28 MEMOIR. 



anxiety on his account, he always turned up safe and sound 

 in the end. He several times passed the night alone on one 

 of the small islands, sometimes storm-stayed, at other times 

 engaged in watching some rare bird. A favourite excursion 

 used to be to the island of Soay, about two and a half miles 

 south-west of Iona. The stretch of sea and coast-line, and the 

 numerous inlets between Port Ronan in lona and that island, 

 are at all seasons rich in bird-life. During the winter months 

 they are the favourite haunts of wild geese of various kinds, 

 chiefly the greylag and bernacle ; seals and otters, too, make 

 them their home." 



Mr Graham here continues his MS. : — 



"Having completed the drawings of the Antiquities, I amused 

 myself by making a collection of clan tartans, and painting 

 specimens of each variety for placing in a scrap-book ; besides, 

 I now commenced the study of ornithology, which I have ever 

 since pursued with great vigour. I went out daily in pursuit 

 of specimens to make drawings of, beginning with the black 

 guillemot, scart, curlew, gulls, and golden plovers, though when 

 I afterwards had made greater progress in the art of bird- 

 drawing, I destroyed most of these first efforts." 



As Mr Colin M'Vean's MS. at this point is very descriptive 

 of the scenes our author dwelt amongst, we do not apologise 

 for introducing them in this place, as follows : — 



" In spring and summer these islands are the breeding 

 places of gulls, terns, eider ducks, black guillemots, rock pigeons, 

 petrels, and many other species needless to mention now, as 

 they will all be found in the list attached. The Soay picnic 



