54 THE HOME OF A NATURALIST. 



fright All the members of the household had retired 

 to their rooms and were preparing for bed, when we 

 ■were startled by a series of the wildest shrieks pro- 

 ceeding from the servant-girls' bedroom. In the full 

 persuasion of finding the house on fire at the very 

 least, we all rushed frantically to the scene of alarm, 

 where we soon discovered the cause of the hubbub. 

 One of the girls, never very remarkable for strength 

 of nerve, had jumped into bed, gathered the blankets 

 about her, and shoved down her feet, which came into 

 violent and unexpected contact with something which 

 clearly had no legitimate business there. That some- 

 thing was our pet otter. His comfortable slumbers 

 thus unceremoniously disturbed, he had, naturally 

 enough, seized with what was very much the reverse 

 of gentleness, the big toe of the oflending foot, and 

 certainly left his mark there. It was not to be 

 wondered at that the poor girl got a great fright, 

 although I am happy to say it was not followed by 

 such disastrous results as she anticipated when she 

 protested hysterically that she would never get over it 

 — never ! The intruder was of course relegated to his 

 own proper dormitory amid peals of unrestrainable 

 laughter. 



Twice we had a tame seal. What fellows they were 

 to eat ! A few hundred sillacks — young of the saithe 

 or coal-fish — barely served them for a meal ; but 

 after a short time, when they became quite tame, they 

 fished for themselves in the sea, always returning to 

 their comfortable quarters in one of the outhouses. 



