feet high, and supporting a blazing urn of gilded brass. Of statues in Britain, the largest, we believe, is that just completed by Wyatt in honour of the Duke of Wellington. It is equestrian; and such are its dimensions, that a man on horseback may ride between the horse's legs. Its capacious stomach forms a compartment in which some fifty men might be packed away, and in which thirteen persons have actually dined. head is six feet in length, which may enable the reader to judge of the other proportions. The horse is standing on its four legs, and its rider is also in an attitude of repose, with the exception of the right hand, which is extended, holding a telescope, as in the act of giving the word of command on the field of battle.

The

Paris can also boast of several, perhaps of more remarkable, monuments of this kind than any other modern city. The chief of these are the noble column erected in the Place Vendôme, formed on the model of that of Trajan at Rome, covered with bronze castings, representing the achievements of the Grand Army in 1805, and surmounted by a statue of Napoleon; and the Colonne de Juillet, a large Doric column, erected in the Place de la Bastile in commemoration of the Revolution of 1830, 130 feet in height, surmounted by a colossal figure of the genius of France. The colossal equestrian statue of Peter the Great in the Russian capital, is another of the magnificent achievements of modern art. The monarch is represented in the attitude of mounting a precipice, the summit of which he has nearly attained. This precipice and pedestal, which consists of a single block of granite, weighing between 1500 and 2000 tons, was found at a distance of several miles from the capital, and its conveyance thither was a work of extraordinary difficulty. The column erected in honour of the late Emperor Alexander is another surprising monolithe, being the largest yet known. The column is 150 feet high; the pedestal is of granite and bronze; and the shaft consists of a single piece of red granite, 84 feet long, and 14 feet in diameter ! The column is surmounted by a capital and a small dome in bronze, on which is placed a statue emblematical of Religion.

LIGHTHOUSES AND BEACONS.

Among the achievements of architectural art, none exhibit greater ingenuity or boldness of design than those erections generally placed in the most perilous and difficult situations for the guidance of vessels at sea. The most ancient structure of this description which we read of was the Tower of Pharos-regarded by our ancestors as one of the seven wonders. It was commenced by Ptolemy the Elder, and finished some years after by himself and his son Ptolemy Philadelphus, in the year of the world 3670, on the island of Pharos, in the bay of Alexandria. "It was built," says an ancient authority, " on the east end of this island, upon a rock of white marble, of a large square structure, on the top of which fires were kept constantly

burning for the direction of vessels. It was a most magnificent tower, 450 feet high, consisting of several storeys and galleries, with a lantern at top, which could be seen many leagues at sea." This wonderful work has been demolished for ages; but in its place stands a fort called Farillon, where a garrison is kept to defend the harbour.

The Colossus of Rhodes was another ancient erection of this kind, and justly regarded as one of the seven ancient wonders. According to popular tradition, it was the statue or figure of a man, dedicated to Apollo, and built in such a manner as to stand astride the entrance into the harbour, that ships might sail between its legs, which were full 50 feet asunder.

A staircase was built up the inside of it, and in the outstretched right hand was a basin or dish to hold fire, as a land-mark, like our lighthouses. The entire figure was 105 feet in height, and built of brass. It was twelve years in building, and only stood fiftysix, being thrown down by an earthquake, in which state it remained till the year A.D. 672. When the Saracens took possession of the island, they demolished it, and sold the remains of the metal. It is but right to state that we have no ancient authority for this account, Pliny and others simply mentioning the proportions of the Colossus, the date of its erection, and the fact of its overthrow. That it stood across the entrance of the harbour in the manner above-described, was first stated by Blaise de Vigénere, a writer of the sixteenth century, and his description has since been generally adopted without comment or inquiry.

The Light-Tower of Corduan, in France, situated upon a low rock about three miles from land, at the mouth of the Garonne, was for a long time regarded as one of the chief wonders of modern Europe. It was founded in 1584, and completed in 1610. Its lower part consists of a solid platform of masonry, 135 feet in diameter, above which, in succession, are a number of apartments, all narrowing in circumference till the upper storey is reachedbeing in all 145 feet high. This erection still answers its original purpose, being now fitted up with lamps and reflectors.

In our own day, the most celebrated lighthouse is that built on the Eddystone rocks-a low reef, situated south-south-west from the middle of Plymouth Sound, nearly fourteen miles distant from that port, and about ten from the promontory of Ramhead. The reef, which stretches across the Channel for upwards of 200 yards, slopes gradually towards the south to the distance of a mile, so that the swell sweeps up, as it were, an incline, till within a few fathoms of the exposed rock, where, striking against a sudden ledge, it breaks, and dashes upwards to a height of forty or fifty feet. On this dangerous reef the necessity of a lighthouse was early felt; and accordingly, in 1696, a gentleman of the name of Winstanley was furnished with the necessary powers to carry such a design into execution. He entered upon his task in 1696, and completed it in four years. So certain was

Winstanley of the stability of his wooden structure, that he declared it to be his wish to be in it "during the greatest storm that ever blew under the face of heaven;" a wish that was but too' soon and fatally gratified, for in November 1703, while there with some workmen and the light-keepers, a storm of unparalleled violence arose, and in one night the whole fabric was swept away. In 1709 another lighthouse was built of wood by a Mr Rudyerd; and this structure, after braving the elements for forty-six years, was burned down in 1755. On the destruction of this lighthouse, Mr Smeaton, the celebrated engineer, was next applied to, who at once fixed upon the more durable material, stone, and chose for his model the natural figure of the trunk or bole of a large spreading oak. With these views as to the proper form of the superstructure, Mr Smeaton began the work on the 2d of April 1757, and finished it on the 4th of August 1759. The rock, which slopes toward the south-west, is cut into horizontal steps, into which are dovetailed and united by a strong cement Portland stone and granite. The whole, to the height of 35 feet from the foundation, is a solid of stones, ingrafted into each other, and united by every means of additional strength. The building has four rooms, one over the other, and at the top a gallery and lantern. It is nearly 80 feet high; and since its completion, has been assaulted by the fury of the elements, without suffering any appreciable injury.

Equally remarkable with the lighthouse of the Eddystone, is that of the Bell-Rock-a sunken reef, lying at the distance of eleven miles from the pro

montory called the Red Head, in Forfarshire, and on the highway to the firths of Forth and Tay, two of the most frequented estuaries in the kingdom. The ledge is said to be about 850 yards in length and 110 in breadth; at low water, some of its summits appear from 4 to 8 feet above the level of the sea; but at high water, they are always covered to the depth of 10 or 12 feet. Tradition says that the abbots of the monastery of Aberbrothock succeeded in fixing a bell, which was rung by the swell of the sea, so as to warn the mariner of his situation; but that this benevolent erection was de

stroyed by a Dutch pirate, who, to complete the story, was after

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wards lost upon the rock with his vessel and crew. However this may have been, it was not till the beginning of the present century that a solid substantial lighthouse, after the model of the Eddystone, was determined upon, and erected. This work was intrusted to Mr Stevenson, the Scottish engineer; was begun in 1808, and completed in 1810. Being lower in the water than any rock on which a similar building has been raised, the difficulties of the architect were greatly increased; but by preparing all the stones on shore, and conveying them in lighters to the reef, where a tender and other accommodation were provided for the workmen, his success was complete, and the revolving ruddy light of the Bell-Rock now ranks among the chief achievements of British architectural ingenuity. The lighthouse," we quote the Edinburgh Encyclopædia, "is a circular building, measuring 42 feet in diameter at the base, and 13 feet in diameter at the top. The masonry is 100 feet in height, and, including the light-room, it is 115 feet. The ascent from the rock to the top of the solid, or lowest thirty feet, is by means of a kind of trap ladder; the ascent from the level of the entrance door is by means of a circular stair to the first apartment, containing the water, fuel, &c.; and from thence to the several apartments the communication is by wooden steps. The windows have all double sash-frames, glazed with plate-glass, besides a storm-shutter of timber for the defence of the glass against the sprays of the sea; for although the light-room is about 88 feet above the medium level of the tide, and is defended by a projecting cornice or balcony, with a cast-iron rail, formed like the meshes in network, yet the sprays of the sea occasionally lash or fall upon the glass of the light-room, so that it becomes necessary in gales of wind to shut the whole of the dead-lights to the windward."

Though not to be compared with those of Eddystone or the Bell-Rock, there are other lighthouses along our coast in very bold and perilous situations; and it has been recently attempted to erect one on the fatal shifting sands of Godwin, at the mouth of the Thames-a feat which, if successfully accomplished, will undoubtedly be without a parallel.

Closely allied to lighthouses are beacons, piers, and other marine structures, of which none can boast of more utility or greater national importance than the Plymouth Breakwater. This erection consists of an immense mole, stretching for a full mile across the middle of the sound or opening, which forms the entrance to the harbours of Plymouth and Devonport. This sound has been for many years the principal place of rendezvous for the fleets of the royal navy; but, though possessing numerous advantages over every other port in the south-west of England, it had one great fault-that of being open to the fury of gales from the south and west, to which this part of the country is much exposed. Some defence from the inroads of these gales had long

been a subject of public discussion; and in 1812 the suggestion of Messrs Rennie and Whidbey, that an "insulated pier should be constructed, extending 1700 yards across the middle of the sound," was adopted, and the work commenced. Twentyfive acres of limestone rock, on the east bank of Catwater, were purchased from the Duke of Bedford for its construction; and on the 12th of August the foundation stone, a huge block of marble raised for the purpose, was laid, or rather thrown into the sea, with great ceremony. In March 1813 the first stone was observed above the surface of low water; and by the end of 1816 the work was considered as half completed, at an expense of £364,000. The blocks, weighing from one to eight tons each, were carried to the spot in vessels constructed for the purpose. In 1822 about two millions of tons of stones had been laid; and the principal object of the breakwater being attained, there was a great reduction in the number of men and vessels employed, and a consequent slowness in bringing the work to a conclusion. In February 1841 a lighthouse was begun at the western extremity-the western entrance to the sound being the safest, and the only one used by large vessels at night. The height of this tower is about 60 feet, or more than 120 feet from the bottom of the sea. It is wholly built of granite, and is divided into five storeys-respectively serving for oil-room, storeroom, dwelling-room, sleeping-room, and one above, over which is placed the lantern. The entrance, about twelve feet from the breakwater, is guarded by two massive sliding doors of bellmetal; and the steps, or winding-stairs, which lead to the different apartments, are hewn out of the stones which form the thick walls of the structure. The sashes of the windows are also of bell-metal, and the panes of thick plate-glass. The lighthouse, which may be said to have completed the breakwater, was finished in 1843; the whole structure having required upwards of four millions of tons of rough stones, besides about eighty thousand tons of cut granite.

AQUEDUCTS.

Familiar as the last half century has made us with vast economical erections, one cannot look back to the aqueducts of the ancients-those stupendous tiers of arches upon which they conducted their supplies of water across valleys and riverswithout regarding them with curious interest. Though remains of aqueducts, or water-courses, are yet to be discerned in Syria, Persia, and other eastern countries, it was only among the Romans that the construction of such works was carried to true magnificence and perfection, and this not only for the supply of their own capital, but also for the benefit of the chief towns in their subject provinces. The aqueducts of Rome extended thirty, forty, and even sixty miles from the city, in one continued covered channel of stone, carried by arcades over the

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