76 A HUNDRED YEARS 



leaving home with the determination to be delighted with 

 the voyage of discovery. I am at least sure that eleven 

 of them were joyous: I am not quite so sure about the 

 captain. I think he was too anxious for our safety 

 and satisfaction to be quite happy. 



" We went sailing along the Minch nicely for a while, 

 but the breeze lulled at four or five o'clock, and by 

 degrees it became perfectly calm. We were then within 

 about three miles of Eilean Trodda, at the north end of 

 Skye, so we got into our boat and rowed to it, and there 

 Osgood shot away at some puffins and guillemots. 

 The rocks were very picturesque, and I saw several 

 stacks or rocky pillars and some dark, deep chasms. 

 After remaining about an hour, we saw our vessel slowly 

 rounding the island, and, thinking it time to join her, 

 we rowed to meet her. There was a swell, but no wind. 

 We found that the tutor during our absence had not been 

 so good a sailor as he had expected, and Osgood im- 

 mediately he went on board was ill, so to bed we went. 

 To those who may wish to know what sort of beds ours 

 were I will describe them, and also the arrangement of 

 the vessel. 



" As to her make, she was neither yacht nor clipper 

 built, but a good ordinary -sized sailing smack. She had 

 one cabin aft with two small berths. These I gave to 

 the tutor and the keeper, whilst Osgood and I had two 

 grand beds, with mattresses, blankets, and sheets, made 

 in the stern end of the hatchway or cargo-place, and a 

 long curtain placed across to make our bedrooms snug. 

 The middle of the hatchway was open and contained 

 sundry hampers, boxes, etc. — in fact, it was our larder 



