harbour of this place in 1791, and thus established a secure and much
needed place of shelter in the Downs.

A man whose life is so beneficially devoted to the service of the
public can scarcely hope to enjoy leisure and retirement during which
he may look back upon the past, and leave a written record of his
exertions. Smeaton was so constantly and urgently employed that he
could not achieve much with his pen. On the 16th September 1792, he
was seized with an attack of paralysis induced by over-exertion, and
this attack carried him to the grave on the 28th of the next month, in
the 69th year of his age.

During his illness he dictated several letters to his old friend Mr.
Holmes. In one of them he describes minutely his health and feelings,
and says, 'in consequence of the foregoing, I conclude myself
nine-tenths dead, and the greatest favour the Almighty can do (as I
think) will be to complete the other part, but as it is likely to be a
lingering illness, it is only in His power to say when that is likely
to happen.' His daughter, Mrs. Dickson, says that he always
apprehended the attack which terminated his life, as it was hereditary
in his family. He dreaded it only as it gave the melancholy
possibility of outliving his faculties, or the power of doing good;
or, to use his own words, 'lingering over the dregs after the spirit
had evaporated.' Indeed, the decay of his mental faculties seems to
have been that which he most dreaded. He would sometimes complain of
slowness of apprehension, and would then excuse it with a smile,
saying, 'it could not be otherwise, the shadow must lengthen as the
sun went down.' When seized with paralysis he was resigned to the
event, anxious to soften any alarm to his family, and was thankful
that his intellect was spared. But his invariable wish was to be
released. He expressed particular pleasure in seeing the usual
occupations of his family resumed; and reading, drawing, music, and
conversation excited the same interest and the same cheerful and
judicious observations as ever. One evening he was requested to
explain some phenomena respecting the moon, which was seen from the
room shining brightly. He gave a full explanation, then fixed his eyes
full upon the object in question, and after regarding it stedfastly
for some time, he observed, 'How often have I looked up to it with
inquiry and wonder, and to the period when I shall have the vast and
privileged views of an hereafter, and