270 THE COUNTRY CLERGYMAN. 



The rock in question, is about ninety feet from 

 the main land. Its summit at the outer end is a 

 hundred and forty feet above the sea, sloping down 

 to the inner part. Along the north side, the rock 

 is steep and abrupt, forming several curious hol- 

 lows and caverns. On the south-west side, it gra- 

 dually shelves downwards to within about forty 

 feet above the water. 



The keeper of the light-house informed his visi- 

 tors, that before the house was built, sea gulls in 

 great numbers, and some other birds annually 

 inhabited the rock in the summer months, where 

 they made their nests, and reared their young. 

 Among the gulls, there were some species of a 

 much larger size than others, with the back of 

 their wings quite black ; those birds always kept 

 by themselves, and resorted to the north side of the 

 island, while the others which were more numerous, 

 remained on the south side. 



Early in the year 1808, the works for building 

 the light-house commenced, at the time when 

 the birds had just come to the rock. The un- 

 usual number of persons on the island, with 

 their operations of blasting rocks, disturbed its 

 winged inhabitants, who with the exception of a 

 solitary pair, took flight, leaving the intruders the 

 possession of a spot, where from time immemorial, 

 their species had resorted during the breeding sea- 

 son. Though subject to casual depredations from 



