WE now come to some points in Architecture which cannot well be grouped together, and must therefore be treated as Miscellanea.

Our first example is one which was avowedly based upon an imitation of Nature, namely, the celebrated Eddystone Lighthouse, and we shall see that in two points—first its form, and next the mode in which the stones were fixed together—Nature had been closely followed by the architect.

Unlike ordinary lighthouses, this edifice had to be constructed so as to endure the full force of waves as well as wind. A few miles from the southern coasts of Devon and Cornwall there is a rock which in former times greatly endangered the ships which passed along the Channel. Several attempts were made to build a lighthouse on this dangerous spot. Winstanley's lighthouse, which was finished in 1700, was wholly swept away three years later, together with the architect himself, and some workmen who were engaged in repairs. So terrific is the force of the elements on this spot, that the lighthouse was entirely destroyed, and the only vestiges of it that were ever discovered were some iron bars and a piece of chain.

Another lighthouse was built a few years afterwards, but was burned down, it being of wood instead of stone. At last the work was put into the hands of Smeaton, who saw that he must build on a totally new plan.