THE GUILLEMOT. 157 



to give way. One of the climbers, while he was 

 imparting to me instructions how to act, grinned 

 purposely, and showed his upper jaw. I learned by 

 his story, that, last year, a falling stone had driven 

 two of his front teeth down his throat ; while the 

 poor climber, with all his dexterity, was unable to 

 fend off the blow. 



As I was lowered down, the grandeur and sub- 

 limity of the scene beggared all description, and 

 amply repaid any little unpleasant sensations which 

 arose on the score of danger. The sea was roaring 

 at the base of this stupendous wall of rocks ; thou- 

 sands and tens of thousands of wildfowl were in an 

 instant on the wing : the kittiwakes and jackdaws 

 rose in circling flight ; while most of the guillemots, 

 razorbills, and puffins, left the ledges of the rocks, 

 in a straight and downward line, with a peculiarly 

 quick motion of the pinions, till they plunged into 

 the ocean. It was easy to distinguish the puffins 

 from the razorbills in their descent : these, presented 

 a back of a uniformly dark colour: those, had a 

 faint white diagonal line running across the wings. 

 The nests of the kittiwakes were close to each other, 

 on every part of the rocks which was capable of 

 holding them; and they were so numerous, as 

 totally to defy any attempt to count them. On the 

 bare and level ledge of the rocks, often not more 

 than six inches wide, lay the eggs of the guillemots : 

 some were placed parallel with the range of the 

 shelf, others nearly so, and others with their blunt 

 and sharp ends indiscriminately pointing to the sea. 

 By no glutinous matter, nor any foreign body what- 

 ever, were they affixed to the rock : bare they lay> 



