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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: 33 To a voyager approaching the shores of England from the westward, one of the earliest objects for his attention would be a strange-looking craft moored in deep water midway between the Scilly Islands and the main. She floats, but does not seem to move; she has masts, but they are short and thick, with no sails, the rigging consisting only of a few stays, and the masts terminating in large open globes. The hull is of a bright red, with the name of the vessel painted in huge capitals upon her sides; and she lies as idle (but not as useless) as a painted ship upon a painted ocean. If the voyager should be a man of inquiring disposition, and were to go on board this curiosity, he would find a watch on deck, and (if it were Sunday) eleven or twelve men, all in uniform and all at prayers in the clean-swept cabin. There are no traces of trade or commerce, and, apart from the carronadcs for signals, the fittings speak still less of war. The flag has four ancient ships upon it, the arms have a mystical and religious motto, and something will probably be said about the guild, fraternity, and brotherhood of the holy and undivided Trinity; but even if the observer be come from a Catholic country, he will soon perceive that this, being a light-ship, cannot possibly be a relic of the dark ages. The light-vessel is a thing characteristic of England; and it is rather strange that whilst there are at this moment thirty-four light-vessels at public stations round the coast of England proper, there are only four in Ireland, and none in Scotland. The reason is partly a geological one. The shores of Scotland and Ireland are chiefly granite, porphyry, and the harder rocks; and although centuries upon centuries of weather have disintegrated the softer veins in these, and created deeply-se...
| ISBN-13 | 9780217580106 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10 | 0217580106 |
| Weight | 2.34 Pounds |
| Dimensions | 9.00 x 6.00 x 1.61 In |
| List Price | $44.45 |
| Format | Paperback |
|---|---|
| Pages | 734 pages |
| Publisher | |
| Published On | 2009-08-01 |
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