22 ADVENTURES IN THE NORTHERN SEAS. 



Lerwick to replenish our stock of fresh meat and 

 vegetables, which, as well as fish and butter, we 

 imagined, in the innocence of our hearts, must 

 abound here ; but, to our great surprise and dis- 

 gust, we found there was no market, and scarcely 

 any thing eatable to be bought. Will it be be- 

 lieved that in a sea-port town of 3000 inhabitants, 

 and so far advanced in civilization as to be lighted 

 by gas, there was actually not a joint of fresh meat, 

 a pound of fresh butter, nor even any fresh fish to 

 be purchased? After much foraging we did suc- 

 ceed in obtaining some milk, some indifferent bread, 

 and some stale eggs. I went into a chemist's shop 

 to purchase some photographic chemicals, and upon 

 my remarking to the worthy proprietor that Ler- 

 wick appeared to be suffering from famine at pres- 

 ent, he replied, "Oh yes, sir, this time of year is 

 what we call the starvation months here." 



As I was unwilling to sacrifice a whole day by 

 waiting until sheep could be got from the country, 

 we went on board and prepared to set sail, when, 

 just as the anchor was atrip, two boats pushed off 

 from the shore in hot haste: one of these conveyed 

 some fisher-boys, who had just taken a miraculous 

 draught of eight herrings, the first of the season, as 

 they told us. The other coble conveyed a hungry- 

 looking two-year-old Leicester sheep, in custody 

 of its proprietor, a neighboring farmer who had 

 heard of our necessities. 



The purchase of the sheep and the eight herrings 



