TIIK GUILLEMOT. 
289 
father died like a man — in the banks ; yours died like a dog — 
in his bed.” 
Although fowling is now very little practised except by 
some of the old hands, considerable quantities of eggs are taken 
annually, either for home consumption or for the local dealers. 
The cause of this decline has not been any failure in the supply, 
but the steady manner in which the proprietors have endea- 
voured to persuade the men to turn their time to a better 
account. A somewhat ludicrous occurrence took place some 
years ago, when a well-known landowner who was shooting 
from a boat was suddenly interrupted in his aim at a row of 
Guillemots by one of the crew, who exclaimed that there was a 
man up there ; and so there was, — one of his own tenants, lying 
flat upon the ledge, perhaps not in a very tranquil state of 
mind, but for all that far more willing to risk the reception of 
a charge of shot than to incur the inevitable anger of the laird. 
It may be taken for granted that every one of the many thrill- 
ing stories of fowling adventure is firmly believed even by a 
better class of Shetlanders to have had its origin in these 
islands. One, however, having both novelty and truth to 
recommend it, occurred to a would-be fowler in Unst, as 
recorded by the late Mrs Edmondston in her '' Sketches and 
Tales of Shetland : ” — 
“ The man who had undertaken to climb the steep bank was 
neither very experienced nor very brave, although he boasted 
of being both. He pushed upwards, however, very briskly, 
without ever looking behind, till he had got to about a hundred 
and fifty feet, when he stopped to breathe. The pause was 
fatal to his self-possession, and he called out in tones of horror, 
'' Men ! men ! I am going — I am going ! ” He still, however, 
held on for a little, and it was not till he had shrieked many 
times, “ I am going ! ” that he did fall headlong. His com- 
rades, having been thus warned, moved the boat out of the 
way, so that the poor fellow came sheer down into the deep 
water. Mighty was the plunge, but at length he rose to the 
surface, when of course he was instantly caught hold of, and 
T 
