86 WITS NATURE AND A CAMERA. 



who a year or two back forsook the lone crags 

 of St. Kilda for the more lucrative and less ad- 

 venturous life of a Glasgow commercial house, 

 happened to be at home on a holiday at the time 

 of our visit, and we persuaded him to accompany 

 us to Borrera, as he was not only an intelligent 

 and genial companion, but also very useful in 

 interpreting for us in the absence of our friend 

 the factor, who could not go out that day. He 

 was desirous of seeing whether his hand had lost 

 its cunning with the fowling- rod, and one of the 

 men accordingly fastened a rope round him and 

 paid it out from a sure footing as he disappeared 

 over the brink of a fearful precipice. I crawled 

 on my hands and knees to the edge of the cliff, 

 and was astonished to see him pass the noose over 

 the head of a Fulmar and take her off her nest 

 with so much skill and deftness that other birds 

 sitting close around did not appear to be at all 

 disturbed by the fate of their neighbour. Their 

 conduct in this respect was totally unlike that of 

 the birds we had watched under similar circum- 

 stances on the Doon. 



By the aid of a rope my brother got into a very 

 hazardous and awkward situation, from which he 

 managed to take a photograph of the ex-fowler in 

 the holiday war-paint of Buchanan Street. 



As we descended to the place of re-embarkation, 

 I could not make out why the two men who were 

 along with me got into such a state of excitement, 

 but presently learnt that their anxiety was lest I 

 should spoil my trousers by my peculiar method of 

 progression. They were highly amused when I ex- 

 plained to them, through a lad who overtook us, that 

 my concern for the safety of my neck was so great 

 that I had absolutely none left for my garments. 



