270 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



as it breaks upon the shore. A gleam falls upon the grey, ivy- 

 mantled walls, and lights up the figure of the man as he is 

 standing there. It gives an Eider drake, which chances to be 

 in-shore, the appearance of quicksilver; it throws a halo of 

 roseate round a party of gulls which are busy over yon stranded 

 garbage. Like molten silver is a large seal which, human-like, 

 pops its head above the water. It bathes the distant cluster 

 where he is to go on the morrow. It is a matchless scene, 

 and with wistful eyes he gazes upon it, as his eager mind takes 

 in the rich harvest of ornithological booty and knowledge is in 

 store for him. The morrow comes, and he does not go ; for 

 strange as it may appear, Willughby never went on to the 

 islands. He knew a good deal about the treasures which were 

 there, as his list proves ("Ornithology," p. 19); but he never 

 went on to the islands. His information was obtained at second- 

 hand, either from Sir William Forster or some of his people ; and 

 Willughby returned home with the very moderate satisfaction of 

 leaving his work half done. In the account of the Eider Duck, 

 we find him unable any longer to speak from what he had seen 

 alive, obliged to say, " I saw only the Cases of the Cock and 

 Hen [Eider Duck] stuft, hanging up in Sir William Fosters Hall 

 at Bambergh in Northumberlancir (" Ornithology," I.e.) And 

 again, as regards the Black Guillemot breeding there, he 

 leaves us no certain facts, but only the vague data which was to 

 be gathered from oral information. Whether it was that time 

 pressed, or the sea was rough, or the men harvesting, it is much 

 to be regretted that this accomplished author left his work half 

 done; and yet, if we consider all the facts, English and foreign, 

 which Eay has handed down to us as the result of the short span 

 of his pupil's life, we can only marvel, not that Willughby 

 did not effect more, but that he did so much. 



But it is time to leave speculations about the past, and turn to 

 our present knowledge of the islands. Since Willughby's time 

 many distinguished naturalists have visited Bamborough Castle, 

 and some have gone on to the islands, and some have turned 

 back. None of those who have seen the beautiful birds there 

 have, I will dare to say, returned disappointed ; and to any who 

 read this paper there will come back, as there does to me, a vivid 

 recollection of a happy, a successful, and an instructive day. 



