J 6 WITH NATURE AND A CAM KB A. 



ferns of the most delicate green tint I have ever 

 seen. As I was anxious to possess some of these 

 undamag-ed, I wriggled my way inside and secured 

 a few, which are now growing in my little Hert- 

 fordshire garden. 



The dwelling is something in the form of a 

 huge drain, some thirty or forty feet in length, 

 four feet in height, and three in Avidth, Avith a 

 passage of somewhat similar capacity, but only 

 about nine or ten feet in length, running at right 

 angles to it on the left hand side, and about half 

 way from tlie entrance. This is, I believe, supposed 

 to have formed the bedchamber of the people who 

 inliabited tlie rude house, tlie entrance to which 

 commands an excellent vicAV of Village l^ay. This 

 last fact was, no doubt, of great importance, in 

 order that the people might have early knowledge 

 of the approach of enemies. Neither had tlu^ 

 owners of this underground mansion been un- 

 mindful of tiie benefits of some sort of sanitary 

 arrangement, for Ave found a drain beneath the 

 floor, made, no doubt, to carry off the slops from 

 their crude eartheuAvare boAvls. We also came 

 across a lot of limpet shells and bones of sheep 

 and birds of various kinds. 



Many theories have been advanced as to the 

 orig-in of tin; inliabitants of this loiu^v rock, and 

 a curious tradition exists as to its acquisition l)y 

 members of the outside Avorld. Tlu) inliabitants of 

 Harris and Uist agreed to make it the prize for a 

 boat race, and accordinglv set out to row across 

 the intervening waste of Avaters. So (Mjually nuitchcd 

 were the crews in regard to pluck and (Midui'ance 

 that they arrived at 8t. Kilda almost at the same 

 moment. Tin; Uist men, howeA^cn^, led by a fcAV 

 strcjkes, and hopes of Avinning ran high amongst 



