nt. The writer had a wish to be of service to this man, as he was
one of those who came off to the floating light in the month of
September 1807, while she was riding at single anchor after the severe
gale of the 7th, at a time when it was hardly possible to make up this
vessel's crew; but the crossness of his manner prevented his reaping the
benefit of such intentions.

Friday, 22nd June.

The building operations had for some time proceeded more slowly, from
the higher parts of the lighthouse requiring much longer time than an
equal tonnage of the lower courses. The duty of the landing-master's
crew had, upon the whole, been easy of late; for though the work was
occasionally irregular, yet the stones being lighter, they were more
speedily lifted from the hold of the stone vessel to the deck of the
praam-boat, and again to the waggons on the railway, after which they
came properly under the charge of the foreman builder. It is, however, a
strange, though not an uncommon, feature in the human character, that,
when people have least to complain of they are most apt to become
dissatisfied, as was now the case with the seamen employed in the Bell
Rock service about their rations of beer. Indeed, ever since the
carpenter of the floating light, formerly noticed, had been brought to
the rock, expressions of discontent had been manifested upon various
occasions. This being represented to the writer, he sent for Captain
Wilson, the landing-master, and Mr. Taylor, commander of the tender,
with whom he talked over the subject. They stated that they considered
the daily allowance of the seamen in every respect ample, and that, the
work being now much lighter than formerly, they had no just ground for
complaint; Mr. Taylor adding that, if those who now complained "were
even to be fed upon soft bread and turkeys, they would not think
themselves right." At twelve noon the work of the landing-master's crew
was completed for the day; but at four o'clock, while the rock was under
water, those on the beacon were surprised by the arrival of a boat from
the tender without any signal having been made from the beacon. It
brought the following note to the writer from the landing-master's
crew:--

_Sir Joseph Banks Tender_

"SIR,--We are informed by our masters that our allowance is to be as
before, and it is not sufficient to serve us, for we have been at
work since four o'clock this morning, and we have come on board to