hould be left on
a solitary rock, with the corpse of his comrade, while the seething
waters prevented any one from coming to his assistance. But even now
the life is sufficiently trying. Human nature is apt to be awkward,
and it is desirable that the light-keepers should be good tempered,
friendly men, who will not soon tire of each other, nor quarrel over
misunderstandings and differences of opinion. It must be a happy thing
for a man who is a lighthouse watcher, to be God-fearing and Christian,
and have a wife and children about him. Such a lighthouse as the one
in which he lives may be a Bethel, even though it be in a measure cut
off from all other human habitations. And those who dwell in it may
well feel that they have the especial care and sympathy of the Lord
Jesus, who loved the sea, and frequented it during his stay in this
world. How often must they long to hear His voice coming across the
turmoil of the angry waters, and saying, "It is I, be not afraid." And
how good it must be when the shadows fall, and the night with its
mystery and dangers broods over the waves, for the man to give himself
and his dear ones into the powerful keeping of the Prince of Peace.
From such homes may well come strong brave men, and virtuous women, who
shall always be on the side of right against might--goodness against
evil. Such a home, we may well believe, was that of James Darling, the
father of the heroic maiden of the Farne Isles.[2]

[1] "Poems by Jean Ingelow." Longmans & Co., London.

[2] The writer is indebted for much of the information contained in
this chapter to a deeply interesting and excellent volume by Mr. W. H.
Davenport Adams, entitled, "Lighthouses and Lightships," published by
T. Nelson and Sons, London and Edinburgh.

CHAPTER V.

LIGHTHOUSE GUESTS.

"So low did her secure foundations lie;
She was not humble, but humility.
Scarcely she knew that she was great, or fair,
Or wise, beyond what other women are
Or (which is better) knew, but never durst compare.
For to be conscious of what all admire
And not be vain, advances virtue higher.
But still she found, or rather thought she found,
Her own worth wanting, others to abound;
Ascribed above their due to every one,
Unjust and scanty to herself alone."--Dryden.

The loneliness of the Farne Islands must have been rather depressing to
the young people who dwelt upon them, and when a chance wind brought to
the Lon