JUNE. ROCKS OF CROMARTY. 243 



the risk occasionally of having the bottom of our boat 

 stove in by the hidden rocks round which the large 

 tangle floated gracefully in the passing waves, 

 treacherously concealing the rocks from which they 

 grew, we turned our boat's head homewards. By 

 this time the wind had dropped entirely, and the 

 tide running strong against us, we had to row for 

 four hours in a heavy haddock boat to reach our 

 destination. I had only one man and a boy with 

 me, the latter of no use ; so I took an oar myself 

 and pulled steadily on, stopping only occasionally 

 to haul in a gurnet or other fish. 



Both goats and sheep were feeding about the 

 rocks, and even the latter seemed to get easily to 

 places which appeared to be reachable only by 

 means of wings. The small patches of bright velvety- 

 looking grass, which grew here and there on corners 

 of ground formed by the debris of the cHfFs, how- 

 ever difficult of access, were all tenanted by them. 



On one bit of emerald-coloured grass, not larger 

 than a good-sized table-cloth, a sheep and her 

 young lamb were feeding at their ease. Although 

 I stopped the boat and examined the place carefully, 

 no way of access to this little bit of table -land 

 could we discover. The well-contented animals 

 seemed shut out by perpendicular precipices from 

 all the rest of the world. 



M 2 



