ST. KILDA AND ITS BIRDS. 823 



rather strongly with the bright green of the cultivated 

 patches at their base ; and as viewed from the bay in the 

 evening light, when the sun has dipped behind the 

 shoulder of the Sgail, the scene presents a somewhat 

 sombre aspect. The houses now occupied by the natives 

 (not counting one of the old ones) are sixteen in number, 

 and are comfortable little solid stone structures, with zinc- 

 covered roofs, built almost as it were into the side of the 

 hill, the ground behind being nearly on a level with the 

 spring of the roof. The houses, which are all alike, are 

 of one storey only, and each consists of two chief rooms — 

 kitchen and bedroom — separated by a little lobby, into 

 which the front and only door opens ; each room is a little 

 over seven feet in height, and is lighted by a four-paned 

 window. Besides these, there is another small room at 

 the back of the lobby, which is lighted from the roof, and 

 which is used as a storeroom and additional sleeping apart- 

 ment, The houses formerly all had mud floors, but many 

 of them now have cement floors in the kitchen and wooden 

 ones in the bedroom, the walls and ceiling of which are 

 also matchboarded. This serves as a protection against 

 the damp, from which, owing to their position on the side 

 of a hill, the houses are very apt to suffer. At the bottom 

 of the " street" stands a two-storied cottage, which is 

 occupied by the Factor during his annual visits to the 

 island, and below this, close to the little pier, is the 

 Manse, in immediate proximity to which stands the 

 Church and Schoolhouse. Beyond this again, close to the 

 shore, is a stone building, which is used as a general store- 

 house for feathers, dried fish, &c, for the whole of the 

 village. This is placed immediately above the old land- 

 ing-place on the rocks, where the St. Kildans from time 

 immemorial landed and launched their boats, but which 

 is now superseded by the little pier higher up the bay 



