Mr. Davies Gilbert persuaded the Lords
of the Admiralty to lend the necessary apparatus from Pymouth Dockyard,
and was said to have paid some portion of the cost; but after the
assistance of friends, and two collections throughout the Royal Navy,
Goldsmith had to pay quite L600 personally, and came out of the
transaction a sadder, wiser, and poorer man.
Like other stones of an unusual character, the Logan Rock was thought to
have some medicinal properties, and parents formerly brought their
children to be rocked on the stone to cure their diseases; but the charm
was said to have been broken by the removal of the stone, which did not
afterwards oscillate as freely as before. It was reinstated in its
former position on November 2nd, 1824. We also saw the Ladies' Logan
Rock, weighing nine tons, which could easily be moved. In a rather
dangerous portion of the rocks we came to a "wishing passage," through
which it was necessary to walk backwards to obtain the fulfilment of a
wish--doubtless in the case of nervous people that they might get away
from the rocks again in safety.
The rocks hereabouts are very vividly coloured at certain times of the
year, and in the spring are covered with lichens and turf, with blossoms
of the blue scilla.
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