LETTER XV. 109 



observed a pair of these birds swimming together about two 

 hundred yards from us, and from two fishing-boats at the same 

 time, rowing up towards them from the opposite direction. He 

 accordingly lay quite still. The Divers let the fishing-boat come 

 within about eighty yards of them and dived with their heads 

 towards us. Then followed a few seconds of keen excitement, 

 and the monsters emerged thirty yards the other side of us, having 

 passed underneath our boat. One dived again the moment it got 

 its head above water, but the other seemed to be slowly sinking 

 down in a very curious manner, so that there was nothing appear- 

 ing but his head when I fired. The splash caused by the shot 

 subsided and there floated his huge bulk. 



We saw several more Great Northern and Black-throated 

 Divers during this short sail, but had not time to go after them. 

 They say that the appearance of these birds prognosticates bad 

 weather. At any rate, it blew a hurricane that night and the 

 next two days. 



As a friend was about going to Glasgow and the weather was 

 cold, I meant to have sent this Diver to you in the flesh ; but 

 after keeping it safe for some days, a dog got access to it and bit 

 off its head. I console myself with the thought that it would 

 not have kept, as my friend would be a long time on the road. 

 The head was a great size, nearly as large as the Black Guillemot's 

 whole body. He was in poor condition and changing his plum- 

 age. The wings are still spangled with white stars ; but on the 

 back the plumage is mostly greyish-black, though a good many 

 of the black feathers, with the double white spot at the extremity, 

 still remain. It is worthy of notice, as showing the manner in 



