TO ORKNEY AND SHETLAND. 29 



at this place, and, as is the case in all parts of the 

 Shetland Islands, almost every other description 

 of fish may be taken. Previous to my arrival they 

 had caught a female basking shark in their nets, 

 which had no doubt become ensnared in its chace 

 after the herrings : it was the first that had been 

 taken there ; the fishermen informed me they had 

 never seen one before, and were ignorant of its 

 name. Having got our luggage into the boat we 

 took leave of our kind host at ten o'clock at night, 

 and proceeded down the voe, the land on either 

 side of which was very high with steep rocks next 

 to the sea. At this season of the year and in this 

 latitude the nights are very short. At midnight it 

 was so light that we could easily distinguish the 

 land on either side of us ; by one o'clock in the morn- 

 ing we could see objects at some distance very di- 

 stinctly, and the sun rose soon after. The different 

 species of Gulls, excepting the Arctic and Skua, are 

 very numerous here ; and as we pulled along close 

 to the cliffs, accidentally disturbing some from their ; 

 resting-places, they sallied out on the signal of 

 alarm beinggiven,andgaveus a tune intheabsence 

 of other music, which certainly was anything but 

 harmonious. We had now got nearly to the mouth 

 of the voe, when the boatmen I had engaged at 

 Osnafirth delicately hinted to my servant that they 



