26 Something about Sea Birds, 



a treat in finding a sort of bog completely covered with the 

 beautiful bogbean (ikfenyanthes trifoliata), in full blossom. 



At Freshwater Gate there is but one inn, and, unfortu- 

 nately, its all of beds was occupied ; however, there is a little 

 square building belonging to the same establishment, but dis- 

 connected, and situated farther down the beach ; and in this 

 the accommodating landlady made up three beds : and here, 

 after making an agreement with two fishermen for the ser- 

 vices of themselves and their boat at three o'clock the next 

 morning, we turned in for the night, the chambermaid fastening 

 the door outside with a wooden button, to keep us from harm : 

 other fastening there was none. It may be supposed we did 

 not sleep very soundly ; the incessant roar of the sea, as its 

 waves broke on the shingly beach, and approached within a 

 few yards of where we lay ; the odd fastening of our apart- 

 ment; tales of smugglers and pirates, which we had been lis- 

 tening to ; and the anticipation of a novel and exciting sport, 

 furnished us amply with amusement and talking materials, 

 until, at half past two, one of the fishermen unbuttoned our 

 door, and expressed himself at our service. 



Having provided overnight a pretty good store of provi- 

 sion for the expedition, we had no cause for delay, but were 

 soon ankle-deep on a beach, over which a long swell was 

 alternately forcing forwards a multitude of pebbles, or draw- 

 ing them with it as it retired towards the ocean, and pro- 

 ducing an incessant and monotonous rattle, none the more 

 pleasing to our ears that we had been compelled to listen to 

 it for the last five hours. The night air still blew cold and 

 clammy from over the expanse of waters ; and though the first 

 blush of morning was visible to landward, over the sea all was 

 gloom. The fishermen pushed off the boat, and in a minute 

 they were steadily labouring against a heavy swell and a ris- 

 ing tide ; we were alternately lost in the hollows, or mounted 

 on the crests of the swell. After an hour's hard pulling, in 

 which two of us occasionally joined, we found ourselves under 

 the highest point of the cliff. The spot is marked by a red 

 streak, which commences at the velvet turf at the summit, and 

 is distinctly traceable down to the water's edge. The height 

 of the cliff is 6 1 5 ft. ; its face is nearly perpendicular ; yet, 

 notwithstanding this, the samphire-gatherers and the egg-col- 

 lectors scale by means of ropes nearly its whole surface : two 

 lads employed in the latter occupation had been dashed to 

 pieces only the day before we were there, by an accidental 

 slip of the one who held the rope. The fishermen from this 

 spot pointed out to us a king's cutter in chase of a smuggler. 

 They were so far out to sea as to have escaped our notice alto- 



