an'
dirt'in' of your hands and pinafores, an'--"

The old lady, relapsing here into early reminiscences, once more retired
within herself, while. Teddy Maroon and John Potter, mentioning their
ignorance as to the architect who had undertaken the great work,
demanded of "Mister Thomas" if he could enlighten them.

"Of course I can," he replied, "for he is well known to his friends as a
most able man, and will become better known to the world, if I may
venture to prophesy, as the builder of what is sure to be the most
famous lighthouse on the English coast. His name is Smeaton, and he is
not an engineer."

"Not an engineer?" echoed Teddy and old John, in surprise.

"No, he's a mathematical instrument maker."

"Well now," said John Potter, gazing meditatively into the fireplace
where Nora had evoked a tiny flame, "that is strange. This Eddystun
Rock seems to have what I may call a pecooliar destiny. The builder of
the first light'ouse was a country gentleman; of the second, a
silk-mercer; and now, as you say, the third is to be put up by a maker
o' mathymatical instruments. I only hope," continued John, shaking his
head gravely at the fireplace, "that he won't make a mess of it like the
others did."

"Come now, father," returned his son, "don't say that the others made a
mess of it. We must remember that Winstanley began his building in what
we may call total darkness. No other man before him had attempted such
a work, so that he had no predecessor whose good points he might
imitate, or whose failures he might avoid. Many a trained engineer
might have made a worse mess of it, and, to my mind, it says much for
poor Winstanley's capacity, all things considered, that his lighthouse
stood so long as the six or seven years of its building. Then as to
Rudyerd's one, it was in reality a great success. It stood firm for
nigh fifty years, and, but for the fire, might have stood for any number
of years to come. It cannot be justly said that he made a mess of it.
As well might you say that the builders of a first-rate ship made a mess
of it because someone set her alight after she had sailed the ocean for
half a century."

"True, Tommy, true," said old John, nodding acquiescence emphatically.
On seeing this, old Martha, knowing nothing about the matter because of
her deafness, nodded emphatically also, and said, "that's so, Tommy, I
always 'ad a settled conviction that you was right, except," she added,
as if to