IN THE SHETLANDS 295 
pathise with, say the Chinese—or a Chinese one with 
us—yet neither such philosophers, nor any of us, 
have that pleasant feeling of almost deing one another 
which these islanders of Nordeney, or any tribe of 
simple-lived savages, or even, perhaps, some social 
animals, enjoy. So far from civilisation being altru- 
istic in its tendencies, it appears to me (just at this 
moment) that by making the units more and more 
unlike each other, it fosters egotism and makes real 
sympathy harder. 
I have as yet only speculated upon the feelings of 
the grown guillemots when they féfe a chick that is 
not their own. Those of the chick are, I think, 
easier to understand. Its love for its parents is cup- 
board love ; it is equally ready to be looked after by 
any other bird, and, if hungry and not fed, it will 
apply elsewhere. With what degree of accuracy it 
distinguishes its parents from the other birds on the 
ledge, I have not yet made up my mind ; but I think 
it much depends upon the efforts of the parents 
themselves. 
Besides the incidents which I have related, I noticed 
some other interesting points. Both the chick and 
the parents seemed ill at ease. The former did not 
seek to go to sleep, nor did the latter offer the wing. 
Often it struck me that one of the parents was on the 
point of doing something in regard to the chick, and, 
what was more curious, it also struck me that the 
other birds were restless, too, and that they, too, had 
designs upon, or, at least, felt an unusual interest in, 
