Birds by Land and Sea 



forwards day by day they went, survivors and con- 

 tinuers of the stock, gathering piece by piece material 

 for their island nests. Did our friends of the Field 

 Naturalists' Club which should know such things 

 not know this ? Did the sight of a sea-gull's 

 nest that one point of rest in a restless life offer 

 no charm to their eyes ? Or the beautifully mottled 

 chicks brown buds to become white flowers of sea 

 and air some day did they not counsel forbearance ? 

 Or, if not these then for the sake of the fair white- 

 bodied things themselves which cried above them ; 

 for the sake of the self-forgetful rage of the dark- 

 winged black-back ; for common shame between 

 man and man, could they not let them be ? Let 

 them have their Field Club, but, for God's sake, 

 let it not be a club indeed, to beat and bruise and 

 leave its bloody trail wherever they go. The eggs 

 so gathered were brought down to the beach for 

 final test. If they tended to sink, they were held to 

 be fresh and retained ; if they floated, they were too 

 far advanced for cabinet purposes, and were stoned 

 down the only evidence of conscience shown by 

 their purloiners. This was witnessed by my boat- 

 man as he lay at anchor. 



The turf on the west slope had been burrowed 

 by rabbit and puffin until it sank like a sponge 

 beneath our feet. Here and there a bunch of thrift 

 made a gay show with its pink flowers. 



Passing further along the west cliff, we came to the 

 spot where on a former occasion we had encountered 



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