COAST-GUARD WATCH-HOUSE. 99 



hill, had frequently disturbed those solitary birds, and concluded 

 from meeting them so often, that there must be some packs 

 convenient. 



Too late we found out our error ; it was four o'clock, and 

 we determined to abandon the heath for the day ; and, having 

 from a high ground examined the interior of the island, we 

 arranged to-morrow's beat accordingly. 



Quitting the hill, we walked for a mile along the beach to 

 some bent banks, where we were told that rabbits were abundant. 

 In an hour we shot eight pair, and two couple of whimbrels ; 

 and perceiving that the hooker had anchored off the landing- 

 place, we gave up shooting and returned to the watch- 

 house. 



In our absence the servants had been active ; they slung 

 our hammocks, and made the necessary preparations for 

 cooking dinner. The chief officer of the coast-guard 

 kindly gave us his own apartment. His little cabin was 

 crowded with every necessary requisite for one so far 

 removed from the civilized portion of mankind, and it was 

 amusing to remark the ingenuity with which the occupier 

 had arranged his numerous goods and chattels ; nothing 

 could exceed the cleanliness of his cottage, and it formed a 

 striking contrast to the filth and misery of the surrounding 

 hovels. 



The boatmen were just landing in their punt, and we 

 descended to the beach to ascertain what addition to our 

 cuisine the spillets had afforded. They produced a pair of 

 fine soles, and a score of large plaice. These, with the 

 mackerel taken in the morning, supplied the fish department 

 admirably. Our purveyor had purchased a Keim sheep ,-* 

 and at six o'clock we went to dinner. Nothing could be more 

 delicious than our fare; fish transferred from the sea to 

 the kettle, and diminutive mutton, whose only fault was 

 excessive fatness. We had a grouse, too, one of our stagers, 

 but it was coarse and flavourless ; and if toughness be a 

 test of years, I should set him down as coeval with Saint 

 Patrick. 



The host joined us after dinner, and presented us with a 

 bottle of genuine Inniskea. If such be the customary produce 



* Keim is a mountain district of Achil, celebrated for the flavour and 

 fatness of its sheep. 



H S 



