weather having greatly moderated, Captain Taylor, who now

commanded the SMEATON, sailed at two o'clock a.m. for the Bell
Rock. At five the floating light was hailed and found to be

all well. Being a fine moonlight morning, the seamen were
changed from the one ship to the other. At eight, the SMEATON

being off the rock, the boats were manned, and taking a supply
of water, fuel, and other necessaries, landed at the western

side, when Mr. Reid and Mr. Fortune were found in good health
and spirits.

Mr. Reid stated that during the late gales, particularly
on Friday, the 30th, the wind veering from S.E. to N.E., both

he and Mr. Fortune sensibly felt the house tremble when
particular seas struck, about the time of high-water; the

former observing that it was a tremor of that sort which
rather tended to convince him that everything about the

building was sound, and reminded him of the effect produced
when a good log of timber is struck sharply with a mallet;

but, with every confidence in the stability of the building,
he nevertheless confessed that, in so forlorn a situation,

they were not insensible to those emotions which, he
emphatically observed, `made a man look back upon his former

life.'
[1881 Friday, 1st Feb.]

The day, long wished for, on which the mariner was to see
a light exhibited on the Bell Rock at length arrived. Captain

Wilson, as usual, hoisted the float's lanterns to the topmast
on the evening of the 1st of February; but the moment that the

light appeared on the rock, the crew, giving three cheers,
lowered them, and finally extinguished the lights.

End

• moonlight [´mu:nlait] n.&a.月光(的) (初中英语单词)
• convince [kən´vins] vt.使确信；使认识错误 (初中英语单词)
• timber [´timbə] n.木材；木料；横梁 (初中英语单词)
• sharply [´ʃɑ:pli] ad.锋利地；剧烈地 (初中英语单词)
• nevertheless [,nevəðə´les] conj.&ad.然而；不过 (初中英语单词)
• forlorn [fə´lɔ:n] a.被遗弃的；绝望的 (高中英语单词)
• mariner [´mærinə] n.海员；水手 (高中英语单词)
• stability [stə´biliti] n.稳定；巩固；坚定 (英语四级单词)
• taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)
• insensible [in´sensəbəl] a.麻木的；冷淡的 (英语六级单词)