CHAPTER IV. THE NEW LIGHT. SHIVERS the silvery beam of light. So round the swimming eyes of youth SCHILLER. BOUT this time occurred a great event in the history of our island. The Government decided that the There old light was not powerful enough for so dangerous a coast, and determined to build a much higher tower, and crown it with a Fresnel lantern of the largest size. were busy times then, stone was to be carted, masons and carpenters were at work. Engineers and inspectors came to direct them; and Susan and her little girl must help provide and cook for them. Jenny learned to work hard. then, but she was very happy. She liked the change and bustle and excitement, and her pride was gratified that they were to be now a "first class light." Ephraim in his quiet shy way, was hardly less pleased. He worked very hard it is true, but it was for a good purpose, the light would spread farther and shine brighter; and then the companionship of other men was pleasant, and moreover, by this extra work he could gain a few dollars to lay by for their old age. At length the wonderful lantern arrived, and Jenny was never weary of admiring its splendor. This lantern was imported from France, at the cost of ten thousand dollars. It is large enough for a full grown man to move about in with perfect ease. It is of a conical shape, and is made by a combination of lenses and prisms, all of the purest and most transparent glass. By means of these glasses, the light is gathered into the middle of the lantern and its rays are thrown to an immense distance. Ephraim called Jenny to see it when they had uncovered it from its wrappings. He told her to shut her eyes and step inside, and then to look through the prisms. Oh! how funny it was. Her father's head was about a yard long, and his red shirt was stretched out and gilded with all the colors of the rainbow; he looked like the tall man in the fairy story. Her mother's old straw hat ran up into a cone like an Italian brigand's and her white teeth looked like elephants' tusks. When she looked through another part, their bodies were short and squat, and their long heads looked as if they had been borrowed of somebody else. Jenny laughed and clapped her hands with delight, and did not think that she looked just as ridiculous to the people outside. After the lamp was placed in the tower, towards sunset as she looked through it, the whole ocean was like an enchanted sea, throwing up its rainbow waves of sparkling light. Jenny was never tired of watching these different changes, and of showing them to the visitors who came to the island. But one curious thing about it was, that although this powerful light could be seen forty miles out to sea, it did not light up their own island at all, and they had to carry their own little lanterns to find their way about on dark nights, just as before. "It's a wonderful thing Jenny," Ephraim "but it is not like God's own sun would say, and moon, that light everywhere and everybody." After many, many months of hard labor, the tower was thoroughly finished, — the new house built, the lantern fixed in its lofty position, the rubbish cleared away, and the island restored to order. The troop of workmen disappeared. The engineer had carefully instructed Ephraim how to manage the new light, and an assistant was sent down to help him. All became quiet, and the little family settled down into their old round of quiet labor. But Ephraim's duties at night were now very different. This powerful light threw its cheering influence forty miles out to sea, and it must be constantly watched lest it should fail at a critical moment. The oil is supplied to the lamp in a full steady flow, by an apparatus resembling clock-work, which is regulated by a heavy weight or sinker. This must be wound up every two hours like a clock, and it takes a strong firm hand to wind up a hundred and fifty-six pounds. Then the little tubes are liable to get clogged, so that the light might be dimmed or even go out. Therefore the faithful keepers do not dare to sleep, but divide the night by alternate watches. There is a little room just under the lantern, where they spend the long watch. From here they can see the gleam of the light on the white walls of the tower, and detect the least dimness in a moment. From sunset till midnight is the first watch, from thence till sunrise the second. The keepers take the first watch on alternate nights. Jenny now set herself a new task. Every other night as the sun sank to his rest, she followed her father up the tower stairs, carrying the little pail of bread and cheese, or milk, or other simple food which the careful mother had provided. Here she shared his |