CHAP. VIII. | Cliffs of Gamrie. 131 
stretched out before the spectator like an immense sheet of 
glass, smiling in its soft and azure beauty, while over its sur- 
face the kittiwake, the guillemot, the razor-bill, and the puf- 
fin, conspicious by the brilliant orange and scarlet of its bill 
and legs, are beheld wheeling with rapid wing in endless 
and varying directions. On firing a gun, the effect is start- 
ling. The air is immediately darkened with the multitudes 
of birds which are roused by the report. The ear is stun- 
ned by the varied and discordant sounds which arise. The 
wailing note of the kittiwake, the shrill cry of the tammy- 
norie, and the hoarse voice of the guillemot, resembling, as 
it were, the laugh of some demon in mockery of the intru- 
sion of man amidst these majestic scenes of nature—all these 
combined, and mingled occasionally with the harsh scream 
of the cormorant, are heard above the roar of the ocean, 
which breaks at the foot of these tremendous and gigantic 
precipices.” 
The view from the heights of Gamrie on a summer even- 
ing is exceedingly fine. The sea ripples beneath you. Far 
away it is as smooth as glass. During the herring season, 
the fishing-boats shoot out from the rocky clefts in which 
the harbors are formed. Underneath are the fishing-boats 
of Gardenstown ; to the right those of Crovie. Eastward 
you observe the immense fleet of Fraserburgh vessels, about 
a thousand in number, creeping out to sea. Westward are 
the fishing-boats of Macduff, of Banff, Whitehills, Portsoy, 
Cullen, Sandend, Findochtie, and the Buckies, all making 
their appearance by degrees. The whole horizon becomes 
covered with fleets of fishing-boats. Across the Moray 
Firth, in the far distance, the Caithness Mountains are re- 
lieved against the evening sky. The hills of Morven and 
the Maiden’s Pap are distinctly visible. The sun, as it de- 
scends, throws a gleam of molten gold across the bosom of 
the firth, A few minutes more, and the sun goes down, 
leaving the toilers of the sea to pursue their labors amidst 
the darkness of the night. 
