THE HOME OF THE SHEARWATER 29 



basin, and thence down the steep steps to the limpet- 

 covered rocks beneath, where the boat waited to take 

 them to the land of their desire. Here, too, we left the 

 shelter of the land, hoisted sail, and pushed out into the 

 racing tide which bore us swiftly south. 



With wind and tiller keeping our course westerly, and 

 the tide drifting us rapidly south, we swirled and tossed 

 through the white-capped waves, cheered by the minute 

 and vivid descriptions of our two boatmen of the exact 

 spots in the race where their various relatives were 

 drowned. Diseases may be rare at Bardsey, accidents 

 seem to be frequent. However, this time all went well, 

 and very skilfully our seamen reached the island exactly 

 opposite the one landing-place, where a narrow strip of 

 beach is sheltered by an opening in the rocks just wide 

 enough for a Bardsey boat. The island is divided into 

 two portions by a narrow neck of land, but a few yards 

 across at its narrowest part; here, when the wild west 

 wind or a strong south-easter is blowing, great seas 

 dash over and make the connecting road impassable. 

 At the south end is the lighthouse, at no great height 

 above the sea; the main island is north of the isthmus, 

 and a good road, the only one in the island, connects 

 the two portions. At the northern end, under the shelter 

 of " the Mountain," a rugged upland, is the crumbling 

 ruin of St. Mary's Abbey, on the site of Cadfan's monastery. 

 On the road are the farms, about a dozen in all, good 

 substantial buildings, walled around, built about forty 

 years ago or more by Lord Newborough. 



Around the four walls of ancient masonry, all that 

 remains of the Abbey, are the graves of the former in- 

 habitants of Bardsey, and in their midst, beneath a stately 

 marble cross, rests the " old lord " who did so much for 

 the island. Hard by is another cross, in memory of the 

 20,000 saints who lie beneath the turf, for it was, as 



