130 WITH NATURE AND A CAMERA. 



When the boat in which I sailed reached Tiree, 

 a thick drizzling mist came down and enveloped 

 everything in sombre gloom. A steamer which had 

 just left the island returned and cast anchor rather 

 than risk the dangers of proceeding in such weather ; 

 but our captain thought he could fetch the Isle of 

 Coll, and accordingly we crept out and away. The 

 sea was perfectly smooth, and not a soul on board 

 recked of danger, except one elderly gentleman who 

 had been already twice in the jaws of maritime 

 disaster. This aged Ulysses told me he had suffered 

 the thrilling horror of having his ship crushed to 

 splinters amongst the ice in high latitudes, and spend- 

 ing three days and nights in an open boat before 

 he reached the shores of Greenland, on one occasion ; 

 and had been obliged to quit a foundering vessel in 

 the middle of the North Sea on another. These 

 disasters and the hand of Time had to some extent 

 robbed a very fine old man of his nerve ; but his ex- 

 pressed fears of an accident were presently justified. 



We had steamed our allotted distance without 

 meeting with any signs of Coll, and were proceed- 

 ing at a very cautious rate when suddenly a huge 

 red buoy loomed in sight just ahead of us. The 

 captain at once put his helm hard down, but, un- 

 fortunately, the boat had not sufficient way upon 

 her to answer to it, and we crept steadily on to 

 a sunken rock. There was a bump and two 

 crunches, and the steamer stopped dead, with her 

 bows in the air and a list to starboard. At the 

 moment, I was leaning against a rail studying some 

 horses on the cargo- deck amidships. When the 

 vessel struck, the poor animals stumbled and drummed 

 with their feet on the planks, those with their heads 

 to starboard bumping them against her plates as she 

 heeled over and robbed them of their balance. 



