282 LATER YEARS 



have liked to use my stick on 2 or 3 boys, besides, 

 not knowing the laws of the country, I might have 

 brought them down upon me.* 



In 1891 they went up through the Minch to Orkney, 

 thence to several outlying skerries and to the Flannans, 

 west of Lewis. 



I write to report our return from a charming cruise, 

 though we saw nothing of any great importance and 

 performed no great achievement. The 2nd day after 

 our arrival here Evans took us over to Oronsay for the 

 afternoon. I wish we had had the whole day there, for I 

 should like to have searched some of those kitchen- 

 middens, and indeed I failed to find the one which 

 Grieve depicts. If he had only given a map instead of 

 a useless figure it would have been better. We found 

 one that had been cut into, but from his description it 

 can't be that in which he got the Great Auk bones. I 

 made some notes upon it which I can send you if you 

 think they will be of any use to you, but I fear they 

 are worthless. We saw the usual birds, but nothing 

 more. Next day we started for the north, and got up 

 to the skerries on Sunday, the clifis looked as grand as 

 ever, and so did the Eagles, both of which we saw 

 sitting and for a good long time, one on each side of 

 the nest. I believe I saw a young bird in it, but 

 neither Evans nor my brother go so far as that — 

 though both agree as to its being the nest. We had 

 your book in the boat with us and went to the very spot 

 where your photographer must have stood, but thence the 

 sight of the eyry is not visible, being round the corner of 

 the first projection. On this we all agreed. Your photo- 

 grapher has " distanced " the rest of the clifi' more than 

 he ought, I suppose to increase its picturesqueness. We 

 were in the boat or on the rocks on that side for more 

 than 2 hours, having the Eagles in view most of the 



♦ Letter to J. A. Harvie-Brown, July 29, 1887. 



