56 LUNDY ISLAND. 



of us had naively supposed, to help us down the 

 declivity. The ledge on which we stood was not hori- 

 zontal, but would have led us into the sea if we had 

 pursued it. At a certain convenient spot, therefore, 

 the ladder was set, and held firmly by the two men, 

 while we, one by one, shinned up to a higher ledge. 

 Along this we crept in the same manner, our feet 

 shuffling along the narrow shelf, our fingers hooked 

 into the crevices above; for these ledges were often 

 barely wide enough for the foot to rest on lengthwise. 

 As they all had a similar inclination, the same process 

 had to be repeated several times, the ladder enabling 

 us to mount to another ledge, when the one on which 

 we were walking dipped into the sea. 



While holding on to the broad surface of the preci- 

 pice, and especially in the moments occupied in wait- 

 ing for the ascent of those who happened to be fore- 

 most in the line, it was interesting to look down 

 beneath our feet into the hollows between the rocky 

 masses, covered with water of crystalline clearness, 

 which rose and fell with every wave, but was pre- 

 vented from breaking by the barrier of rocks outside, 

 on which the violence of the swell had spent itself. 

 In these hollows the large seaweeds were waving, the 

 wrinkled fronds of the oar-weed, floating like the 

 streamers of a ship, and the massive tangle tossing 

 about its long many-fingered hands, as if in distress, 

 with every undulation. The submerged rocks, too, 

 were densely studded with the olive-coloured cups of 

 the sea-thong ; many of which were crowned with the 



