888 
eround at my feet and on every side came 
their uncanny little crow, which curiously 
suggested the presence of elves or brown- 
ies. Occasionally I saw a blur of wings 
as a bird passed between me and the light- 
house. 
A special object of my visit to the rock 
was to secure birds in nestling plumage to 
illustrate the various stages of their growth, 
THE CENTURY MAGAZINE. 
causes it, when disturbed, to describe a cir- 
cle about its own point. Thus, like a diplo- 
mat, it yields to superior force while retaining 
its original position. 
Late in the afternoon the sun appeared at 
intervals through the clouds; and I at once 
substituted the camera for the scalpel, and 
had Mr. Bourque lower me in the crate, in 
order that I might secure photographs of the 
LEDGE OF NESTING GANNETS. 
and fortunately I arrived at exactly the right 
date. Young murres in every condition, from 
those newly hatched to others nearly ready 
to fly, were scattered over the narrow ledges 
on which this species nests, or rather lays, 
and there were still a few fresh eggs, doubt- 
less laid by birds who had been robbed ear- 
lier in the season. Murres deposit their 
single egg on the bare rock, often on a ledge 
so narrow that there is barely room for the 
sitting bird. A round or elliptical egg, if 
moved by the wind or incubating bird, would 
soon roll from its precarious position; but the 
markedly pyriform shape of a murre’s egg 
birds observed on our ascent. Neither the 
instability of the crate nor its constant turn- 
ing were conditions which a photographer 
would choose, but nevertheless several ex- 
cellent pictures were secured, notably that 
of the kittiwake, here shown. 
The third day of our stay on the rock pre- 
sented us with an excellent sample of New- 
foundland fog, and the bomb which had 
startled us at twenty-minute intervals 
throughout the night continued its warning 
during the day. Its dull boom, however, 
proved a welcome sound to Captain Taker, 
who, in spite of the fog, had kept his ap- 
