18 ROCKY LEDGES. 



point, just beneath the bluff headland known as Bink- 

 leaf, (probably a local corruption^ of Byng Cliff or 

 some such appellation). The ledges are covered 

 by the tide, but the recess of low water leaves a large 

 surface exposed, which subsequently afforded me many 

 a harvest of marine plants and animals. For the 

 present, however, I satisfied myself with a cursory 

 view ; climbing over the green and slippery boulders, 

 at some risk of chafed shins, I walked out upon the 

 low ledge, marked the long narrow ribbon-like leaves 

 of the Zostera, green and glossy, growing in beds in 

 the pools and nooks that indent the ledges, and the 

 purple tufts of mossy sea- weed that fringe the dark 

 hollows of the rock ; turned over a few stones, and saw 

 colonies of the plump and fruit-like smooth Anemone 

 f Actinia mesemhryanthemum) of various hues, ad- 

 hering to their sides ; essayed to catch one or two 

 of the nimble little Blennies that shot from covert 

 to covert in the rocky basins ; and having satisfied 

 myself that the ground was promising, I sought for a 

 place where I might climb the cliffs, and enjoy the 

 widened prospect from their summit. 



The inclination of the slope allows access to the top 

 a little farther on, and 1 wended my way up over the 

 rugged but turf-covered steep, through thickets of 

 furze and bramble, thence walking back along the 

 margin of the cliff. It was a lovely day in the begin- 

 ning of April, but the northern breeze made it cold ; 

 the clear transparent blue of the sky was speckled 

 over with fleecy clouds, which, as they flitted along, 

 made a constant alternation of sunshine and shadow. 

 A noble view of the broad bay is before one at this 



