPE to quarters, as the use of this instrument
is less known to the mechanic than the sound of the bell. The

landing, as in the morning, was at the eastern harbour.
During this tide the seaweed was pretty well cleared from the

site of the operations, and also from the tracks leading to
the different landing-places; for walking upon the rugged

surface of the Bell Rock, when covered with seaweed, was found
to be extremely difficult and even dangerous. Every hand that

could possibly be occupied now employed in assisting the smith
to fit up the apparatus for his forge. At 9 p.m. the boats

returned to the tender, after other two hours' work, in the
same order as formerly - perhaps as much gratified with the

success that attended the work of this day as with any other
in the whole course of the operations. Although it could not

he said that the fatigues of this day had been great, yet all
on board retired early to rest. The sea being calm, and no

movement on deck, it was pretty generally remarked in the
morning that the bell awakened the greater number on board

from their first sleep; and though this observation was not
altogether applicable to the writer himself, yet he was not a

little pleased to find that thirty people could all at once
become so reconciled to a night's quarters within a few

hundred paces of the Bell Rock.
[Wednesday, 19th Aug.]

Being extremelyanxious at this time to get forward with
fixing the smith's forge, on which the progress of the work at

present depended, the writer requested that he might be called