UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 59 



tain you, as he describes his visit to the little 

 island of North Rona. 



" It is accessible in one spot only, and that 

 with difficulty. The landing place is on an irre- 

 gular cliff, and you must watch for the moment 

 to jump out on the first ledge of rock to which 

 the boat is lifted by the waves. It is a perilous 

 operation to remove sheep from this island ; the 

 animal being slung by the legs round the neck 

 of a man, and thus carried down the face of a 

 rock, where a false step exposes him to the risk 

 of being either strangled or drowned. 



" The violence and height of the waves, which 

 in winter break over the island, are almost in- 

 credible. The dykes of the sheep-folds are 

 often thrown down ; and stones of enormous 

 bulk are removed from their places, at elevations 

 of 200 feet above the high-water mark. It is 

 inhabited by one family only, who cultivate it, 

 and tend about fifty sheep. Twice in the year 

 that part of the crop which is not consumed on 

 the farm, together with the sheep's wool, and the 

 feathers obtained from the sea-fowl, which these 

 poor people are bound to procure, are taken 

 away by the boat to Lewis, and thus some little 

 intercourse with the external world is preserved. 

 But they are so little accustomed to the appear- 

 ance of any one but the proprietor of the island, 

 that when we appeared, the women and children 

 were seen running away to the cliffs to hide 



