100 THE BIRDS OF lONA AND MULL. 



swimming in a pool, and after some hesitation he plunged in, and 

 swimming unperceived among them, caught one and brought it 

 ashore. My friend, the owner of the Ducks, now rushed forward 

 to resent the liberties taken with his property, not in time to save 

 the poor Duckling though, as its throat was cut. Accordingly 

 he threw it in the midden in front of the door (the usual 

 locality of the dung-heap in the Highlands) ; the robber having 

 taken refuge among the stones of a dyke. In a short time he 

 was surprised to see the defunct Duckling moving away, the 

 persevering little quadruped having watched what was done with 

 his prize, and actually returned to appropriate it. 



The only quadrupeds remaining to be mentioned are the Com- 

 mon Eabbit, the Long-tailed Field Mouse, the Otter, and the Seal. 

 As for the last-named, they are so shy and so rarely to be seen 

 that one can scarcely make any observation upon their habits. '^ 



I must conclude rather abruptly, as the postman will begin to 

 indulge in profane expressions, as he is waiting at my elbow. 



XIII. 



lONA, 22?!^ November 1852. 



I HAVE never seen the Little Auk {Merguhis melanoleucos), so I 



suppose it is a frequenter more of the East than of the West 



Coast.^ If it ever came near us here, I could not have failed to 



have seen or heard of it. 



* For further observations on the Seal, see Letter XXIII. 

 ^ Or rather, perhaps, a frequenter more of the open sea than of the land- 

 locked firths and straits. — Ep, 



