s in November 1703, when Winstanley expressed the wish that he
might experience, in his lighthouse, the greatest storm that ever blew.
On the 26th of that month his wish was granted! That night there arose
one of the fiercest gales that ever strewed our shores with wrecks and
corpses. The day before the storm, there were indications of its
approach, so John Potter went down to the shore to look with some
anxiety at the lighthouse. There it stood, as the sun went down, like a
star on the horizon, glimmering above the waste of foaming water. When
the dark pall and the driving sprays of that terrible night hid it from
view, John turned his back on the sea and sought the shelter of his
humble home.

It was a cheery home though a poor one, for Mrs Potter was a good
housewife, despite her sharp temper; and the threatening aspect of the
weather had subdued her somewhat.

"You wouldn't like to be a lighthouse-keeper on a night like this, John,
would you?" asked Mrs Potter, as she busied herself with supper.

"May be not: but I would be content to take things as they are sent.
Anyhow, I mean to apply for the situation, because I like the notion of
the quiet life, and the wage will be good as well as sure, which will be
a matter of comfort to you, old girl. You often complain, you know, of
the uncertainty of my present employment."

"Ay, but I'd rather 'ave that uncertainty than see you run the risk of
bein' drownded in a light'ouse," said Mrs Potter, glancing uneasily at
the window, which rattled violently as the fury of the gale increased.

"Oh, faither," exclaimed Tommy, pausing with a potato halfway to his
mouth, as he listened partly in delight and partly in dread to the
turmoil without: "I wish I was a man that I might go with 'ee to live in
the light'ouse. Wot fun it would be to hear the gale roarin' out
_there_, an' to see the big waves _so close_, an' to feel the house
shake, and--oh!"

The last syllable expressed partly his inability to say more, and partly
his horror at seeing the fire blown almost into the room!

For some time past the smoke had poured down the chimney, but the last
burst convinced John Potter that it was high time to extinguish the fire
altogether.

This accomplished, he took down an old family Bible from a shelf, and
had worship, for he was a man who feared and loved God. Earnestly did
he pray, for he had a son in the coasting trade whom he knew to be out
upon the raging sea that nig