The first modern lighthouse of a solid and permanent character erected on the shores of England was built, it is said, at Lowestoft in Suffolk, in 1609. In 1665 one was erected at Hunstanton Point; and in 1680, a third on the Scilly Isles. About the same time were established the lighthouses at Dungeness and Orfordness. But all these wore of clumsy construction, of very slight elevation, and of inconsiderable illuminating power. To inaugurate the modern lighthouse the genius of John Smeaton was needed; and from the date of his marvellous monument on the Eddystone Rock up to the present time, nearly every dangerous point of our coasts, every harbour and every river-mouth, has been included in the system of defence which guards our imperial commerce, and enables the seaman to navigate the British waters in almost perfect safety. CHAPTER II. THE EDDYSTONE LIGHTHOUSE. About fourteen miles to the south-west of Plymouth harbour, and out in the deep and billowy channel, lies a reel or ledge of rocks, known, in allusion to the swirl of currents always tossing and seething around it, by the name of the Eddystone. This reef is situated in a line with Lizard Head in Cornwall, and Start Point in Devonshire. Consequently, it forms a perilous obstruction, not only in the water-way which leads to the great arsenal and haven of South Devon, but in the track of all vessels entering or leaving the English Channel; which, we may add, is frequented by a greater number of ships than any other part of the wide ocean. [Sidenote: The Eddystone rock.] When the tide is up, its hoary crest is scarcely visible, but its position is shown by the eddy which washes to and fro above it; at low tide, several low, jagged, and dreary ridges of gneiss lift their heads from the boiling waves. During a stiff breeze from the south-west, these form the centre, the focus, as it were, of a boiling caldron of waters, and no ship enticed within their vortex can escape destruction. [Sidenote: Henry Winstanley.] As may be supposed, the erection of a lighthouse on rocks so perilous came to be regarded as an urgent need soon after men had learned the value of commercial enterprise. The task, however, seemed so dangerous, not to say impossible, that no one ventured to attempt it, until 1696, when it was undertaken by a noble and patriotic gentleman, named Henry Winstanley, who was much grieved by the loss of life which annually occurred there.