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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76756 ***
+
+
+
+
+
+_SONS OF THE ISLES._
+
+
+    _There is a spell woven by restless seas,_
+    _A secret charm that haunts our Island air,_
+    _Holding our hearts and following everywhere_
+    _The wandering children of the Orcades;_
+    _And still, when sleep the prisoned spirit frees,_
+    _What dim void wastes, what strange dark seas we dare,_
+    _Till where the dear green Isles shine low and fair_
+    _We moor in dreams beside familiar quays._
+
+    _Sons of the Isles! though ye may roam afar,_
+    _Still on your lips the salt sea spray is stinging,_
+    _Still in your hearts the winds of youth are singing;_
+    _Though in heavens grown familiar to your eyes_
+    _The Southern Cross is gleaming, for old skies_
+    _Your hearts are fain and for the Northern Star._
+
+                                     DUNCAN J. ROBERTSON
+                                  (_“Chambers’s Journal.” By permission._)
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: _“The wonder and the glory of all the North” (p. 69)._]
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+                                    The
+                                Orkney Book
+
+                       Readings for Young Orcadians
+
+                          Compiled and Edited by
+                          John Gunn, M.A., D.Sc.
+               Author of “Sons of the Vikings,” “The Boys of
+                              Hamnavoe,” etc.
+
+                        Thomas Nelson & Sons, Ltd.
+                          London, Edinburgh, and
+                                 New York
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+This is a book about Orkney, for use in Orkney, designed and for the most
+part written by natives of Orkney. It owes its origin to the Edinburgh
+University Orcadian Association, the members of which realized the
+desirability of preparing for use in the schools of Orkney a book adapted
+to the special conditions of the Islands.
+
+Educationists now recognize that Knowledge ought, like Charity, to “begin
+at home:” this is true of every branch of knowledge—history, geography,
+literature, and the rest. They might even adopt with an educational
+reference the saying of the wise man, “Wisdom is before him that hath
+understanding; but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.” An
+attempt has accordingly been made in this book to present to the young
+folks of Orkney a general view of their homeland, some description of
+its past and its present, and some knowledge of its naturalistic and its
+humanistic aspects, with the object of awakening their interest in their
+own Islands, in order that from this centre their knowledge may advance
+the more surely to the sweep of a wider horizon. For, like Charity again,
+while Knowledge must begin at home, it must not remain at home.
+
+While the scope of the book is wide, the treatment of each class of
+subjects is necessarily suggestive rather than exhaustive. All that
+is possible within the limits of a single small volume is to present
+illustrative specimens rather than a complete collection of studies.
+Hence there is abundant opportunity for the teacher to supplement
+the book by specializing in one direction or in another according to
+individual preference. The aim has been rather to supply the irreducible
+minimum, suitable to all, in the hope that the book may find its way into
+every school in the county, and be read by every Orkney boy and girl
+before their schooldays are over.
+
+The Committee of the Edinburgh University Orcadian Association who have
+superintended the issue of the book acknowledge gratefully the courtesy
+with which copyright material has been placed at their disposal. They
+wish to record their obligations to the Controller of His Majesty’s
+Stationery Office, to Messrs. J. M. Dent and Co., Messrs. Longmans,
+Green, and Co., Messrs. Macmillan and Co., Messrs. W. and R. Chambers,
+and the Walter Scott Publishing Company, for the use of the extracts to
+which their names are respectively appended, and to Messrs. Thomas Nelson
+and Sons for much copyright material, including numerous illustrations.
+They also desire to express their thanks to the Honourable Mrs. John
+Dundas of Papdale, and to Messrs. Duncan J. Robertson, J. Storer
+Clouston, and Edmund Selous for literary contributions which are in
+themselves sufficient to give a high value to the collection, as well as
+to place on record their indebtedness to the late Mr. James Tomison for
+the article on “The Birds of Sule Skerry.”
+
+The matter contained in the unsigned articles has been contributed by
+many Orcadians, specialists in their several departments, whose names are
+sufficient guarantee for accuracy—Messrs. James W. Cursiter, F.S.A.Scot.,
+for Archæology, including illustrations; James Drever, M.A., for Norse
+history and language; John Tait, M.D., D.Sc., for Zoology; John S. Flett,
+M.A., D.Sc., for Geology; Magnus Spence, F.E.I.S., for Meteorology and
+Botany; John Garrioch, M.A., for Seaweeds; John W. Bews, M.A., B.Sc., and
+George W. Scarth, M.A., for botanical and descriptive material; Robert C.
+Wallace, M.A., B.Sc., for descriptive material; and John Gunn (Kirkwall)
+for the list of Orkney birds in the Appendix.
+
+As regards the artistic features of the book, special acknowledgment is
+due to Messrs. Thomas Kent, for his generosity in placing at the disposal
+of the Editor the whole of his unique collection of Orkney views, all
+the photographs reproduced being from his studio, with three or four
+exceptions; T. Marjoribanks Hay, R.S.W., for his drawing of St. Magnus
+Church, Egilsay; Stanley Cursiter, for the decorative initial letters,
+the title-page, and the cover design; and Miss Rose Leith, for the border
+designs of the grouped photographs; and to J. G. Bartholomew, LL.D., for
+the two-page map of the county.
+
+Finally, the thanks of the Committee are due to the generous and
+patriotic friends, among whom special mention ought to be made of the
+Glasgow Orkney and Shetland Literary and Scientific Association, whose
+donations of money have enabled them to produce this book, for a volume
+whose circulation must necessarily be limited to a small area could
+be issued at so low a price only on condition of the initial cost of
+manufacture being met by those interested in its production.
+
+The Editor, who must accept responsibility for the general scope and plan
+of the book, as well as for the actual form and part of the contents of
+the unsigned articles, desires personally to acknowledge the valuable
+assistance he has received from the members of the Committee, especially
+Dr. John Tait and Mr. James Drever, and from the other friends who have
+helped by their sympathetic criticism and advice, to all of whom, as well
+as to himself, the work has been in every sense a labour of love; and
+he ventures to express the hope that the results of that work, as here
+visible, may find favour in the sight of all young Orcadians, and of many
+who are no longer young.
+
+                                                                  J. GUNN.
+
+EDINBURGH, 1909.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                                      Page
+
+                      Part I.—The Story of the Past.
+
+    Prehistoric Orkney,                                                  9
+
+    The Beginnings of our History,                                      18
+
+    The Norsemen and their Sagas,                                       23
+
+    The Beginning of the Earldom,                                       32
+
+    The Dark Century,                                                   40
+
+    Earl Thorfinn and Earl Rognvald,                                    54
+
+    The Slaying of Earl Magnus,                                         59
+
+    The Founding of St. Magnus Cathedral,                               67
+
+    The Jorsalafarers,                                                  74
+
+    Sweyn Asleifson, the Last of the Vikings,                           90
+
+    The Decay of the Earldom and the End of the Western Kingdom,        97
+
+    The Annexation to Scotland,                                        105
+
+    Udal and Feudal,                                                   110
+
+    The Stewart Earls,                                                 115
+
+    The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries,                           120
+
+                     Part II.—The Isles and the Folk.
+
+    A Survey of the Islands:
+      On Wideford Hill,                                                129
+      Among the North Isles,                                           134
+      Among the South Isles,                                           146
+
+    Round the Mainland:
+      First Day,                                                       154
+      Second Day,                                                      158
+      Third Day,                                                       166
+      Fourth Day,                                                      172
+
+    Sketches by Hugh Miller:
+      The Dwarfie Stone,                                               179
+      The Standing Stones,                                             184
+
+    The Cathedral of St. Magnus,                                       190
+
+    A Road in Orcady,                                                  206
+
+    A Loch in Orcady,                                                  219
+
+    Among the Kelpers,                                                 227
+
+    A Whale-hunt in Orkney,                                            242
+
+    Articles made of Straw,                                            248
+
+    The Weather of Orkney,                                             255
+
+    The Place-Names of Orkney,                                         263
+
+                          Part III.—Nature Lore.
+
+    The Story of the Rocks:
+      “Sermons in Stones,”                                             271
+      “Books in the Running Brooks,”                                   276
+      Cliffs and Beaches,                                              284
+      The Age of Ice,                                                  289
+      Orkney Fossils,                                                  292
+
+    A Peat-Moss,                                                       296
+
+    Some Common Weeds,                                                 305
+
+    Home Life on the Rocks:
+      Guillemots,                                                      312
+      Seals,                                                           317
+      Shags,                                                           320
+
+    The Birds of Sule Skerry,                                          328
+      The Residenters,                                                 330
+      The Regular Visitors,                                            334
+      Occasional Visitors,                                             346
+
+    Common Seaweeds,                                                   352
+
+    Crabs,                                                             361
+
+    Hoppers and Sholties,                                              372
+
+    Sea-Anemones,                                                      378
+
+                         Part IV.—Legend and Lay.
+
+    The Old Gods,                                                      383
+
+    A Vanishing Island,                                                391
+
+    Helen Waters: a Legend of Sule Skerry,                             396
+
+    A Legend of Boray Island,                                          403
+
+    Songs of the Gods:
+      The Challenge of Thor,                                           408
+      Tegner’s Drapa,                                                  409
+
+    The Song of Harold Harfager,                                       412
+
+    King Hacon’s Last Battle,                                          414
+
+    The Death of Haco,                                                 416
+
+    The Old Man of Hoy,                                                420
+
+    Orkney,                                                            422
+
+    Scenes from “The Buccaneer”:
+      Night; Morning,                                                  430
+
+    To Orkney,                                                         432
+
+    The Temple of Nature,                                              433
+
+                               Appendices.
+
+    Appendix I.—Chronology of Orcadian History to the End of the
+                  Earldom, with Related Contemporary Events,           435
+
+    Appendix II.—Norse Words in Orkney Place-Names,                    439
+
+    Appendix III.—List of Birds found in Orkney,                       441
+
+    Appendix IV.—Books for Further Study,                              443
+
+
+
+
+THE ORKNEY BOOK.
+
+
+
+
+Part I.—The Story of the Past.
+
+
+
+
+PREHISTORIC ORKNEY.
+
+
+At what period of the world’s history were our islands first inhabited,
+and who were their first inhabitants? These are questions which we cannot
+now answer. History is always made before it is written, and long ages
+must have passed in the history of these islands before any written
+records began to be kept.
+
+Yet there are some records of that dim, forgotten past, which patient
+research has gathered together, and which can be made to tell us a few
+fragments of our Island story. If we look into one of the museums where
+relics of the past are preserved, we may find such things as flint
+arrow-heads and knives, stone axes and hammers, bronze spear-heads, and
+other tools and weapons of the early inhabitants of our islands. These
+silent witnesses tell us a little about what manner of men they were, and
+how they lived their long-forgotten lives.
+
+The use of stone implements marks a very primitive stage of life, yet
+one which may not be entirely savage. There are tribes now living which
+are still in their Stone Age. A recent traveller tells of having seen
+an inhabitant of the South American Andes skin a hare very neatly with
+a small flint knife. This knife is now in Kirkwall, and is precisely
+similar to many which have been dug up in Orkney.
+
+[Illustration: _Flint Arrow-heads and Knives._]
+
+Flint is not a common stone in the Orkney Islands. It is found in
+occasional lumps and pebbles among the clay which has been carried from
+other places by the glaciers and icebergs of the Ice Age. Flint is common
+in the southern parts of Great Britain, however, and the arrows and
+knives found in our islands may have been brought from the south, or the
+art of making them may have been learned from tribes among whom flint was
+a more common material. This kind of stone, the fine steel of the Stone
+Age, was used for small implements over a wide area of the world.
+
+[Illustration: _Stone Hammers and Axes._]
+
+Orkney must have had a large population in those early days. The
+number of ancient graves which have been found seems to indicate this,
+especially if we suppose that most of those graves with their heaped-up
+mounds are the resting-places of chiefs and great men rather than of the
+common people. The graves which remain are of varied types, from the
+simple cist of upright stones roofed with horizontal slabs and covered
+with earth, to the large mound with its carefully built chambers.
+
+The variety of the objects found in those graves, from the rudest flint
+and bone implements to those which are carefully finished, and finally
+to objects made of metal, shows that the burials belong to different
+periods. They tell us of long ages of increasing though now forgotten
+civilization. Some of the mounds, indeed, show by their contents that
+they cover the remains, not of the original and unknown inhabitants,
+but of the Norse conquerors, and thus really belong to the period whose
+history has come down to us in writing. But in the very mound where the
+Norse warrior was laid to rest, there are sometimes also found the relics
+of burials of a much ruder age. Such mingling of the materials of our
+unwritten history makes the story which they tell a very difficult one to
+read.
+
+There are few remains in our islands more striking than the chambered
+mounds, or Picts’ houses, as they are called. The most complete and
+probably the most recent of them is that known as Maeshowe. They consist
+of a mound of earth heaped over a rude building, sometimes of one
+apartment, but frequently of several, the entrance being a long, low,
+narrow passage, through which it is necessary to stoop or crawl in order
+to gain an entrance.
+
+Possibly those Picts’ houses were built at first as houses to dwell in,
+though later used as tombs. It is not uncommon to-day to find buildings
+used for burial which were designed for other purposes. If ever our
+race and all its records were to vanish as completely as the primitive
+inhabitants of the Orkney Islands have done, we can imagine some future
+explorer of the ruins of St. Magnus Cathedral writing a learned treatise
+to prove that the largest building in our islands was erected as a
+burial-place for our dead.
+
+Those mound dwellings, or Picts’ houses, may seem to us a very strange
+form of house to live in. Where can we find to-day houses of such a
+type, and with so very inconvenient a form of entrance? The Eskimos, as
+travellers tell us, are in the habit of building just such houses with
+blocks of snow, and they find this the best type in the extreme cold of
+their Arctic climate. Possibly the Picts’ house type of dwelling was used
+in Orkney and in other places for similar reasons.
+
+[Illustration: _Polished Stone Celts._]
+
+The brochs, or Pictish towers, as they are also called, are buildings
+of a different kind, which are also fairly common in Orkney. They are
+probably of later date than the Picts’ houses. Considerable skill,
+as well as co-operation in labour, must have been required for their
+erection.
+
+The most complete broch in existence is that of Mousa in Shetland. Of
+those which are found in Orkney, only the lower portions now remain. Over
+seventy such ruins have been examined, the best specimens being in Evie
+(Burgar), Birsay (Oxtro), Harray, Firth (Ingashowe and Stirlinghowe),
+St. Ola (Birstane and Lingro), St. Andrews (Dingishowe and Langskaill),
+Burray (East and West Brough), South Ronaldsay (Hoxa), Shapinsay
+(Borrowston), and Stronsay (Lamb Head).
+
+[Illustration: _Plan of Chambered Mound, Wideford Hill._
+
+_b_, Entrance. _c_, Blind Passage.]
+
+[Illustration: _Chambered Mound, Wideford Hill._
+
+Section on line _a, a_ of plan.]
+
+The typical broch is a large round tower, fifty or sixty feet in
+diameter, and probably as much in height. The wall is about fifteen feet
+thick, and solid at the base, except for some vaulted chambers which are
+made in it. Higher, the wall is hollow, or rather consists of an outer
+and an inner wall, with a space of four or five feet between them. This
+space is divided into a number of stories or galleries by horizontal
+courses of long slabs of stone, which form the roof of one story and the
+floor of that above it, and at the same time bind the two walls firmly
+together. A stairway gives access to the various stories, and light is
+admitted by small windows opening into the interior space of the tower,
+no windows being made in the outer wall. A single door in the lower wall
+forms the only entrance to the inner court of the broch.
+
+These towers were probably constructed for the purpose of defence, and
+against a primitive enemy they would serve as well as did the castles of
+a later age before the invention of gunpowder. Indeed, we read of the
+broch of Mousa being actually used as a fort in the time of the Norsemen.
+
+Who the builders of these towers were we cannot discover. They are
+undoubtedly very ancient; yet their builders and occupiers were by no
+means savages. From the remains which have been found in them we learn
+that they were used by a people who kept domestic animals, who cultivated
+the ground, and who could spin and weave the wool of their flocks into
+cloth. No weapons of the Stone Age are found in the brochs.
+
+[Illustration: _Broch of Mousa, Shetland._
+
+1. Exterior. 2. Section. 3. Section with inner wall removed.]
+
+It is certain that they were built, and that most of them may have fallen
+into ruins, long before the Norsemen came. Many of the places where
+they stand were named by those settlers from the broch which was found
+standing there. The words _borg_, as in Burgar, and _howe_ (haug), as in
+Hoxa (Haug’s aith, or isthmus), are found in many place-names. It is
+certain, too, that the brochs were not then occupied, or we should have
+found some account of their siege and capture in the Sagas which tell of
+Norse prowess by land and sea.
+
+Another type of ancient remains which is common in our islands is the
+standing stones. These are found in many places, either singly or in
+groups or circles. Regarding these relics of a distant past much has been
+written, but little is known.
+
+[Illustration: _The Stone Circle of Stenness as now Restored._]
+
+An upright stone is the simplest and most effective form of monument, and
+is that which we most commonly use to this day to mark the resting-places
+of our dead. To the ancient Orcadian it was a matter of more difficulty
+to quarry and to transport and erect such monuments, and doubtless they
+would be set up only in memory of some great event, such as a notable
+victory, or the fall of a great chieftain.
+
+The great stone circles, such as those of Stenness and of Brogar, are
+supposed to have served a different purpose. They are believed by many
+to have been the temples of some primitive people, who met there to
+worship their gods. It has also been supposed that the people who erected
+those circles were sun-worshippers, as the situation of certain prominent
+stones seems to have been determined by the position of the rising sun at
+midsummer.
+
+[Illustration: _Fallen Cromlech or Table Stone, Sandwick._]
+
+But in these matters we cannot be certain of our conclusions. Most of
+our great churches and cathedrals are placed east and west, with the
+high altar towards the east, and even the graves in our churchyards
+are usually similarly oriented; but this does not prove that we are
+sun-worshippers, whatever our forefathers may have been before they
+accepted Christianity. We may indulge in much speculation about them, and
+form our own opinions as to what they originally meant, but those hoary
+monoliths remain a mystery, and the purpose of their erection we can only
+guess.
+
+
+
+
+THE BEGINNINGS OF OUR HISTORY.
+
+
+In the history of the ancient world some vague and fragmentary references
+are made to our islands, but from these little real knowledge of them can
+be gathered. As early as the time of Alexander the Great we come upon
+some notices of certain northern islands, which must be either Orkney,
+or the Hebrides, or Shetland, or the Faroes, but we cannot determine
+which. The Phœnicians, who were the great sea-traders and explorers of
+the early world, seem to have had a little knowledge of these northern
+archipelagoes.
+
+In the time of the Roman occupation of Britain we have definite mention
+of the Orcades, but nothing which shows any real knowledge of them. They
+were visited by the fleet of Agricola after his invasion of Scotland,
+as recorded by Tacitus. About three centuries later, the poet Claudian
+sings of a victory by the Emperor Theodosius, who, we are told, sprinkled
+Orcadian soil with Saxon blood. We are not told, however, who the people
+called Saxons really were, or whether they were the inhabitants of the
+islands or not. They may have been early Viking raiders who had fled
+hither and been brought to bay among the group.
+
+Early Church history has also some references to Orkney. After
+St. Columba had left the shores of Ireland to carry the message
+of Christianity to the Picts and Scots in Scotland, another Irish
+missionary, Cormac, went on a similar voyage among the Orkney Isles. Him,
+therefore, we may regard as the apostle to the northern heathen. St.
+Adamnan, the biographer of St. Columba, tells the story, and the name of
+Adamnan himself is still commemorated in the name of the Isle of Damsay.
+
+After the visit of Cormac, the Culdee missionaries established themselves
+in various parts of Orkney, as the place-names given by the Norsemen
+show. In several of these names we find the word _pápa_, a form of
+_pope_, which was the name applied to the monks or clergy of the Culdee
+Church. Like Columba himself, who made the little island of Iona his
+headquarters, his followers seem to have preferred the seclusion of the
+smaller islands. To this habit are due such names as _Papa Westray_ and
+_Papa Stronsay_. Other Church settlements have left their traces in names
+such as _Paplay_ and _Papdale_.
+
+Another place-name which records an old-world mission station is that
+of _Deerness_. At first sight this name seems rather to indicate that
+abundance of deer were found there; and some writers tell us, by way of
+proving this, that deer’s horns have been found in that parish. But as
+deer’s horns have also been found in many other places in the county,
+the proof is not convincing. We must remember that the Norse invaders
+were likely to name the place on account of its appearance from the
+sea. They may, of course, have noticed a chance herd of deer near the
+cliffs; but one thing is certain to have caught their eye—the unusual
+sight of a building of stone on the Brough of Deerness. Some remains of
+this building, and of a later one on the same site, still exist; and it
+was long regarded as in some way a sacred place, to which pilgrimages
+were made. This building was in fact one of those outposts of early
+Christianity—a Culdee monastery. When the Norse invaders came, they
+doubtless found it occupied by some of the Culdee clergy—_diar_, as
+they would be called by the strangers—and so the headland was named the
+Priests’ Cape, or Deerness.
+
+It is quite possible that deer existed in Orkney down to the Norse
+period, but they were much more likely to be found in the hilly regions
+of the west Mainland, which was the earls’ hunting-ground. We read of an
+Earl of Orkney going over to Caithness for the chase of the deer, which
+seems to suggest that they were then scarce, if not extinct, in Orkney.
+
+Among the remains of the Culdee settlements which are still found are
+monumental stones with Christian emblems inscribed on them, or with Irish
+Ogham writing, and ancient bells, probably used in the churches. The
+curious round tower which forms part of the old church of St. Magnus in
+Egilsay is of a type common only in Ireland. The name of that island is
+probably derived from an earlier church which the Norsemen found there,
+and heard called by its Celtic name, _ecclais_. It has been supposed by
+some that the name _Egilsay_ means Egil’s Island, so called after some
+man named Egil; but the probability is that it meant the Church Island.
+
+All that we can learn, then, from the ancient relics of its first
+inhabitants, and from the brief references to the islands by old
+historians, amounts to very little. We know that Orkney was thickly
+inhabited by some ancient people, living at first the primitive life
+which is indicated by the use of stone implements. We may suppose that
+they had at one time a religion in some way connected with sun-worship.
+We know that they built earth-houses somewhat like the snow-houses of
+the Eskimos, many of which still remain, and that, in some cases at
+least, these have been used as places of burial by later inhabitants.
+We know that at one period strong circular towers were built, probably
+as fortresses, by a people of some degree of civilization. We know that
+in the time of St. Columba Christian missionaries or monks visited the
+islands, whose inhabitants were then probably of the race known as Picts,
+and whose chiefs are said to have been subject to the Pictish king of
+Northern Scotland. Some at least of those Culdees we may suppose to have
+been hermits rather than missionaries, although they may have combined
+the two characters. How many centuries of time are covered by these facts
+and suppositions we do not know, but they sum up all that can be said
+with certainty regarding Orkney before the coming of the Norsemen.
+
+There is one very curious fact about the beginnings of the Norse
+records: they make no mention whatever of any inhabitants being found in
+the islands. The place-names afford evidence, as we have seen, of the
+presence of Culdee monks, but of other population there is no trace. The
+new-comers seem to have settled as in an uninhabited land, each Viking
+selecting and occupying his land without let or hindrance.
+
+If there had been a native population, and if these had been either
+expelled or exterminated by the invaders, we should surely have been
+told of it by the Saga writers, who would have delighted in telling such
+a tale. It has accordingly been supposed that at the time of the Norse
+settlement the islands were uninhabited save by the hermits of the Culdee
+Church. When or how the former Pictish inhabitants disappeared it is
+impossible to say. Possibly some early Viking raids, of which no history
+remains, had resulted in the slaughter of many and the flight of the
+rest to the less exposed lands south of the Pictland or Pentland Firth.
+Whatever the reason may be, the chapter of our Island history which opens
+with the Norse settlement is in no way a continuation of anything which
+goes before, but begins a new story.
+
+[Illustration: _Carved Stone Balls._]
+
+
+
+
+THE NORSEMEN AND THEIR SAGAS.
+
+
+It is late in the eighth century before the Northman or Norseman appears
+on the stage of history. From the day when Cæsar’s victorious legions
+brought the Gauls, the Germans, and the Britons under the sway of the
+imperial city, these nations of Western Europe are never again entirely
+lost to history. But Scandinavia and the countries round the Baltic
+remained unknown to Rome and to the world for long centuries afterwards.
+“There nature ends,” one of the Roman writers has said, when speaking of
+these northern lands. This brief yet expressive sentence well indicates
+how completely outside the Roman world lay the countries which were the
+cradle of our race.
+
+There is another side to all this, which we find it difficult to picture
+clearly in our minds. To the inhabitants of Scandinavia and the lands
+round the Baltic, the southern parts of Europe were equally unknown. We
+find in a Scandinavian writer of the ninth century a description of an
+expedition which was made by one of the Viking chiefs to this unknown
+world. In the course of his travels he came upon a city which to the
+Norseman seemed mysterious and dread—a city of Niflheim, the under-world.
+This city, as we learn from contemporary Western writers, must have been
+Paris. Paris, now the gay capital of Europe, and even then a city of
+importance and of fame, was so unknown to the Norsemen of the early ninth
+century that it was deemed a part of Niflheim, the under-world!
+
+During the period when the northern nations were hidden from the eye of
+history, many changes must have been going on among them. The building
+and management of ships could not have been learned in a day, and even
+when we first catch sight of the Norsemen they were the finest and
+most daring seamen in the world, and their ships probably the most
+perfect hitherto seen. Many voyages among their own islands and in the
+Baltic must have preceded the longer voyages to Britain, to Iceland, to
+Greenland, and to America. Numerous wars there must have been, quite
+unknown to history, before the northern warrior became the terrible
+fighter of the Viking Age.
+
+We can imagine the delighted wonder with which the northern warriors
+first gazed upon the rich and fertile shores of South-Western Europe.
+We can imagine how they contrasted the fair fields and great cities of
+the south with the bleak and sterile shores of the north from which they
+came. What motives first led to their leaving their native shores it is
+difficult to say. Thirst for adventure, the pinch of poverty at home, the
+desire of possessing gold and treasure, all conspired to make them seek
+their fortunes in the wide and unknown lands which lay beyond the sea.
+When the first adventurers brought home accounts of the lands which they
+had seen—the fruitful fields, the great cities, the rich merchandise,
+and the yellow gold—great numbers of their fellow-countrymen would be
+seized with a longing to visit those wonderful shores where wealth was
+to be had for the taking. The roving spirit once roused spread rapidly
+over the northern lands. The storm of Viking fury burst on the lands of
+Western Europe almost without warning.
+
+In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, under the date A.D. 787, we read: “In this
+year King Beorhtric took Eadburh, King Offa’s daughter, to wife. And in
+his days first came three ships of Northmen from Haerethaland, and the
+reeve rode down to them and would drive them to the king’s _vill_, for
+he knew not what men they were, and they there slew him. These were the
+first ships of Danish men that sought the land of the English.” Thus we
+read of the first mutterings of the storm which was so soon to burst on
+the coasts of Western Europe. During the succeeding two centuries and a
+half the English learned to know well what men these were who came out of
+the wild north-east. The monks’ litany, “From the fury of the Northmen
+deliver us, O Lord!” tells us what _they_ thought of them.
+
+[Illustration: EXPEDITIONS AND SETTLEMENTS OF THE NORSEMEN]
+
+We can trace two distinct roads which the Viking raids followed. One,
+traversed chiefly by the Danes, led along the shores of Northern Europe
+to England, the English Channel, France, Spain, and the Mediterranean;
+the other, traversed chiefly by the Norsemen, led straight across the
+North Sea to the Orkneys, thence along the west coast of Scotland, to
+Ireland and the west of England. The islands lying off the coasts of
+Scotland, England, Ireland, and France were seized by the invaders, and
+from these as bases their raids extended far and wide. Monasteries
+felt the utmost fury of their attacks, for there they knew they would
+find abundance of spoil. At first the invaders confined themselves to
+plundering expeditions. The Norsemen early turned their attention to
+settlement and commerce; the Danes, on the other hand, remained for a
+longer period intent on plunder alone.
+
+Civil wars in Western Europe had rendered the nations there incapable
+of effective resistance to the ruthless invaders. The Vikings descended
+now at one point, now at another. When they met with a more stubborn
+resistance than usual, they merely retired to their ships with whatever
+plunder they had seized, and sailed away to make an attack somewhere
+else. They wintered on the islands which they had seized, and as soon as
+spring was come they descended once more on the devoted lands. Ireland
+suffered severely at their hands. The Orkneys and the Hebrides became
+nests of Vikings; in fact, colonies of them must have been established
+there at a very early date. In these islands they were safe from all
+interference—a law to themselves; for as yet there was no arm in Europe
+long enough and strong enough to reach them. Nowhere could a more
+convenient base have been found for Viking raids on the British and Irish
+shores.
+
+The first half-century of the Viking Age saw the Danes settled merely in
+outlying parts of the east coast of England. The Norsemen, on the other
+hand, had already seized on Orkney, Shetland, the Hebrides, and large
+tracts of Eastern Ireland. The first fifty years of the Viking Age may be
+called the first period of Norse colonization in the west.
+
+It would be a great mistake, however, to suppose that the Norsemen were
+merely turbulent sea-robbers, or that the only result of their migrations
+was to hinder the progress of civilization in Western Europe. As settlers
+in other countries, they brought new strength and vitality to the land
+of their adoption; but instead of remaining separate colonies, they were
+soon absorbed into the native population, and had no further history of
+their own.
+
+Yet there were two great settlements abroad which left a deep mark on
+European history. The one was the colonization of the north of France,
+afterwards called Normandy. There the Norsemen soon adopted the language
+and the religion of the country, but retained so much of their native
+characteristics that the subsequent Norman Conquest of England may be
+regarded as really a Norse inroad of a specially successful type. The
+other settlement was that in the south of Italy and Sicily, later known
+as the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which occupied an important place in
+history during the Middle Ages.
+
+Even the British settlements for the most part had only a brief period
+of separate history, and soon became merged into the general stream of
+national life. In Orkney and Shetland, however, where there was probably
+no native population at the time of the Norse invasion, the colony
+developed along its own special lines, and has left behind it a history
+which for centuries remained distinct from that of the rest of Great
+Britain.
+
+The history of the Orkney Islands during the period of the Norse
+occupation is preserved for us in the Icelandic _Sagas_. Iceland was one
+of the earliest and most important Norse colonies, and there the old
+Northern language was preserved better than anywhere else. The Sagas are
+stories which, in the times of long ago, were told around the fires in
+Iceland and other Norse colonies to while away the long winter evenings.
+At festivals and merry-makings, during long voyages, or by the winter
+fireside, the Norseman listened eagerly to the recital of deeds done by
+his kinsmen in other times and in other lands. Storytelling was a popular
+pastime, and the man who knew many Sagas was ever a welcome guest.
+
+Many of the Sagas have now been translated into English, and all of
+these are well worth reading. The greatest of all the Sagas is generally
+thought to be the Saga of Burnt Njal. It is one of the noblest stories
+to be found in any language, and it is besides nobly told. In this Saga
+we find the best account of the great battle of Clontarf. Among the
+other great Sagas are the Saga of the Settlers on the Ayre, the Saga of
+Laxdale, the Saga of Egil the son of Skallagrim, the Saga of Grettir the
+Strong, and the Saga of the Volsungs. The two last are mythical Sagas;
+they do not tell of real historical personages, but are paraphrases of
+old songs and legends which have come down from a more distant past. The
+Anglo-Saxon Saga of Beowulf tells some of the same stories, and is not a
+real Saga in the sense of a true story told by the fireside.
+
+The stories of the earls and chiefs of Orkney form part of the great
+store of Saga literature, and these have come down to us in the form
+of the “Orkneyinga Saga.” It must be remembered, however, that this is
+merely the summary of a great number of stories which had been told long
+before by men who had no doubt taken part in the events related. It was
+a Saga-man’s pride to tell the truth—at least as it was told to him—and
+so we may in the main rely on the Orkney Saga as a true account of events
+which happened, although sometimes it may be exceedingly difficult to
+assign the correct dates. The Orkney Saga is not usually reckoned among
+the great Sagas. It partakes more of the nature of a general history than
+of a single and complete story. This Saga is the chief source of our
+knowledge of the history of our islands during Norse times.
+
+The Orkney Saga consists of several parts, each of which might be
+called a separate Saga—the Earls’ Saga, Magnus’s Saga, and Rognvald’s
+Saga. The first relates the history of Orkney from its conquest by King
+Harald Fairhair of Norway down to the death of Earl Thorfinn, about the
+time of the Norman Conquest of England. The second relates the lives
+of Thorfinn’s sons, Paul and Erlend, but more especially of the holy
+Earl Magnus, of his murder, and of the wonderful things that happened
+afterwards through his holiness. The third part tells of the earls after
+St. Magnus, chiefly Earl Rognvald the Second, and the great Viking, Sweyn
+Asleifson of Gairsay, generally known as “the last of the Vikings.” The
+whole history given in the Orkney Saga includes the events of the three
+centuries from 900 to 1200.
+
+In addition to what we learn from the Orkney Saga, we glean a few facts
+about the history of our islands from other Sagas, such as the Sagas of
+the Kings of Norway, usually called the “Heimskringla.” There are also
+many Norse poems which scholars say must have been written in Orkney, or
+in some other of the western Norse colonies, and from these we can learn
+much about the life of the people, their thoughts, and their beliefs,
+though very little about the actual history of the islands. We do not
+know who were the authors of these poems, but some of them were really
+great poets, greater, perhaps, than any then living in any other part of
+Europe.
+
+Finally, there are occasional glimpses of our Norse ancestors to be
+caught in the pages of the chronicles and histories of the nations.
+Unfortunately, these references are so often distorted by fear or
+hatred, or so confused through scanty and imperfect knowledge, that they
+add very little to what we already know from Norse records. One good
+purpose, indeed, they serve: they show that the Saga-men were in the main
+truth-tellers, so that we can place reliance on their stories, even where
+these are not found in the records of other nations. The Saga-men also
+fill up many gaps in the history of those countries which the Norsemen
+visited, and thus they render our knowledge of the Viking Age more
+complete, more detailed, and more accurate, even as regards countries
+which were to them foreign lands.
+
+[Illustration: _Ancient Bronze Spear-head; Horn Mounting still
+preserved._]
+
+
+
+
+THE BEGINNING OF THE EARLDOM.
+
+
+Before our story begins, Norway was divided into a number of small
+kingdoms. About the year 890 A.D. a king called Harald, who ruled
+over one of these small kingdoms, resolved to make himself master of
+all Norway. He made a vow that he would not cut his hair until he was
+acknowledged king throughout the whole country. This ambitious aim took
+some time to accomplish, and as the years passed his thick locks grew
+long and shaggy. Thus he got the name of Harald Shockhead.
+
+One after another, however, he subdued the smaller kingdoms, compelling
+the earls and chiefs to acknowledge him as their king, or to leave
+the country. Then began what may be called the second period of Norse
+colonization in the west. Many of the proudest and boldest of the
+Norsemen, deeming it a disgrace to serve a king who was at best only
+their equal, preferred to trust themselves and all their belongings to
+the ocean, and take whatever fortune might await them.
+
+Those nobles who fled from Norway, regarding Harald as their enemy, soon
+began to spread terror along the shores of Norway itself, returning to
+plunder, and slay, and burn, as their fellow-countrymen had so often done
+in the west. Their chief haunts were among the Orkneys and the Hebrides.
+Thither they betook themselves with their booty when winter came on.
+There they lived and feasted all through the winter, and when spring
+came they descended once more on the coasts of Norway. Ireland and the
+west coast of England also suffered from these raiders, and in France a
+determined effort to conquer the country was at this time made by the
+Norsemen. Hrolf or Rollo, the Norseman, became master of the north of
+France, and gave to it a new name—Normandy, the land of the Normans or
+Norsemen.
+
+The last great effort made by these Norse nobles to break the power of
+King Harald was foiled by their defeat at Hafursfrith. A great league had
+been formed against Harald. Vikings from over the sea crowded back to
+Norway to avenge their own injuries and to help their kinsmen. The two
+fleets met at Hafursfrith in the south of Norway, and a long and stubborn
+battle ended in victory for Harald. This battle had far-reaching results.
+It was the end of the struggle for independence in Norway. Harald was
+then left free to turn his attention to the chastisement of the Vikings
+in the west. The result was the foundation of the Norse Empire in the
+west, and the colonization of Iceland and Greenland by those Norsemen who
+still scorned to own the sway of the Norwegian king.
+
+With a large and splendidly equipped fleet, Harald swooped down on the
+Vikings in Orkney and the Hebrides. Their resistance was feeble enough.
+Some yielded themselves to the king; others fled before him. Nowhere
+was there anything like a pitched battle. As far south as the Isle of
+Man, Harald pursued his career of conquest. Turning north once more, he
+established Norse jarldoms or earldoms in Orkney and the Hebrides, to be
+subject henceforth to the Norwegian crown. Then, considering that his vow
+was fulfilled, Harald at last had his long hair cut, and was afterwards
+known as Harald Fairhair.
+
+One of Harald’s chief friends and supporters was Rognvald, Earl of Moeri
+and Romsdal, who was called by the men of his time, “The mighty and wise
+in council.” This Rognvald was the father of Rollo of Normandy. He had
+other sons named Ivar, Thorir, Rollaug, Hallad, and Einar, and he had
+a brother called Sigurd. The family makes a very large figure in the
+history of those times. In one of Harald’s battles in the west fell Ivar,
+Rognvald’s son. Harald assigned to Rognvald the newly created Jarldom of
+Orkney in order to compensate him in some measure for the loss of his
+son. But Rognvald had already large estates in Norway. He thought that
+these were quite enough for one man to govern. Accordingly he handed over
+the Orkneys to his brother Sigurd, who thus became the first Jarl or Earl.
+
+Sigurd, the first Earl of Orkney, sometimes called Sigurd the Mighty,
+was a strong and energetic ruler. When King Harald departed for Norway,
+the earl at once began to strengthen himself in his new dominions. He
+first allied himself with Thorstein the Red, son of the Norse king of
+Dublin, and with the Norsemen in the Hebrides, and then invaded Scotland
+in an attempt to add to his earldom Caithness and Sutherland. The Scots
+naturally offered a determined resistance. Their leader was Maelbride
+or Melbrigda—called Melbrigda Tusk because he had a large projecting
+tooth—Earl or Maormor of Ross.
+
+After the war had lasted for some time, the two earls agreed to meet and
+settle their quarrel, each taking forty men with him. On the day fixed
+for the meeting, Sigurd, suspecting, as he said, the good faith of the
+Scots, mounted two men on each of his forty horses, and came thus to the
+place appointed. As soon as the Norsemen appeared in sight, Melbrigda saw
+that he had been trapped, and turning to his men, said, “We have been
+betrayed by Sigurd, for I see two feet on each horse’s side. The men must
+therefore be twice as numerous as the horses that bear them. Nevertheless
+let us harden our hearts and sell our lives as dearly as we can.”
+
+Seeing the Scots prepared to die hard in the place where they were,
+Sigurd divided his force and attacked them at once in front and in flank.
+The battle was fierce and bloody, but it ended in the total extermination
+of the small band of Scots. Sigurd, exulting over his fallen foe, cut
+off Melbrigda’s head and fixed it to his saddle. On his way home, in
+spurring his horse his leg struck against the great projecting tooth
+which had given Melbrigda his nickname, and the tooth pierced his leg.
+Blood-poisoning followed, and a few days later Earl Sigurd died in great
+pain on the banks of the Dornoch Firth. He was buried at a place now
+called Cyder Hall (Sigurd’s Howe), near Skibo Castle.
+
+Sigurd was succeeded in the earldom by his son Guttorm. Guttorm ruled the
+islands for one short and uneventful winter, and then died childless.
+For some time the earldom was without a ruler. Vikings once more began
+to make the Orkneys their headquarters, and to harass the more peaceful
+inhabitants of the islands. When King Harald heard that the Orkneys
+were without a ruler, he asked Earl Rognvald to make haste to send them
+another earl. Rognvald then had the title of Earl of Orkney conferred on
+his son Hallad, who sailed for the west as the third earl. But Hallad was
+weak and indolent. The western earldom was too turbulent and difficult
+to govern. He soon wearied of his dignity, and at last, deserting his
+earldom, went back to Norway. After his ignominious withdrawal from the
+earldom, the islands came under the rule of two Danish Vikings.
+
+Although Hallad preferred a simple farmer’s life to an earl’s dignity,
+there were others of Rognvald’s sons who were more ambitious. Einar
+especially was eager to redeem the family honour by the expulsion of the
+Vikings from the islands. Accordingly Einar was chosen as Earl of Orkney,
+and after King Harald had conferred on him the title, he set out for his
+earldom. The old Earl of Moeri had never regarded his youngest son with
+much favour, and, to tell the truth, neither desired to see the other’s
+face again.
+
+Einar was the best and greatest of the early Norse earls. In appearance
+he was tall and manly; his face was somewhat disfigured by the loss of an
+eye, but in spite of this he was reputed to be very sharp-sighted. His
+father had prophesied that Einar would never become a great chief; yet he
+became the most famous of all Earl Rognvald’s sons, with the exception
+of Rollo of Normandy.
+
+The earldom was in a state of great disorder when Einar arrived. The
+Vikings had to be expelled, the government had to be settled and
+established, and the people had to learn to trust and obey their new
+earl. All these things were accomplished in a marvellously short space
+of time. The new earl also taught his people many useful arts. Wood was
+scarce: Einar knew that the people of Scotland used peat for fuel, and he
+taught the Norsemen in the islands to do the same. From this he got the
+name of Torf-Einar.
+
+Soon a serious trouble arose. King Harald’s sons had now grown up to be
+very turbulent and overbearing men. They quarrelled with their father’s
+chiefs and earls. Two of them, Halfdan Highleg and Gudrod Bright,
+attacked and slew Rognvald, Earl of Moeri. Harald was enraged that his
+sons should thus murder his best and most faithful counsellor and friend.
+He marched against them with an army, and ordered them to be seized and
+brought before him. Gudrod gave himself up to his father, but Halfdan
+seized a ship and sailed west to the Orkneys.
+
+Halfdan’s sudden arrival in the earldom caused panic for a time. Einar
+was quite unprepared for an invasion. He accordingly thought it wiser
+to escape to Caithness until he had time to collect his forces. In the
+meantime Halfdan seized the government of the isles, taking the title
+of King of Orkney and Shetland. The same summer saw Einar back in the
+Orkneys with a fleet and an army to regain his earldom. The two fleets
+met somewhere off the island of Sanday. A fierce battle took place, and
+Halfdan’s force was practically annihilated. In the dusk of the evening
+he himself leaped overboard and escaped.
+
+Next morning the shores were searched for fugitives. All who were found
+were slain, but Halfdan himself had disappeared. While the search was
+still proceeding, Einar was observed to stop suddenly and gaze across the
+sea towards the island of North Ronaldsay, or Rinansey, as it was then
+called.
+
+“What see’st thou, jarl?” asked one of his companions. “I know not what
+it is,” was the reply. “Sometimes it appears to rise up, and sometimes
+to lie down. It is either a bird in the air or a man on the rocks, and I
+will find out.”
+
+This object which the earl saw was Halfdan, who had probably just dragged
+his weary limbs from the water, and was now struggling up over the rocks
+to the land. The earl’s men pursued and captured him. He was at once
+brought before the earl, who ordered him to be slain, to avenge his
+father’s murder, and as a sacrifice to Odin for the victory.
+
+Angry as King Harald had been because of the murder of Earl Rognvald, the
+death of his son at the hands of Rognvald’s son was not likely to be very
+agreeable to him. Harald therefore determined to make a second expedition
+to the west.
+
+When Einar heard of Harald’s intended visit to the Orkneys, he thought
+that he would be safer out of the king’s way, and accordingly he crossed
+the Pentland Firth. Messengers went backwards and forwards between the
+king and the earl for a while, arranging terms of settlement. At length
+the king demanded that the earldom should pay a fine of sixty marks. To
+that Einar agreed, and King Harald Fairhair bade farewell to his western
+dominions for ever.
+
+It was no easy matter for the Orkneymen to raise the sixty marks, and the
+earl called a Thing or council to discuss the matter. At length the earl
+offered to pay the whole fine himself, on condition that all the freehold
+or udal lands of the Orkneymen were handed over to him in pledge for the
+amount that each had to pay, and to this the islanders agreed.
+
+In this way the earl came into possession of all the udal lands in the
+Orkneys; and it was not till the time of Earl Sigurd the Stout, a century
+later, that the udal rights were restored to the Orkneymen. Earl Einar
+spent the rest of his days in peace. The earldom was well ruled. Vikings
+were afraid to plunder the dominions of so powerful a chief; and after
+a long and honourable reign the good earl died on a sickbed—what the
+Vikings called a “straw death”—about the year 933.
+
+[Illustration: _Remains of a Viking Ship found in Sweden._]
+
+
+
+
+THE DARK CENTURY.
+
+
+The tenth century may fittingly be called the dark century of Orcadian
+history. We know very little of it except occasional glimpses afforded
+by obscure references in the Sagas; and the little that we do know tells
+of treachery and bloodshed and murder to an extent unusual even in the
+troubled annals of Orkney.
+
+After the death of Torf-Einar the earldom came into the hands of his
+three sons, Thorfinn—usually called Thorfinn Skull-splitter—Arnkell, and
+Erlend. The disturbed state of Norway, consequent on the death of Harald
+Fairhair about the year 945, caused turmoil and confusion throughout all
+those lands which had been conquered and settled by the Norsemen. Harald
+left behind him a brood of wild, reckless sons, each of whom thought he
+had a right to a share of his father’s dominions. They filled the whole
+land with turbulence and bloodshed.
+
+Eric Bloody-axe had been Harald’s favourite son, and he at first took
+over the chief rule in Norway. He was a brave and skilful warrior,
+but passionate, avaricious, and treacherous in his disposition. The
+same qualities were possessed in an even greater degree by his queen,
+Gunnhilda. Their deeds of violence soon estranged the hearts of their
+subjects.
+
+Hakon, Harald’s youngest son, who had been brought up in England under
+the care of King Athelstan, came to Norway to claim his share of his
+father’s dominions. Hakon was at this time only in his fifteenth year,
+but he was daring and ambitious, and was the darling of the Norsemen both
+at home and abroad. Eric Bloody-axe and Gunnhilda were, on the other
+hand, regarded everywhere with hatred and detestation. When, therefore,
+Hakon invaded Norway and attempted to wrest the sovereignty from the
+hands of his elder brother, the latter was deserted by his people and was
+forced to flee from the country.
+
+Eric crossed first to Orkney, where he gathered a band of followers as
+reckless as himself, and then held on to England and began to ravage
+the land in the usual Viking fashion. Close friendship had long existed
+between Athelstan and Harald Fairhair. Athelstan professed similar
+friendship for Harald’s sons, and now offered Eric the lordship of
+Northumbria. Eric was not so foolish as to reject this offer. Gunnhilda
+and he with their family abode in peace in Northumbria for about a year.
+
+With the death of Athelstan fortune began once more to frown upon the
+exiled king. King Edmund thought it by no means desirable that the
+Norsemen should hold so large a portion of his kingdom. Knowing the
+insecurity of his tenure, Eric’s reckless spirit flashed at once into
+open rebellion. He left Northumbria, sailed to Orkney, seized the Earls
+Arnkell and Erlend, forced many other Orcadian chiefs to join him, and
+made a Viking raid on the west coast of England. The raiders met with
+resistance and a battle was fought; in this battle fell Eric himself,
+both the Orkney earls, and most of the other leaders.
+
+When news of this disastrous expedition reached Gunnhilda, who had
+remained with her family in Northumbria, she in turn embarked for Orkney.
+She and her sons claimed the earldom, seized the taxes, and spread wrong
+and oppression over all the western colonies. For a short time the
+islands suffered the same misgovernment as Norway had already suffered at
+her hands. But war now broke out between Norway and Denmark. This seemed
+to afford her a chance of regaining the Norwegian crown, and Gunnhilda
+and her family sailed eastwards once more. Ragnhilda, her daughter,
+was left behind in Orkney to continue for a time her mother’s acts of
+treachery and bloodshed.
+
+There are few worse characters in history than Ragnhilda as depicted
+by the Saga. She seemed to have a mania for plots and murders. Married
+first to Arnfinn, one of the sons of Earl Thorfinn, she caused him to be
+murdered at Murkle in Caithness, for no reason that we can find out, and
+then married his brother Havard. On the death of his father Thorfinn,
+shortly afterwards, Havard became earl. He is known in history as Havard
+the Harvest-happy, because during his time the islands were blessed
+with good harvests. Havard also met his death at the instigation of
+his wife. Ragnhilda persuaded Einar Oily-tongue, his nephew, to murder
+the earl, promising to marry him and secure for him the earldom when
+the deed was done. Einar set on Havard in Stenness, and slew him after
+a hard struggle. But it was apparently no part of Ragnhilda’s plan to
+marry Einar Oily-tongue. She now professed the greatest indignation and
+grief at the murder of Earl Havard, and called for vengeance on his
+murderer. Einar Oily-tongue had a cousin, also called Einar. He in turn
+fell a victim to the wiles of Ragnhilda. By promising or at least hinting
+that she would marry the man who avenged the murder of Earl Havard, she
+succeeded in getting the second Einar to murder the first, and ended by
+marrying Ljot, the third son of Earl Thorfinn, who was the real heir to
+the earldom.
+
+This was by no means the end of Ragnhilda’s wickedness. Ljot had a
+brother, Skuli, who was not at all satisfied that the former should have
+the whole earldom. It was an easy matter to make trouble between the two
+brothers. In the end Skuli left the islands for Scotland, and became Earl
+of Caithness and a vassal of the Scottish king. Bad feeling continued
+between the brothers, and was carefully fostered by Ragnhilda. Ultimately
+they met in arms in Caithness, Skuli with a Scottish army, and Ljot with
+the forces of the earldom. The Scots were defeated and Skuli slain.
+
+Ljot now added Caithness to his earldom, but the Scots again and again
+strove to reconquer it. Finally a great battle was fought at Skidmire in
+Caithness. The Norsemen gained the day, but the earl was fatally wounded.
+There remained one son of Thorfinn Skull-splitter, named Hlodver, who now
+became earl over an earldom exhausted and impoverished by twenty years
+of misgovernment and bloodshed, and embroiled in an arduous struggle with
+Scotland for the possession of Caithness.
+
+The Orkney earldom, however, was now on the eve of a great expansion.
+Under the son and grandson of Hlodver, Sigurd the Stout and Thorfinn
+the Mighty, the Norse dominion in the west attained its widest bounds,
+and the earldom of Orkney its greatest importance. For more than half a
+century, with little or no interference from Norway, the Orkney earls
+helped to mould the history of Ireland and of Scotland; and until the
+union of England and Denmark took place under Canute, the Norse Earls of
+Orkney were probably the most powerful chieftains in the British Isles.
+
+It was in the time of Earl Sigurd that Christianity was first introduced
+among the Norse inhabitants of Orkney. Olaf, Tryggvi’s son, King of
+Norway, had embraced the new faith, and his methods of promoting the
+religion which he professed were characteristic of his time and race. The
+story of the conversion of Earl Sigurd and his followers is thus given in
+the Saga:—
+
+“Olaf, Tryggvi’s son, sailed from the west to the Orkneys; but because
+the Pentland Firth was not passable, he laid his ship up under the lee in
+Osmund’s Voe, off Rognvald’s Isle. But there in the voe lay already Earl
+Sigurd, Hlodver’s son, with three ships, and then meant to go a-roving.
+But as soon as King Olaf knew that the earl was there, he made them
+call him to come and speak with him. But when the earl came on board
+the king’s ship, King Olaf began his speech.” (We pass over his long
+historical review of the establishment of the Orkney earldom and its
+dependence upon the kings of Norway, and give only his closing sentences.)
+
+“‘Now, as so it is, Earl Sigurd, that thou hast come into my power, now
+thou hast two choices before thee, very uneven. One is that thou shalt
+take the right faith and become my man, and allow thyself to be baptized
+and all thy undermen; then shalt thou have a sure hope of honour from me,
+and to have and to hold as my underman this realm, with earl’s title and
+full freedom as thou hast erewhile had it; and this over and above, which
+is much more worth, to rule in everlasting bliss with all-ruling God—that
+is sure to thee if thou keepest all His commandments. This is the other
+choice, which is very doleful and unlike the first—that now on the spot
+thou shalt die, and after thy death I shall let fire and sword ruthlessly
+rage over all the Orkneys, burn and brand homesteads and men, unless this
+folk will have salvation and believe on the true God....’
+
+“But when Earl Sigurd had heard so long and clever a speech of King Olaf,
+he hardened his heart against him, and spoke thus: ‘It must be told thee,
+King Olaf, that I have firmly made up my mind that I will not and may
+not and shall not forego that faith which my kinsmen and forefathers had
+before me: for I know no better counsel than they, and I know not that
+that faith is better which thou preachest than this which we have now had
+and held all our lives.’
+
+“And with that the king saw the earl so stiffnecked in his error, he
+seized his young son, whom the earl had with him, and who had grown up
+there in the isles. This son of the earl the king bore forward on the
+prow and drew his sword, and made ready to cut off the lad’s head, with
+these words, ‘Now mayst thou see, Earl Sigurd, that I will spare no man
+who will not serve Almighty God, or listen to my exhortations and hearken
+to this blessed message; and for that I will now on this very spot slay
+this thy son before thine eyes, with this same sword which I grasp,
+unless thou and thy men serve my God; for hence out of the isles will I
+not go before I have forwarded and fulfilled this His glorious errand,
+and thou and thy son, whom I now hold, have taken on you baptism.’
+
+“And in the strait to which the earl was now come, he chose the choice
+which the king would have, and which was better for him, to take the
+right faith. Then the earl was baptized, and all the folk in the Orkneys.
+After that Earl Sigurd was made after this world’s honour King Olaf’s
+earl, and held under him lands and fiefs, and gave him for an hostage
+that same son of his of whom it was spoken before; he was called Whelp
+or Hound. Olaf made them christen the lad by the name of Hlodver, and
+carried him away with him to Norway. Earl Sigurd bound with oaths all
+their agreement, and next after that Olaf sailed away from the Orkneys,
+but set up there behind him priests to mend the folk’s ways and teach
+them holy wisdom; so they, King Olaf and Sigurd, parted with friendship.
+Hlodver lived but a scanty time; but after that he was dead Earl Sigurd
+showed King Olaf no service. He took to wife then the daughter of Malcolm
+the Scot King, and Thorfinn was their son.”
+
+So does the Saga tell this dramatic tale; and we may notice that the
+earl’s allegiance to the new faith was as fickle as his fidelity to the
+king, for a few years later we find him fighting in the ranks of the
+heathen against the Christian king, Brian of Ireland, under the shadow of
+his raven banner, a flag endowed by his mother’s spells with the twofold
+magical power of ensuring victory to those who followed it, but death to
+him who bore it.
+
+The story of “King Brian’s battle,” or the battle of Clontarf, is one of
+the most stirring in the old records, and we give it here as told by the
+Saga-man:—
+
+“Then King Sigtrygg [of Ireland] stirred in his business with Earl
+Sigurd, and egged him on to go to the war with King Brian. The earl
+was long steadfast, but the end of it was that he said it might come
+about. He said he must have his mother’s hand for his help, and be king
+in Ireland if they slew Brian. But all his men besought Earl Sigurd
+not to go into the war, but it was all no good. So they parted on the
+understanding that Earl Sigurd gave his word to go; but King Sigtrygg
+promised him his mother and the kingdom. It was so settled that Earl
+Sigurd was to come with all his host to Dublin by Palm Sunday.
+
+“Then King Sigtrygg fared south to Ireland, and told his mother,
+Kormlada, that the earl had undertaken to come, and also what he had
+pledged himself to grant him. She showed herself well pleased at that,
+but said they must gather greater force still. Sigtrygg asked whence this
+was to be looked for. She said that there were two Vikings lying off
+the west of Man; and they had thirty ships, and ‘they are men of such
+hardihood that nothing can withstand them. The one’s name is Ospak, and
+the other’s Brodir. Thou shalt fare to find them, and spare nothing to
+get them into thy quarrel, whatever price they ask.’
+
+“Now King Sigtrygg fares and seeks the Vikings, and found them lying
+outside off Man. King Sigtrygg brings forward his errand at once; but
+Brodir shrank from helping him until he, King Sigtrygg, promised him the
+kingdom and his mother, and they were to keep this such a secret that
+Earl Sigurd should know nothing about it. Brodir, too, was to come to
+Dublin on Palm Sunday. King Sigtrygg fared home to his mother and told
+her how things stood. After that those brothers, Ospak and Brodir, talked
+together; and then Brodir told Ospak all that he and Sigtrygg had spoken
+of, and bade him fare to battle with him against King Brian, and said
+he set much store on his going. Ospak said he would not fight against
+so good a king. Then they were both wrath, and sundered their band at
+once. Ospak had ten ships and Brodir twenty. Ospak was a heathen, and
+the wisest of all men. He laid his ships inside in a sound, but Brodir
+lay outside him. Brodir had been a Christian man and a mass-deacon by
+consecration; but he had thrown off his faith and become God’s dastard,
+and now worshipped heathen fiends, and he was of all men most skilled in
+sorcery. He had that coat of mail on which no steel would bite. He was
+both tall and strong, and had such long locks that he tucked them under
+his belt. His hair was black.
+
+“It so happened one night that a great din passed over Brodir and his
+men, so that they all woke, and sprang up and put on their clothes. Along
+with that came a shower of boiling blood. Then they covered themselves
+with their shields, but for all that many were scalded. This wonder
+lasted all till day, and a man had died on board every ship. Then they
+slept during the day. The second night there was again a din, and again
+they all sprang up. Then swords leapt out of their sheaths, and axes and
+spears flew about in the air and fought. The weapons pressed them so
+hard that they had to shield themselves; but still many were wounded,
+and again a man died out of every ship. This wonder lasted all till day.
+Then they slept again the day after. The third night there was a din of
+the same kind. Then ravens flew at them, and it seemed to them as though
+their beaks and claws were of iron. The ravens pressed them so hard that
+they had to keep them off with their swords, and covered themselves with
+their shields. This went on again till day, and then another man had died
+in every ship.
+
+“Then they went to sleep first of all; but when Brodir woke up, he drew
+his breath painfully, and bade them put off the boat, ‘For,’ said he, ‘I
+will go to see Ospak.’ Then he got into the boat and some men with him.
+But when he found Ospak he told him of the wonders which had befallen
+them, and bade him say what he thought they boded. Ospak would not tell
+him before he pledged him peace, and Brodir promised him peace; but Ospak
+still shrank from telling him till night fell, for Brodir never slew a
+man by night.
+
+“Then Ospak spoke, and said, ‘When blood rained on you, therefore shall
+ye shed many men’s blood, both of your own and others. But when ye heard
+a great din, then ye must have been shown the crack of doom, and ye
+shall all die speedily. But when weapons fought against you, that must
+forebode a battle. But when ravens pressed you, that marks the devils
+which ye put faith in, and who will drag you all down to the pains of
+hell.’
+
+“Then Brodir was so wrath that he could answer never a word. But he went
+at once to his men, and made them lay his ships in a line across the
+sound, and moor them by bearing cables on shore, and meant to slay them
+all next morning. Ospak saw all their plan. Then he vowed to take the
+true faith, and to go to King Brian and follow him till his death-day.
+Then he took that counsel to lay his ships in a line, and punt them along
+the shore with poles, and cut the cables of Brodir’s ships. Then the
+ships of Brodir’s men began to fall aboard of one another. But they were
+all fast asleep; and then Ospak and his men got out of the firth, and so
+west to Ireland, and came to Kincora. Then Ospak told King Brian all that
+he had learnt, and took baptism, and gave himself over into the king’s
+hand. After that King Brian made them gather force over all his realm,
+and the whole host was to come to Dublin in the week before Palm Sunday.
+
+“Earl Sigurd, Hlodver’s son, busked him from the Orkneys, and Flosi
+offered to go with him. The earl would not have that, since he had his
+pilgrimage to fulfil. Flosi offered fifteen men of his band to go on the
+voyage, and the earl accepted them; but Flosi fared with Earl Gilli to
+the Southern Isles. Thorstein, the son of Hall of the Side, went along
+with Earl Sigurd, and Hrafn the Red, and Erling of Straumey. He would not
+that Hareck should go, but said he would be sure to tell him first the
+tidings of his voyage. The earl came with all his host on Palm Sunday to
+Dublin, and there, too, was come Brodir with all his host. Brodir tried
+by sorcery how the fight would go. But the answer ran thus, that if the
+fight were on Good Friday, King Brian would fall but win the day; but if
+they fought before, they would all fall who were against him. Then Brodir
+said that they must not fight before the Friday....
+
+“King Brian came with all his host to the burg; and on the Friday the
+host fared out of the burg, and both armies were drawn up in array.
+Brodir was on one wing of the battle, but King Sigtrygg on the other.
+Earl Sigurd was in the mid-battle. Now, it must be told of King Brian
+that he would not fight on the fast-day, and so a shieldburg was thrown
+round him, and his host was drawn up in array in front of it. Wolf the
+Quarrelsome was on that wing of the battle against which Brodir stood.
+But on the other wing, where Sigtrygg stood against them, were Ospak
+and his sons. But in mid-battle was Kerthialfad, and before him the
+banners were borne. Now the wings fall on one another, and there was a
+very hard fight. Brodir went through the host of the foe, and felled all
+the foremost that stood there, but no steel would bite on him. Wolf the
+Quarrelsome turned then to meet him, and thrust at him twice so hard that
+Brodir fell before him at each thrust, and was well-nigh not getting on
+his feet again. But as soon as ever he found his feet, he fled away into
+the wood at once.
+
+“Earl Sigurd had a hard battle against Kerthialfad, and Kerthialfad
+came on so fast that he laid low all who were in the front rank, and
+he broke the array of Earl Sigurd right up to his banner, and slew the
+banner-bearer. Then he got another man to bear the banner, and there
+was again a hard fight. Kerthialfad smote this man too his death-blow
+at once, and so on one after the other all who stood near him. Then
+Earl Sigurd called on Thorstein, the son of Hall of the Side, to bear
+the banner, and Thorstein was just about to lift the banner. But then
+Amundi the White said, ‘Don’t bear the banner! for all they who bear it
+get their death.’ ‘Hrafn the Red!’ called out Earl Sigurd, ‘bear thou
+the banner.’ ‘Bear thine own devil thyself,’ answered Hrafn. Then the
+earl said, ‘’Tis fittest that the beggar should bear the bag;’ and with
+that he took the banner from the staff and put it under his cloak. A
+little after, Amundi the White was slain, and then the earl was pierced
+through with a spear. Ospak had gone through all the battle on his wing.
+He had been sore wounded, and lost both his sons ere King Sigtrygg fled
+before him. Then flight broke out throughout all the host. Thorstein,
+Hall of the Side’s son, stood still while all the others fled, and tied
+his shoestring. Then Kerthialfad asked why he ran not as the others.
+‘Because,’ said Thorstein, ‘I can’t get home to-night, since I am at home
+out in Iceland.’ Kerthialfad gave him peace....
+
+“Now Brodir saw that King Brian’s men were chasing the fleers, and that
+there were few men by the shieldburg. Then he rushed out of the wood, and
+broke through the shieldburg, and hewed at the king. The lad Takt threw
+his arm in the way, and the stroke took it off and the king’s head too;
+but the king’s blood came on the lad’s stump, and the stump was healed
+by it on the spot. Then Brodir called out with a loud voice, ‘Now man can
+tell that Brodir felled Brian.’ Then men ran after those who were chasing
+the fleers, and they were told that King Brian had fallen; and then they
+turned back straightway, both Wolf the Quarrelsome and Kerthialfad. Then
+they threw a ring round Brodir and his men, and threw branches of trees
+upon them, and so Brodir was taken alive.... After that they took King
+Brian’s body and laid it out. The king’s head had grown to the trunk....
+
+“This event happened in the Orkneys, that Hareck thought he saw Earl
+Sigurd, and some men with him. Then Hareck took his horse and rode to
+meet the earl. Men say that they met and rode under a brae; but they were
+never seen again, and not a scrap was ever found of Hareck.”
+
+            _From the “Njala Saga,” translated by Sir G. W. Dasent, D.C.L.
+            (By permission of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office.)_
+
+[Illustration: _Ancient Bronze Weapons and Ornaments._]
+
+
+
+
+EARL THORFINN AND EARL ROGNVALD.
+
+
+Earl Sigurd, as has been mentioned, took as his second wife the daughter
+of Malcolm the Second, King of Scots. They had but one son, Thorfinn,
+called the Mighty, the greatest of his race, who became the most powerful
+of all the Orkney earls. When he was but five winters old Thorfinn was
+sent to his grandfather Malcolm to be brought up at the Scottish Court,
+and on his father’s death he was made Earl of Caithness and Sutherland.
+
+Einar and Brusi, sons of Sigurd by his first wife, then ruled over the
+islands. Einar was ambitious and warlike, Brusi mild and peaceful. When
+they shared the earldom between them, Brusi was content with a third
+part, while Einar took over the remainder; and so matters stood for a
+time.
+
+When Thorfinn grew up to manhood, he was not content with his large
+domains in Scotland. He put forward a claim to one-third of the Orkneys
+as his rightful share. Einar would have disputed the claim; but Brusi
+resigned his share to Thorfinn, and an agreement was made that when Einar
+died his share should be handed over to Brusi. So peace was kept for the
+time. But when Einar died, Thorfinn seized half of the whole earldom.
+
+Brusi was unable to resist the great power of Thorfinn, so he resolved to
+go east to Norway, and ask Olaf the king to do justice between him and
+his brother. Thorfinn also went to Norway to plead his own cause. King
+Olaf, unwilling to increase the power of a subject already too powerful,
+decided in favour of Brusi. But when the two earls returned to the
+islands, Brusi found the task of ruling his dominions and defending them
+against the Vikings too heavy for him, and Thorfinn no doubt took care
+that there should always be plenty of trouble for him to face.
+
+At last Brusi was glad to hand over two-thirds of the earldom to
+Thorfinn, on condition of his undertaking to defend the islands; and this
+arrangement lasted till Brusi’s death.
+
+In the meantime, Rognvald, Brusi’s son, had been growing up at the Court
+of Olaf, King of Norway, and he was a close friend of Magnus, Olaf’s
+son, who afterwards became king. When Rognvald heard that Brusi, his
+father, was dead, and that Earl Thorfinn had seized the whole earldom,
+he prepared to fare westward and claim his share of the land. Thorfinn
+was now the most powerful ruler in all the western lands. He had defeated
+the Scots in a great sea-fight off Deerness; he had subdued the Western
+Isles; he had conquered great realms in Scotland; and he had made himself
+master of the half of Ireland.
+
+At the time when Rognvald came to the Orkneys, however, Thorfinn had wars
+on his hands in the Western Isles and in Ireland, and he was glad to
+offer Rognvald two-thirds of the islands in return for his friendship
+and his help. So for a time the two earls lived in friendship with each
+other.
+
+Then evil men made mischief between them, and Thorfinn demanded back the
+third of the land which had belonged to Earl Einar. Rognvald refused,
+and sailed away to Norway to ask help from King Magnus. With a fleet
+of Norwegian ships he came back to Orkney, and was met in the Pentland
+Firth by the ships of Earl Thorfinn. Earl Rognvald’s ships were fewer
+in number, but their larger size at first gave him the advantage. Earl
+Thorfinn was hard pressed; but at last he persuaded his brother-in-law,
+Kalf Arnesson, whose ships were lying by watching the fight, to come to
+his aid and row against Rognvald. Then the tide of battle turned against
+Earl Rognvald, and only by the darkness of the night was he enabled to
+escape, and once more to find his way to Norway.
+
+Again King Magnus came to his help; but this time Earl Rognvald tried
+to take Thorfinn by surprise, so he sailed away to Orkney in the dead
+of winter with only one ship. Before there was any news of his coming,
+he surrounded the house where Earl Thorfinn was feasting, and set it on
+fire. Only the women and children were allowed to go free; but while the
+warriors were in confusion, seeking some way of escape, the great earl
+broke a hole through the side of the house where the smoke was thickest,
+and, carrying his wife, Ingibiorg, in his arms, he escaped in the
+darkness to the seashore, took a boat, and rowed across to Caithness.
+
+Now it seemed that Rognvald’s success was complete, for he thought
+that Earl Thorfinn was surely dead. When Christmas-time was at hand, he
+prepared to hold a great feast at Kirkwall, and with some of his men
+he took a ship to Papa Stronsay to bring over a cargo of malt for the
+brewing. They stayed there for the night, and sat long over the fire
+telling of all their adventures. Meanwhile, however, Earl Thorfinn had
+come back from Caithness to seek revenge. In the darkness he and his men
+surrounded the house where Earl Rognvald sat, and set it on fire. All
+except the earl’s men were allowed to come out, being drawn over the pile
+of wood which Thorfinn’s men had placed before the door.
+
+While this was being done, a man suddenly leaped over the pile, and over
+the armed men beside it, and disappeared in the darkness.
+
+“That must be Earl Rognvald,” cried Thorfinn, “for no one else could
+do such a feat.” Then they all ran to search for Earl Rognvald in the
+darkness. The barking of his dog betrayed the earl’s hiding-place to his
+enemies, and soon he was found and slain among the rocks upon the shore.
+
+Next morning Thorfinn and his men took Earl Rognvald’s ship and sailed
+to Kirkwall. And when Rognvald’s men who were in the town came, unarmed,
+expecting to meet the earl, they were set upon by Earl Thorfinn’s men,
+and thirty of them were slain. These men were of the bodyguard of King
+Magnus, and only one of them was allowed to go back to Norway to tell the
+tidings to the king.
+
+Then for eighteen years Thorfinn ruled the earldom, till the day of his
+death. He was by far the greatest of the Orkney earls. He built Christ’s
+Kirk in Birsay, and in his time the Bishopric of Orkney was founded.
+During his later years the islands enjoyed peace, and many wise laws were
+made; and when the great earl died there was much sorrow in the Orkneys.
+So the poet sings in his honour:—
+
+    “Swarthy shall become the bright sun,
+    In the dark sea shall the earth sink,
+    Finished shall be Austri’s labour,
+    And the wild sea hide the mountains,
+    Ere there be in these fair islands
+    Born a chief to rule the people—
+    May our God both keep and help them—
+    Greater than the lost Earl Thorfinn.”
+
+Paul and Erlend, the two sons of Thorfinn, succeeded to the earldom,
+and for some time they ruled in harmony together. They fought for King
+Harald Hardradi against Harold, Godwin’s son, at the battle of Stamford
+Bridge in Yorkshire in 1066, but were allowed to return in peace to
+their earldom. Trouble arose between the brothers when their sons grew
+to manhood, and Magnus Barefoot, King of Norway, made a descent upon the
+islands. He carried the two brothers into exile, appointing his own son
+Sigurd as “King” of Orkney, which post he held until his father’s death
+made him King of Norway. Hakon, Paul’s son, and Magnus, Erlend’s son,
+afterwards called St. Magnus, then became joint earls.
+
+Their joint rule had the usual result, quarrels and misunderstandings,
+and was brought to an end by the murder of Earl Magnus in Egilsay in
+1115. The story is told in the Saga of Earl Magnus, from which the next
+chapter is taken.
+
+
+
+
+THE SLAYING OF EARL MAGNUS.
+
+
+“St. Magnus, the isle earl, was the most peerless of men, tall of
+growth, manly, and lively of look, virtuous in his ways, fortunate in
+fight, a sage in wit, ready-tongued and lordly-minded, lavish of money
+and high-spirited, quick of counsel, and more beloved of his friends
+than any man. Blithe and of kind speech to wise and good men, but hard
+and unsparing against robbers and sea-rovers, he let many men be slain
+who harried the freemen and landfolk. He made murderers and thieves be
+taken, and visited as well on the powerful as on the weak robberies and
+thieveries and all ill deeds. He was no favourer of his friends in his
+judgments, for he valued more godly justice than the distinctions of
+rank. He was open-handed to chiefs and powerful men, but still he ever
+showed most care for poor men....
+
+“Those kinsmen, Magnus and Hakon, held the wardship of the land for some
+while, so that they were well agreed.... But when those kinsmen had
+ruled the land some time, then again happened, what often and always can
+happen, that many ill-willing men set about spoiling their kinship. Then
+unlucky men gathered more about Hakon, for that he was very envious of
+the friendships and lordliness of his kinsman Magnus.
+
+“Two men are they who are named, who were with Earl Hakon, and who were
+the worst of all the tale-bearers between those kinsmen, Sigurd and
+Sighvat Sock. This slander came so far with the gossip of wicked men,
+that those kinsmen again gathered forces together, and each earl faced
+against the other with a great company. Then both of them held on to
+Hrossey [the Mainland], where the place of meeting of those Orkneyingers
+was. But when they came there, then each drew up his men in array,
+and they made them ready to battle. There were then the earls and all
+the great men, and there, too, were many friends of both who did all
+they could to set them at one again. Many then came between them with
+manliness and good-will. This meeting was in Lent, a little before Palm
+Sunday. But because many men of their well-wishers took a share in
+clearing up these difficulties between them, but would stand by neither
+to do harm to the other, then they bound their agreement with oaths and
+handsels. And when some time had gone by after that, then Earl Hakon,
+with falsehood and fair words, settled with the blessed Earl Magnus to
+meet him on a certain day, so that their kinship and steadfast new-made
+peace should not be turned aside or set at naught. This meeting for a
+steadfast peace and a thorough atonement between them was to be in Easter
+week that spring on Egil’s Isle [Egilsay]. This pleased Earl Magnus well,
+being, as he was, a thoroughly whole-hearted man, far from all doubt,
+guile, or greed; and each of them was to have two ships, and each just as
+many men: this both swore, to hold and keep those terms of peace which
+the wisest men made up their minds to declare between them.
+
+“But when Eastertide was gone by, each made him ready for this
+meeting. Earl Magnus summoned to him all those men whom he knew to be
+kindest-hearted and likeliest to do a good turn to both those kinsmen.
+He had two long-ships and just as many men as was said. And when he was
+ready he held on his course to Egil’s Isle. And as they were rowing in
+calm over the smooth sea, there rose a billow against the ship which the
+earl steered, and fell on the ship just where the earl sat. The earl’s
+men wondered much at this token, that the billow fell on them in a calm
+where no man had ever known it to fall before, and where the water under
+was deep. Then the earl said, ‘It is not strange that ye wonder at this;
+but my thought is, that this is a foreboding of my life’s end, may be
+that may happen which was before spoken about Earl Hakon. We should so
+make up our minds about our undertaking, that I guess my kinsman Hakon
+must not mean to deal fairly by us at this meeting.’ The earl’s men were
+afraid at these words, when he said he had so short hope as to his life’s
+end, and bade him take heed for his life, and not fare further trusting
+in Earl Hakon. Earl Magnus answers, ‘We shall fare on still, and may all
+God’s will be done as to our voyage.’
+
+“Now it must be told about Earl Hakon, that he summoned to him a great
+company, and had many war-ships, and all manned and trimmed as though
+they were to run out to battle. And when the force came together, the
+earl makes it clear to the men that he meant at that meeting so to settle
+matters between himself and Earl Magnus that they should not both of them
+be over the Orkneys. Many of his men showed themselves well pleased at
+this purpose, and added many fearful words; and they, Sigurd and Sighvat
+Sock, were among the worst in their utterance. Then men began to row
+hard, and they fared furiously. Havard, Gunni’s son, was on board the
+earl’s ship, a friend and counsellor of the earl’s, and a fast friend
+to both alike. Hakon had hidden from him this bad counsel, which Havard
+would surely not join in. And when he knew the earl was so steadfast
+in this bad counsel, then he jumped from the earl’s ship and took to
+swimming, and swam to an isle where no man dwelt.
+
+“Earl Magnus came first to Egil’s Isle with his company, and when they
+saw Hakon coming they saw that he had eight war-ships; he thought he knew
+then that treachery must be meant. Earl Magnus then betook himself up on
+the isle with his men, and went to the church to pray, and was there that
+night; but his men offered to defend him. The earl answers, ‘I will not
+lay your life in risk for me, and if peace is not to be made between us
+two kinsmen, then be it as God wills.’ Then his men thought that what he
+had said when the billow fell on them was coming true. Now for that he
+felt sure as to the hours of his life beforehand, whether it was rather
+from his shrewdness or of godly foreshowing, then he would not fly nor
+fare far from the meeting of his foes. He prayed earnestly, and let a
+mass be sung to him.
+
+“Hakon and his men jumped up in the morning, and ran first to the church
+and ransacked it, and did not find the earl. He had gone another way on
+the isle with two men into a certain hiding-place. And when the saint
+Earl Magnus saw that they sought for him, then he calls out to them and
+says where he was; he bade them look nowhere else for him. And when Hakon
+saw him, they ran thither with shouts and crash of arms. Earl Magnus was
+then at his prayers when they came to him, and when he had ended his
+prayers then he signed himself [with the cross], and said to Earl Hakon,
+with steadfast heart, ‘Thou didst not well, kinsman, when thou wentest
+back on thy oaths, and it is much to be hoped that thou doest this more
+from others’ badness than thine own. Now will I offer thee three choices,
+that thou do one of these rather than break thine oaths and let me be
+slain guiltless.’
+
+“Hakon’s men asked what offer he made. ‘That is the first, that I will
+go south to Rome, or out as far as Jerusalem, and visit holy places, and
+have two ships with me out of the land with what we need to have, and so
+make atonement for both of our souls. This I will swear, never to come
+back to the Orkneys.’ To this they said ‘Nay’ at once. Then Earl Magnus
+spoke: ‘Now seeing that my life is in your power, and that I have in many
+things made myself an outlaw before Almighty God, then send thou me up
+into Scotland to some of both our friends, and let me be there kept in
+ward, and two men with me as a pastime. Take thou care then that I may
+never be able to get out of that wardship.’ To this they said ‘Nay’ at
+once. Magnus spoke: ‘One choice is still behind which I will offer thee,
+and God knows that I look more to your soul than to my life; but still
+it better beseems thee than to take my life away. Let me be maimed in
+my limbs as thou pleasest, or pluck out my eyes, and set me in a dark
+dungeon.’ Then Earl Hakon spoke: ‘This settlement I am ready to take,
+nor do I ask anything further.’ Then the chiefs sprang up and said to
+Earl Hakon, ‘We will slay now either of you twain, and ye two shall not
+both from this day forth rule the lands.’ Then answers Earl Hakon: ‘Slay
+ye him rather, for I will rather rule the realm and lands than die so
+suddenly.’ So says Holdbodi, a truthful freeman from the Southern Isles,
+of the parley they had. He was then with Magnus, and another man with
+him, when they took him captive.
+
+“So glad was the worthy Earl Magnus as though he were bidden to a feast;
+he neither spoke with hate nor words of wrath. And after this talk he
+fell to prayer, and hid his face in the palms of his hands, and shed
+out many tears before God’s eyesight. When Earl Magnus, the saint, was
+done to death, Hakon bade Ofeig his banner-bearer to slay the earl, but
+he said ‘Nay’ with the greatest wrath. Then he forced Lifolf his cook
+to kill Earl Magnus, but he began to weep aloud. ‘Thou shalt not weep
+for this,’ said the earl, ‘for that there is fame in doing such deeds.
+Be steadfast in thine heart, for thou shalt have my clothes, as is the
+wont and law of men of old, and thou shalt not be afraid, for thou doest
+this against thy will, and he who forces thee misdoes more than thou.’
+But when the earl had said this he threw off his kirtle and gave it to
+Lifolf. After that he begged leave to say his prayers, and that was
+granted him.
+
+[Illustration: _Church of St. Magnus, Egilsay._
+
+_(From a painting by T. Marjoribanks Hay, R.S.W.)_]
+
+“He fell to earth, and gave himself over to God, and brought himself as
+an offering to Him. He not only prayed for himself or his friends, but
+rather there and then for his foes and banemen, and forgave them with
+all his heart what they had misdone towards him, and confessed his own
+misdeeds to God, and prayed that they might be washed off him by the
+outshedding of his blood, and commended his soul into God’s hand, and
+prayed that God’s angels would come to meet his soul and bear it into
+the rest of Paradise. When the friend of God was led out to slaughter he
+spoke to Lifolf: ‘Stand thou before me, and hew me on my head a great
+wound, for it beseems not to chop off chiefs’ heads like thieves’.
+Strengthen thyself, wretched man, for I have prayed to God that he may
+have mercy upon thee.’ After that he signed himself [with the cross], and
+bowed himself to the stroke. And his spirit passed to heaven.
+
+“That spot was before mossy and stony. But a little after, the worthiness
+of Earl Magnus before God was so bright that there sprung up a green
+sward where he was slain, and God showed that, that he was slain for
+righteousness’ sake, and inherited the fairness and greenness of
+Paradise, which is called the earth of living men.... There had then
+passed since the birth of Christ one thousand and ninety and one winters.”
+
+       _From the “Orkneyinga Saga,” translated by Sir G. W. Dasent, D.C.L.
+       (By permission of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office.)_
+
+
+
+
+THE FOUNDING OF ST. MAGNUS CATHEDRAL.
+
+
+After the death of Hakon, the slayer of Earl Magnus, the earldom was
+divided between his two sons, Harald the Smooth-talker, and Paul the
+Speechless. There were many bitter quarrels between the brothers, until
+the death of the former left Paul as sole ruler. That happened in this
+wise.
+
+When they had been reconciled after one of their quarrels, Harald invited
+Paul to a feast in his house at Orphir. On the morning before the feast,
+Earl Harald found his mother and his aunt working at a very beautiful
+shirt, which, they said, was a present for his brother Paul.
+
+“Why should such a splendid garment be given to Paul and not to me?”
+asked the earl, taking it up in his hand to look at it. Then before the
+women could prevent him, he threw off the light cloak he was wearing and
+put on the gorgeous shirt. No sooner had it touched his skin than he was
+seized with violent pains, and with a sickness of which he died a few
+days later. The shirt had been poisoned in order to cause Earl Paul’s
+death, but it was Earl Harald who fell a victim to his mother’s cunning
+and treacherous design.
+
+Earl Paul did not long reign in peace. A new claimant soon appeared for
+part of the lands. This was Kali, the son of Kol and of Gunhild, the
+sister of the murdered St. Magnus, who had been brought up at the court
+of King Harald of Norway. He was a man of noble appearance, bold and
+skilful in war, and a born leader of men. He was in addition a noted
+skald or poet, and many of the songs which he made have come down to us
+in the Sagas.
+
+He now changed his name to Rognvald, which had been a popular name in the
+isles since the days of Rognvald, Brusi’s son, and he is known in history
+as Rognvald Kali, or Rognvald the Second.
+
+Having the promise of help from Harald, the Norwegian king, Rognvald
+sent a message to Earl Paul, demanding that share of the islands which
+Earl Magnus had held. Earl Paul, who was a good ruler, and had many
+friends among the Orkneymen, replied that he would guard his inheritance
+while God gave him life. Rognvald then gathered ships and set sail for
+Shetland, but his fleet was destroyed in Yell Sound by the ships of Earl
+Paul, and he had to escape to Norway in a merchant vessel.
+
+Earl Paul thereupon placed beacons on some of the highest hills in the
+islands, in order that he might have warning of any attempt by Rognvald
+to make a descent by way of Shetland, and the most important of these
+beacons was on the Fair Isle.
+
+When Rognvald, angry and disappointed, arrived in Norway, he took counsel
+with his father Kol and with an old man named Uni, who was reckoned a
+very wise man; and as he had many friends among the men of Shetland,
+it was decided to make a new attempt in the spring. By the aid of King
+Harald and of his friends a new fleet was then got ready.
+
+When the ships were assembled, Rognvald stood up on the deck of his
+war-dragon to address his men. “Earl Paul and the Orkneyingers,” he said,
+“have taken my inheritance, and refuse to give it up. My grandfather, the
+holy Earl Magnus, was treacherously slain by Paul’s father Hakon, and
+instead of giving compensation for the wicked deed, Earl Paul would wrong
+me still more in the matter of my inheritance. However, if it be the will
+of God, I intend to fare to the Orkneys, and there win what is mine by
+right, or die with honour.”
+
+All the men cheered this speech, and when they were silent Kol rose to
+speak. He advised his son not to trust in his own strength for success.
+“I advise thee, Rognvald,” he said, “to make a vow that if St. Magnus
+secures to thee thine inheritance, thou wilt build and dedicate to him in
+Kirkwall a minster of such size and splendour that it shall be the wonder
+and the glory of all the North.”
+
+Rognvald thought this the best of advice. Rising once more, he vowed
+to build in Kirkwall a splendid cathedral in honour of St. Magnus, and
+to remove thither with all reverence the remains of the sainted earl.
+No sooner had this solemn vow been taken than the wind became fair for
+sailing. The fleet at once put to sea, and reached Shetland in a few days.
+
+Now Rognvald’s real difficulties began. How could he take Earl Paul by
+surprise, as he wished to do, with the beacon on the Fair Isle ready to
+give the alarm as soon as his ships came in sight? The wisdom of Kol and
+of Uni came to his aid. The former had a plan to cause the beacon to be
+lit on a false alarm, and the latter to prevent its being lit when it was
+needed.
+
+Kol set sail from Shetland towards evening with a fleet of small boats.
+When they came in sight of the Fair Isle, they hoisted their sails half
+way up the masts, and with the oars the men kept back the boats so as
+to make them sail very slowly. At the same time they gradually hoisted
+their sails higher and higher, so that to those in charge of the beacon
+it might seem that a fleet was rapidly approaching When it was dark the
+boats returned to the land.
+
+The trick was successful. The Fair Isle beacon flared up to the sky,
+those on North Ronaldsay and on Westray followed, and soon every hilltop
+in the islands showed its warning light. The Orkneymen took their weapons
+and hurried to Kirkwall, where Earl Paul had appointed them to gather in
+such a case, and all was ready to meet the enemy; but no enemy appeared.
+Those who had charge of the beacons came with the news of a fleet
+approaching; and after long waiting other men were sent to look for its
+coming, but they looked in vain. Quarrels soon began to arise as to who
+was to blame for the false alarm, for the men were angry at having been
+taken from their farm work to no purpose; so the earl had to make peace
+among them, and set other men to build up the beacons again and to watch
+them.
+
+Now came Uni’s turn. He sailed to the Fair Isle with three companions,
+and pretended to be an enemy of Rognvald, saying many hard things
+against him and his men. His three companions went out every day to
+fish, but Uni himself stayed on shore. He gradually made friends with
+the people of the isle, and especially with those who had charge of the
+beacon. At last he offered to watch it for them, saying that he had
+nothing else to do, and his offer was accepted. Uni then poured water on
+the beacon, and kept it in such a state of dampness that it should be
+impossible to light it when it was needed.
+
+Thus by the time that Rognvald was to set out from Shetland, Uni had
+everything prepared. As soon as his ships were seen from the Fair Isle,
+the men who had charge of the beacon tried to light it, but in vain.
+There was no time to warn Earl Paul, and Rognvald landed in Westray
+without any alarm being given. The bishop now interfered between the
+rivals, and a truce was agreed to in order that terms of peace might be
+arranged.
+
+And now things took a strange and unexpected turn, so that Rognvald won
+the islands without any fighting. While Earl Paul was on a visit to his
+friend Sigurd of Westness, in Rousay, he went out before breakfast one
+morning and mysteriously disappeared. Sigurd sought him everywhere in
+vain. At last they discovered that he had been seized and carried off
+to Scotland by Sweyn Asleifson, and he never returned. Earl Paul’s men
+gradually came over to Earl Rognvald, and he became ruler over the whole
+earldom.
+
+Earl Rognvald now set about fulfilling his vow and raising a great
+cathedral in Kirkwall in honour of St. Magnus. In 1137 the work was begun
+under the superintendence of Kol, but many a long year was to pass ere
+it should be finished. As the work went on it soon became very costly
+to the earl. In his difficulty he once more went to his father Kol for
+advice. Kol said that Rognvald should declare himself the heir of all
+landholders who died, and that their sons should have to redeem their
+lands from him. A Thing was called, and this law was passed; but the
+freemen also had the choice given them of buying their lands outright,
+so that the earl might not inherit them in the future. Most of the
+landholders took that plan, and now there was once more plenty of money
+for the cathedral.
+
+When the work was so far advanced that part of the cathedral could be
+roofed in, the remains of St. Magnus, which had already been removed from
+Christ Church in Birsay, were laid to rest in the new minster. Many great
+men have been laid in the same place since then. Earl Rognvald himself
+was buried there, and there too the remains of King Hakon rested for a
+time before their removal to Bergen.
+
+While on a visit to Norway, Earl Rognvald made the acquaintance of a
+Crusader who had returned from the Holy Land, and he determined that he
+also would become a “Jorsalafarer,” or pilgrim to Jerusalem. The story of
+this strange voyage, in company with the Bishop of Orkney and many of his
+countrymen—half Vikings, half Crusaders—is well told in the “Saga of Earl
+Rognvald,” and in our next chapter we give part of the narrative.
+
+[Illustration: _On the “Viking Path.”_]
+
+
+
+
+THE JORSALAFARERS.
+
+
+“Earl Rongvald busked him that summer to leave the Orkneys, and he was
+rather late boun; for they had a long while to wait for Eindrid, as his
+ship did not come from Norway which he had let be made there the winter
+before. But when they were boun, they held on their course away from the
+Orkneys in fifteen big ships.
+
+“They sailed away from the Orkneys and south to Scotland, and so on to
+England, and as they sailed by Northumberland, off Humbermouth, Armod
+sang a song,—
+
+    ‘The sea was high off Humbermouth
+    When our ships were beating out,
+    Bends the mast and sinks the land
+    ’Neath our lee off Vesla-sand;
+    Wave with veil of foam that rises
+    Drives not in the eyes of him
+    Who now sits at home; the stripling
+    From the meeting rideth dry.’
+
+“They sailed thence south round England and to France. Nothing is said of
+their voyage before that they came to that seaburg which is named Nerbon
+There these tidings had happened, that the earl who before had ruled
+the town was dead. His name was Germanus; he left behind him a daughter
+young and fair, whose name was Ermingerd. She kept watch and ward over
+her father’s inheritance, with the counsel of the most noble men of her
+kinsfolk. They gave that counsel to the queen that she should bid the
+earl to a worthy feast, and said that by that she would be famous if she
+welcomed heartily such men of rank who had come so far to see her, and
+who would bear her fame still further. The queen bade them see to that.
+And when this counsel had been agreed on by them, men were sent to the
+earl, and he was told that the queen bade him to a feast with as many of
+his men as he chose to bring with him. The earl took this bidding with
+thanks; he chose out all his best men for this journey with him. And when
+they came to the feast, there was the best cheer, and nothing was spared
+which could do the earl more honour than he had ever met before.
+
+“One day it happened as the earl sat at the feast that the queen came
+into the hall and many women with her; she held a beaker of gold in her
+hand. She was dressed in the best clothes, had her hair loose as maidens
+wont to have, and had put a golden band round her brow. She poured the
+wine into the earl’s cup, but her maidens danced before them. The earl
+took her hand and the beaker too and set her on his knee, and they talked
+much that day.
+
+“The earl stayed there very long in the best of cheer. The townsmen
+pressed the earl to settle down there, and spoke out loudly about how
+they would give him the lady to wife. The earl said he would fare on
+that voyage which he had purposed, but said that he would come thither
+as he fared back, and then they could carry out their plan or not as
+they pleased. After that the earl busked him away thence with his fellow
+voyagers. And as they sailed west of Thrasness they had a good wind; then
+they sat and drank and were very merry.
+
+“They fared till they came to Galicialand in the winter before Yule, and
+meant to sit there Yule over. They dealt with the landsmen, and begged
+them to set them a market to buy food; for the land was barren and bad
+for food, and the landsmen thought it hard to feed that host of men.
+Now these tidings had happened there, that in that land sat a chief who
+was a stranger, in a castle, and he had laid on the landsmen very heavy
+burdens. He harried them on the spot if they did not agree at once to all
+that he asked, and he offered them the greatest tyranny and oppression.
+And when the earl spoke to the landsmen about bringing him food to
+buy, they made him that offer, that they would set them up a market
+thenceforth on till Lent, but they must rid them in some way or other of
+the men in the castle; but Earl Rognvald was to bear the brunt in return
+for the right of having all the goods that were gotten from them.
+
+“The earl laid this bare before his men, and sought counsel from them as
+to which choice he should take; but most of them were eager to fall on
+the castlemen, and thought it bid fair for spoil. And so Earl Rognvald
+and his host went into that agreement with the landsmen. But when it drew
+near to Yule, Earl Rognvald called his men to a talk, and said,—
+
+“‘Now have we sat here awhile, and yet we have had nothing to do with
+the castlemen, but the landsmen are getting rather slack in their
+dealings with us. Methinks they think that what we promised them will
+have no fulfilment; but still that is not manly not to turn our hands to
+what we have promised. Now, kinsman Erling, will I take counsel from you
+in what way we shall win the castle, for I know that ye are here some of
+you the greatest men for good counsel; but still I will beg all those men
+who are here that each will throw in what he thinks is likeliest to be
+worth trying.’
+
+“Erling answered the earl’s speech: ‘I will not be silent at your
+bidding. But I am not a man for counsel, and it would be better rather
+to call on those men for that who have seen more, and are more wont to
+such exploits, as is Eindrid the Young. But here it will be as the saying
+goes, “You must shoot at a bird before you get him.” And so we will try
+to give some counsel, whatever comes of it. We shall to-day, if it seems
+to you not bad counsel or to the other shipmasters, go all of us to the
+wood, and bear each of us three shoulder-bundles of fagots on our backs
+under the castle; for it seems to me as though the lime will not be
+trusty if a great fire is brought to it. We shall let this go on for the
+three next days and see what turn things take.’
+
+“They did as Erling bade; and when that toil was over, it was come right
+on to Yule. The bishop would not let them make their onslaught while the
+Yule high feast stood over them.
+
+“That chief’s name was Godfrey who dwelt in the castle; he was a wise
+man, and somewhat stricken in years. He was a good clerk, and had
+fared far and wide, and knew many tongues. He was a grasping man and
+a very unfair man. He called together his men when he saw Rognvald’s
+undertakings, and said to them,—
+
+“‘This scheme seems to me clever and harmful to us which the Northmen
+have taken in hand. It will befall us thus if fire is borne against us,
+that the stone wall round the castle will be untrustworthy. But the
+Northmen are strong and brave; we shall have to look for a sharp fight
+from them if they get a chance. I will now take counsel with you what
+shall be done in this strait which has befallen us.’ But his men all bade
+him see to that for them. Then he began to speak, and said, ‘My first
+counsel is that ye shall bind a cord round me and let me slide down from
+the castle wall to-night. I shall have on bad clothes, and fare into the
+camp of the Northmen, and know what I can find out.’
+
+“This counsel was taken as he had laid it down. And when Godfrey came to
+Earl Rognvald he said he was an old beggar carle, and spoke in Spanish;
+they understood that tongue best. He fared about among all the booths and
+begged for food. He found out that there was great envy and splitting
+into parties amongst the Northmen. Eindrid was the head of one side,
+but the earl of the other. Godfrey came to Eindrid and got to talk with
+him, and brought that before him that the chief who held the castle had
+sent him thither. ‘He will have fellowship with thee, and he hopes that
+thou wilt give him peace if the castle be won. He would rather that thou
+shouldst have his treasures, if thou wilt do so much in return for them,
+than those who would rather see him a dead man.’ Of such things they
+talked and much besides. But the earl was kept in the dark; all this went
+on by stealth at first. And when Godfrey had stayed a while with the
+earl’s men, then he turned back to his men. But this was why they did
+not flit what they owned out of the castle, because they did not know
+whether the storm would take place at all; besides they could not trust
+the landfolk.
+
+“It was the tenth day of Yule that Earl Rognvald rose up. The weather
+was good. Then he bade his men put on their arms, and let the host be
+called up to the castle with the trumpet. Then they drew the wood towards
+it, and piled a bale round about the wall. The earl drew up his men for
+the onslaught where each of them should go. The earl goes against it
+from the south with the Orkneyingers, Erling and Aslag from the west,
+John and Gudorm from the east, Eindrid the Young from the north with his
+followers. And when they were boun for the storm they cast fire into the
+bale.
+
+“Now they began to press on fast both with fire and weapons. Then they
+shot hard into the work for they could not reach them by any other
+attack. The castlemen stood loosely here and there on the wall, for they
+had to guard themselves against the shots. They poured out too burning
+pitch and brimstone, and the earl’s men took little harm by that. Now it
+turned out as Erling had guessed, that the castle wall crumbled before
+the fire when the lime would not stand it, and there were great breaches
+in it.
+
+“Sigmund Angle was the name of a man in the earl’s bodyguard; he was
+Sweyn Asliefson’s step-son. He pressed on faster than any man to the
+castle, and ever went on before the earl; he was then scarcely grown up.
+And when the storm had lasted awhile, then all men fled from the castle
+wall. The wind was on from the south, and the reek of the smoke lay
+towards Eindrid and his men. And when the fire began to spread very fast,
+then the earl made them bring water and cool the rubble that was burned.
+And then there was a lull in the assault.
+
+“After that the earl made ready to storm, and Sigmund Angle with him.
+There was then but a little struggle, and they got into the castle. There
+many men were slain, but those who would take life gave themselves up
+to the earl’s power. There they took much goods, but they did not find
+the chief, and scarcely any precious things. Then there was forthwith
+much talk how Godfrey could have got away; and then at once they had the
+greatest doubt of Eindrid the Young, that he must have passed him away
+somehow, and that he (Godfrey) must have gone away under the smoke to the
+wood.
+
+“After that Earl Rognvald and his host stayed there a short time in
+Galicialand, and held on west off Spain. They harried wide in that part
+of Spain which belonged to the heathen, and got there much goods. After
+that they sailed west off Spain, and got there a great storm, and lay
+three days at anchor, so that they shipped very much water, and it lay
+near that they had lost their ships. After that they hoisted their sails
+and beat out to Njorfa Sound [the Strait of Gibraltar] with a very cross
+wind. They sailed through Njorfa Sound, and then the weather began to
+get better. And then, as they bore out of the sound, Eindrid the Young
+parted company from the earl with six ships. He sailed over the sea to
+Marseilles, but Rognvald and his ships lay behind at the sound; and men
+talked much about it, how Eindrid had now himself given proof whether or
+not he had helped Godfrey away.
+
+“Nothing is told of the voyage of the earl and his men before they came
+south off Sarkland, and lay in the neighbourhood of Sardinia, and knew
+not what land they were near. The weather had turned out in this wise,
+that a great calm set in and mists and smooth seas—though the nights
+were light—and they saw scarcely at all from their ships, and so they
+made little way. One morning it happened that the mist lifted. Men stood
+up and looked about them. Then the earl asked if men saw anything new.
+They said they saw nought but two islets, little and steep, and when
+they looked for the islets the second time, then one of the islets was
+gone. They told this to the earl. He began to say, ‘That can have been no
+islets. That must be ships which men have out here in this part of the
+world, which they call dromonds; those are ships big as holms to look on.
+But there, where the other dromond lay, a breeze must have come down on
+the sea, and they must have sailed away; but these must be wayfaring men,
+either chapmen or faring in some other way on their business.’
+
+“After that the earl lets them call to him the bishop and all the
+shipmasters; then he began to say: ‘I call you together for this, lord
+bishop and Erling, my kinsman: see ye any scheme or chance of ours that
+we may win victory in some way over those who are on the dromond.’ The
+bishop answers: ‘Hard, I guess, will it be for you to run your long-ships
+under the dromond, for ye will have no better way of boarding than by
+grappling the bulwarks with a broad-axe; but they will have brimstone and
+boiling pitch to throw under your feet and over your heads. Ye may see,
+earl, so wise as you are, that it is the greatest rashness to lay one’s
+self and one’s men in such risk.’
+
+“Then Erling began to speak: ‘Lord bishop,’ he says, ‘likely it is that
+ye are best able to see this, that there will be little hope of victory
+in rowing against them. But somehow it seems to me that though we try to
+run under the dromond, so methinks it will be that the greatest weight
+of weapons will fall beyond our ships, if we hug her close, broadside to
+broadside. But if it be not so, then we can put off from them quickly,
+for they will not chase us in the dromond.’
+
+“The earl began to say: ‘That is spoken like a man and quite to my mind.
+I will now make that clear to the shipmasters and all the crews, that
+each man shall busk him in his room, and arm himself as he best can.
+After that we will row up to them. But if they are Christian chapmen,
+then it will be in our power to make peace with them; but if they are
+heathen, as I feel sure they are, then Almighty God will yield us that
+mercy that we shall win the victory over them. But of the war spoil which
+we get there, we shall give the fiftieth penny to poor men.’ After that,
+men got out their arms and heightened the bulwarks of their ships, and
+made themselves ready according to the means which they had at hand. The
+earl settles where each of his ships should run in. Then they made an
+onslaught on her by rowing, and pulled up to her as briskly as they could.
+
+“But when those who were aboard the dromond saw that ships were rowing
+up to them, they took silken stuffs and costly goods and hung them out
+on the bulwarks, and then made great shoutings and hailings; and it
+seemed to the earl’s men as though they dared the Northmen to come on
+against them. Earl Rognvald laid his ship aft alongside the dromond on
+the starboard, but Erling, too, aft on the larboard. John and Aslak, they
+laid their ships forward each on his own board, but the others amidships
+on both boards; and all the ships hugged her close, broadside to
+broadside. And when they came under the dromond, her sides were so high
+out of the water that they could not reach up with their weapons. But the
+foe poured down blazing brimstone and flaming pitch over them. And it was
+as Erling guessed it would be, that the greatest weight of weapons fell
+out beyond the ships, and they had no need to shield themselves on that
+side which was next to the dromond, but those who were on the other side
+held their shields over their heads and sheltered themselves in that way.
+
+“And when they made no way with their onslaught, the bishop shoved his
+ship off and two others, and they picked out and sent thither their
+bowmen, and they lay within shot, and shot thence at the dromond, and
+then that onslaught was the hardest that was made. Then those on board
+the dromond got under cover, but thought little about what those were
+doing who had laid their ships under the dromond. Earl Rognvald called
+out then to his men, that they should take their axes and hew asunder the
+broadside of the dromond in the parts where she was least iron-bound. But
+when the men in the other ships saw what the earl’s men were about, they
+also took the like counsel.
+
+“Now, where Erling and his men had laid their ship a great anchor hung
+on the dromond, and the fluke was hung by the crook over the bulwark,
+but the stock pointed down to Erling’s ship. Audun the Red was the name
+of Erling’s bowman; he was lifted up on the anchor-stock. But after that
+he hauled up to him more men, so that they stood as thick as ever they
+could on the stock, and thence hewed at the sides as they best could, and
+that hewing was by far the highest up. And when they had hewn such large
+doors that they could go into the dromond, they made ready to board, and
+the earl and his men got into the lower hold, but Erling and his men into
+the upper. And when both their bands had come up on the ship there was a
+fight both great and hard. On board the dromond were Saracens, what we
+call Mahomet’s unbelievers. There were many blackamoors, and they made
+the hardest struggle. Erling got there a great wound on his neck near his
+shoulders as he sprang up into the dromond. That healed so ill that he
+bore his head on one side ever after. That was why he was called Wryneck.
+
+“And when they met Earl Rognvald and Erling, the Saracens gave way before
+them to the fore-part of the ship, but the earl’s men then boarded her
+one after another. Then they were more numerous, and they pressed the
+enemy hard. They saw that on board the dromond was one man who was both
+taller and fairer than the others; the Northmen held it to be the truth
+that that man must be their chief. Earl Rognvald said that they should
+not turn their weapons against him, if they could take him in any other
+way. Then they hemmed him in and bore him down with their shields, and
+so he was taken and afterwards carried to the bishop’s ship, and few men
+with him. They slew there much folk, and got much goods and many costly
+things. When they had ended the greatest part of their toil, they sat
+down and rested themselves.
+
+“Men spoke of these tidings which had happened there. Then each spoke of
+what he thought he had seen; and men talked about who had been the first
+to board the dromond, and could not agree about it. Then some said that
+it was foolish that they should not all have one story about these great
+things; and the end of it was that they agreed that Earl Rognvald should
+settle the dispute, and afterwards they should all back what he said.
+
+“When they had stripped the dromond they put fire into her and burnt her.
+And when that tall man whom they had made captive saw that, he was much
+stirred, and changed colour, and could not hold himself still. But though
+they tried to make him speak, he never said a word and made no manner
+of sign, nor did he pay any heed to them whether they promised him good
+or ill. But when the dromond began to blaze, they saw as though blazing
+molten ore ran down into the sea. That moved the captive man much. They
+were quite sure then that they had looked for goods carelessly, and now
+the metal had melted in the heat of the fire, whether it had been gold or
+silver.
+
+“Earl Rognvald and his men sailed thence south under Sarkland, and lay
+under a seaburg, and made a seven nights’ truce with the townsmen, and
+had dealings with them, and sold them the men whom they had taken. No
+man would buy the tall man. And after that the earl gave him leave to go
+away and four men with him. He came down the next morning with a train
+of men and told them that he was a prince of Sarkland, and had sailed
+thence with the dromond and all the goods that were aboard her. He said,
+too, he thought that worst of all that they burnt the dromond, and made
+such waste of that great wealth that it was of no use to any one. ‘But
+now I have great power over your affairs. Now you shall have the greatest
+good from me for having spared my life and treated me with such honour
+as ye could; but I would be very willing that we saw each other never
+again. And so now live safe and sound and well.’ After that he rode up
+the country, but Earl Rognvald sailed thence south to Crete, and they lay
+there in very foul weather.
+
+“The earl and his men lay under Crete till they got a fair wind for
+Jewry-land, and came to Acreburg early on a Friday morning, and landed
+then with such great pomp and state as was seldom seen there. The earl
+and his men stayed in Acreburg a while. There sickness came into their
+ranks, and many famous men breathed their last. There Thorbjorn the
+Swarthy, a liegeman, breathed his last.
+
+“Earl Rognvald and his men then fared from Acreburg, and sought all the
+holiest places in the land of Jewry. They all fared to Jordan and bathed
+there. Earl Rognvald and Sigmund Angle swam across the river and went
+up on the bank there, and thither where was a thicket of brushwood, and
+there they twisted great knots. After that they fared back to Jerusalem.
+
+“Earl Rognvald and his men fared that summer from the land of Jewry, and
+meant to go north to Micklegarth [Constantinople], and came about autumn
+to that town which is called Imbolar. They stayed there a very long time
+in the town. They had that watchword in the town, if men met one another
+walking where it was throng and narrow, and the one thought it needful
+that the other who met him should yield him the path, then he says thus,
+‘Out of the way; out of the way.’ One evening as the earl and his men
+were coming out of the town, and Erling Wryneck went out along the wharf
+to his ship, some of the townsmen met him and called out, ‘Out of the
+way; out of the way.’ Erling was very drunk, and made as though he heard
+them not, and when they ran against one another, Erling fell off the
+wharf and down into the mud which was below; and his men ran down to pick
+him up, and had to strip off every stitch of his clothes and wash him.
+Next morning when he and the earl met, and he was told what had happened,
+he smiled at it.
+
+“After that they fared away thence. And nothing is told of their voyage
+before they come north to Engilsness [Cape St. Angelo]. There they lay
+some nights and waited for a wind which would seem fair to them to sail
+north along the sea to Micklegarth. They took great pains then with
+their sailing, and so sailed with great pomp, just as they had heard that
+Sigurd Jewry-farer had done.
+
+“When Earl Rognvald and his men came to Micklegarth they had a hearty
+welcome from the emperor and the Varangians. Menelaus was then emperor
+over Micklegarth, whom we call Manuel. He gave the earl much goods, and
+offered them bounty-money if they would stay there. They stayed there
+awhile that winter in very good cheer. There was Eindrid the Young, and
+he had very great honour from the emperor. He had little to do with Earl
+Rognvald and his men, and rather tried to set other men against them.
+
+“Earl Rognvald set out on his voyage home that winter from Micklegarth,
+and fared first west to Bulgarialand, to Dyrrachburg. Thence he sailed
+west across the sea to Poule. There Earl Rognvald and Bishop William and
+Erling, and all the nobler men of their band, landed from their ships,
+and got them horses and rode thence first to Rome, and so homewards on
+the way from Rome until they come to Denmark, and thence they fared north
+to Norway. There men were glad to see them, and this voyage was most
+famous, and they who had gone on it were thought to be men of much more
+worth after than before.”
+
+       _From the “Orkneyinga Saga,” translated by Sir G. W. Dasent, D.C.L.
+       (By permission of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office.)_
+
+[Illustration: _A Great Viking._
+
+_(From the picture by H. W. Koekkoek.)_]
+
+
+
+
+SWEYN ASLEIFSON, THE LAST OF THE VIKINGS.
+
+
+The sudden disappearance of Earl Paul, by which Earl Rognvald had been
+left in sole possession of the Orkneys, was, as we have said, due to a
+certain Viking, Sweyn Asleifson of Gairsay. This Sweyn is one of the
+most remarkable men in all Orcadian history. Among the Vikings of old he
+was the greatest, and he was the last. Of him the Saga says: “He was the
+greatest man in the western lands, either in old time or at the present
+day.”
+
+For the slaying of one of Earl Paul’s men Sweyn had had to escape out of
+the isles. He abode for a time in the Hebrides, and afterwards sought
+refuge in the dales of Scotland, where Margaret, the daughter of Earl
+Hakon, was married to Maddad, Earl of Athole. He had promised to help
+Harald, their son, to become Earl of the Orkneys, and it was with a view
+to this that he kidnapped Earl Paul.
+
+On that morning Earl Paul had gone out early from Westness to hunt the
+otter near Scabro Head. Sweyn had sailed over from Thurso, keeping to the
+west of Hoy and the Mainland, and was now rowing into Evie Sound, for
+he had heard that Earl Paul was staying with Sigurd of Westness. As they
+rowed near the land, Sweyn ordered all his men to lie hid except those at
+the oars, that the ship might look like a peaceful merchant-vessel.
+
+When the earl saw the ship rowing near the rocks, he called out to the
+men that they should go on to Westness with their wares for Earl Paul.
+Then Sweyn, who was lying hid, bade his men ask where the earl was.
+
+“The earl is here on the rocks,” was the reply.
+
+“Row quickly to land at a place where they will not see us,” said Sweyn
+to his men; “and let us arm ourselves, for we have work to do.”
+
+The ship was rowed to the shore, as he had said, and Sweyn and his men
+armed themselves and fell upon Earl Paul and his company. These, being
+unarmed, were soon disposed of. The earl was seized and taken aboard the
+ship, and Sweyn immediately set sail for Scotland by the way he had come.
+
+Sigurd marvelled when the earl did not return from his hunting, and
+men were sent out to look for him. They came upon the bodies of the
+slain—nineteen of the earl’s men and six strangers—but the earl himself
+had disappeared. It was at first thought that Earl Rognvald had had
+something to do with his disappearance, and it was many days before men
+knew what had become of the vanished earl.
+
+In the meantime Sweyn had carried Paul to Athole, and placed him in the
+keeping of Maddad and Margaret. His after fate is unknown. The story
+which Sweyn afterwards told is that Paul did not wish to return to
+Orkney, so shameful had been the manner of his leaving it; and that he
+wished it to be reported that he had been blinded or maimed, in order
+that men should not seek to bring him back. Sweyn himself came back to
+Orkney with this story; and he acknowledged Earl Rognvald, and became
+very friendly with him.
+
+As the great Earl of Warwick has been called “the king-maker” in England,
+so Sweyn may be called the “earl-maker” in Orkney. He it was who caused
+Harald, the son of Maddad, to be made earl, and he also supported Earl
+Erlend in his claims while Earl Rognvald was in the Holy Land. He gained
+the friendship of David, King of Scots, Viking though he was, and the
+terror of the Scottish and Irish seas. Many of Sweyn’s Viking raids
+are told in the Orkney Saga, one of the most famous being that known
+as Sweyn’s “Broadcloth Cruise.” The following account is given of this
+cruise, and of the death of Sweyn:—
+
+“These tidings happened once on a time, that Sweyn Asleifson fared away
+on his spring-cruise, and Hakon, Earl Harald’s son, fared with him; and
+they had five ships with oars, and all of them large. They harried about
+among the Southern Isles. Then the folk were so scared at him in the
+Southern Isles that men hid all their goods and chattels in the earth or
+in piles of rocks. Sweyn sailed as far south as Man, and got ill off for
+spoil. Thence they sailed out under Ireland and harried there. But when
+they came about south under Dublin, then two keels sailed there from off
+the main, which had come from England, and meant to steer for Dublin;
+they were laden with English cloths, and great store of goods was aboard
+them.
+
+“Sweyn and his men pulled up to the keels and offered them battle. Little
+came of the defence of the Englishmen before Sweyn gave the word to
+board. Then the Englishmen were made prisoners. And there they robbed
+them of every penny which was aboard the keels, save that the Englishmen
+kept the clothes they stood in and some food, and went on their way
+afterwards with the keels; but Sweyn and his men fared to the Southern
+Isles and shared their war-spoil.
+
+“They sailed from the west with great pomp. They did this as a glory for
+themselves when they lay in harbours, that they threw awnings of English
+cloth over their ships. But when they sailed into the Orkneys, they sewed
+the cloth on the fore-part of the sails, so that it looked in that wise
+as though the sails were made altogether of broadcloth. This they called
+the Broadcloth Cruise.
+
+“Sweyn fared home to his house in Gairsay. He had taken from the keels
+much wine and English mead. Now when Sweyn had been at home a short
+while, he bade to him Earl Harald, and made a worthy feast against his
+coming. When Earl Harald was at the feast, there was much talk amongst
+them of Sweyn’s good cheer. The earl spoke and said: ‘This I would now,
+Sweyn, that thou wouldst lay aside thy sea-rovings; ’tis good now to
+drive home with a whole wain. But thou knowest this, that thou hast long
+maintained thyself and thy men by sea-roving; but so it fares with most
+men who live by unfair means, that they lose their lives in strife, if
+they do not break themselves from it.’
+
+“Then Sweyn answered, and looked to the earl, and spoke with a smile,
+and said thus: ‘Well spoken is this, lord, and friendly spoken, and it
+will be good to take a bit of good counsel from you; but some men lay
+that to your door, that ye too are men of little fairness.’ The earl
+answered: ‘I shall have to answer for my share, but a gossiping tongue
+drives me to say what I do.’
+
+“Sweyn said: ‘Good, no doubt, drives you to it, lord. And so it shall be,
+that I will leave off sea-roving, for I find that I am growing old, and
+strength lessens much in hardships and warfare. Now I will go out on my
+autumn-cruise, and I would that it might be with no less glory than the
+spring-cruise was; but after that my wayfaring shall be over.’ The earl
+answers: ‘’Tis hard to see, messmate, whether death or lasting luck will
+come first.’ After that they dropped talking about it. Earl Harald fared
+away from the feast, and was led out with fitting gifts. So he and Sweyn
+parted with great love-tokens.
+
+“A little while after, Sweyn busks him for his roving cruise; he had
+seven long-ships, and all great. Hakon, Earl Harald’s son, went along
+with Sweyn on his voyage. They held on their course first to the Southern
+Isles, and got there little war-spoil; thence they fared out under
+Ireland, and harried there far and wide. They fared so far south as
+Dublin, and came upon them there very suddenly, so that the townsmen were
+not ware of them before they had got into the town. They took there much
+goods. They made prisoners there those men who were rulers there in the
+town. The upshot of their business was that they gave the town up into
+Sweyn’s power, and agreed to pay as great a ransom as he chose to lay
+upon them. Sweyn was also to hold the town with his men and to have rule
+over it. The Dublin men sware an oath to do this. Next morning Sweyn was
+to come into the town and take the ransom.
+
+“Now it must be told of what happened in the town during the night. The
+men of good counsel who were in the town held a meeting among themselves,
+and talked over the straits which had befallen them; it seemed to them
+hard to let their town come into the power of the Orkneyingers, and
+worst of all of that man whom they knew to be the most unjust man in the
+western lands. So they agreed amongst themselves that they would cheat
+Sweyn if they might. They took that counsel, that they dug great trenches
+before the burg-gate on the inside, and in many other places between the
+houses where it was meant that Sweyn and his men should pass; but men
+lay in wait there in the houses hard by with weapons. They laid planks
+over the trenches, so that they should fall down as soon as ever a man’s
+weight comes on them. After that they strewed straw on the planks so that
+the trenches might not be seen, and so bided the morrow.
+
+“On the morning after, Sweyn and his men arose and put on their arms;
+after that they went to the town. And when they came inside beyond the
+burg-gate, the Dublin men made a lane from the burg-gate right to the
+trenches. Sweyn and his men saw not what they were doing, and ran into
+the trenches. The townsmen then ran straightway to hold the burg-gate,
+but some to the trenches, and brought their arms to bear on Sweyn and his
+men. It was unhandy for them to make any defence, and Sweyn lost his
+life there in the trenches, and all those who had gone into the town.
+So it was said that Sweyn was the last to die of all his messmates, and
+spoke these words ere he died: ‘Know this, all men, whether I lose my
+life to-day or not, that I am one of the Saint Earl Rognvald’s bodyguard,
+and I now mean to put my trust in being there where he is with God.’
+Sweyn’s men fared at once to their ships and pulled away, and nothing is
+told about their voyage before they come into the Orkneys.”
+
+       _From the “Orkneyinga Saga,” translated by Sir G. W. Dasent, D.C.I.
+       (By permission of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office.)_
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+THE DECAY OF THE EARLDOM AND THE END OF THE WESTERN KINGDOM.
+
+
+After the death of Earl Rognvald, the islands were ruled for almost fifty
+years by Harald Maddadson. Harald’s later days were full of troubles.
+With the decay of his powers the glory of the earldom also faded away. In
+1194, when Sverrir was King of Norway, a rebellion took place, with the
+object of placing Sigurd Erlingson on the throne. Sigurd’s party, known
+as the “Eyjarskeggjar” or “Island-beardies,” had their headquarters in
+the Orkneys. There they collected their forces, and there the rebellion
+was organized. The rebels were completely overthrown in a great battle
+fought near Bergen. Sverrir summoned Earl Harald before him in 1196 to
+answer for his share in the matter. As a punishment for permitting plots
+against him to be hatched in Orkney—plots which the gray-haired old earl
+had been powerless to prevent—the king compelled him to surrender the
+government of Shetland. For nearly two centuries thereafter Orkney and
+Shetland were separate, the former ruled by the earl, the latter by a
+governor appointed by the Norwegian crown.
+
+The result of this was twofold. In the first place it weakened the power
+of the Orkney earldom; in the second place it caused the earldom to draw
+nearer to Scotland, and to come more and more under Scottish influence.
+But the aged earl’s cup of sorrow was not yet full. He quarrelled also
+with the Scottish king. As a consequence of this quarrel he was stripped
+of his Scottish possessions, and his son Thorfinn perished miserably, a
+prisoner in Roxburgh Castle. When Earl Harald died in 1206, full of years
+and of sorrows, the earldom was but the shadow of its former self.
+
+After Harald’s death, his two sons, John and David, succeeded to the
+earldom. David did not live long, and John was then left sole earl. This
+earl, the last of the old Norse jarls, was Earl of Orkney excluding
+Shetland, holding that earldom from the Norwegian king, and Earl of
+Caithness, including Sutherland, holding that from the King of Scotland.
+Matters continued in this state generally till the pledging of the
+islands in 1468, the only change being that Shetland was again added to
+the Orkney earldom in 1379, when Henry, the first of the St. Clairs,
+became earl.
+
+The days of Earl John, like those of his father, were stormy, and
+disaster after disaster fell upon the isles. The burning of Bishop Adam
+at Halkirk in Caithness brought down on the earl the vengeance of King
+Alexander the Second of Scotland. The earl had no hand in the murder,
+but he was near by, and, in the opinion of King Alexander, might have
+prevented the tragedy. Then a feud arose between the earl and some of
+the leaders of a Norse expedition to the Western Isles. The earl was
+attacked suddenly in Thurso, and there murdered. This took place in
+the year 1231. The murderers took refuge in the Castle of Weir, where
+they were besieged by the earl’s friends and adherents. Ultimately both
+parties agreed that the case should be submitted to the Norwegian king.
+
+The chief men of the islands embarked for Norway to be present at the
+trial of the murderers, which ended in their conviction and punishment.
+But a terrible disaster for the Orkney earldom followed. All the leading
+men of the islands left Norway in one ship, and set sail for Orkney late
+in autumn. Stormy weather set in shortly after their departure. Fears
+which were entertained for the safety of the ship proved to be only too
+well founded: the ship was never heard of again. With her went down
+nearly all the nobility of the earldom. This disaster, which happened in
+1232, was irremediable. Well does the Saga of Hakon Hakonson say, “Many
+men have had to suffer for this later.” The earldom never recovered from
+the loss of its best blood, and but for this loss the after course of
+events might have been very different. Henceforth the Orkney earldom
+plays but a subordinate part in the history of the North.
+
+In 1232 King Alexander of Scotland granted the Earldom of Caithness to
+Magnus, son of Gilbride, Earl of Angus. Magnus was at the same time
+confirmed in the Earldom of Orkney by the King of Norway. But King
+Alexander made Sutherland a separate earldom, William Friskyn being
+created first earl. Thus within a period of forty years the earldom,
+which had at one time rivalled the power of Scotland itself, and had been
+at once the centre and the defence of the Norse Empire in the west, was
+stripped of more than half its territories.
+
+The Scottish king had a deep purpose to serve in thus weakening the
+northern earldom. He was already casting covetous eyes on the Hebrides,
+and every blow struck at the power of the Orkney earl was a step towards
+the conquest of the Western Isles. In the heyday of Norse ascendency
+there was danger of the western Norse colonies swallowing up Scotland
+rather than of Scotland swallowing up these colonies. But Hakon of Norway
+was now too busy at home repressing internal disorders to give much
+thought to the ambitions of the Scottish king, and the Orkney earl was
+too weak to form a serious obstacle, besides which he was more than half
+Scottish himself.
+
+For many years the chiefs of the Hebrides and the Western Isles had been
+wavering in their allegiance to the Norwegian crown. King Alexander was
+also doing his utmost to undermine Norse influence in the west. While he
+was carrying on intrigues with the western chiefs, he at the same time
+kept sending embassies to Norway to treat with Hakon for the purchase of
+these islands. Hakon’s answer was brief and decided: He was not yet so
+much in want of money that he needed to sell his lands for it.
+
+The next King of Scotland, Alexander the Third, had the same ambitions as
+his father, and as resolutely pursued his schemes for the subjugation of
+the Hebrides. He was, moreover, a young, energetic, and warlike king. He
+found the island chiefs very troublesome neighbours. His father’s policy
+of intrigue was too slow for him, and he determined to take by force what
+he could not obtain by treaty.
+
+In 1262 the Scots invaded the Norse dominions in the west. Hakon, who had
+now pacified his own kingdom, was at last roused to make a serious effort
+to preserve his over-sea dominions. In the summer of 1263 he “let letters
+of summons be sent round all Norway, and called out the levies both of
+men and stores as he thought the land could bear it. He summoned all the
+host to meet him early in the summer at Bergen.”
+
+A mighty fleet assembled in obedience to the king’s command, and, under
+the leadership of Hakon himself, set sail from Norway in the end of July
+1263. After delaying through the summer in Shetland and Orkney, this
+ill-fated expedition reached the Firth of Clyde in late autumn. Alexander
+the Third, knowing well that he could not hope to meet the Norsemen at
+sea, prepared to give them as warm a reception as possible wherever
+they might land. In the meantime he pretended to be anxious for peace.
+Negotiations were opened between the two kings. Alexander temporized:
+winter was approaching.
+
+Hakon’s patience at last gave way, and breaking off negotiations, the
+Norsemen began to harry the country, receiving willing aid from the
+various half-Celtic chieftains, who enjoyed nothing so much as an
+opportunity of ravaging the fertile Lowlands. But that ally whose coming
+Alexander had been awaiting came at length; on the first of October
+a great storm from the south-west arose suddenly during the night.
+Hakon’s ships began to drag their anchors. They fouled each other in
+the darkness, and several were driven ashore on the Ayrshire coast. When
+morning dawned, Hakon found his own ship within bowshot of the shore,
+while the Scots were already plundering one which had stranded near by.
+
+During a lull in the storm Hakon managed to land a detachment of his men
+to protect the stranded galley. But the storm increased in fury once
+more. The Norsemen on shore were outnumbered probably by ten to one, and
+no help could be sent from the ships. The Vikings threw themselves into
+a circle bristling with spear-points. Onset after onset of the Scots
+forced the ring of spears slowly back towards the shore, but they could
+not break it. All day long the battle raged—the Norsemen with the angry
+sea behind them, and no hope of succour from their fleet; the Scots
+determined to drive the invaders into the sea, or slay them where they
+stood.
+
+As evening began to fall the storm moderated, and Hakon was able to send
+reinforcements on shore. The Scots were borne backwards by the onset
+of the fresh warriors. But night was falling, and the Norsemen were
+anxious to get back to their ships, for the storm was not yet over. They
+accordingly hastened to take advantage of the breathing-space which they
+had won, and retired to their ships.
+
+Such was the famous battle of Largs, which both Scots and Norsemen claim
+as a victory. In itself it was little more than a skirmish; but the
+events of that night and day, the storm and the battle together, gave the
+death-blow to Norse dominion in the west. The heart of King Hakon failed
+him. His men also were discouraged. The shattered remains of the once
+splendid fleet set sail for Orkney, and the great invasion of Scotland
+was over.
+
+Broken in spirit and shattered in health, Hakon reached Orkney only to
+die. Part of his fleet was ordered to proceed to Norway, and part was
+laid up for the winter in Scapa Bay and Houton Cove. Scarcely had these
+matters been attended to when his fatal sickness seized the king. In the
+Bishop’s Palace in Kirkwall he spent his last hours. Here at midnight, on
+Saturday, December 15, 1263, in the sixtieth year of his eventful life,
+died Hakon Hakonson, the last of the great sea-kings of Norway.
+
+The remains of the king were carried to the cathedral, where they lay in
+state, and were afterwards temporarily interred in the choir near the
+shrine of St. Magnus. When spring came, Hakon’s body was exhumed and
+taken to Bergen in Norway, where it was finally laid to rest in the choir
+of Christ Church.
+
+After the death of Hakon, his son Magnus, now King of Norway, sent
+ambassadors to the Scottish king to treat for peace, and a treaty was
+signed at Perth in 1266. By this treaty Norway resigned her rights in the
+Hebrides, in consideration of Scotland’s paying down four thousand marks,
+besides a tribute of one hundred marks to be paid annually in St. Magnus
+Cathedral, Kirkwall. This tribute, called the Annual of Norway, was the
+direct cause of the troubles which preceded the marriage of James the
+Third of Scotland and Princess Margaret of Denmark.
+
+A large proportion of King Hakon’s forces had to be maintained in Orkney
+during the winter succeeding Largs. To provide for this, the lands of
+the earldom were divided into sections, and charged with the maintenance
+of the soldiers in proportion to the amount of “skatt” each section
+owed the king. The Skatt Book of the earldom was prepared—a list of
+the lands therein, and the amount of skatt which they paid. It was the
+Domesday Book of the Orkneys. On this Skatt Book were based the Scottish
+Rentals, which came into such prominence in the history of the Scottish
+oppressions during the sixteenth century.
+
+[Illustration: _Ruins of the Bishop’s Palace, Kirkwall._]
+
+
+
+
+THE ANNEXATION TO SCOTLAND.
+
+
+The history of Orkney during the two centuries which intervened
+between the battle of Largs and the annexation to Scotland contains
+little of interest. The earldom was held by Scottish families, first
+the Strathernes, and then the St. Clairs. The sympathies of the earls
+were with the Scots, the people were mainly Norse, and as a natural
+consequence quarrels frequently arose between the earls and their
+subjects. Another source of trouble was the fact that the earls generally
+held possessions in Scotland, and were thus subjects of Scotland as
+well as of Norway. The islands were neglected by both countries, being
+of little importance to Norway as governed by foreigners, and of little
+interest to Scotland as owned by a foreign country.
+
+Several of the earls took a prominent part in the affairs of Scotland,
+and were men of mark and highly esteemed by the Scottish sovereigns.
+Thus Magnus, the last of the Angus line, was one of the eight Scottish
+noblemen who, in 1320, subscribed the famous letter to the Pope asserting
+the independence of Scotland; and Henry, the second of the St. Clairs,
+was entrusted by King Robert the Third with the task of conveying the
+young Prince James to a safe asylum in France, when that prince was made
+prisoner by the English.
+
+In the history of Orkney itself the only man of note among the Scottish
+earls was Henry, the first of the St. Clairs, the builder of Kirkwall
+Castle. Henry became earl in 1379. Under his rule Orkney and Shetland
+were once more united. He is the only one of the Scottish earls who can
+be at all compared with the old Norse jarls of Orkney. In everything
+except name he was king of his island dominions, ruling them as he
+pleased without much thought of either Norway or Scotland.
+
+It was in the time of William, the third of the St. Clair earls, that
+the transference of Orkney and Shetland to Scotland took place. The
+circumstances which led to this important event must now be related.
+
+After the battle of Largs a treaty of peace between Norway and Scotland
+had been signed at Perth in 1266, Norway resigning the Hebrides in return
+for an immediate payment by Scotland of four thousand marks, and in
+addition a tribute of one hundred marks to be paid annually in St. Magnus
+Cathedral, Kirkwall. For every failure to pay this tribute—known in
+history as the Annual of Norway—Scotland was liable to a penalty of ten
+thousand marks. This treaty was afterwards confirmed by Hakon the Fifth
+and Robert the Bruce at Inverness in 1312.
+
+In 1397 Norway, Sweden, and Denmark were united under one sovereign.
+When, in 1448, Christian the First became king of the united realms,
+payment by Scotland of the Annual of Norway had been neglected for some
+forty years. According to the Treaty of Perth, Scotland was therefore
+liable to a penalty of over four hundred thousand marks. Christian’s
+exchequer was empty; here was an opportunity of replenishing it. About
+1460 Christian made a threatening demand for payment of the whole sum due.
+
+The sum demanded was so large that it would have been no easy matter for
+Scotland to pay it, however willing she might be. Christian had concluded
+an alliance with France, and France had always been the firm friend of
+Scotland. When a rupture between Denmark and Scotland seemed inevitable,
+the French king employed all his influence to secure a compromise. He
+suggested that a marriage should be arranged between Prince James of
+Scotland, afterwards James the Third, and Margaret, Christian’s daughter,
+trusting that the negotiations in connection with the marriage would lead
+to the friendly settlement of the matters in dispute.
+
+Prolonged negotiations took place between the two countries. Scotland at
+first demanded the remission of the Annual of Norway with arrears, the
+cession of Orkney and Shetland, and a dowry of a hundred thousand crowns.
+To these terms Christian refused to listen. The death of James the Second
+at the siege of Roxburgh Castle suspended negotiations for a time. Some
+years after the accession of James the Third they were resumed. The
+final result was the Marriage Treaty of 1468, which brought about the
+transference of Orkney and Shetland to Scotland.
+
+The main provisions of the Marriage Treaty were these:—(1.) That the
+Princess Margaret’s dowry should amount to fifty thousand florins; ten
+thousand to be paid within the year, and the islands of Orkney to be
+pledged for the remaining forty thousand.—Only two thousand florins were
+paid, Shetland being pledged in the following year for the remaining
+eight thousand. (2.) That the rights of Christian as King of Norway
+should be exercised in the islands by the Scottish king until the forty
+thousand florins were paid. (3.) That the islanders should enjoy their
+own customs and laws while under Scottish rule.
+
+Christian would not consent to the permanent cession of the islands to
+Scotland under any conditions. In fact nothing but the direst financial
+straits can account for his even pledging them. But he had just finished
+a costly war in Sweden, his exchequer was empty, and the Scottish
+marriage seemed to him very desirable.
+
+On this Marriage Treaty of 1468, and on the agreement afterwards made
+with Earl William, Scotland bases her claim to the islands of Orkney and
+Shetland. It is certain that Christian intended to redeem the islands,
+and even as late as 1668 the plenipotentiaries of Europe assembled at
+Breda declared that Denmark—it ought to be Norway—still retained the
+right to redeem them.
+
+Scottish influence in Orkney had been increasing for many years previous
+to the annexation. The needy dependants of the various Scottish noblemen
+who held the earldom found the islands a happy hunting-ground for their
+avarice or for their need. There was thus a strong party in Orkney in
+favour of the annexation to Scotland. But the large majority of the
+inhabitants could not but regard the change of masters with dismay.
+Scotland was an alien power, and had usually been a hostile one. Her laws
+and institutions had little in common with those of the northern earldom.
+Besides this, her tenure being only temporary, she had no inducement
+to promote the welfare of the islands, but on the contrary her obvious
+interest was to make as much profit as possible from her opportunity.
+
+From 1468 onwards, till long after the termination of Scottish and
+the beginning of British rule, the lot of the islanders was far from
+enviable. The transformation of the leading Norse earldom into a minor
+Scottish county was the work of those years. The process by which this
+was accomplished was a long-continued series of injuries and oppressions,
+the story of which forms too long a tale to be fully told here.
+
+[Illustration: _Knocking Stone and Mell._]
+
+
+
+
+UDAL AND FEUDAL.
+
+
+Orkney and Shetland were handed over to Scotland, but care was taken to
+secure the rights of the inhabitants of the islands by the provision in
+the treaty of 1468 that they should be governed according to their own
+laws and usages. These were different from those of Scotland in several
+important particulars. Unfortunately, the new Scottish rulers did not
+know the laws of the earldom, and did not care to learn them.
+
+With regard to the holding of land, the laws of Scotland were entirely
+different from those of Orkney. In Scotland land was held according
+to the feudal system, in Orkney according to the udal system. Under
+the feudal system the king was nominally the owner of all the lands in
+the kingdom. The various landlords held their lands from him as their
+superior, in exchange for certain services to be rendered or payments to
+be made, and by a written title, without which they had no legal claim to
+the land.
+
+The udal system has been described as “the direct negation of every
+feudal principle.” The udaller held his land without any written title,
+subject to no service or payment to a superior, and with full possession
+and every conceivable right of ownership. The udaller was a peasant
+noble; he was the king’s equal and not his vassal. He owed king or jarl
+no services, duties, or payment for his udal lands, which he held as an
+absolute possession, inalienable from him and his race.
+
+It must not be supposed that all the land in Orkney was held udally, or
+that all the inhabitants were udallers. There were some udallers who
+held part of their land as tenants, and many of the islanders held no
+udal land at all. All landholders, whether udallers or tenants, had to
+pay a tax, called “skatt.” This was a tax levied to meet the expenses of
+government and defence. Skatt was paid sometimes to the King of Norway,
+sometimes to the Earl of Orkney, but it was legally the property of
+the crown. Hakon, when he lay dying in Kirkwall, levied skatt on the
+landholders of Orkney for the support of his troops during the winter.
+In this he was only exercising the undoubted right of the crown of
+Norway. But the skatt was never a rent, and never carried with it the
+acknowledgment of king or jarl as the real landowner.
+
+When Orkney came under Scottish rule, the King of Scotland became
+entitled to the skatt. Some Scottish nobleman or churchman was usually
+appointed to collect the revenues of the crown in the earldom. This
+nobleman or churchman was paid a commission on what he collected,
+together with any trifles he might extort “in ony manner of way.”
+Sometimes the revenues of the earldom were farmed out to the collector,
+an annual sum being paid by him into the royal treasury as rent. This
+arrangement afforded much room for extortion, and all the more so because
+the crown collector was ignorant, or could pretend to be ignorant, of
+Orkney law and of the udal system.
+
+In 1471 the Scottish crown purchased from Earl William all the lands and
+revenues which he held as Earl of Orkney. In 1472 Bishop William Tulloch
+was appointed to collect the revenues of the crown in Orkney. The period
+of Scottish oppression at once began. The bishop was deeply imbued with
+feudal prejudices. He had a rental drawn up, in which he registered the
+lands of udaller and tenant indiscriminately, with a studied confusion
+of their different rights. Both udal and feudal payments were exacted as
+rents from all holders of land.
+
+The udaller had no one to whom he could appeal to right his wrongs and
+protect him against oppression. He had no written titles. The bishop
+ruled the bishopric as bishop, and he ruled the earldom as representative
+of the crown. The churches were filled with Scottish priests subservient
+to his will. The struggle was hopeless from the beginning, but it took a
+century to reduce the peasant nobles of Orkney to the position and rank
+of tenant farmers, and in the meantime the various rulers of the islands
+reaped a rich harvest.
+
+Bishop Tulloch’s rule lasted for seven years, and was followed by six
+years under Bishop Andrew. Then in 1485 Henry St. Clair was appointed
+representative of the crown in Orkney. The St. Clairs had always been
+popular in the islands, and the islanders rejoiced at the appointment
+of Lord Henry. He redressed a number of grievances, but the fundamental
+change of udal into feudal which had begun went on unchecked. It was too
+profitable a confusion to be put right.
+
+After the death of Lord Henry St. Clair at Flodden, turmoil and confusion
+reigned in the earldom. His widow, Lady Margaret Hepburn, held the crown
+lands in Orkney for nearly thirty years, but she was quite unable to rule
+the islands. A report got abroad that the king intended to give Orkney
+a feudal lord. In 1529 the trouble came to a head. James St. Clair,
+the most popular of that popular family, was made Governor of Kirkwall
+Castle, and put himself at the head of the discontented faction. Open
+rebellion followed. Lord William St. Clair, son of Lady Margaret remained
+loyal, and had to escape to Caithness.
+
+Allied with the Earl of Caithness, Lord William invaded the islands with
+a considerable force. The invaders were met at Summerdale in Stenness by
+the rebels under James St. Clair, and were defeated with great slaughter.
+Many old stories about this battle still exist. The Caithness force
+landed in Orphir, and on their march they are said to have encountered a
+witch, whom they consulted as to the omens of success. She walked before
+them, unwinding together two balls of thread, one blue and the other red.
+She asked them to choose one of the balls as the symbol of their fortune,
+and they chose the red. The red thread was the first to come to an end.
+
+Unwilling to accept this omen, they demanded that the witch should give
+them yet another sign. She thereupon informed the Earl of Caithness that
+whichever side lost the first man in the fight would lose the day. Soon
+afterwards a boy was met herding cattle, and by order of the earl he was
+slain. Only after the deed was done did they discover that the boy was
+not an Orcadian but a native of Caithness.
+
+Already prepared for defeat by these bad omens, the invaders came upon
+the Orcadian force at Summerdale. The Orcadians assailed them with
+showers of stones, and the Caithness force was quickly destroyed. Only
+one Orcadian is said to have fallen. He, having dressed himself in the
+clothes of one of the fallen enemy, was slain in the dusk of the evening
+as he returned home. His mother mistook him for one of the invading
+force, and felled him by a blow with a stone in the foot of a stocking.
+
+Such are some of the tales tradition has woven round this fight. It
+was the last stand of the udallers, and the last pitched battle fought
+on Orcadian soil, if we except the siege of Kirkwall Castle during the
+rebellion of the Stewarts.
+
+After the battle of Summerdale the islands still remained in a very
+unsettled condition, until in 1540 James the Fifth thought his presence
+necessary to restore tranquillity. The king stayed with the bishop in
+Kirkwall, though not in the ancient Bishop’s Palace, which had witnessed
+the death of King Hakon. The visit of the king led to the removal of many
+abuses. But his death in 1542, and the long minority of his daughter,
+Mary Queen of Scots, brought back the former evils in an aggravated
+form. For twenty years the records of the islands are records of murder,
+violence, and oppression. The udallers were now a comparatively feeble
+folk, but their worst period of oppression was still to come.
+
+
+
+
+THE STEWART EARLS.
+
+
+In 1565 began the most cruel oppression which the islands suffered
+under Scottish rule. Lord Robert Stewart, a son of James the Fifth and
+half-brother of the Earl of Moray, obtained a feu charter of Orkney and
+Shetland. This grant was illegal in every way. It was not sanctioned
+by Parliament, and it disposed not only of the actual property which
+the crown of Scotland had acquired in the islands, but of the lands and
+services of the udallers or free landowners, which had never belonged
+to Norway or Denmark, and could not therefore have been acquired by
+Scotland. In exchange for the revenues of the Abbey of Holyrood, the new
+earl also obtained possession of the lands and revenues of the Bishopric
+of Orkney.
+
+To oppress the udallers so as to compel them to accept feus from him
+was the unvarying object of Earl Robert’s policy. He aggravated the
+burdens of the islanders by making them use weights and measures of his
+own devising, and increased their liabilities to him by a coinage of
+his own valuation. He raised the rents of the tenants to the limits of
+endurance, made every occasional or special payment an annual burden,
+imposed parish taxes as household taxes, and by pretended decrees of the
+Thing, or council, evicted many udallers without a show of justice. Heavy
+tolls and duties were laid on all fishermen and traders who came to the
+islands, and secret encouragement was given to pirates, whose booty was
+shared by the earl.
+
+The more bitter the complaints of the islanders, the more grievous became
+their oppression. To prevent these complaints reaching the ears of the
+authorities in Edinburgh, the earl forbade any one to cross the firths or
+ferries without his permission. It began also to be whispered that Earl
+Robert was plotting to sever once more the connection between Orkney and
+the Scottish crown. He had made additions to the old palace at Birsay,
+and on a stone over the principal gate he had caused to be inscribed:
+DOMINUS ROBERTUS STEWARTUS FILIUS JACOBI QUINTI REX SCOTORUM HOC OPUS
+INSTRUXIT—that is, “Earl Robert Stewart, son of James the Fifth, King of
+the Scots, erected this building.” Those who know a little Latin will
+observe that by his using the nominative case _rex_, it is Earl Robert
+himself and not James the Fifth whom he describes as “King of the Scots.”
+This was probably a mere mistake in the earl’s Latin, but a much graver
+meaning was attached to it by the Scottish King and Parliament when the
+whisper of treason somehow reached their ears.
+
+The complaints of the udallers might be unheeded, but the accusation
+of treason was a much more serious matter. The earl was summoned to
+Edinburgh to answer the charges against him. He was kept for some time
+a prisoner in Linlithgow Castle, but the storm quickly blew over. No
+trial ever took place. That ordeal Earl Robert escaped by the help of his
+powerful friends and relatives; and not only so, but in 1581 he was once
+more granted the Earldom of Orkney and Shetland, with extended powers.
+
+When Robert Stewart died, the islands were granted to his son, Patrick
+Stewart, the most cruel oppressor of all. Skilful in tyranny and
+extortion as Earl Robert had been, his son showed still more ability
+and ingenuity in his evil courses. The multiplication of enactments
+and penalties for the most trivial offences, confiscation, torture,
+and judicial murder—these were the additions Earl Patrick made to the
+machinery of oppression used by his father. He had palaces built for him
+at Scalloway and at Kirkwall by the same forced labour that had already
+reared Earl Robert’s palace in Birsay. But Earl Patrick’s career is best
+described in the words of Mackenzie:—
+
+“Earl Patrick—still remembered in Orkney tradition as ‘Black Pate’—was
+a man of kingly ideas, and had his lot been cast in Egypt instead of in
+Orkney, would have done very well as one of the Pharaohs. ‘Heaven is high
+and the Czar is far away,’ says a Russian proverb. Orkney is far from
+Holyrood and farther from London, and the earl did his own pleasure in
+his domain, without having the fear of the distant king before his eyes.
+
+“Most astounding and extraordinary was the system of tyranny and
+extortion which he carried on. He accused one and another of the gentry
+of the islands of high treason, and tried them in his own court. But
+it was not his object to punish these gentlemen as traitors against
+the king. In that case their forfeited estates would go to the king,
+which would be no profit to the earl. The earl was not so simple. The
+frightened udallers were glad enough to compound with the formidable earl
+by making over to him a portion of their lands to save the remainder and
+their own necks.
+
+“The Orkney potentate dealt in exactions of every description. He
+extorted taxes and duties. He created ferries and levied exorbitant tolls
+on them. He compelled the people to work for him all manner of work. He
+forced them to row his boats and man his ships, to toil in his quarries,
+to convey stones and lime for the building of his palace and park walls,
+and to perform whatever other kinds of slave-labour he chose to demand,
+‘without either meat or drink or hire.’
+
+“The Czar though far away sometimes hears at last. The doings of this
+tyrant of the isles attracted the attention of the law. He was seized
+and put in ward in Dumbarton Castle. What schemes were in his proud,
+fierce head it is difficult to guess. This is known, that, under his
+instructions, his son Robert occupied the castle of Kirkwall with armed
+men, fortified the cathedral, and stood ready to hold his own.
+
+“As soon as it became known in Edinburgh that Orkney was in rebellion,
+the king’s Secret Council dispatched the Earl of Caithness to bring it
+under. Two great cannons were wheeled down from Edinburgh Castle and
+shipped at Leith along with a strong military force. The expedition
+landed safely within a mile and a half of Kirkwall. The great cannons
+were pointed against the castle. They shot and got their answer in shot.
+The siege continued about a month, when the rebels gave in. Caithness
+returned to Edinburgh with Robert Stewart and other prisoners, and the
+two great cannons passed up the High Street in triumph, to the sound
+of drum and trumpet, with the keys of Kirkwall Castle hanging at their
+muzzles.
+
+“Robert Stewart was condemned to death and hanged at the Market Cross
+along with five of his accomplices. The people pitied him greatly, for it
+was his father’s scheming that had led him to destruction. His father’s
+execution soon followed. The ministers who tried to prepare him for
+death, finding him so ignorant that he could not say the Lord’s Prayer,
+asked the Council to delay his execution for a few days, till he could be
+better informed. The request was granted, and then he went his way into
+the great darkness.”
+
+The rebellion of Earl Patrick led to the abolition of the Thing and the
+ancient laws of Orkney and Shetland, but there was little change for
+the better in the government of the islands. They were assigned to one
+nobleman after another, no one having any interest in their improvement.
+It was, indeed, not till the eighteenth century that any very great
+effort was made to give them the benefits of good government and a chance
+to regain somewhat of their ancient prosperity.
+
+[Illustration: _Pot Querns and Saddle Quern._]
+
+
+
+
+THE EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES.
+
+
+During the long period of oppression by the Scottish earls, the state of
+our islands had been indeed deplorable, and recovery was slow. The spirit
+was crushed out of the people. Industry was vain when plunder was sure
+to follow. Agriculture could not advance when the alien landlord claimed
+all the profit. An Orkney writer of the eighteenth century gives a sad
+picture of the condition of the country in his day:—
+
+“The inhabitants, in general, are very polite, hospitable, and kind to
+strangers; but I am sorry to say that so little is industry encouraged
+in our country that no means can be assigned by which the lower class of
+people can get their bread. By reason of having no employment they must
+live very wretchedly; they become indolent and lazy to the last degree,
+insomuch that rather than raise cabbage for their own use they will steal
+from others; and instead of being at pains to prepare the turf, which
+they have for the mere trouble of cutting up and drying, yet, rather than
+do so, they will steal it from those who are richer or more industrious
+than themselves.... Every Saturday, which day they are privileged to
+beg, a troop of miserable, ragged creatures are seen going from door to
+door, almost numerous enough to plunder the whole town were they to exert
+themselves against it in an hostile manner—at least, if their valour was
+in proportion to their distress.”
+
+The dawn of a brighter day came slowly, and it is difficult now to
+trace the steps by which the prosperity of the islands was restored.
+Agriculture remained in a very primitive state till the nineteenth
+century had well begun. An Orkney “township” had a very different
+appearance in those days from what we now see. The farms were not divided
+from one another; each patch of cultivated ground belonged to all the
+farmers in the township, who shared it on the “run-rig” system, each
+“rig” being worked by a different owner.
+
+The only pasture was the natural grass of meadow and hill, and this
+also was common property. A “hill-dyke,” usually of turf, surrounded
+the corn-land, and formed a somewhat indifferent protection against the
+flocks of sheep, cattle, horses, and pigs which found their summer food
+on the “hill.” The names “Slap” and “Grind,” borne by farmhouses in many
+districts, remind us of the gateways in these old hill dykes.
+
+With the corn-land subdivided in this way, and the pasture-land
+undivided, there was no inducement for any farmer to improve his methods
+of agriculture. Farm implements were of the rudest kind. The soil was
+scratched rather than tilled by means of wooden ploughs with only
+one stilt or handle, a model of which may be seen in the museum in
+Stromness. There were no carts; loads were carried pannier-fashion on the
+backs of horses, along the rough tracks or bridle-paths which served for
+roads.
+
+Of the old style of farmhouse scarcely a relic now remains. One entrance
+usually served the farmer and his cattle, who lived under the same
+roof, though in separate apartments. In the kitchen, or “but-end,” the
+fireplace was simply a raised hearth in the centre of the room, with a
+low wall or “back” against which the peat-fire was built. There was no
+chimney, but a large opening in the roof allowed the smoke to escape in
+a leisurely fashion. Behind the “back” there was often accommodation for
+poultry, calves, and other domestic animals. The better class of houses
+had beyond the kitchen a parlour, or “ben-end,” which was used only on
+great occasions.
+
+Rough and primitive as was their manner of life, yet at the beginning of
+last century the Orcadians had already made a very considerable advance
+in prosperity. A writer of the time tells us that the small farmers had
+more money among them than could be found among people of similar station
+in any other part of the British Isles.
+
+It was not till the second quarter of the century that the land was
+divided up into separate farms, and modern methods of agriculture began
+to be employed, with rotation of crops and improved implements. A little
+later the beginning was made of the system of roads which now spreads in
+a network over the islands.
+
+While agriculture was yet in its infancy, the islands were much benefited
+by various forms of industry and occupation which have now mostly fallen
+into disuse, as the need for their help has passed away. One of these
+industries, introduced towards the end of the eighteenth century, was the
+spinning of flax and the weaving of linen. Flax was largely grown in the
+islands at one time, and the dressing, spinning, and weaving of it was a
+common occupation.
+
+About the beginning of the nineteenth century the manufacture of
+straw-plait was introduced, and soon took the place of the linen
+industry. It is said that over six thousand women and girls were at one
+time employed in straw-plaiting. Though the workers were paid but little,
+and that usually not in money but in goods, the straw-plaiting increased
+considerably the wealth and the trade of the county.
+
+The manufacture of kelp was introduced early in the eighteenth century,
+and gave occupation to many of the inhabitants. Large profits were made
+in this business, not so much, of course, by the actual workers as by the
+landlords and other agents who exported the kelp. At one time, indeed,
+it seemed as if the attention given to this industry was to prove a
+hindrance to the advance of agriculture, which is the only foundation of
+true prosperity in these islands; and when other substances began to take
+the place of kelp, the decline of this trade was really a benefit to the
+islands.
+
+Fishing has always been an important industry in Orkney, but it was not
+till near the middle of the nineteenth century that the improvements
+in boats and in gear made the fisheries a really valuable asset to the
+islanders. Fishing, however, cannot be called one of those temporary
+industries which we mentioned. The herring fishery and the white
+fishing, as well as other branches of this industry, have continued to
+increase, and next to agriculture, fishing is the great natural source of
+wealth for the people.
+
+During the centuries now under our notice, Orkney had a closer connection
+with the seafaring life than it has to-day. When all trade was carried
+on by sailing ships, and when westerly winds were quite as common as
+they now are, vessels passing through the Pentland Firth for America or
+elsewhere found Stromness a convenient port of call, and its harbour
+was often crowded with shipping. This was especially the case during
+the French wars of the eighteenth century, when the English Channel
+was avoided by shipping as being too near the enemy’s shores. Fleets
+of trading ships used to gather at Stromness while waiting a convoy of
+men-of-war to accompany them across the Atlantic.
+
+An interesting relic of those busy times in Stromness is the old
+Warehouse and Warehouse Pier at the north end of that town. This store
+was built about the middle of the eighteenth century for the convenience
+of the rice ships from America, as being the safest place for them to
+discharge their cargoes. Before the end of the century, however, the
+Stromness Warehouse was deserted in favour of Cowes in the Isle of Wight.
+A writer of the time makes out a strong case in favour of Stromness and
+against the English Channel, but the fact that Cowes is nearer to London
+seems to have settled the matter in favour of that port.
+
+During these prolonged naval wars, it is said that as many as twelve
+thousand Orkneymen served in the navy. Many of them went as volunteers,
+but probably most of them served against their will, as the pressgang
+was very active among the islands. Many a young sailor who began his
+voyage on a peaceful trader was soon transferred to one of His Majesty’s
+ships. Traditions of those troublous times are still preserved among many
+families in the islands. Hundreds of these men were never heard of again,
+for those were not the days of telegraphs and war correspondents. The
+years passed, and the son or the brother did not return, but when or how
+he fell his friends never knew. It was a heavy war-tax the islands paid;
+the full extent of it has never been disclosed.
+
+About 1740 the ships of the Hudson’s Bay Company began to visit the
+islands, not only to wait for a wind to start them on their annual
+voyage, but to engage labourers and tradesmen to carry on the fur trade
+among the Indians of the west and north of Canada. The connection thus
+begun is not yet quite extinct, but in the earlier part of the nineteenth
+century there was a constant stream of young men flowing to the Far West.
+At one time from fifty to a hundred men left Stromness for Hudson Bay
+every summer. Some remained as pioneers and colonists; some returned
+after a sojourn of five years or more, with a tidy sum of money to start
+them as farmers or tradesmen at home. Many of them who settled in the
+Great Lone Land rose to high positions in the Company’s service. The most
+famous of this band of empire-builders was Dr. John Rae, the discoverer
+of the fate of the ill-starred Franklin Expedition, and a noted Arctic
+explorer, whose monument may be seen in the nave of St. Magnus Cathedral.
+
+The Company then ruled over the greater portion of what is now the
+Dominion of Canada. The names of Fort York, Moose Factory, and Red River
+were as familiar to the Orkney boys of those days as Edinburgh, Glasgow,
+and Aberdeen are to us to-day. But Canada changed even more than Orkney
+during the latter part of the nineteenth century, and the great Hudson’s
+Bay Company have now handed over their vast territories to the rule of
+the Dominion. The fur trade still exists in the North-West, and there are
+Orkneymen still in the employment of the Company; but the days have gone
+by when this was one of the chief industries of the wander-loving sons of
+our islands.
+
+After the “Nor’-Wast,” as the Hudson Bay service was called, the
+“Straits” had the next claim on our youth. The Davis Strait whale-fishing
+fleet made an annual visit to our islands to complete their crews. This
+was in the spring or “vore,” when the crops were in the ground, and many
+men, both young and middle-aged, looked to the annual whaling trip to
+the north as a means of gain, just as their Norse ancestors did to the
+annual “vore-viking” raid on the richer shores of the South. This also
+has passed away; the harpoon and whale-lance are rarely seen in the
+islands; whales and whaling fleet alike have almost become extinct. But
+while agriculture was still in its infancy in Orkney, the “Straits” gave
+much-needed employment and modest gains to many of our hardy forefathers.
+
+The general tendency of life in Orkney has been away from dependence
+upon the sea for a living, and towards agriculture and the trade and
+commerce which it brings with it. In its methods of farming and in its
+general prosperity the county now compares well with any other part of
+the kingdom. But most of this progress has been made during the last half
+century or so.
+
+It was in 1833 that the Aberdeen, Leith, and Clyde Shipping Company, now
+the North of Scotland and Orkney and Shetland Navigation Company, first
+decided to send one of their steamers—the _Velocity_—to call at Kirkwall.
+The call was made once a fortnight, and only during the months of June,
+July, and August. The mails were then carried across the Pentland Firth
+in a small boat. The growth in traffic since that time is indicated by
+the fact that the trade and commerce of the islands now requires the
+weekly call of two steamers at Kirkwall and three at Stromness, with a
+daily mail steamer to both towns, in addition to numerous occasional
+trips of other steamers and sailing vessels, especially during the
+fishing season, while four smaller steamers maintain communication
+between the various islands.
+
+The Orkney farmer still has a somewhat niggardly soil and a stormy
+climate to contend with. His acres are few, and his boys will often turn
+to richer lands to seek their fortune. But life in these islands to-day
+is easy and comfortable compared with what it was during any of the ten
+centuries whose history we have passed in brief review.
+
+The boys and girls who aim at seeking wealth and fame in other lands,
+though by other means than those of their Viking ancestors, may now set
+forth on their voyage as well equipped by education and otherwise as the
+youth of any country in the world. Those who remain at home will still
+find a worthy task in carrying on the improvement of the homeland, as
+their fathers have done; for whatever stage of progress we may attain, it
+is never merely an end but also a beginning.
+
+[Illustration: _Old-fashioned Fireplace_]
+
+
+
+
+Part II.—The Isles and the Folk.
+
+
+
+
+A SURVEY OF THE ISLANDS.
+
+
+On Wideford Hill.
+
+There is no better view-point from which to make a general survey of the
+Orcadian Archipelago than Wideford Hill. It is less than half the height
+of the Ward Hill of Hoy, but it is at once more central and more easily
+accessible. The Ward Hill of Orphir exceeds it in height by nearly one
+hundred and fifty feet, and affords a much finer view to the westward;
+but Wideford Hill is more isolated from other hills, and from its summit
+we can obtain a better general outlook over the islands.
+
+Wideford Hill rises to a height of seven hundred and forty feet, and,
+standing within two miles of Kirkwall, it may be easily approached either
+from the main Stromness road over the Ayre, or from the old road above
+the site of the Lammas market. If we choose the right kind of day, when a
+cool northerly breeze gives us a horizon free from haze, and when thin
+gray clouds veil the sun only at intervals, we shall see from Wideford a
+panorama which surpasses in loveliness and in human interest that seen
+from many a mountain top.
+
+The charm of Orkney scenery lies in its colour rather than its form,
+in its luminous distances rather than its immediate foreground, in its
+restfulness rather than its grandeur. The landscape does not overwhelm
+the beholder with a sense of his puny insignificance, as great mountains
+are apt to do; it wins his love by suggestions of peace and of home.
+
+But let us look around and note what we see. Far to the southward lies
+the silvery streak of the Pentland Firth, very innocent now in its summer
+calm. Beyond it stretch the low shores of Caithness; and in the blue
+distance we see Morven and the mountains of Sutherland, the “southern
+land” of the Norsemen. Nearer is the green expanse of South Ronaldsay,
+much foreshortened to the view, with the lighthouse towers of the
+Pentland Skerries showing beyond, and the island of Burray at its nearer
+end. To the right, over Scapa Flow, rises the long brown ridge of Hoy,
+separated by streaks of shimmering sea from Flotta, Fara, Cava, and its
+other neighbours. Very stern and solemn look its heath-clad heights as
+the passing shadows fall across them.
+
+The whole of the East Mainland lies at our feet—Deerness, bright and
+sunny, with the Moul Head stretching boldly out to sea; nearer is St.
+Andrews, and Holm, half hidden by the ridge of high ground in the north
+of that parish; and, nearer still, St. Ola, deeply cut into by the Bays
+of Kirkwall and Scapa, which look as if they only awaited the next spring
+tide to join hands across the narrow isthmus, the Peerie Sea lying ready
+to do its part.
+
+[Illustration: _Round about Kirkwall._]
+
+Kirkwall, the “Kirk Voe” of the Norsemen, is more worthy of its name
+to-day than when the little church of St. Olaf was the chief object in
+the landscape. Approach it how we may, the great Cathedral of St. Magnus
+arrests our attention. Seen from Wideford Hill the tower does not break
+the skyline, as it does from the sea; yet the mass of sombre reddish
+masonry asserts itself, and dominates the pearl-gray cluster of walls and
+roofs that spreads around, as it has done for nearly eight hundred years.
+
+“Tame” and “uninteresting” are the words often used to describe the
+appearance of our island capital. It does not seem so to-day. As the
+eye sweeps down over the purple shoulder of the hill to the green
+fields below, and passes over the silver gleam of the water with broken
+reflections of tower and gable beyond, it rests upon a picture filled
+with many charms of line, mass, and colour, from which the deep cool
+green of tree and shrub is not wholly wanting. Open to the north and
+the south by the “Viking path” of the sea, and joined to the east and
+the west by more modern paths, the thin white lines of curving roadway,
+Kirkwall shows itself the natural focus of our island commerce and social
+life, and the centre of a wide and fair landscape.
+
+Northward and westward next we turn our view. Kirkwall Bay opens out into
+the “Wide Fiord,” which doubtless gave our hill its name, and westward
+into the “Aurrida Fiord,” or Sea-trout Firth, which first gave its name
+to the parish of Firth, and then received in exchange its present name,
+the Bay of Firth. Its shores are low and well cultivated, but to the
+north rises the dark brown ridge formed by the hills of Firth and of
+Rendall, which hide from our view most of the parish of Evie and parts of
+Harray and Birsay.
+
+To the left of this ridge, through the central valley of Firth and
+Stenness, a charming vista opens out. A rich and fertile sweep of low
+ground forms the basin of the great lochs, and on the long peninsula
+between them we can distinguish the Standing Stones rising as needle
+points against the blue expanse of the Loch of Stenness. The green mound
+of Maeshowe, too, is clearly visible. Far away, over the cultivated
+slopes of Sandwick, we see the soft shimmer of the Atlantic, and to the
+northward the undulating skyline of the Birsay Hills.
+
+Due west from where we stand the view is shut in by the long ridge of the
+Keelylang Hills and the bold outline of the Ward Hill of Orphir, and the
+fairest part of the West Mainland, Stromness, with its bays and islets,
+is beyond our ken. To enjoy a view of these we must take our stand upon
+the Ward Hill itself, but this will come into the programme of another
+day.
+
+Of the island-studded sea to the north and east we have not yet spoken.
+We can hardly disentangle the maze of sounds and bays, of holms and
+promontories, except by the aid of a map, and if we are wise we shall
+have one in our pocket. With this before us the maze becomes clear. The
+bold hills of Rousay stand clear of the Mainland to the north, with
+the lower islands of Gairsay, Wyre or Veira, and Egilsay near at hand.
+Westray is all but hidden, but the blue ridge of Eday stands boldly
+forth, shutting out from view the greater portion of Sanday and North
+Ronaldsay. The tall lighthouse pillar on the Start, however, is clearly
+seen.
+
+Close to Kirkwall Bay, and protecting it from the eastern sea, lies the
+fertile island of Shapinsay, with Balfour Castle standing in clear view
+among its gardens. Beyond we see the bold outline of Stronsay, and to the
+south of it Auskerry and its lighthouse.
+
+Now we let our eye rest on the horizon, a sharp and clear line where we
+can trace the smoke of trawlers and other craft which are themselves
+hidden by the great curve of the ocean plain. There, right over Balfour
+Castle, something catches our eye. It might be the smoke of a passing
+steamer, but it does not change its form as we look; it stands clear and
+sharp, a tiny blue pyramid showing over the horizon. There is only one
+thing it can be—the Fair Isle, distant some sixty miles from where we
+stand! Only on rare occasions is this lonely sea-girt rock so free from
+cloud and mist that its top is thus to be distinguished. Yet if we know
+where to look for it, we may occasionally see it as we do to-day; and it
+is useful to remember that from Wideford Hill its bearing is directly
+over Balfour Castle.
+
+
+Among the North Isles.
+
+A glance at the map of Orkney will show that most of the important
+islands lie north of the Mainland. The term “North Isles,” however, is
+generally used to mean only the more distant of these—Stronsay, Eday,
+Sanday, North Ronaldsay, and Westray, with the smaller islands adjacent
+to them. These can be visited by steamer from Kirkwall in one day, with
+the exception of North Ronaldsay; and at the same time a good view can
+be obtained of the nearer islands—Shapinsay and Rousay, with the smaller
+group of Egilsay, Wyre, and Gairsay. North Ronaldsay may also be seen on
+the far north-eastern horizon.
+
+Leaving Kirkwall pier in the early morning, we sail northwards out of the
+bay, when the String opens on our right, and Shapinsay is close at hand.
+There, sheltered by Helliar Holm, we notice the bay of Ellwick, where,
+in 1263, King Haco moored his hundred ships when on that ill-starred
+expedition which ended at Largs. West of the bay stands Balfour Castle,
+the finest specimen of modern domestic architecture in the islands,
+surrounded by its noted gardens.
+
+The sea to the west of Shapinsay is dotted with shoals and skerries;
+but as we pass Gairsay on the left and sail round Galt Ness, the
+north-western point of Shapinsay, we find open water before us, and steer
+north-east towards Eday, passing the Green Holms on our way.
+
+Eday, the first island at which we call, is hilly and heath-clad, with
+abundance of peat. Ever since the days of Torf Einar, no doubt, it has
+yielded a supply of peat for such unprovided islands as Sanday, up to
+modern times when coal has come into more general use. Even yet the peat
+industry is considerable, and Eday peats have been recently seen in use
+for drying malt in a distillery near Edinburgh. The most interesting part
+of Eday, however, is the north end of the island, where our steamer will
+call later in the day.
+
+[Illustration: ORKNEY ISLANDS]
+
+From Eday we cross to Stronsay, keeping to the north of that island,
+and then turning southwards to the village of Whitehall in Papa Sound,
+protected on the north-east by the small island of Papa Stronsay. This
+sheltered roadstead so near the open eastern sea has long been an
+important centre of the herring fishery. About the middle of last century
+as many as four hundred Orkney boats and many from the Scottish mainland
+found anchorage in Papa Sound. In modern times Stronsay has again risen
+in importance as a fishing station.
+
+Stronsay is one of the best agricultural districts in Orkney, and is
+noted for the size and the excellence of its farms. Near Lamb Head, in
+the extreme south-east of Stronsay, are the remains of a very extensive
+pier, erected before the time of the Norsemen.
+
+Leaving Whitehall pier, we next sail due north across Sanday Sound to
+Kettletoft Bay in Sanday. This bay and that of Otterswick in the north
+afford safe anchorage; but the low, flat island, with its numerous
+projecting points and skerries, presents many dangers to navigation. As
+early as 1529 a lighthouse was erected on the extreme eastern point of
+the island, and was called the Star, from which, it is said, the headland
+derived its name, Start Point. Long after that time, however, the island
+was noted for the number of shipwrecks which occurred on its shores.
+
+Sanday is emphatically the “Sand Island.” Its soil is sandy and generally
+fertile, and its surface is low and flat. Only in the south-west is there
+any rising ground, where the highest point in the island reaches a height
+of a little over two hundred feet.
+
+[Illustration: _Orkney Villages.—I._
+
+1. St. Margaret’s Hope, South Ronaldsay. 2. Pierowall, Westray. 3.
+Whitehall, Stronsay. 4. Finstown, Firth.]
+
+From Kettletoft pier our course is now south-west, until we double Spur
+Ness, the most southerly point of Sanday; then turning northwards, we
+make for Calf Sound, at the north end of Eday. This sheltered channel,
+between Eday and the Calf of Eday, is memorable as the scene of the
+capture of the pirate Gow in 1725.
+
+Gow, or Smith, was a native of Stromness, where “Gow’s Garden,” a name
+given to a patch of ground on the east side of the harbour, afterwards
+occupied by a shipbuilding yard, seems to mark the site of his father’s
+house. The name Gow, however, which is the Gaelic equivalent of Smith,
+indicates a Scottish rather than an Orcadian descent. In 1724 Gow was
+sailing as second mate on board the _George_, an English vessel of two
+hundred tons, mounting eighteen guns, and trading on the Barbary coast.
+He and several others of the crew mutinied, murdered the captain, and
+started on what proved to be a very brief career of piracy.
+
+After a few months’ cruising, Gow carried his ship, now named the
+_Revenge_, into Stromness to refit; but as he soon made the place too hot
+for safety, he put to sea in February 1725. Having sailed north round
+Westray, he turned south towards Eday, and in beating through Calf Sound
+ran his ship aground on the Calf, opposite Carrick House, then occupied
+by Mr. James Fea of Clestran. To him Gow applied for help to get his ship
+off the rocks; but the opportunity was too good to be missed, and Fea by
+various stratagems succeeded in making prisoners of Gow and his crew.
+They were handed over to the authorities, and afterwards suffered the
+penalty of their crimes in London.
+
+Nearly a century later, in 1814, Sir Walter Scott made his memorable
+visit to Orkney and Shetland, and the legends which he collected
+regarding Gow formed a centre round which he wove his well-known story,
+“The Pirate.”
+
+[Illustration: _Noltland Castle._]
+
+Carrick was at one time the site of a thriving manufacture of salt, but
+that too is now a tale of the past.
+
+On leaving Carrick our steamer passes out of Calf Sound between the Red
+Head on the west and the Grey Head on the east, so named from the colour
+of their sandstone cliffs. The stone of the former has been much in
+favour for building purposes, as St. Magnus Cathedral can testify, and
+has on occasion found its way as far south as London.
+
+A north-westerly course now brings us to Pierowall in Westray, our last
+port of call. The long, low island guarding it on the north-east, fertile
+and well cultivated, is Papa Westray. Towards its south end is a small
+lake, on a holm in which are the ruins of a chapel dedicated to St.
+Tredwall, a place of great sanctity in former days, and a special shrine
+for such pilgrims as suffered from sore eyes. Long after the Reformation,
+indeed, we are told that the minister of the island had much difficulty
+in preventing his flock from resorting thither to pay their devotions to
+the saint before assembling in the church.
+
+[Illustration: _Noup Head Lighthouse._]
+
+The chief point of interest in Westray is Noltland Castle, now roofless
+indeed, but scarcely yet a ruin. It was built early in the fifteenth
+century by Bishop Tulloch, and afterwards passed into the hands of
+Sir Gilbert Balfour, Master of the Household to Mary Queen of Scots.
+After the escape of the unfortunate queen from Lochleven Castle, he was
+ordered to prepare Noltland for her reception. Had the ill-fated Mary
+turned northwards instead of southwards when the day went against her
+at Langside, and had she sought shelter among these northern islands
+instead of trusting to the tender mercies of her cousin and rival, Queen
+Elizabeth, what a romantic chapter might have been added to the history
+of Orkney!
+
+[Illustration: _North Ronaldsay Lighthouse._]
+
+Westray contains much good arable land, and supports a large population.
+On the west side the scenery is bold and romantic; and from Fitty Hill,
+which is over five hundred and fifty feet in height, the view extends
+to Foula in Shetland and the Fair Isle. The cliffs facing the Atlantic
+are lofty and picturesque. About a mile south of Noup Head, the western
+extremity of the island, is the Gentlemen’s Cave, where five Orcadian
+adherents of “Prince Charlie” are said to have found shelter for several
+months after the “’Forty-five.”
+
+From Fitty Hill we may obtain a distant view of North Ronaldsay, the
+most northerly and perhaps the most verdant island of the group.
+Separated from its nearest neighbour, Sanday, by the wild and stormy
+North Ronaldsay Firth, the crossing of which in the usual open boat is
+often dangerous, even when possible, this island impresses the visitor as
+being very much cut off from the world. But in such matters all depends
+upon comparison, and doubtless there are many who regard the whole of our
+islands as similarly remote and inaccessible.
+
+A stone dyke surrounds the island of North Ronaldsay, outside which a
+number of native sheep pick up a living on the “banks” and even in the
+“ebb.” On the most northerly point, near Dennis Head, stands one of the
+finest of our lighthouses; for North Ronaldsay, like Sanday, has been the
+scene of many a shipwreck.
+
+Our return from Westray to Kirkwall is made direct, and we now keep to
+the west of Eday, passing Faray and its Holm, and having the heath-clad
+hills of Rousay clear in view to the westward. Rousay far surpasses the
+other islands of the northern group in its hill and cliff scenery, its
+highest elevation reaching eight hundred and twenty feet, and its western
+shore presenting many romantic effects in stack and cave. Among its other
+attractive features are the Loch of Wasbister, in the north; the Burn of
+Westness and Westness House, overlooking the sacred isle of Eynhallow
+and the tumultuous Roost of Burgar; and the modern mansion of Trumbland,
+looking out on the calm sound and the green island of Veira or Wyre.
+
+Nearer our course, however, lies the long, low stretch of Egilsay, the
+“Church Island” of the Norsemen, where the saintly Earl Magnus was done
+to death. The present ruined church, with its far-seen round tower,
+though of later date, doubtless occupies the site of that earlier church
+which was the scene of his murder.
+
+Wyre, too, soon opens out to view, with its ruined chapel, and the mound
+which marks the traditional site of “Cubbie Roo’s Castle,” the home of
+the once formidable Kolbein Hruga, whose name is even yet used to terrify
+into good behaviour some obstreperous youngster, in the awful threat,
+“Cubbie Roo’ll get thee!”
+
+[Illustration: _Westness, Eynhallow, and Costa Head._]
+
+Gairsay, with its rounded hill over three hundred feet high, next claims
+our attention, and the name of Sweyn Holm, lying off its eastern shore,
+recalls to us Sweyn Asleifson and the great drinking-hall which he built
+on the island when he made it his winter home: the summer home of the
+stout old Viking was on board his long-ship. But now the tower of St.
+Magnus rising ahead reminds us that our day’s sail is at an end, and we
+are shortly alongside Kirkwall pier once more.
+
+
+Among the South Isles.
+
+For a visit to the South Isles of Orkney, Stromness is our best
+starting-point. It is the natural centre of communication for this
+group—or rather for the western division of the group, for South
+Ronaldsay and Burray may be visited equally well from Kirkwall by way of
+Scapa Bay. The small steamer which makes the regular round of the islands
+will serve us for the beginning of our tour, but we must soon branch off
+from the ordinary route if we are to see much of interest.
+
+[Illustration: _Stromness Harbour._]
+
+The green island of Graemsay, with its beach of gleaming white sand,
+looks very attractive as we sail out of Stromness harbour. Its chief
+attraction to visitors is the lofty tower of the East Lighthouse, which
+serves, along with the lower West Lighthouse, to guide ships through the
+swift tideway of Hoy Sound. The official name, indeed, for these lights
+is not Graemsay, but Hoy.
+
+[Illustration: _Graemsay East Lighthouse._]
+
+Graemsay is separated from Hoy by Burra Sound, and here we shall leave
+our steamer, landing at Linksness, the best starting-point for the long
+walk and climb which we have before us. Hoy is next to the Mainland in
+size, but little of its surface is cultivated, and roads are few and far
+between. So we strike westward, and, leaving cultivation behind, make
+for the Meadow of the Kame, keeping the Ward Hill and its neighbour the
+Cuilags on our left. There is a famous echo here, which we may stop to
+test before beginning the climb to the Kame itself—a long ridge some
+twelve hundred feet high, which runs from the Cuilags to the sheer
+precipice on the north.
+
+The coast-line we now reach is one of the loftiest in the British Isles,
+rising at St. John’s Head to a perpendicular height of 1,140 feet. With
+due care we may approach the edge and look down this fearful and giddy
+height, but it is not a place for foolhardy daring. The view of this
+stupendous cliff, with the white surges breaking a thousand feet below
+in a slow and strangely noiseless movement, and the seagulls flitting
+like midges in their mazy dance midway between us and the blue water, is
+something which cannot be described and cannot be forgotten.
+
+Beyond St. John’s Head the ground falls to half the height or less,
+and a couple of miles brings us to the far-famed Old Man of Hoy. This
+wonderful pillar stands well out from the cliff, on a ledge of rock which
+connects with the land near sea-level. The height of the pillar is four
+hundred and fifty feet; that of the cliff on which we stand is about
+fifty feet less. Tradition tells us that the Old Man of Hoy has suffered
+considerably from the battering of wind and wave even within recent
+times. It is said that he formerly stood on two legs, but that many years
+ago part of the divided base fell before the Atlantic breakers, and
+left him standing on one leg, as we now see him. Doubtless time and the
+weather will one day lay him low, but in the meantime he looks fairly
+solid and durable.
+
+Another mile or more and we reach Rora Head, the most westerly point of
+Orkney, and turn southeastward towards Rackwick Bay, and now one of the
+finest views in all the islands meets our gaze. Beyond the deep glen
+at our feet stretches the great western sea-wall, gleaming red in the
+sunshine. In the bay below us the rollers are breaking in ceaseless foam
+over a strip of shining sand and gravel. The little township of Rackwick
+is a patchwork of green and gold, contrasting strangely with the dark
+glen and the towering hills behind.
+
+[Illustration: _The Old Man of Hoy._]
+
+The glen itself, we find as we make the descent into it, is a bit of true
+highland scenery—the only bit, indeed, which Orkney has to show. Its
+rugged, lonely grandeur is unique in these islands. Heather and bracken,
+wild rose and honeysuckle, juniper, dwarf birch, and willow mingle in
+such luxuriance as to suggest a more favoured latitude. The glen of
+Berriedale, which opens out of the main valley to the west, is sometimes
+called the “Garden of Orkney,” but it is a garden of nature’s own.
+
+Hoy is for the most part of a sterner aspect, as we shall quickly find
+if we cross the valley and dare to attack the Ward Hill. The only risk
+we shall run in doing so will be that of stiff limbs for several days
+to come, unless, indeed, a sudden descent of cloud or mist should find
+us unprovided with a guide who knows the “lay of the land.” The sturdy
+luxuriance of the heather is likely to be our chief difficulty in the
+climb.
+
+Standing at last on the summit of the Ward Hill, we find ourselves at
+a height of 1,564 feet above the sea, on a somewhat bare and stony
+plateau, and not far from the highest point there is, curiously enough,
+an excellent spring of water. A very clear day is necessary if we are
+to enjoy the sight of all that this elevation commands. We shall then
+see the whole archipelago spread out before us as on a map—a marvellous
+panorama of sea and land. Even the Fair Isle shows its conical head above
+the north-eastern horizon. The north coast of Scotland stretches out
+westward to Cape Wrath, and in the blue distance to the southwards many
+a peak of the Northern Highlands can be distinguished.
+
+If we descend the hill on its southern slope, we shall find a short
+though a steep way to the next point of interest in Hoy—the Dwarfie
+Stone. The description of this curious relic of the industry of some
+unknown workman has been well given by Hugh Miller, whose name may still
+be read carved on its bare interior, while the legendary interest may
+best be gathered from Sir Walter Scott in his notes to “The Pirate.”
+
+South of the valley in which the Dwarfie Stone lies, the ground rises
+to a long stretch of moorland, broken only by burns and lochs, till it
+dips down to the fringe of low, cultivated ground round Longhope, in the
+parish of Walls. This part of the island, however, is too distant to be
+included in our day’s excursion, and may be visited direct by steamer
+from Stromness some other day.
+
+Longhope, as we shall then see, is a sheltered bay nearly four miles long
+and about one mile in average width, and forms a magnificent natural
+harbour. Before the days of steam as many as a hundred and fifty vessels
+might be seen at anchor here, sheltered from the westerly gales which
+barred their passage through the Pentland Firth. The martello towers on
+either side of the entrance remind us of a time when storms were not
+the only danger to our shipping. Protection of a kind more necessary
+to-day is afforded by the strong revolving light on Cantick Head, and on
+occasion by the Longhope lifeboat, the heroism of whose hardy crew has
+often shown itself in deeds of noble daring such as no sea-roving Viking
+of the ancient days could have surpassed.
+
+At the western extremity of Longhope stands the mansion house of
+Melsetter, with its extensive gardens. On the farther side of the bay is
+South Walls, a peninsula which is literally “almost an island,” as the
+waters of Aith Hope almost meet those of Longhope across a narrow “aith”
+or isthmus.
+
+Opposite the entrance to Longhope, whence we start on our return journey
+to Stromness, we pass the island of Flotta, the “flat island” of the
+Norsemen, thriving and well cultivated, especially towards the east,
+where it curves round Pan Hope. To the south of it lies the green
+island of Switha, to the north-east the tiny Calf of Flotta, and to the
+north-west, off Mill Bay, the island of Faray. Farther north, and close
+to the shore of Hoy, lies Risa, or Risa Little, a favourite nesting-place
+of many of our sea-birds. The last island we notice on our homeward sail
+is Cava, a couple of miles eastward of which we see the beacon which
+marks a skerry known as the Barrel of Butter.
+
+The eastern group of the South Isles is more closely connected with the
+East Mainland, being divided from Holm by Holm Sound, where lie the two
+green islets of Lamb Holm and Glims Holm. Immediately to the south is
+Burray, the _Borgarey_ of the Norsemen, so called, doubtless, from the
+two brochs or _borgs_ whose ruins still exist in the north of the island.
+To the west of Burray lies the peat-covered islet of Hunda.
+
+South of Burray, across the narrow channel of Water Sound, lies the large
+and populous island of South Ronaldsay. At the head of the little bay
+of the same name stands the neat and thriving village—almost a town—of
+St. Margaret’s Hope, pleasantly situated among its fertile gardens and
+fields, and with a substantial pier to accommodate its increasing traffic.
+
+Westward from “The Hope” lies Hoxa, a peninsula cut off by Widewall Bay
+on the south. On the narrow isthmus or “aith” stands a green mound, the
+“haug,” or howe, from which the name of _Haugseith_ or Hoxa is derived.
+On the shores of Widewall Bay at low water we may see the submerged
+peat-moss and decaying remains of large trees which mark a bygone stage
+in the climate of the islands, and likewise tell of gradual subsidence of
+the land.
+
+From south to north, South Ronaldsay measures about seven miles. The
+surface is well cultivated, and the highest point, the Ward Hill, is
+only some three hundred and sixty feet high. The bay of Burwick, in the
+south-west corner of the island, was formerly the landing-place for
+the south mails, which were carried across the Pentland Firth in an
+open boat. Some of the rock scenery in the southern part is very fine,
+especially “The Gloup,” near Halcro Head, an open pit near the shore into
+which the sea enters by a subterranean channel.
+
+To the south-west we see the lonely, storm-swept island of Swona with its
+half-dozen or so of houses, and to the south rise the twin lighthouse
+towers on the Pentland Skerries, only one of which is now used as a
+light. Here we reach the southern extremity of the county, some forty
+miles in a straight line from North Ronaldsay, the extreme northern point.
+
+
+
+
+ROUND THE MAINLAND.
+
+
+First Day.
+
+The best way to see the Mainland, and the only way to appreciate its
+extent and the variety of its scenery, is to make use of the excellent
+roads by which it is now traversed and encircled. On this tour the
+bicycle will be our best conveyance; and if we can secure the company
+of a congenial friend, we may spend a few days very pleasantly and
+profitably on a ride round the Mainland.
+
+We shall begin with the East Mainland. Leaving Kirkwall by the Deerness
+road, we shortly afterwards find ourselves skimming down the long brae
+of Wideford—not Wideford Hill, but the farm of Wideford, about two miles
+south-east of the town. On our left is the wide expanse of Inganess Bay,
+with its beach of sand and shingle, where we can recall seeing on one
+memorable occasion a school of whales stranded after a great whale hunt:
+that was in our early school days, now rapidly becoming a part of the
+time known as “long ago.”
+
+[Illustration: _Orkney Villages.—II._
+
+1. St. Mary’s, Holm. 2. Orphir. 3. Kettletoft, Sanday. 4. Finstown. 5.
+Balfour Village, Shapinsay. 6. Evie.]
+
+We next pass the long, low peninsula of Tankerness, which lies between
+Inganess Bay and Deer Sound. On its south side, between the loch and the
+shore, stands the Hall of Tankerness, its position marked out by one of
+those rare patches of dark green which indicate that trees may still be
+made to grow in Orkney under intelligent fostering care. The cliffs near
+Rerwick Head are worth a visit. There are several caves, one of which,
+tradition affirms, gave refuge for weeks to one of the Covenanters who
+were shipwrecked at Deerness in 1679.
+
+After passing through the parish of St. Andrews, we reach that of
+Deerness. Deerness is literally a peninsula—very nearly an island indeed.
+The isthmus which joins it to the Mainland is not only narrow but low and
+sandy, and in former days mariners approaching from the south sometimes
+overlooked its existence when making for shelter, and came to grief
+accordingly. On this narrow neck of land is found an ancient mound or
+_haug_, which bears the name of Dingishowe.
+
+Deerness is on the whole flat, the highest point in the peninsula, the
+Ward, being only 285 feet above the sea. Yet the view from the road,
+which crosses the centre of the parish, is very extensive. To the south
+we notice the island of Copinsay, formerly much frequented for gathering
+sea-birds’ eggs, and its “Horse,” a steep black rock rising high out of
+the water.
+
+If time permits, it will be worth our while to cycle to Sandside, and
+thence walk along the cliffs to the Moul Head. The scenery here is fine,
+and we shall find the Broch, with its ancient ruined chapel, specially
+interesting. A church existed here before the Norse period, and was
+doubtless the cause of the name _Deir-ness_, or the ness of the Culdee
+priests, being given to the district. Not far distant we see another
+object which recalls priestly memories—a gray stone pillar erected to
+commemorate the shipwreck by which two hundred Covenanters lost their
+lives when on their way to be sold as slaves in the American Colonies or
+“Plantations.”
+
+The story is a dark and tragic one. There is some reason to believe that
+the shipwreck was not entirely an accident; it is said that the ship was
+not even provisioned for so long a voyage, and that the fate designed for
+the unhappy prisoners was not slavery but death by shipwreck whenever
+circumstances favourable for such an “accident” should arise.
+
+On returning to the St. Andrews road we may strike off towards the south
+and make our way homewards through the parish of Holm. The most fertile
+part of this parish lies in a broad valley sloping towards the south,
+where the crops ripen early. As we descend into this valley, the mellow
+light of an autumn afternoon reveals to us a view of rare sweetness and
+charm.
+
+Amid the river-like tidal stream of Holm Sound lie the green islets of
+Glims Holm and Lamb Holm or Laman, with Burray and the darker Hunda, and
+the imposing stretch of South Ronaldsay beyond. To the westward, Hoy
+rises in deep-blue shadow, reflected in the still surface of Scapa Flow.
+Over the gleam of the Pentland Firth we see the flat shores of Caithness,
+while the more distant peaks of the Sutherland mountains rise sharp and
+clear above the horizon.
+
+But there are a few miles of road yet to cover, so we hold on our way
+towards the seashore, where the steep-gabled mansion of Graemeshall
+stands beside its pretty reed-fringed loch. A mile beyond lies the
+village of St. Mary’s, with its pier and its line of cottages stretching
+along the beach; and after taking a passing glance at this well-known
+fishing-station, we turn our faces northwards. We have a long hilly ride
+in front of us here, and by the time we reach the end of it our interest
+in the charming views is not so keen as it was. Then comes the welcome
+change of gradient; we spin down the “Distillery Brae,” and soon our
+circuit of the East Mainland is completed.
+
+
+Second Day.
+
+Our second day’s circuit will take us round the central part of the
+Mainland, which is divided from the East Mainland by the isthmus of
+Scapa, and from the larger mass of the West Mainland by the lochs of
+Stenness and Harray and the wide isthmus between the latter and the Bay
+of Firth.
+
+We leave Kirkwall by the “Head of the Town” and keep to the old Scapa
+road for about a mile, when we turn sharp to the right and soon begin the
+long ascent of nearly three hundred feet to Greenigo. This is followed by
+a corresponding dip down to the valley of Kirbuster, whose loch lies on
+our right; but as fishing is not our programme at present we keep to the
+road as it ascends once more, and soon find ourselves entering upon the
+broad fertile slope which forms the most thickly inhabited part of the
+parish of Orphir.
+
+Westward we see the road stretching across this well-cultivated district,
+dotted with houses large and small, which gather here and there in groups
+and clusters almost ranking as villages. Time does not press, and we are
+out for the purpose of seeing all we can, so we decide to leave the main
+road here and take a by-road to the right which skirts the east side of
+the Ward Hill. It is fairly steep, and the riding cannot be called good,
+but it has the advantage of bringing us within a mile of the Ward Hill
+itself, the top of which we shall find a pleasant halting-place.
+
+[Illustration: _Orphir._]
+
+Leaving our bicycles by the roadside, we face a pretty stiff climb
+through luxuriant heather and bracken, and soon find ourselves on the
+highest of a group of hilltops, 880 feet above the sea. If we are
+favoured with a clear atmosphere, the scene before us will amply repay
+the labour of our ascent.
+
+The view from the Ward Hill is supplementary to that from Wideford Hill.
+Parts of the landscape to the east and north are shut out by Wideford
+Hill itself, by the long Keelylang ridge, and by the broad-backed mass
+between Harray and Evie. To the south the scene is somewhat similar to
+that seen from Wideford Hill; to the westward, however, the panorama now
+before us is unique.
+
+Ireland, or _Ayre-land_, as it once was, sloping gently downwards to
+its bay, lies at our feet, a patchwork of farms and fields in varying
+tints of green and yellow and brown. Beyond it, the picturesque “western
+capital,” Stromness, fringes its landlocked harbour, secure in the
+shelter of the protecting hills behind. To the left lies Graemsay with
+its lighthouses, an “emerald set in a sapphire sea,” and beyond it the
+frowning cliffs and the purple ridge of Hoy dominate the scene.
+
+Away towards the west the horizon line, more than thirty miles distant as
+we now see it, cuts sharp and straight against the soft blue sky. If we
+have a good glass, we may make out on this line, just above the town of
+Stromness, the Stack of Suleskerry.
+
+[Illustration: _Stromness from the east._]
+
+But our day’s ride is yet mostly before us, so we descend from the Ward
+or “watch-tower,” mount our bicycles, regain the main road, and continue
+our way through the smiling landscape which lies in front of us. Orphir
+was an important district in the old Norse days, and a residence of the
+Orkney Earls stood on the seashore near the parish church; and adjoining
+that church may still be seen part of a much earlier church, one of the
+few circular temples in this country which were built in the time of the
+Crusades on the model of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem.
+In the little cove sheltered by the Head and the Holm of Houton, some of
+King Hakon’s ships found shelter during the winter after the battle of
+Largs, while the king himself lay dying in the ancient palace at Kirkwall.
+
+[Illustration: _Ruins of circular church, Orphir._]
+
+After a particularly stiff ride over Scorriedale, we enter upon a long
+and somewhat uninteresting stretch of road through Clestran and Ireland,
+and at last reach the main road from Kirkwall to Stromness, close to the
+Bridge of Waith, which crosses the narrow strait between the Loch of
+Stenness and the sea. We can see just above this bridge the traces of
+a still older one, and the name Waith probably indicates that this was
+originally a “wading-place” or ford at low tide.
+
+But we are not to cross the bridge to-day; we turn back towards Kirkwall
+to complete our tour of the Central Mainland. The road runs along the
+side of the loch, through the pretty district of Clouston, and past the
+comfortable hotel which has been erected there for the convenience of
+such summer visitors as are attracted by the trout-fishing of the loch.
+The largest trout ever seen was caught in the Loch of Stenness, and if
+the proverb is true that “there are as good fish in the sea as ever came
+out of it,” the same may yet be proved true of this loch.
+
+We halt only long enough to obtain a welcome cup of tea, and then
+continue our ride. Less than a mile brings us to the road which leads
+over the Bridge of Brogar to the Standing Stones, and we decide on making
+a brief pilgrimage to this the most ancient shrine in the islands—if,
+indeed, it was a shrine. But as the afternoon is wearing towards evening,
+and we have been here several times before, we merely sit down on the
+short heather beside the circle long enough to let the mystery and
+“eeriness” of the scene sink into our minds and set us wondering silently
+what it all meant in the far-off days when it was new.
+
+We need not wait here in the hope of finding out, so we ride back past
+the tall “sentinel” stone and the smaller circle of Stenness to the main
+road. Another mile brings us abreast of Maeshowe, and with the spirit
+of the past upon us we stop once more. We obtain the key of this famous
+chambered mound from the farmhouse opposite, in order that we may spend a
+few minutes more in “wondering.”
+
+There is nothing about Maeshowe, or even about the Standing Stones, to
+attract the superficial mind, but to those who “wonder,” and who can
+see things which vanished from outward view many centuries ago, those
+places are almost holy ground. They embody and embalm some of the deepest
+thoughts of a long-vanished people; and though we can hardly guess what
+these thoughts were, the monuments are sacred relics to us. They are
+milestones, we may say, marking early stages in the long advance of our
+race.
+
+[Illustration: _The Sentinel Stone, Stenness._]
+
+After leaving Maeshowe we face an incline just heavy enough to recall our
+thoughts to the present, and soon we are passing through the pretty glen
+which opens on the Bay of Firth. The patches of shrubbery and trees round
+Binscarth on our left give a pleasing variety to the scenery, and show us
+once more the possibilities and the limitations of our islands as regards
+the cultivation of woods.
+
+The village of Finstown, the half-way house between Kirkwall and
+Stromness, has a beautiful situation, which can be better appreciated
+from the hillside above it than from the road, and it is well placed for
+attracting a share of the ordinary business of the districts around. It
+has a prosperous look, and its name reminds us that it claims to be more
+than a mere village.
+
+[Illustration: _Maeshowe._]
+
+Before us on our left lies the wide, shallow Bay of Firth, or “The
+Firth,” as it might more correctly be called, which gives its name to the
+surrounding district. To the Norsemen it was the “Sea-trout Firth,” and
+must have been important for its fishing. In more recent times it had
+a famous oyster-fishery; but that too has become a thing of the past,
+though by the exercise of a little foresight and public spirit it could
+easily be restored.
+
+In the bay lie the Holm of Grimbister and the island of Damsay, or “St.
+Adamnan’s Isle.” The latter, as its name indicates, was the site of a
+Culdee monastery, and is mentioned in the later Saga story. Damsay has
+also its share of the legendary tales which are connected with many of
+the old ecclesiastical centres in the island.
+
+On our right the old Kirkwall road branches off, passing over the
+southern shoulder of Wideford Hill; and beside it, on a rising ground,
+we see the manse of Firth, the home of the soldier-poet Malcolm, whose
+father was minister of the parish. Soon our road bears to the left to
+avoid the steep, dark mass of Wideford Hill; we cross the broad stretch
+of Quanterness, and a bend to the right brings us once more in view of
+Kirkwall, lying beyond the Peerie Sea, whose still waters mirror the dark
+mass of St. Magnus, now gleaming with a dusky red in the glow of sunset.
+
+
+Third Day.
+
+Our third day’s tour is of a different character; we are to make our
+way through Rendall and Evie to Birsay. As we shall spend the night
+there, our bicycles must be loaded with a few necessary articles; but
+old campaigners always march light, and our baggage is reduced to its
+absolute minimum.
+
+The first stage of our journey takes us to Finstown, along the main
+Stromness road which we traversed yesterday. Then we turn sharp to
+the right, and cross the bridge over the mouth of the “Oyce,” which
+reminds us of the Peerie Sea and its Ayre. The district in front of us,
+the “North Side” of Firth, consists of a broad slope, almost a plain,
+fringing the bay, and the steep escarpment of a long range of hills on
+our left. Most of this range is 500 feet in height, and parts exceed 700
+feet.
+
+There is a certain monotony about the road, due to its straightness; but
+there is really no reason why it should turn either to the right hand or
+to the left, so we pedal away, mile after mile. When opposite the Bay of
+Isbister we pass a very pleasing valley, that of Settascarth, through
+which a road crosses the long ridge into the parish of Harray. Then we
+reach the parish of Rendall, and find a long ascent in front of us,
+as the road runs straight up the “dale” whence the name of the parish
+arises. We pass between the high, steep ridge on the left and a group
+of hills on the right which lie between us and the sea, forming a broad
+peninsula between the Bay of Isbister and Woodwick.
+
+When we reach the summit of this rise, we are quite ready to halt for a
+while and enjoy the new panorama which opens out to the northward. The
+inner group of the North Isles—Rousay, Egilsay, Wyre, and Gairsay—lie at
+our feet, as it seems; and the more distant members of the group can be
+easily made out. Rousay is the dominant feature in the landscape, and its
+steep brown hills, descending in step-like “hammars,” make an impressive
+background to the green fringe of farmland and the liquid blue of the sea.
+
+As we resume our way along an undulating road, we pass through a district
+which, despite its northerly exposure, seems able to support a large
+population, and numerous tidy cottages cluster here and there along the
+roadside. By-and-by the cultivated strip becomes narrower, the sandy
+beach of Aikerness gives place to the rocky shores of Burgar, and the
+road turns inland with a steep incline to dip down on the other side of
+the ridge towards the Loch of Swannay.
+
+Here we shall find it well worth our while to make a somewhat longer halt
+than before, and, leaving our bicycles, we turn to climb Costa Hill, and
+to view the wild cliffs at Costa Head. From the hill we look down upon
+the mysterious green islet of Eynhallow, the “Holy Island,” where the
+ruins of an ancient monastery have been traced, and round which more than
+the usual crop of legends has sprung up. A fair contrast it offers to the
+bold, rocky cliffs of Rousay just beyond.
+
+If it happens to be the time of spring tides, and the ebb is running
+out, we shall see at this place one of the most impressive sights which
+our coasts present. However calm be the sea, as soon as the tide begins
+to gather strength, the channels on either side of Eynhallow for some
+distance out to sea become a mass of heaving, foaming billows, reminding
+one of the long stretch of boiling rapids below the Falls of Niagara.
+
+And that is just what this “roost” is—rapids on the course of the tidal
+river which is now sweeping westward through Eynhallow Sound. When we
+look at our pocket map, we see that on each side of the islet the depth
+of water is only about five fathoms. In about a quarter of a mile it
+becomes ten fathoms, and within a mile of the west end of the island
+twenty fathoms. Thus the tidal river first passes over a ridge on each
+side of Eynhallow, where it is less than thirty feet deep, and then
+plunges down a slope which dips nearly one hundred feet in a mile.
+
+If there is a long swell rolling in from the Atlantic, as there often is
+on our western shores, the turmoil is increased, and the boiling fury of
+Burgar Roost, as it is called, is a sight which it is worth going far to
+see. The roost which is formed in Hoy Sound with a strong ebb-tide is due
+to similar causes but there the dip in the sea-bottom is not so steep.
+When the tide turns, the change seems almost magical, and in a short time
+there may be not a ripple on the water to mark the scene of this mad
+dance of the billows.
+
+[Illustration: _Birsay, the Barony._]
+
+The cliffs at Costa Head are the highest on the Mainland, but we can only
+see them from above, and thus we lose much of their wild grandeur. We
+enjoy, however, an impressive view of the cave-pierced shores of Rousay,
+and of the stern ramparts of Noup Head, in Westray, with its sentinel
+lighthouse.
+
+Sooner or later we must return to our bicycles, and now we coast rapidly
+down to the Loch of Swannay, sweep round its northern shore, and,
+crossing the burn, climb the opposite slope towards the part of Birsay
+quaintly named, “Abune the Hill,” or “Above the Hill,” as the map-makers
+have it. Instead of following the road which strikes southward through
+the centre of the parish, we turn towards the west, and by means of an
+older road make our way to the Barony of Birsay, where we shall find
+accommodation for the night.
+
+But we have still a long evening before us, and after due rest and
+refreshment we shall find time to explore our surroundings. The place is
+full of historical interest. The old name of _Birgisharad_, in which we
+may trace the names of Birsay and Harray, indicates that here was the
+chief hunting-ground of the Norse Jarls. The mixture of hill and loch
+and stream, the valleys being then perhaps furnished with coverts of
+brushwood where now there is only pasture or crops, made this northern
+part of the Mainland the best hunting-ground in the county.
+
+Birsay may be said to have been the capital of the Earldom at one
+time. It was the favourite residence of the Earls, and it was also the
+ecclesiastical centre, and the residence of the first bishop of the
+islands. When the sainted Earl Magnus was slain, it was in Christ’s Kirk
+in Birsay that his body first found burial. On the Brough we may still
+see the ruins of a very ancient chapel dedicated to St. Peter.
+
+The Stewart Earls, of dishonoured memory, found Birsay an attractive
+locality. They raised on the site of its old Norse castle a palace built
+after the plan of Holyrood in Edinburgh, the ruins of which still form
+one of the chief features in the landscape. The whole district, in short,
+is full of those remains which we have called milestones of the past,
+marking stages in the history of our race.
+
+The shore near the Barony is interesting. We may walk to the Brough at
+low water, but we must take care not to be caught and imprisoned by the
+returning tide. The cliffs rise to the southward, and in Marwick Head
+reach a height of nearly three hundred feet.
+
+[Illustration: _The Brough of Birsay._]
+
+The chief attraction for tourists is the Loch of Boardhouse and its trout
+fishing. This loch receives the drainage of a wide stretch of country,
+its chief feeder being the Hillside Burn, which rises in the hills
+between Rendall and Harray, flows north-west for some five miles to the
+Loch of Hundland, and under the name of the Burn of Kirbuster reaches
+the larger loch in about another mile. This drainage basin is next in
+importance and area to that of the “Great Lakes” of Orkney, the Lochs of
+Stenness and Harray.
+
+If we have time and energy left to climb Ravie Hill, on the south side of
+the loch, we shall get an excellent idea of the “lay of the land,” and
+the relation of these two loch basins. We may notice in particular that
+the Harray basin extends northward almost to the hill on which we stand,
+and includes a number of small lochs near it which look as if they ought
+to belong to the Boardhouse or Birsay system.
+
+If scenery rather than geography is our study, we shall be equally well
+repaid for this walk. From its isolated position, Ravie Hill commands
+a very extensive view, despite its moderate elevation. The panorama of
+hill and valley and plain, of land and lake and sea, which is spread
+out around us, is really one of the finest in Orkney, and we can quite
+understand how the picturesque Barony came to occupy so important a place
+in the past. Even at the present day its rich soil and pleasant situation
+give it some right to be called the “Garden of Orkney.” But meantime we
+must make our way back to our inn, for the sun is dipping in the western
+sea, and to-morrow will bring us fresh tasks to perform.
+
+
+Fourth Day.
+
+Our fourth and last day’s exploration will be confined to the western
+shore of the Mainland, between Birsay and Stromness. As we leave the
+Barony and ride along the south side of the loch we are tempted to stop
+and view once more the landscape from Ravie Hill, before we finally turn
+our back upon this romantic corner of the Mainland. While we watch the
+people at work in the fields, and listen to the restful sounds of country
+life, it is hard to picture the past whose relics stand yonder, plain in
+our view.
+
+If Birsay were to display before our eyes this morning a pageant of her
+past history, the procession would be a varied one. The hunting-parties
+of the Norse Earls, the coming of the first bishop to teach the new
+faith, the building of the first Norse church, the burial of Earl Magnus,
+the procession of pilgrims seeking miraculous healing at his tomb, the
+removal of the sacred relics to the church of St. Olaf at Kirkwall to
+await the building of a more magnificent shrine, the ruinous favour of
+the Scottish Earls, the raising of a second Holyrood in the old Barony
+whose stately splendour was the measure of the robbery and extortion
+suffered by the people, the passing of this incongruous pomp and the
+return of welcome obscurity and quiet—truly a long and picturesque
+procession!
+
+We resume our journey, however, and soon reach Twatt, where the road
+divides. The branch to the left leads to the important district of
+Dounby, on the borders of the three parishes of Birsay, Harray, and
+Sandwick, and then passes through the whole length of Harray to join the
+Kirkwall and Stromness road.
+
+Harray is an interesting parish. It is the only parish in Orkney which
+does not touch the sea. Its soil is on the whole fertile, the surface
+being diversified by moraines brought down by glaciers from the steep
+hills to the east. The farms are generally small, but the farmers are
+mostly in the happy position of being owners as well as occupiers, and
+the number of “lairds” in this parish has long been proverbial in Orkney.
+
+We decide, however, on taking the road to the right, as we wish to see
+something of the famous “west shore.” Three or four miles brings us
+to the head of the Harray Loch; but instead of descending to the mill
+of Rango we turn to the right at the cross-roads, and shortly reach
+the hamlet of Aith, beside the Loch of Skaill, our charming “Loch in
+Orcady.” Here we turn once more to the right, following a road which
+skirts the loch and leads us almost to the shores of the Bay of Skaill, a
+fine sweep of sandy beach, but exposed to the full fury of the Atlantic.
+
+[Illustration: _Marwick Head, Birsay._]
+
+At its southern corner we examine a large “Pict’s House,” now opened
+up—the “Weem of Scarabrae.” Then we decide to climb the slope beyond and
+visit the “Hole o’ Roo,” a famous cave piercing a bold headland, which
+from the horizontal lie of the rock strata looks as if it had been built
+of gigantic flagstones by a race of Titans.
+
+We are now entering on the finest stretch of cliff scenery in the
+islands, with the exception of Hoy, and from here to Stromness, a
+distance of some eight miles, the walk is one to remember and to repeat.
+But now for the first time we find our bicycles a hindrance instead of
+a help, and we are at a loss what to do with them. We may decide to
+turn back to the main road, ride to Stromness, and, leaving them there,
+explore the coast on foot, which is the most satisfactory plan. If we
+decide to take them on with us, we shall find that considerable stretches
+of the ground are level enough to permit of a rough ride on the turf, and
+for the last three miles of the distance there is a fair road.
+
+[Illustration: _The Castle of Yesnaby._]
+
+The next point of interest after leaving Row Head is the Noust of
+Bigging, sheltered by its Brough, an excellent place from which to watch
+the Atlantic breakers when a heavy sea is running. A little way to the
+south is the Castle of Yesnaby, one of those isolated stacks of rock
+which have withstood the battering of the ocean while the cliffs around
+have crumbled and fallen. Its slender base, however, proclaims that its
+fate is only a matter of time.
+
+In another mile and a half, after passing Lyre Geo and Inganess Geo, two
+impressive examples of how rocks decay, we reach the Castle of North
+Gaulton, a singularly slender and graceful pillar of rock. Then we cross
+a stretch of low ground, after which there is a steep climb up to the
+summit of the Black Craig. The height of the hill is 360 feet, and that
+of the cliff little less, while its sheer plunge down into the waves
+makes it look higher than it really is.
+
+As we descend towards the south we pass over a district which is sacred
+in the eyes of geologists, for it was here that Hugh Miller discovered
+the fossil remains of the _Asterolepis_ or “star-scale” fish, a monster
+of the ancient days when the rocks of this hill were being laid down
+as mud and sand on the bottom of a primeval lake. The great geologist
+describes this district as “the land of fish,” and the rock strata fairly
+swarm with fossils.
+
+The shore in front is now low and tame, but the whole district from hill
+to sea is fertile and well peopled. That it was so in the past also we
+see sufficient proof. For there, on the shore of Breckness, stand the
+ruins of a mansion built by Bishop Graeme, who knew well where to build;
+and a mile beyond it, in the lonely churchyard by the lonely sea, rises
+a fragment of an ancient church. There stood the church of Stromness in
+former days, and there also the manse; while the names of Innertown and
+Outertown doubtless refer to their relative nearness to this centre of
+parish life.
+
+[Illustration: _Round about Stromness._
+
+1. Dundas Street. 2. Church Road. 3. Victoria Street. 4. From the South
+End. 5. From the Harbour. 6. From the Hill.]
+
+But times have changed, and it is no longer fertility of soil but
+convenience for trade which draws men together in close neighbourhood,
+and so the modern Stromness arose on the shore of that romantic little
+bay which spreads out beneath us as we cross the ridge to the left. That
+landlocked sea, and not the rocky hillside, was the source of its life
+and growth; and as we note the frequent steamships and the clustered
+fishing-fleet we realize that it is still the sea which brings prosperity
+to the little gray town.
+
+Here, then, our circuit of the Mainland fitly ends, for in the opinion of
+many the town of Stromness, the “ness of the tide-stream,” is the fairest
+spot in all the islands. However this may be, it is indeed fair, and the
+Stromness boy will wander far and sail over many seas ere he will find a
+fairer scene than his island home;—fair when it lies before him under the
+pearl-gray light of its northern sky; fairer still, perchance, when the
+golden haze of memory gilds the landscape, and the joyous vision of the
+outward eye has given place to the wistful retrospect of the imagination.
+
+[Illustration: _The Black Craig._]
+
+
+
+
+SKETCHES BY HUGH MILLER.
+
+
+The Dwarfie Stone.
+
+We landed at Hoy, on a rocky stretch of shore composed of the gray
+flagstones of the district. They spread out here in front of the tall
+hills composed of the overlying sandstone, in a green, undulating
+platform, resembling a somewhat uneven esplanade spread out in front of a
+steep rampart. With the upper deposit a new style of scenery commences,
+unique in these islands. The hills, bold and abrupt, rise from fourteen
+to sixteen hundred feet over the sea-level; and the valleys by which they
+are traversed—no mere shallow inflections of the general surface, like
+most of the other valleys of Orkney—are of profound depth, precipitous,
+imposing, and solitary. The sudden change from the soft, low, and
+comparatively tame to the bold, stern, and high serves admirably to show
+how much the character of a landscape may depend upon the formation which
+composes it.
+
+A walk of somewhat less than two miles brought me into the depths of a
+brown, shaggy valley, so profoundly solitary that it does not contain a
+single human habitation, nor, with one interesting exception, a single
+trace of the hand of man. As the traveller approaches by a path somewhat
+elevated, in order to avoid the peaty bogs of the bottom, along the
+slopes of the northern side of the dell, he sees, amid the heath below,
+what at first seems to be a rhomboidal piece of pavement of pale Old Red
+Sandstone, bearing atop a few stunted tufts of vegetation. There are no
+neighbouring objects of a known character by which to estimate its size.
+The precipitous hill-front behind is more than a thousand feet in height;
+the greatly taller Ward Hill of Hoy, which frowns over it on the opposite
+side, is at least five hundred feet higher; and dwarfed by these giants
+it seems a mere pavier’s flag, mayhap some five or six feet square by
+some eighteen inches to two feet in depth. It is only on approaching it
+within a few yards that we find it to be an enormous stone, nearly thirty
+feet in length by almost fifteen feet in breadth, and in some places,
+though it thins wedgelike towards one of the edges, more than six feet
+in thickness—forming altogether such a mass as the quarrier would detach
+from the solid rock to form the architrave of some vast gateway or the
+pediment of some colossal statue. A cave-like excavation, nearly three
+feet square, and rather more than seven feet in depth, opens on its gray
+and lichened side. The excavation is widened within, along the opposite
+walls, into two uncomfortably short beds, very much resembling those of
+the cabin of a small coasting vessel. One of the two beds is furnished
+with a protecting ledge and a pillow of stone hewn out of the solid
+mass; while the other, which is some five or six inches shorter than its
+neighbour, and presents altogether more the appearance of a place of
+penance than of repose, lacks both cushion and ledge. An aperture, which
+seems to have been originally of a circular form, and about two and a
+half feet in diameter, but which some unlucky herd-boy, apparently in the
+want of some better employment, has considerably mutilated and widened,
+opens at the inner extremity of the excavation to the roof, as the hatch
+of a vessel opens from the hold to the deck; for it is by far too wide in
+proportion to the size of the apartment to be regarded as a chimney. A
+gray, rudely-hewn block of sandstone, which, though greatly too ponderous
+to be moved by any man of ordinary strength, seems to have served the
+purpose of a door, lies prostrate beside the opening in front.
+
+[Illustration: _The Dwarfie Stone._]
+
+And such is the famous Dwarfie Stone of Hoy, as firmly fixed in our
+literature by the genius of Sir Walter Scott as in this wide valley
+by its ponderous weight and breadth of base, and regarding which—for
+it shares in the general obscurity of the other ancient remains
+of Orkney—the antiquary can do little more than repeat somewhat
+incredulously what tradition tells him—namely, that it was the work many
+ages ago of an ugly, malignant goblin, half earth, half air, the elfin
+Trolld—a personage, it is said, that even within the last century used
+occasionally to be seen flitting about in its neighbourhood.
+
+I was fortunate in a fine, breezy day, clear and sunshiny, save where the
+shadows of a few dense, piled-up clouds swept dark athwart the landscape.
+In the secluded recesses of the valley all was hot, heavy, and still;
+though now and then a fitful snatch of a breeze, the mere fragment of
+some broken gust that seemed to have lost its way, tossed for a moment
+the white cannach of the bogs, or raised spirally into the air, for a few
+yards, the light beards of some seeding thistle, and straightway let them
+down again. Suddenly, however, about noon a shower broke thick and heavy
+against the dark sides and gray scalp of the Ward Hill and came sweeping
+down the valley. I did what Norna of the Fitful Head had, according to
+the novelist, done before me in similar circumstances—crept for shelter
+into the larger bed of the cell, which, though rather scant, taken fairly
+lengthwise, for a man of five feet eleven, I found, by stretching myself
+diagonally from corner to corner, no very uncomfortable lounging-place in
+a thunder-shower. Some provident herd-boy had spread it over, apparently
+months before, with a littering of heath and fern, which now formed a
+dry, springy couch; and as I lay wrapped up in my plaid, listening to the
+raindrops as they pattered thick and heavy atop or slanted through the
+broken hatchway to the vacant bed on the opposite side of the excavation,
+I called up the wild narrative of Norna and felt all its poetry.
+
+The Dwarfie Stone has been a good deal undervalued by some writers, such
+as the historian of Orkney, Mr. Barry; and, considered simply as a work
+of art or labour, it certainly does not stand high. When tracing, as I
+lay abed, the marks of the tool, which in the harder portions of the
+stone are still distinctly visible, I just thought how that, armed with
+pick and chisel, and working as I was once accustomed to work, I could
+complete such another excavation to order in some three weeks or a month.
+But then I could not make my excavation a thousand years old, nor envelop
+its origin in the sun-gilt vapours of a poetic obscurity, nor connect it
+with the supernatural through the influence of wild, ancient traditions,
+nor yet encircle it with a classic halo borrowed from the undying
+inventions of an exquisite literary genius.
+
+The pillow I found littered over with the names of visitors; but the
+stone—an exceedingly compact red sandstone—had resisted the imperfect
+tools at the command of the traveller, usually a nail or a knife, and
+so there were but two of the names decipherable—that of an “H. Ross,
+1735,” and that of a “P. Folster, 1830.” The rain still pattered heavily
+overhead, and with my geological chisel and hammer I did, to beguile the
+time, what I very rarely do—added my name to the others, in characters
+which, if both they and the Dwarfie Stone get but fair play, will be
+distinctly legible two centuries hence. In what state will the world
+then exist, or what sort of ideas will fill the head of the man who, when
+the rock has well-nigh yielded up its charge, will decipher the name
+for the last time, and inquire, mayhap, regarding the individual whom
+it now designates, as I did this morning when I asked, “Who was this H.
+Ross, and who this P. Folster?”? I remember when it would have saddened
+me to think that there would in all probability be as little response in
+the one case as in the other; but as men rise in years they become more
+indifferent than in early youth to “that life which wits inherit after
+death,” and are content to labour on and be obscure.
+
+The sun broke out in great beauty after the shower, glistening on a
+thousand minute runnels that came streaming down the precipices, and
+revealing through the thin, vapoury haze the horizontal lines of strata
+that bar the hillsides, like courses of ashlar in a building. I failed,
+however, to detect, amid the general many-pointed glitter by which the
+blue, gauze-like mist was bespangled, the light of the great carbuncle
+for which the Ward Hill has long been famous—that wondrous gem, according
+to Sir Walter, “that, though it gleams ruddy as a furnace to them that
+view it from beneath, ever becomes invisible to him whose daring foot
+scales the precipices whence it darts its splendour.”
+
+
+The Standing Stones.
+
+[Illustration: _The Standing Stones—The Ring of Brogar._]
+
+The Standing Stones—second in Britain, of their kind, only to those of
+Stonehenge—occur in two groups; the smaller group (composed, however,
+of the taller stones) on the southern promontory, the larger on the
+northern one. Rude and shapeless, and bearing no other impress of the
+designing faculty than that they are stuck endwise in the earth, and
+form, as a whole, regular figures on the sward, there is yet a sublime
+solemnity about them, unsurpassed in effect by any ruin I have yet seen,
+however grand in its design or imposing in its proportions. Their very
+rudeness, associated with their ponderous bulk and weight, adds to their
+impressiveness. When there is art and taste enough in a country to hew an
+ornate column, no one marvels that there should be also mechanical skill
+enough in it to set it up on end; but the men who tore from the quarry
+these vast slabs, some of them eighteen feet in height over the soil,
+and raised them where they now stand, must have been ignorant savages
+unacquainted with machinery, and unfurnished, apparently, with a single
+tool.
+
+The consideration, too, that these remains—eldest of the works of man
+in this country—should have so long survived all definite tradition of
+the purposes which they were raised to serve, so that we now merely know
+regarding them that they were religious in their uses—products of that
+ineradicable instinct of man’s nature which leads him in so many various
+ways to attempt conciliating the Powers of another world—serves greatly
+to heighten their effect.
+
+The appearance of the obelisks, too, harmonizes well with their great
+antiquity and the obscurity of their origin. For about a man’s height
+from the ground they are covered thick by the shorter lichens—chiefly
+the gray-stone _parmelia_—here and there embroidered by the golden-hued
+patches of the yellow _parmelia_ of the wall; but their heads and
+shoulders, raised beyond the reach alike of the herd-boy and of his
+herd, are covered by an extraordinary profusion of a flowing beard-like
+lichen of unusual length—the lichen _calicarus_ (or, according to modern
+botanists, _Ramalina scopulorum_), in which they look like an assemblage
+of ancient Druids, mysteriously stern and invincibly silent and shaggy as
+the Bard of Gray, when
+
+    “Loose his beard and hoary hair
+    Streamed like a meteor on the troubled air.”
+
+The day was perhaps too sunny and clear for seeing the Standing Stones
+to the best possible advantage. They could not be better placed than on
+their flat promontories, surrounded by the broad plain of an extensive
+lake, in a waste, lonely, treeless country, that presents no bold
+competing features to divert attention from them as the great central
+objects of the landscape; but the gray of the morning or an atmosphere of
+fog and vapour would have associated better with the misty obscurity of
+their history, their shaggy forms, and their livid tints than the glare
+of a cloudless sun, that brought out in hard, clear relief their rude
+outlines, and gave to each its sharp, dark patch of shadow. Gray-coloured
+objects, when tall and imposing, but of irregular form, are seen always
+to most advantage in an uncertain light—in fog or frost-rime, or under a
+scowling sky, or, as Parnell well expresses it, “amid the livid gleams
+of night.” They appeal, if I may so express myself, to the sentiment of
+the ghostly and the spectral, and demand at least a partial envelopment
+of the obscure. Burns, with the true tact of the genuine poet, develops
+the sentiment almost instinctively in an exquisite stanza in one of his
+less-known songs. “The Posie,”—
+
+    “The hawthorn I will pu’, wi’ its locks o’ siller gray,
+    Where, like an aged man, it stands at break o’ day.”
+
+Scott, too, in describing these very stones, chooses the early morning as
+the time in which to exhibit them, when they “stood in the gray light of
+the dawning, like the phantom forms of antediluvian giants, who, shrouded
+in the habiliments of the dead, come to revisit, by the pale light, the
+earth which they had plagued with their oppression, and polluted by their
+sins, till they brought down upon it the vengeance of the long-suffering
+heaven.” On another occasion he introduces them as “glimmering, a grayish
+white, in the rising sun, and projecting far to the westward their long,
+gigantic shadows.” And Malcolm, in the exercise of a similar faculty with
+that of Burns and of Scott, surrounds them, in his description, with a
+somewhat similar atmosphere of partial dimness and obscurity:—
+
+    “The hoary rocks, of giant size,
+    That o’er the land in circles rise,
+    Of which tradition may not tell.
+    Fit circles for the wizard’s spell,
+    Seen far amidst the scowling storm,
+    Seem each a tall and phantom form,
+    As hurrying vapours o’er them flee,
+    Frowning in grim obscurity,
+    While, like a dread voice from the past,
+    Around them moans the autumnal blast.”
+
+There exist curious analogies between the earlier stages of society and
+the more immature periods of life—between the savage and the child;
+and the huge circle of Stennis seems suggestive of one of these. It is
+considerably more than four hundred feet in diameter; and the stones
+which compose it, varying from three to fourteen feet in height, must
+have been originally from thirty-five to forty in number, though only
+sixteen now remain erect. A mound and fosse, still distinctly traceable,
+run round the whole; and there are several mysterious-looking tumuli
+outside, bulky enough to remind one of the lesser moraines of the
+geologist. But the circle, notwithstanding its imposing magnitude, is
+but a huge child’s house after all—one of those circles of stones which
+children lay down on their village green, and then, in the exercise of
+that imaginative faculty which distinguishes between the young of the
+human animal and those of every other creature, convert, by a sort of
+conventionalism, into a church or dwelling-house, within which they
+seat themselves and enact their imitations of the employments of their
+seniors, whether domestic or ecclesiastical. The circle of Stennis was a
+circle, say the antiquaries, dedicated to the sun. The group of stones on
+the southern promontory of the lake formed but a half-circle, and it was
+a half-circle dedicated to the moon. To the circular sun the great rude
+children of an immature age of the world had laid down a circle of stones
+on the one promontory; to the moon, in her half-orbed state, they had
+laid down a half-circle on the other; and in propitiating these material
+deities they employed in their respective enclosures, in the exercise of
+a wild, unregulated fancy, uncouth, irrational rites.
+
+                                 HUGH MILLER (_“Rambles of a Geologist.”_)
+
+
+
+
+THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. MAGNUS.
+
+
+You would hardly expect to find an ancient cathedral up in those Orkney
+Islands that one usually sees huddled away in a spare corner of the map,
+and made to look even smaller than they are by the exigencies of space.
+It is curious to think of: once, long ago, strange ships with monstrous
+figure-heads and painted sides, full of the northern actors of history,
+crawled with their lines of oars into the sounds and bays of these
+islands, till for centuries they became the stage for dramatic events
+and stirring personages. Some of the players bore names that any history
+book tells of. Harald Hardrada, old King Haco, Bothwell, and Montrose
+have all played their parts. And there are others, earls and prelates,
+and northern kings, and old sea-rovers, who were really far better worth
+knowing than half the puppets with more familiar labels. Then, gradually
+the lights went out and the audience turned away to look at other things,
+and the Orkneymen were left to observe the Sabbath and elect a County
+Council. One by one the old buildings toppled down, and the old names
+changed, and the old customs faded, till the place of the islands in
+history became their place upon the map; but time and men have spared one
+thing—this old cathedral church of St. Magnus in Kirkwall.
+
+[Illustration: _In Kirkwall._
+
+1. Earl’s Palace. 2. Bridge Street. 3. Albert Street. 4. Bishop’s Palace.]
+
+On the ancient houses of the little borough and the winding slit of a
+street, the old red church still looks down benignly, and sometimes (of
+a Sunday, I think, especially) a little humorously. Over the gray roofs
+and the tree-tops in sheltered gardens, and the black mites of people
+passing on their business, its lustreless Gothic eyes see a wide expanse
+of land and a wider and brighter sweep of sea. The winding sounds and
+broadening bays join and divide and join again, through and through
+its island dominions. Backwards and forwards, twice a day, the flood
+tide pours from the open Atlantic, and each channel becomes an eastward
+flowing river; and then from the North Sea the ebb sets the races running
+to the west. Everywhere is the sight or the sound of the sea—rollers on
+the western cliffs, salt currents among the islands, quiet bays lapping
+the feet of heathery hills. Out of the two great oceans the wind blows
+like the blasts of an enormous bellows, and on the horizon the clouds are
+eternally gathering.
+
+It is over this land of moor and water and vapour that the cathedral
+watches the people; and though from the difficulty of passing through
+so narrow a street it has never moved from the spot where it first
+arose, and has never seen, one would suppose, the greater part of its
+territories, yet it knows—none better—the stories and the spirit of all
+the islands. Crows and gulls cruise round the tower familiarly, and
+perhaps bring gossip; but eyes so long and narrow, and of so inhuman an
+anatomy, may very likely see through a hill or a heart for themselves.
+
+The country is like a fleet at sea, and the old spirit of the people came
+from the deep. At first that spirit was only restless and fierce and
+free; in time it began to think, and at odd moments to be troubled, and
+they called it pious. Then it looked for a fitting house where it might
+live when it could no longer find a home in the people. So it built the
+red cathedral, and there it silently dwells to-day.
+
+There is something in their church that none of the respectable townsfolk
+have the slightest suspicion of—something alive that vibrates to the cry
+of the wind and the breaking of the sea, and the little human events that
+happen in the crow-stepped houses.
+
+On the wild autumn afternoons when the hard north-east wind is driving
+rain and sleet through the town, the old church begins to remember. The
+wind and the sleet coming over the sea stir the quick spirit so sharply
+that every angle is full of sighing noises. As the shortened day draws
+to an end, and lights begin to twinkle in the town, and the showers
+become less frequent, and the clouds are rolled up and gathered off the
+sky, then the people come out into the streets and see the early stars
+above the gable-ends and high cathedral tower. They think it cold, and
+walk quickly, but a personage of sandstone takes little note of the
+temperature. The cathedral merely feels refreshed.
+
+When the clear, windy night draws in, the people go to rest, and one by
+one the lights are put out till only the stars and the lighthouses are
+left. Looking over a darkened town and an empty night, with the air
+moving fresh from Norway, the memories come thick upon the old church
+which shelters so many bones. It is like digging up the soil of those
+lands from which the sea has for centuries receded, and where the ribs of
+ships and the skeletons of sailors lie deep beneath the furrows of the
+plough.
+
+Kirkwall must have been a strange little town before the cathedral’s
+memory begins, when there was no red tower above the narrow street and
+the little houses, in the days when Rognvald, the son of Kol, had vowed
+to dedicate a splendid minster to his uncle, St. Magnus, should he come
+by his own and call himself Earl of Orkney; and when the islanders waited
+to see what aid the blessed saint would furnish to this enterprise.
+
+It is one of the island tragedies—the saga of how the evil Earl Hakon
+slew his cousin, Earl Magnus, outside the old church of Egilsay with that
+high round tower that you can see over Kirkwall Bay from the cathedral
+parapet, and how the grass grew greener where he fell, and miracles
+multiplied, and they made him a saint in time.
+
+Though all these events happened before a stone of the cathedral was
+laid, they may help to give the meaning of its story, and on that account
+they are worth, perhaps, a rough telling here. Earl Hakon had died, and
+his son Paul ruled in his stead. He was a silent, brave, unlucky man,
+upright and honourable in his dealings, but the shadow of his father’s
+crime lay over the land. It brought old age and prosperity and repentance
+to the doer of the deed; and on his son the punishment fell.
+
+[Illustration: _St. Magnus Cathedral, interior._
+
+1. South aisle. 2. North aisle. 3. Nave.]
+
+Rognvald claimed the half of the earldom. Paul answered that there was no
+need for long words, “For I will guard the Orkneys while God grants me
+life so to do.” And then the contest began. Rognvald attacked from north
+and south. Paul vanquished the southern fleet, and hurrying north drove
+his rival back to Norway; and so the winter came on, and the peace that
+in those days men kept in winter.
+
+All had gone well with Paul, but his luck was to change with a little
+thing. He was keeping Yule with his friends and kinsmen, when upon a
+winter’s evening, a man, wet with the spray of the Pentland Firth, came
+out of the dusk and knocked upon the door. He was hardly the instrument,
+one would think, a departed saint would choose to build a cathedral
+with—a Viking with his sword ever loose in its sheath, and his lucky
+star obscured, coming here for refuge, from the ashes of his father and
+his home. He was known as Sweyn Asleifson (a name to be famous in the
+islands), and was welcomed for his family’s sake; they brought him in
+to the feast, and the drinking went on. In a little while there arose
+a quarrel over the cups; Sweyn killed his man, and fled into the night
+again. He was a landless outlaw this time, for the dead man had been
+high in favour, and the earl was stern. Meanwhile men went on drinking
+over the hall fires; but Paul’s luck had departed, and St. Magnus had a
+weapon in his hand. In the spring the war began again, and suddenly in
+the midst of it Earl Paul disappeared—his bodyguard cut down upon the
+beach, himself spirited clean away. Sweyn Asleifson had come for him, and
+carried him to a fate that was never more than rumoured. So Rognvald won
+the earldom, and the first stones of his church were laid. The saint had
+certainly struck for him.
+
+That is the true story of the vow and the building of the cathedral, a
+tale too old for even the venerable church to remember. But all the long
+history of the seven centuries since it knows; and indeed it has played
+such a part in scene after scene and act after act, that a memory would
+have to be of some poorer stuff than hewed sandstone to forget a past so
+stirring. And who can be so far behind every scene as the house which
+during men’s lives listens to their prayers, and at last upon a day takes
+them in for ever?
+
+When it first began to look down from its windows upon those men going
+about their business in the sunshine or the rain, it saw among the
+little creatures some that were well worth remembering, though there be
+few but the cathedral to remember them now. There was Rognvald himself,
+that cheerful, gallant earl who made poetry and war, and sailed to
+Jerusalem with all his chiefs and friends, fighting and rhyming all the
+way, and riding home across the length of Europe, and who, when he fell
+by an assassin’s hand, was laid at last beneath the pavement of this
+cathedral he had founded. And then, most memorable of all the great
+odallers who followed him in war and sat at his Yule feasts, there was
+the Viking, Sweyn Asleifson, he who kidnapped Paul, and afterwards became
+the lifelong and, on the whole, faithful friend of Rognvald, and the
+faithless enemy of almost every one else; the most daring, unscrupulous,
+famous, and—judging by the way he always obtained forgiveness when he
+needed it—the most fascinating man in all the northern countries. He was
+the luckiest, too, till the day he fell in an ambush in the streets of
+Dublin, exclaiming with his last breath, in most remarkable contrast to
+the tenor of his life: “Know this, all men, that I am one of the Saint
+Earl Rognvald’s bodyguard, and I now mean to put my trust in being where
+he is, with God.” May he rest in peace wherever his bones lie, even
+though his reformation came something late, the turbulent, terrible old
+Viking, whom the Saga writers called the last of that profession.
+
+The generation who built it had passed away, when on a summer’s day,
+after it had weathered nearly a century of storm and shine, the cathedral
+saw the greatest sight it had yet beheld. Haco of Norway had come with
+his fleet to conquer the Western Isles of Scotland, the Norse kings’ old
+inheritance. The pointed windows watched ship after ship sail by with
+coloured sails and shining shields, bearing the Norsemen to their last
+battle in southern lands; and then the islands waited for the news that
+in those days was brought by the men who had made the story.
+
+Month upon month went by; men wondered and rumours flew; the days grew
+shorter, and the gales came out upon all the seas. At last, when winter
+was well upon the islands, what were left of the battered ships began to
+struggle home. They brought back stories that the cathedral remembers,
+though six centuries have rolled them out of the memories of the
+people—tales of lee-shores and westerly gales, of anchors dragging under
+the Cumbraes, and Scottish knights charging down upon the beach where the
+Norwegian spears were ranked on the edge of the tide; then of more gales
+and whirlpools in the Pentland, until at length they carried their old
+sick king ashore, to die in the bishop’s palace at Kirkwall.
+
+[Illustration: _St. Magnus Cathedral, exterior._
+
+1. West doorway, nave. 2. East window. 3. Doorway, south transept. 4.
+Doorway, north aisle. 5. Doorway, south aisle.]
+
+He lay for two months in that ancient building—now a roofless shell,
+standing just beyond the churchyard wall—his most faithful friends beside
+him, the restless Orkney wind without, and the voice of the Saga reader
+by the bed. First they read to him in Latin, till he grew too sick to
+follow the foreign words; and then in Norse, through the Sagas of the
+saints, and after of the kings. They had come down to his own father,
+Sverrir, and then, in the words of the old historian, “Near midnight
+Sverrir’s Saga was read through, and just as midnight was past Almighty
+God called King Hakon from this world’s life.” They buried him in the
+great red church that had stood sentinel over the sick-chamber; and as
+the race of Vikings died with Sweyn, so the roving, conquering kings of
+Norway passed away with Haco, and never again came south to trouble the
+seaboards.
+
+The Orkneys, however, were not yet out of the current of affairs. They
+cut, indeed, but a small figure compared with the Orkney of the great
+Earl Thorfinn in the century before Rognvald founded his cathedral—he
+who owned nine earldoms in Scotland and all the Southern Isles, besides
+a great realm in Ireland. But there was still a bishop in the palace
+and an earl with powers of life and death in his dominion, and an armed
+following that counted for something in war; and the cathedral was still
+the church of a small country rather than of a little county. The sun
+cast the shadows of dignitaries in the winding street, and the bones
+they were framed of were laid in time beneath the flags of St. Magnus’s
+church. When one comes to think of it, the old cathedral must hold a
+varied collection of these, for here lie the high and the low of two
+races, and no man knows how many chance sojourners and travellers.
+
+At last, upon a dark day for the islands, their era of semi-independence
+and Vikingism and Norse romance came to a most undignified end. A needy
+king of the north pledged them to Scotland for his daughter’s dowry,
+as a common man might pledge his watch. East to Norway was no longer
+the way to the motherland, and the open horizon meeting the clouds, the
+old highroad, led now to a foreign shore. Henceforth they belonged to
+the long coast with its pale mountain peaks far away over the cliffs,
+which had once, so far as the eye could see, belonged to them. It was a
+transaction intended for a season, but the season has never ran to its
+limit yet. Now, it is to be hoped, it never will; but for centuries it
+would have been better for the Orkneys if they had gone the way of some
+volcanic islet and sunk quietly below the gray North Sea.
+
+One might think that, when they had ceased to be a half-way house between
+their sovereign and his neighbours of Europe, and were become instead
+a geographical term applied to the least accessible portion of their
+new lord’s dominions, their history and their troubles would soon have
+ceased, and the islanders been left to fish and reap late crops and try
+to keep out the winter weather. But there was no such good luck for many
+a day to come. Alas for themselves, they were too valuable an asset in
+the Scotch king’s treasury. Orkney too valuable! That collection of
+windy, treeless islands, where great ponds of rain-water stand through
+the fields for months together, and a strawberry that ripens is shown
+to one’s friends! The plain truth is that, measured by a Scotch standard
+of value in those days, it would have been hard to find a pocket not
+worth the picking. The rental of Orkney was more than twice that of the
+kingdom of Fife, and Fife, I suppose, was an El Dorado compared with most
+provinces of its impecunious country. So north they came, Scotch earls
+and bishops and younger sons, to make what they could before the pledge
+was redeemed. And to the old cathedral was flung the shame of standing as
+the symbol of oppression. It was not its fault, and every stone must have
+silently cried to Heaven for forgiveness. But a cathedral meant a bishop,
+and an Orkney bishop meant the refinement of roguery and exaction. When
+these prelates in their turns came to inhabit permanently their minster,
+and they could at last hear the voice of its spirit that loves the
+land it watches, demanding an account of their stewardship, what could
+they say? The old excuse—“We must live”? I can hardly think the church
+perceived the necessity.
+
+That monument which the old sailors and fighters of the north had built,
+that they might link a better world with the rough and warring earth,
+had to stand immovable for century upon century, watching the trouble
+of their sons. It saw them make their stand at Summerdale in the old
+fashion, with sword and halbert and a battle-cry on their lips, and
+march back again to the town in a glimpse of triumph. But that quickly
+faded, and the weight of new laws and evil rulers gradually broke the
+high spirit entirely. It saw the proud odallers reduced to long-suffering
+“peerie lairds,” and all their power and romance and circumstance of
+state pass over to the foreigner, until after a time it was hard to
+believe that, some pages further back, there was a closed chapter of
+history which read quite differently from this.
+
+Down below the parapet of the tower the narrow streets were full of the
+most splendid-looking people, all in steel and the Stewart arms. Earls
+Robert and Patrick of that royal name, each, through his scandalous life,
+made the island the home of a prince’s court; and out among the moors and
+the islands the old race wondered whose turn it should be for persecution
+next, and how long Heaven would let these things be.
+
+The downfall of the Stewarts’ rule came at last, violently as was fit,
+but to the end they used the old church on behalf of the wrong. The tower
+was wrapped in the smoke of the rebels’ musketry when old Earl Patrick
+lay by the heels in Edinburgh awaiting his doom as a traitor, and his son
+held Kirkwall against what might, by comparison, be termed the law, and
+it was only at the point of the pike that they turned the last Stewart
+out of the sepulchre of St. Magnus.
+
+Then the long windows watched the shadows of all manner of persons, who
+are well forgotten now, darken the prospect for a while, and pass away to
+let other clouds gather; and in all that time there cannot have been many
+whom a critical edifice can recall with pride.
+
+The bishops were sent about their business, and the Solemn League and
+Covenant was solemnly sworn. The troopers of Cromwell stalked through
+the old pillars with their wide hats the firmer set on. The Covenant
+was unsworn, and the bishops came back and acquired emoluments for a
+little while longer, till at last they went altogether, and in good,
+sober Presbyterian fashion the awakened people set about purifying their
+temple. Poor old church! they did it thoroughly. Away went carving and
+stained glass, and ancient tombs and bones, and everything that the
+austere taste of Heaven is supposed by man to dislike. They made it clean
+with a kind of yellowish whitewash, and divided it by a sanitary deal
+screen impervious to draught. In this shameful guise the cathedral has
+watched the advent of quiet days and the slow healing of time. To-day the
+greatest clamour it hears is made by the rooks. No earl’s men or bishop’s
+men quarrel in the streets; no one either fears or harries the islanders;
+the history of Orkney is written and closed and laid upon the shelf.
+The hands of the clock move evenly round, and the seasons change by the
+almanac.
+
+But there stands the old red church, silently remembering and arranging
+in their due perspective all these things remarkable and true. The worst
+of it is that it makes no comment that a mortal can understand, so that
+no one can say what a seasoned, well-mortared observer of seven centuries
+of affairs thinks of changing dynasties and creeds, and whether it is
+disposed to take them more seriously than so many moultings of feathers,
+and if one can retain any optimism through a course of whitewash and
+draught-proof screens.
+
+It is pleasant to think, for the old minster’s sake, that it heeds the
+rubs of fortune very little, and regards material changes just as so
+many shifts of plumage. Its people are still flesh and blood, and its
+islands rock and turf and heather, and it will take more than pails
+and paint-brushes, and pledges and covenants to make them otherwise.
+The winter days are as bleak as ever, and the summer evenings as long
+and light, and the sun rises out of the North Sea among the flat green
+islands, and sinks in the Atlantic behind the western heather hills; and
+it is likely enough that from the height of the cathedral tower many
+other most serious events look surprisingly unimportant.
+
+                                   J. STORER CLOUSTON.
+                                (_“Macmillan’s Magazine.” By permission._)
+
+[Illustration: _Kirkwall in winter._]
+
+
+
+
+A ROAD IN ORCADY.
+
+
+In southern lands—and most lands are southern to us—the road runs between
+fragrant hedgerows or under shady trees; but in Orcady trees and hedges
+are practically unknown. Yet the road lacks not its charm, for this is
+a world of compensations. If we never breathe the fragrance of the may
+or hear the whisper of the wind-stirred branches, we have, on the other
+hand, nothing to shut out from our eyes the wide expanse of land and sea
+or to hide the blue sky over us, no fallen timber after a gale to block
+our way and make of our progress an involuntary obstacle race, and no
+thorns to puncture our cycle tyres. The lover of the highway may miss
+here much of the bird-life that enlivens the roads of the south; but our
+road has a life and traffic of its own quite apart from the trickling
+stream of men and horses which flows fitfully along its white channel.
+Flowers and flies, birds and beasts, the road has something for each and
+all of them. Even by day they use it, but from dusk to dawn they claim it
+as their very own.
+
+[Illustration: _By the Roadside—“Peerie Hooses.”_
+
+1. Holm. 2. Harray. 3. Birsay. 4. Tankerness. 5. Orphir.]
+
+I do not remember that Stevenson, who so loved the road, has written
+anywhere of its little life—of the birds and beasts, the shy living
+things, that haunt it. In the treeless isles of Orcady, at least, the
+furred and feathered creatures seem to think that man makes the road for
+their especial delectation. For all creatures of beach and bog, hill
+and meadow, it has its charms; and hence it is ever beat upon by soft,
+soundless feet and shadowed by swiftly moving wings, and many a little
+comedy or tragedy is played out upon its stage. We walk upon it in spring
+and summer through an air fragrant with the perfume of innumerable small,
+sweet flowers, with the music of birds and bees about us, and ever, under
+and behind all song, the voice of the great sea, full of indefinable
+mystery as of a half-remembered dream.
+
+The engineer who makes the road unwittingly plans it in such fashion as
+to be of service to the folk of moor and marsh, of shore and furrow. In
+Orcady every road, sooner or later, leads to the sea. In former days the
+sea itself was the great highway, and therefore close to its shores are
+found the old kirks and kirkyards. For by sea men came to worship God,
+and by sea they were carried to their long home. The kirks and kirkyards
+being beside the sea, the road comes thither to them. It comes down also
+to the piers, the slips, and jetties, which play so important a part in
+the lives of the islanders. Thus the road passes within a few yards of
+the haunts of all the divers, swimmers, and waders that frequent our
+shores.
+
+Also in making a road the aim of the man who plans it is to avoid, so far
+as possible, all ascents and descents. In carrying out this aim he raises
+the road on embankments where it passes through low and marshy grounds,
+and makes cuttings through the higher lands. Where it runs through such a
+cutting the roadside ditches catch and keep a little store of water in
+a dry season, and thither plover, snipe, redshanks, and dotterel bring
+their velvet-clad birdlings to drink. If the season be wet, the road
+raises above the marsh a comparatively dry platform, on which the birds
+may rest when not feeding, and the roadside dykes offer a shelter from
+wind and sun.
+
+But our road draws feet and wings to it in many other ways. It passes
+now through cultivated fields, with dry stone dykes fencing it on either
+side; now it runs unfenced through the open moorland, and again along
+the very margin of the sea. Here it is bordered by marshes and there by
+a long reach of black peat-bog, and everywhere it woos with varied wiles
+the living things of earth and air. Before the dykes have seen many
+seasons they begin to deck themselves with velvet mosses, and to the
+miniature forests of moss come insects of the lesser sorts, flying and
+creeping things, red and brown and blue. In pursuit of these small deer
+come the spiders, which lurk in crevices of the walls and spread their
+cunning snares across the mouths of culverts where farm roads branch off
+from the highway. Long-legged water-skaters dart to and fro among the
+floating weeds on the surface of the stagnant ditches; and over these
+ditches the midges weave their fantastic dances on summer evenings. The
+litter of passing traffic brings hurrying, busy, burnished beetles,
+which find harbourage in the loosely piled banks of ditch scrapings that
+form the boundary between highway and moorland. Where the road, with
+its generous grassy margin, runs like a white ribbon with green borders
+through the brown moors, wild flowers that are choked or hidden in the
+heather spread themselves to the sunshine—primroses and daisies, clover
+red and white, milkwort and tormentil, hawkweed and violets, thyme and
+crowfoot: their very names read like a poem. The number of small wild
+flowers that grow in our roadside ditches and within reach of the road
+is amazing when one begins to reckon them. Here the steep grassy bank is
+gorgeous with rose-campion and with the purple and gold of the vetches,
+and all the air is sweet with the perfume of wild mustard, which with
+the pale yellow of its blossoms almost hides the green in that field of
+springing barley. This wet meadow, on either hand all aglow with the pink
+blossoms of the ragged robin, a little earlier in the year had its wide
+and shallow ditches glorified by the broad green leaves and exquisite
+feathery blooms of the bog-bean, while its drier grounds were starred
+with the pale cups of grass of Parnassus. In spring the vernal squills
+shone on yonder hillocks with a blue glory as of the sea in summer.
+
+On this long flat stretch of peat-bog these are not untimely snowdrifts
+but nodding patches of cotton-grass. In autumn, when a strong wind
+blows from that quarter, all the road will be strewn with the silvery,
+silken down that makes so brave a show among the purple heather of the
+bog. Later still in the year the same bog will glow ruddy as with a
+perpetual sunset, when the long, coarse grass reddens. Passing this way
+on some gray afternoon the wayfarer will find it hard to believe that
+the “charmed sunset” has not suddenly shone out through the clouds “low
+adown in the red west.” And the peat-moss on which the road is built
+has other glories—green moss and moss as red as blood, fairy cups of
+silver lichen with scarlet rims, and long reaches of bog-asphodel,
+shining like cloth-of-gold and sweetening the winds with their faint,
+delicate perfume. Here, where our road runs on a firmer foundation, grow
+the wild willows, all low-growing and all adding a beauty to the year
+in their catkins. When the daisies have hardly ventured to thrust their
+heads into a cold world the catkins gleam in silky silver, changing as
+the days lengthen to yellow gold. Later on some of them are covered with
+an exquisite white down which floats their seeds about the land. The
+little burns which our road bridges ripple and chatter through miniature
+forests of ferns and meadow-sweet, the foxglove shakes its bells above
+the splendour of the gorse, and the yellow iris hides the young wild-duck
+that are making their way by ditch and brooklet to the sea. These are but
+a few of the flowers with which the road garlands and bedecks herself to
+welcome the little peoples who love her.
+
+To the flowers come all day long in summer the humble-bees. These little
+reddish-yellow fellows, hot and angry-looking, have their byke or nest
+in some mossy bank or old turf dyke, to which they carry wax and honey
+for the fashioning of a round, irregular, dirty-looking comb. The chances
+are that they will be despoiled of their treasure by some errant herd-boy
+before July is half over. Their great cousins in black velvet striped
+with gold prefer to live solitary in some deserted mouse-hole; but they
+cannot, for all their swagger and fierce looks, save their honey from
+Boy the Devourer. Though there are no wasps in Orcady, the roadside
+blossoms have visitors other than the bees. Here come the white and
+brown butterflies, and those dainty little blue creatures whose wings
+are painted and eyed like a peacock’s tail. And at night moths, white,
+yellow, and gray, flit like ghosts above the sleeping flowers, or dance
+mysteriously in the dusk on silent wings.
+
+Where the insects come, there follow the insect-eaters. On a June evening
+there are parts of the road where one may see kittiwakes and black-headed
+gulls hawking for moths. Wheatears and starlings, larks and pipits,
+and, more rarely, thrushes, blackbirds, and wrens, with an occasional
+stonechat, all come to prey on the insect life of the road. Swallows
+there are none in Orcady, but the ubiquitous sparrow is there. To his
+contented mind the road offers a continual feast. When the birds set
+up housekeeping in spring, many of them choose their nesting-places in
+the near neighbourhood of the road. It seems almost as if they argued
+that here, under the very eye of man, they run less risk of discovery
+than further afield, where he may expect to find their treasures. From
+crannies of the loosely-built walls that bound the road you may hear
+the hungry broods of starlings, sparrows, and wheatears chirping on
+every side as you pass in May. I have seen a nestful of young larks
+gape up with their foolish yellow throats from a tuft of grass on the
+very edge of a roadside ditch, and have found a grouse’s nest in the
+heather not fifty yards from the most man-frequented part of the road.
+Yellow-hammers, too, and other buntings often nest in the long grass by
+the ditchside. Here, in a hedge of whin or gorse which crosses the road
+at right angles, are the nests of the thrush, the blackbird, and the
+wren. If you drive along our road in spring you shall see the male pewit,
+in all the glory of his wedding garments, scraping, a few yards from
+the roadside, the shallow, circular hollow in which his young are to be
+hatched; and a little later you shall see his patient spouse look up at
+you fearlessly from her eggs, or even, if your passing be at noonday, you
+may watch her slip off the nest as her mate comes up behind to relieve
+her in her domestic duties. For these birds have learned that man on
+wheels is not to be feared, though man on foot is one of their most
+dreaded enemies.
+
+In Orcady there are not many four-footed wild things, but those that
+dwell among us are drawn to the road as surely as the birds are. In the
+gloaming rabbits come down to the roadside clover where the bees have
+gathered honey all day. Great brown hares, too, come loping leisurely
+along the road—moving shadows that melt into the dusk at the least alarm.
+Hares always like to make their forms near a road of some sort, for it
+affords them a swift and ready means of flight when they are pursued.
+They must be hard pressed indeed before they will dive like rabbits into
+roadside drains or culverts, but these refuges are not to be despised
+when greyhound or lurcher is close upon their heels. Mice, voles, and
+rats find shelter in the banks of road-scrapings or in the walls and
+drain-mouths; and the sea-otter does not despise the road when he makes
+a nocturnal expedition inland. It is not long since a man who was early
+afoot on a summer morning met a pair of otters almost on the street of
+our sleeping island capital. Seals, of course, cannot use the road, but
+where it runs by the sea-marge their shining heads rise up from the
+water to watch the passers-by, and he who is abroad before dawn may find
+them on the beaches within a few yards of the roadway.
+
+The deer, roe, foxes, badgers, stoats, weasels, wild-cats, and moles of
+Orcady are even as the snakes of Iceland. Tame cats ran wild, however,
+we do not lack, and they take their tithe from the road as surely as do
+the hawks and falcons. Neither snakes, lizards, nor frogs are found in
+the isles, but on a damp autumn evening the road is dotted with toads of
+all sizes, which sit gazing into infinity or hop clumsily from before the
+passing wheel.
+
+In pursuit of beetles, mice, and small birds, hawks and owls come to
+the road. The kestrel of all hawks loves it the most. He sits upon
+the humming telegraph wires or hangs poised, like Mahomet’s coffin,
+in mid-air, ever watchful and ready to swoop down upon his prey. The
+same wires which give him a resting-place often furnish him with food,
+ready killed or disabled. When man first set up his posts along the
+road and threaded them with an endless wire, sad havoc was wrought
+among the birds. Plover—green and golden—snipe, redshanks, and grouse
+dashing across the road in the dusk, struck the fatal wires and fell
+dead or maimed by the wayside. I have seen a blackbird fly shrieking
+from a prowling cat, and strike the wire with such force that his head,
+cut clean off, dropped at my very feet. The older birds appear to have
+learned a lesson from the misfortunes of their fellows, but every autumn
+young birds, new to their wings, pay their tribute of victims to the
+wires. More especially is this the case with the plovers, and though
+the kestrel rarely touches so big a bird when it is whole and sound, he
+feasts upon their wounded.
+
+The hen-harrier skims to and fro along the roadside ditches, but he is
+a wary and cautious fowl, and is never within gunshot of the road when
+a man comes down that way. The merlin, that beautiful miniature falcon,
+glides swift and low across the moors and meadows, flashes suddenly
+over the roadside dyke, and before the small birds have time to realize
+that their enemy is upon them, he is gone again—only a little puff of
+feathers floating slowly down the air showing where he struck his prey.
+The peregrine wheels high overhead, but is too proud and shy a bird to
+hunt upon man’s roads. Nor has the road any charm for the raven, who
+goes croaking hoarsely over it on his way from shore to hill. The little
+short-eared owls hide all day among the heather near our road, and come
+flapping up in the gloaming on noiseless wings to take their share of its
+good things. In the treeless islands the kestrel is not the only bird
+that sits upon the wires. There the starling sings his weird love song,
+mingling with his own harsh notes the calls of every other bird that the
+islands know; and the buntings chant their lugubrious and monotonous
+ditties there.
+
+The telegraph wires are not the only mysterious works of man which have
+disturbed and interfered with the feathered life so near to and yet so
+far apart from his. What a mystery must he be to those fellow-creatures
+who watch him, with his continual scratching and patching of the breast
+of kindly Mother Earth! Not wholly does he yield the road to them between
+sunset and sunrise; but when he goes abroad in the dark it is often
+in the guise of a rumbling dragon with great eyes of flame. Once, to
+the writer’s knowledge, a gannet swooped down in valiant ignorance on
+such a horrid creature of the night. He flashed suddenly, white out of
+the darkness, into the circle of light of a doctor’s gig lamps. That
+bold bird his fellows saw no more; and one may fancy that with his
+disappearance a new terror was added to the fiery-eyed creatures that
+roam the roads by night. He died, though not without a fierce fight for
+his life; and his skin, cunningly filled out with wire and straw, stands
+under a glass case in his slayer’s home even unto this day.
+
+It is in spring and summer that the road sets forth its choicest lures
+for its lovers, yet even in “winter and rough weather” it has its
+beauties for the seeing eye. The puddles and cart-ruts shine like dull
+silver when the clouds are heavy and gray overhead. When the rain cloud
+blows over and the sky clears, these same shallow pools and channels
+gleam with a cold, clear blue, more exquisite than that of the heavens
+they reflect; and at night the stars besprinkle them with diamonds.
+Again,—
+
+    “Autumnal frosts enchant the pool,
+    And make the cart-ruts beautiful.”
+
+“When daisies go”—and of all roadside blossoms they linger latest and
+reappear earliest (I have seen them lifting their modest crimson-tipped
+heads in December and opening their yellow eyes before the coltsfoot
+stars begin to shine)—but even when they are gone the gray stone dykes
+have still a glory of green moss, of gray and golden lichens.
+
+When all the land is soaked and sodden with heavy rains, the road, where
+it climbs that low brown hill, will suddenly shine out across the
+intervening miles like a sword flung down among the heather.
+
+When the winter rains have given place to the first snowfall of the year,
+go out early in the morning, before hoofs and wheels have blotted out
+the traces of the night, and you shall learn, as nothing else save long
+and close observation can teach you, how great is the nocturnal traffic
+of birds and beasts upon the road. Like fine lacework you shall find
+their footprints, to and fro, round and across, up the middle and down
+again. Hares and rabbits, rats and mice, gulls and plovers, thrushes and
+larks, water-hens and water-rails—these and many more have been busy here
+while you slept. And even now bright eyes are watching you, themselves
+unseen—those unsuspected eyes which are ever upon us as we follow the
+road on our daily round of duty or pleasure. Do they look on us with
+fear or wonder, with contempt or admiration, or with a mingling of all
+these feelings? That we can never know while the great barrier of silence
+stands between us and them. We blunder across their lives, doing them
+good and evil indiscriminately, but we understand them no more than they
+can understand us.
+
+Now in winter, new birds come to our road. Great flocks of snow-buntings,
+circling and wheeling with marvellous precision, at one moment almost
+invisible—a dim, brown, moving mist—and the next flashing a thousand
+points of silver to the level rays of the wintry sun. Scores of
+greenfinches, which we never see in summer, rise from the road edges to
+circle a little way and settle again. The “spink spink” of the chaffinch,
+also unknown to us in summer, may now be heard; fieldfares spring
+chuckling through the air far overhead, and red-winged thrushes hop
+among the stubbles. Down this shallow pass between the low hills come in
+the gloaming the lines of the wild swans, flying from the upland lochs
+to the sea. Their trumpet call rings far through the frosty air, and as
+we hear them there stir within us vague thoughts and dreams of the white
+north whence they came. As if answering the thought, the wet road shines
+with a new, faint, unearthly light, as flickering up the northern sky
+come the pale shifting streamers of the aurora borealis.
+
+Of the human life that pulses intermittently along our road there is not
+space now to write. Boy and girl, youth and maiden, man and woman, day by
+day, year in, year out, they follow the winding line, till for each in
+turn the day comes when it leads them to the kirkyard or to the sea, and
+the roads of Orcady know them no more.
+
+                                     DUNCAN J. ROBERTSON.
+                                  (_“Longman’s Magazine.” By permission._)
+
+[Illustration: _Kirkwall Pier—a midnight photograph._]
+
+
+
+
+A LOCH IN ORCADY.
+
+
+It is one among many, in an island where the lochs lie scattered like
+fragments of the sky fallen among the hills—one among many, and one of
+the least known of them all. On it the fisherman casts no fly, or casts
+it in vain, for fish have never prospered in its waters. It can never
+be an ideal trout loch, for it is not fed, like its sister lochs, by
+the innumerable small burns that channel our low hills. One surface-fed
+streamlet indeed flows into it, a streamlet hardly worthy of the
+courtesy-title it bears; but for the most part its waters are drawn from
+the secret sources of the springs.
+
+Its placid surface mirrors no hillsides purple with heather and green
+with waving fern, but from its margin the land rolls back in low billows,
+squared with fields that year by year darken under the plough and smile
+again in due season with the homely crops of the isles. Yet the little
+loch has charms of its own for those who know it—charms that its wilder
+and more romantic sisters cannot boast. Not a quarter of a mile from its
+western shore the Atlantic billows boom and thunder upon the cliffs, or
+roll in, great and green, to burst and spread in a whirling smother of
+foam upon the sands; and the quiet of the inland water is thrice welcome
+to eye and ear when these are dazzled and wearied by the ceaseless
+turmoil and tumult of the sea.
+
+The valley in which lies the loch runs down to a deeply curved bay, swept
+and scoured out by the sea, where there is a breach in the great cliff
+rampart that guards our island’s western coast. Up this valley the wind
+has, through the ages, heaped a huge sandhill which rolls and ripples
+under its greensward down to the lip of the bay. Between the sand and the
+clay lies the loch, narrowed by the rising slope of sand that forms its
+northern bank.
+
+At its eastern end is the germ of a village. A little shop, a post
+office, the long, low building which was a school before these days of
+school boards—these and a few cottages stand between the loch and the
+sunrise. Close to the water’s edge runs the highroad leading from a steep
+little seaport town, away through the quiet country, luring men to the
+sea and the great world of adventure beyond it. For with us isles-folk
+the tune that sings itself in the dreams of youth is not “Over the
+_hills_,” but “Over the _seas_ and far away.”
+
+Along the northern shore, as close as may be to the water, runs another
+road—a road that leads to the kirk and the kirkyaird, and, incidentally,
+to the laird’s house. Yet because men, who made the road, must preserve
+an apparent sobriety and straightness of purpose, while Nature, who laid
+the line between land and water, need care nothing for her reputation,
+there runs between the road and the water a grassy margin. Here it is
+of the narrowest, and there it spreads out into miniature capes and
+peninsulas, where teal love to rest in the early morning, and rabbits
+come down to nibble the juicy water-plants long before man is afoot.
+
+[Illustration: _Some “Big Hooses.”—I._
+
+1. Skaill, Sandwick. 2. Binscarth. 3. Hall of Tankerness. 4. Westness,
+Rousay. 5. Holodyke, Harray.]
+
+On the other side of the road the sandbank rises steep and green, a cliff
+of sandy sward sometimes attaining a height of full twenty feet. There
+the rabbits have their outposts. The green turf is splotched with the
+scattered sand from their burrows, and their white tails bob and flutter
+among the mounds they have made.
+
+This is but the flank of the sandhill. Farther to the west, where man has
+never ploughed the sand, the loch is bounded by low, green links which
+swarm with rabbits. Bunkers and hazards there are to delight the soul of
+the golfer; yet hither that lover of links comes but seldom. The rabbits
+and the birds have it all to themselves, save where some little fields
+are set amid the links, and one or two houses of men.
+
+Out of the turf of the bank projects a great stone, gray with lichen, and
+looking like the broken and petrified shaft of a mighty spear flung by
+one of the giants who of old waged a titanic warfare from isle to isle.
+Yet if a vague legend be true, the great stone is rather some bewitched
+living creature waiting the breaking of spells; for, so they say, there
+is a certain night in each year when it leaves its sandy bed and goes
+down to quench its thirst in the waters of the loch.
+
+Yet the birds do not fear it. The wheatear jerks and bobs upon its
+topmost edge as we gaze and wonder how and when he came hither. Then
+with a flirt of his tail he is off to repeat his cheerful, tuneless call
+upon the nearest mound.
+
+At its western end the loch widens and is divided into two little bays, a
+bay of sand and a bay of mud. In the more northerly of these bays there
+is being fought a long skirmish in the great, slow, endless war between
+land and water; and now victory leans towards the land, for the sand,
+blowing up day by day from the sea, settles here in the shallow water and
+drives it back.
+
+Twenty years ago, between the loch’s edge and the links lay a field of
+shining yellow sand, to which the golden plover were wont to come down in
+great flocks of an autumn evening. Once the sand had established itself,
+the advance of grass and flowers began. Pushing forward a vanguard of
+reeds and rushes, they pursued their steady march down to the water’s
+edge; and now, where the sands were, is a grassy meadow, starred in its
+season with the pale blooms of the grass of Parnassus, its landward side
+meshed by rabbit tracks, the tiny rivulets winding through it beset with
+scented beds of wild peppermint and haunted by snipe, and its outer
+margin giving cover to duck and coots, to water-hens and dabchicks.
+
+There are little islets beyond the meadow, some grass-grown, some still
+of bare sand, and a little sandy beach at one place, where redshanks and
+ringed plover run in the shallows. Thither too come the dunlin and the
+sandpiper, and rarer birds—knots and ruffs, greenshanks with their triple
+call, and whimbrels, the “summer whaups” of the isles-folk. Here you may
+wade, knee-deep in clear water, to the very outer edge of the reeds
+and find all the way a footing on hard sand. And the reeds will yield
+their secrets. On this heaped pyramid the little grebe is hatching her
+eggs, and that reedy platform is a coot’s nest. Or at a later season you
+may chance, if the Fates be kind, to catch a glimpse of scurrying dusky
+ducklings vanishing among the green stems, while their mother flutters
+off, making-believe to have a broken wing.
+
+A wide, shallow ditch divides the marsh from the fields on the south,
+and where the ditch ends an old stone wall begins, marches a little way
+towards the water, and then breaks off to run round the bay of mud, and
+so up along the south shore of the loch. Where it turns off, this wall
+seems at one time to have meditated an advance into the water, and in
+its retreat has left a tumbled straggle of stones which runs out along a
+little cape. Here at twilight come great gray herons, shouting hoarsely,
+to sit gazing into the waters. Here, too, curlews are wont to gather,
+keeping well out of gunshot from wall or ditch.
+
+The southern bay—the bay of mud—holds a great reed-bed, where shelter
+many water-fowl. The swans breed there, with coot and water-hen and
+grebe. There, too, come the wild duck after their kind, mallard and teal,
+pochard and scaup, golden-eye and merganser. But the bottom there is
+muddy and treacherous, and it is a very doubtful pleasure to follow the
+wild-fowl through their haunts in the reeds. About the inner margin of
+the reed-bed, among the grassy tussocks and muddy pools, is a favourite
+feeding-ground for snipe. There, too, the pewits gather, and gulls of
+many kinds, while redshanks rise screaming from the water’s edge.
+
+Out in the middle of the loch is a small islet or holm. This islet is
+nested on every summer by a colony of black-headed gulls. There, too, the
+terns breed, and there the great white-breasted cormorants, which come
+up after the eels of the loch, sit with black wings widespread in the
+sunlight. The circling, screaming cloud of gulls which hovers over the
+islet is a sight never to be forgotten, and the very thought of the sound
+of their calling brings back those wonderful summer days when all the
+world was young, and a brighter sun shone in a bluer sky.
+
+There are men scattered here and there about the world who look back to
+the loch and its environs as to an earthly paradise; and ever in their
+dreams the loch, the links, the shore are but a beloved and beautiful
+background to one central figure—a boy with a gun. The seasons may
+change and mingle, as seasons do in dreams, but the boy treads again the
+familiar places, and renews his old disappointments and triumphs. Each
+man sees different pictures and a different boy, but a boy with a gun is
+always there.
+
+It is strange to think that there may be other boys to-day who hold the
+loch and all its pleasant places in fee as we hold it by the tenure of
+our memories. Stranger still to think of all the vanished boys, back
+through the years, the generations, the centuries, who have loved our
+little loch, hunted by its margins, and dreamed strange dreams among the
+sunny hollows of the links. Could they return to-day, islesman born,
+Norseman, Pict, or Scot, they would find many changes; for man is ever
+busy improving and altering the face of his kindly Mother Earth: yet the
+loch they would see but little changed.
+
+The waters shine as of old under the same sunlight, or ruffle into
+miniature white-capped billows with the autumn winds, and by night
+they mirror the unchanging stars. The splendour of the sandhills in
+summer, when they robe themselves like kings with the purple and gold
+of crowfoot and thyme; the hot scent of wild peppermint crushed under
+foot; the trumpet call of the wild swans ringing through the frosty air
+on winter nights; the pipings and flutings of the water-fowl among the
+summer reeds; the screaming of falcons and croaking of ravens from the
+cliffs; and overhead, from dawn to dusk, in the long days of the northern
+summer, the myriad music of the larks;—all these things they would find
+unchanged. And though the little fences and fields, the roads, the byres
+and barns of men have changed the nearer scene, yet man has not altered
+the “beloved outline of familiar hills,” nor silenced the deep music of
+the eternal sea.
+
+                                     DUNCAN J. ROBERTSON.
+                                  (_“Longman’s Magazine.” By permission._)
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+AMONG THE KELPERS.
+
+
+In the end of March and the beginning of April, when the isles rise brown
+from a steel-gray, wind-ruffled sea, their bare unloveliness is veiled by
+pale blue smoke-drifts, which cast over the low, sloping shores a certain
+charm of remoteness and of mystery. Later in the year, when the summer
+seas are only less blue than the skies above them, and every island
+shines like an emerald, white jets and spirals as from many altars rise
+round all the shores. For spring and summer are the kelper’s seasons, and
+long, dry days, which scorch and wither the young crops, are welcome to
+the crofter who has secured a good stock of “tangles” in winter and a big
+share in a “brook of ware,” now that “burning weather” has come.
+
+Until recently no kelp was burned after Lammas—that is, August 2—but of
+late years, when the season has been dry, the fires have been burned even
+so late as October.
+
+The kelper’s year may be reckoned from mid-November. Then he is paid for
+his work in the year that is ended. Then the gales sweep up from north
+or west, tearing from its deep sea-bed the red-ware, of which the long
+supple stems are known to the islesmen as “tangles.” Should the wind
+freshen to a gale during the night, the diligent kelper is up and out
+before the first glimmer of dawn. Buffeted by the wind and lashed by the
+stinging spray, he peers through the darkness, watching for those shadows
+against the white surf of the breaking waves which he knows to be rolling
+masses of seaweed and wrack. He is armed with a “pick,” an implement
+resembling a very strong hayfork, but with the prongs set, like those of
+a rake, at right angles to the handle. With this pick, struggling often
+mid-thigh deep in the rushing waters, he grapples the tumbling seaweed
+and drags it up the beach, out of reach of the waves. For the wind may
+change, and the “brook,” as he calls a drift of weed, if not secured
+at once, may be carried out to sea again, or even worse, to some other
+strand where it will be lost to him. Of course, the winds and waves often
+do this work alone, and pile the tangles in huge, glittering rolls along
+the beaches.
+
+When the brook is fairly on the strand, the work of the kelper is only
+begun. He has to carry the tangles from the beach to the seabanks above,
+in carts where that is possible, and where no carts can pass, then
+laboriously on hand-barrows. I know of one strand on which the great gale
+of November 1893 landed a brook of tangles which kept the kelpers busy
+for three months. Once on the banks, the tangles are stacked in great
+heaps on “steiths,” or foundations built of sea-rounded stones arranged
+in such fashion as to give free ingress to the air. There they lie till
+spring, when by the action of wind and sun they have become hard, dry,
+and wrinkled—brands ready for the burning.
+
+[Illustration: _Some “Big Hooses.”—II._
+
+1. Trumbland, Rousay. 2. Graemeshall, Holm. 3. Melsetter. 4. Balfour
+Castle. 5. Smoogro, Orphir.]
+
+Only the tangles can be dried in winter; but the softer parts—the
+foliage, one may call it—of the red-ware is not lost, but goes to manure
+the fields, and until a sufficient quantity has been obtained for that
+purpose none is made into kelp.
+
+Each proprietor in the islands has right, generally under a charter
+from the Crown, to the weed cast up on his shores. Each ware-strand, or
+beach where drift-weed comes to land, is set apart for a certain number
+of tenants on the estate to which it belongs, and each brook of ware as
+it comes ashore is divided among these tenants, usually in proportion
+to their rents. The general custom is, that it is decided by lot from
+which portion of the brook each man shall draw his share. The middle is
+generally considered the best part, as there the weed is in its greatest
+bulk, and less rolled and beaten by the sea than at the ends; but it may
+happen that one end is near the only part of the beach where the ware can
+be carried up, and then the man who draws his lot there is saved much
+labour.
+
+The sharing of the ware is a fertile seed of dispute and an inexhaustible
+source of quarrel. The “kelp grieve,” or overseer who acts for the
+proprietor, generally settles all disputes; and each kelper, with the aid
+of his family, carries up his share of the brook, and spreads it on the
+drying-greens. These are most frequently links that know not cleek or
+driver, and upon them in the early morning the ware is spread, as thinly
+as may be, to be dried on the short, crisp grass by sun and wind.
+
+To the man whose daily life is built about with stone and lime, the
+summer work of the kelpers shines tempting as the waters to Tantalus.
+He thinks not of that kelper in winter, plunging and struggling with the
+slippery tangles amid the turmoil of the surf, but dreams only of quiet
+summer days and the gray glimmer of sunlit waters seen through a veil of
+drifting smoke.
+
+[Illustration: _Kelp-burning._]
+
+The links roll down in long, green billows from the ruins of an old
+feudal castle, where the brown rabbit is the door-ward, and in whose
+towers the starling nests unscared—roll down to a little bay, where
+the long waves of the Atlantic come up unceasingly, curving in great,
+green arches, before they break in thunder of white foam on the brown
+rocks and yellow sand. Where the grass is thin and scant the sand shines
+through, and this makes a bad drying-green, as kelp is of less value
+when mixed with sand. But here is a short, close turf, nibbled upon by
+rabbits, a racing-ground for lambs, where the thrift or sea-pink meets
+the meadow-clover, and thyme and crowfoot break in ripples of purple and
+gold to sweeten all the summer air.
+
+Than this a better drying-green cannot be found. On one side of the bay
+a long stretch of flat rocks runs down from the grass to the sea, and
+they too are utilized, when tides allow, to dry the seaweed. Here, in
+May and June, the whole air tingles with the song of larks innumerable.
+Long before sunrise, before the last stars have faded in the west, they
+are up, weaving a magical garment of song over all the green land. All
+day and far into the dim twilight that is our northern night they sing
+without ceasing. Larks are everywhere. In that tuft of grass at our
+feet is a nest with four of the dusky-brown eggs which hold next year’s
+music. There, in the ditch by the roadside, is another nest, from which
+the featherless young raise feeble necks to gape for food, showing their
+yellow tongues with the three black spots, which children here are told
+will appear on the tongue of that child who takes the laverock’s nest.
+Again, a fledgeling, speckled like a toad, rises suddenly from the clover
+and flies a few yards, while its anxious parents circle close overhead
+with little tremulous bursts of song, or flutter with trailing wing along
+the grass.
+
+That pretence of a broken wing, which now seems to be an instinct, must
+surely at first have been arrived at by a process of reasoning. There
+must have been long since a broken wing, and a boy, or a dog, or a snake
+to chase the fluttering sufferer, and some wise observer among the
+mother-birds of that forgotten day to see and make a note of the chase,
+and with the heart-leap of a happy inspiration to find in it a new method
+of protecting her eggs and tender young, and to hand down the lesson she
+learned to our blithesome bird of the wilderness.
+
+But this summer world, so thrilled with lark music, is not held by the
+lark alone in fee. From every dry-stone wall young starlings are calling,
+“Chirr! chirr! chirr!” and the old birds hurry to and fro between their
+nests and the brown fields, soon to wave with oats and bere, where they
+gather the insects and grubs their younglings love. Their bronze feathers
+gleam in the sunshine as they pass, and at their harsh note of warning as
+they see strangers near their homes the tumult of the young birds among
+the stones is instantly hushed. The farmer owes these cheerful and busy
+birds a heavy debt of gratitude, as the number of his insect enemies
+which they destroy is incalculable.
+
+On the smooth turf the dried ware is piled in conical heaps, like
+giant molehills, to preserve it from the heavy night dews and from
+possible rain, and among the brown hillocks the wheatear bobs up and
+down, flirting his tail and repeating his cheerful “Tchk! tchk! chek-o!
+chek-o!” At times the rapture of summer and of his love inspire him with
+a vain desire of song. Up he goes, as if he were in very deed the skylark
+he takes as his model, uttering harsh and unmelodious notes—a feeble
+travesty of the golden rain of song that falls from the blue above him.
+But his flight extends upwards only a yard or two, and he sinks down
+again, chuckling to himself, as pleased with his song as any minor poet.
+
+As the day wears down to afternoon the corncrakes begin to call from the
+young grass, and all night long they answer each other from field to
+field. Speak of them to the kelpers, and everywhere one hears the same
+story of their hibernation in old walls. That landrails migrate has been
+proved beyond question, but equally beyond question does it seem that
+some few sleep out the winter here. Any kelper will tell how he, or if
+not he himself then some one of his neighbours, once in winter found a
+corncrake in some old dyke, to all appearance dead. He carried it home,
+and, laying it before the fire, watched the death-like trance slowly melt
+into life and motion.
+
+As to the winter sleep I can only speak at second-hand; but I have seen
+the birds in summer run like rats into the dry-stone dykes with which
+our crofters so love to encumber and adorn their land. That these dykes
+can be meant only for ornament is evident to the most casual observer in
+this land where ponies, cows, sheep, ay, and the very geese, are ofttimes
+tethered by the leg.
+
+Yet if the dykes serve no other purpose, they provide nesting-places for
+the starling and the wheatear, for the rock-pipit and the sparrow, which
+save the crops of the crofter from destruction by grub and fly. Mice
+also shelter in them, and rats in those islands where rats are found. In
+the happy isle of which I write no rat can live. They come ashore time
+and again from vessels touching at the little pier near the village, but
+where they go or what fate awaits them none can tell—only this, that they
+are seen no more on the green lap of the world.
+
+But we have left the ware too long in the sun. Should rain come, the
+kelper sees much of his profit melt away, for the salt which it causes
+to crystallize on the dried weed wastes, and what is left makes inferior
+kelp. All along the edges of the drying-greens are the burning pits or
+kilns—hollows for all the world like huge plovers’ nests in shape, lined
+with flat blue stones from the beach. They are about two feet deep and
+some five feet in diameter.
+
+When the ware is ready to be burned a smouldering peat or a handful of
+lighted straw is laid in the bottom of the pit. Over this dry ware is
+piled, slowly at first till the fire catches, and ever more rapidly as
+the red core of smouldering flame waxes.
+
+Sometimes ware and tangles are burned separately, but more frequently
+the kelper burns them together. The tangles make the stronger and better
+kelp. The pit is filled, and the ware or tangles are piled on till the
+mass rises two feet or more above the level of the earth. Then for six or
+eight hours it must be carefully watched and tended, and ever new fuel
+piled on to prevent a burst of flame. When tangles are being burnt alone,
+the kelper finishes off his pit with dried ware, as otherwise the tougher
+knots and lumps of the latest burned tangles would not be thoroughly
+consumed.
+
+Each pit holds about half a ton, and takes the best part of a summer
+day to burn, the actual time depending on the state of the wind and the
+condition of the weed. When at last it smoulders low, it is “raked”
+before being left to cool. One man takes a spade with a very small blade
+and a handle fully seven feet long, the lower half being of iron; two
+other workers, as often women as men, have “rakes,” implements not
+unlike a rough caricature of a golfer’s iron, but with handles as long as
+that of the spade. With these rakes the kelp is mixed and smoothed, while
+the spadesman turns it up from the bottom of the pit. Hard work it is and
+hot, great jets of flame shooting out under the spade from what looks
+like gray crumbling earth mingled with black ashes and white quartz; for
+the kelp assumes so many colours and forms that to describe it accurately
+were impossible. As the kelper turns and tosses the glowing mass on a
+warm June evening, he knows he has come near the end of that labour which
+began in the gray winter dawn, when the rolls of red-weed lashed about
+him amid the roaring backwash of the waves.
+
+When the kelp has been sufficiently mixed, the pit is levelled and
+smoothed over, all the outlying ashes are swept in with a handful of
+dry ware, and it is left to cool and harden. Then, as the kelpers turn
+homewards, the white sea fog creeps up by the rocks where all day long
+the kelp smoke drifted.
+
+Such is the work of the kelper, and such the places of his toil. An easy
+and a pleasant life it is compared to that of the men who labour in the
+bowels of the earth or in the great manufactories of smoke-darkened
+cities. He has the green turf under his foot and the clear sky over
+him, the sea makes music for him unceasingly, and the salt winds bring
+him health and strength. The furred and feathered folks share his land
+with him, and gather their harvest on the same shores. As he goes to
+his work in the morning, through the silver mists of dawn, a flock of
+blue rock-doves with great clatter of wings flash off through the clear
+air. The redshank pipes shrilly at him from the copestone of the nearest
+wall, and over the ploughed fields where their precious eggs are lying
+the pewits wheel and scream. “Pewit-weet! pee-weet!”—their note has in
+it for the isles folk, to whom the cuckoo is but a name, the very voice
+of spring and hope and love. The ringed plover stands motionless on his
+three-toed yellow feet, calling with his sweet, low note, and invisible
+save to the keenest eye until he makes a little run and betrays himself.
+Linnets swing and sing on the swaying thistles and among the heather. On
+the blue waters of the bay a little fleet of eider ducks is afloat, and
+their curious, hoarse, barking chuckle rolls up over the waters. Perhaps
+a seal raises his round head, shining like a bottle, and gazes with
+mild eyes at the men upon the beaches; while overhead gulls and terns
+swing past, cleaving the strong air with careless wing. Far out to sea
+the white gannets hawk to and fro. Suddenly one poises in mid-air for a
+moment, then drops like a stone into the water, a fountain of white spray
+flashing up in the sunlight as he disappears. Your kelper will tell you
+how in his younger days he caught the solan geese by means of a herring
+fastened to a board and sunk a few inches below the surface of the water.
+The bird sees the fish, poises, and swoops down only to drive his mighty
+bill through the board and break his neck.
+
+Nearer shore than the gannets the kittiwakes are fishing, when suddenly
+there glides among them a dusky skua, who forces the luckiest fisher to
+drop his spoil, which the ravager catches in mid-air and bears off. A
+true pirate of the air is the skua, and reminds me always of those low,
+dark feluccas so dreadful and so dear to the sailor on the high seas
+of romance. Far up in the blue ether a peregrine falcon sweeps round,
+circling wide on motionless, outspread wings, or a raven goes croaking
+from the cliffs to seek a prey, as he may have done for years unnumbered.
+If the tradition of his longevity may be believed, that dark corbie who
+flies croaking over the kelpers toiling in the morning sunlight, and sees
+the white smoke rise from their harmless kilns—what fires may he not have
+seen upon these beaches, and what strange smoke of sacrifice go up from
+forgotten altars to the unchanging heavens? Give him even a shorter lease
+of life than that which tradition assigns him, and still he may remember
+the blazing beacons leap up to carry from isle to isle a warning of the
+coming of Norse invaders. Allow him only two short centuries, and yet
+he must have watched the smoke of many a burning homestead in the days
+when the followers of the “Wee, wee German Lairdie” avenged their private
+wrongs in the name of their king. The older men among the kelpers still
+tell tales of the Jacobite lairds who lay hid like conies in the clefts
+of the rocks till these calamities were overpast.
+
+The old stories—the folk-tales of the isles—linger fragmentary among the
+kelping people. One may hear from them how all the fairies were seen to
+leave some island riding on tangles, and how they all went down in the
+windy firth, never to be seen again of mortals. Here is a man, bowed and
+crippled by rheumatism, who will tell how he was shot in the back by a
+“hill-ane” when ploughing. He saw not his assailant, but only the shadow
+of him on the earth. Another old man remembers having his side hurt as
+a boy, and going to a “wise woman” to be cured. She told him he had been
+“forespoken”—that is, bewitched—by a woman then dead, and made him drink
+water mixed with earth from the “fore-speaker’s” grave. She then put a
+hoop covered with a sheep’s skin on his head, a basin of water on that,
+and poured melted lead through the head of a key into the water, giving
+the patient a piece of the lead in the form of a heart as a charm. The
+cure wrought by this modern Norna was not, however, effectual.
+
+There are many quaint and even beautiful turns of speech among these
+hard-working crofters. Their faces shine on my memory red like setting
+suns through the white reek of the kelp pits. Here is one whose fathers
+fled from Perthshire after “the ’45,” and who thinks that some day he
+would like to go back to see the old place again—the “old place” which
+none of his have looked upon for one hundred and forty years! He toils
+night and day in summer cultivating his croft, fishing for lobsters, and
+making kelp. His rent is perhaps seven or eight pounds. Books, you would
+think, must be unknown to him; yet he will tell you he has “always been
+a great reader of Sir Walter Scott’s works,” and under the spell of that
+mighty wizard his hard life has budded and wreathed itself with romance.
+
+At the next pit is a man of a very different type. Quiet and slow, this
+man has led an honest life, with an eye ever to the main chance. Pressed
+once for an answer to some question important to the settling of a kelp
+dispute, after vain attempts at evasion, he burst out, “Gie me time, Mr.
+Blank, to wind up me mind.”
+
+Across the bay the pits are watched by an old bachelor—a _rara avis_
+among the kelpers—a little, clean-shaven, mouse-like man, who has “money
+in the bank.” He holds a croft where his ancestors have dwelt longer than
+the memory of man extends. The peat fire smouldering on his hearth has,
+to his certain knowledge, burned unquenched for two hundred years. How
+much longer ago it was kindled tradition recordeth not. Every night his
+last work is to “rest” that precious fire, and every morning it claims
+his earliest care. All his life he has toiled, gathering a harvest both
+from land and sea, and a harvest of content and happiness as well, such
+as few crofters know how to reap. “When I come oot on a fine simmer
+morning at four o’clock wi’ never anither reek but me ain, I’m laird o’
+a’ the land as far as I can see.” He has the secret of the lordship of
+the eye, which can give to a penniless man more profit of the pleasant
+earth than to the greatest lord of land among them all.
+
+Look at this fellow, gaunt, black, and shaggy; he might be one of
+_Punch’s_ Scotch elders. Asked if he remembered some event of thirty
+years ago—“No, sir,” he said. “Ye see, I wasna at hame then; I was divin’
+in the face o’ the sea for a livin’.” He had been a fisherman, and quite
+naturally chose to say so in this poetic phrase.
+
+These are only a few from among the many typical kelpers whose friendship
+I am proud to own. But if the types among them are many and various, in
+one thing they are all alike—their capacity for hard work. That work
+does not cease with the smoothing over of the smouldering pits. When
+the kelp has cooled it is broken up and lifted out of the pit in great
+lumps which look like gray slag, with streaks of white, blue, and brown
+running through it. Should it be exposed to rain its quality is much
+deteriorated, and to avoid this danger storehouses are built by the
+lairds, to which the kelp is carted. The kelp grieve weighs each man’s
+quantity as it is brought in, and he is paid a fixed sum per ton. When
+a sufficient quantity is gathered in the store a vessel is chartered,
+and where there is a pier the kelp is carted alongside. In islands
+where there is no pier it must be taken off in small boats. The kelpers
+themselves provide the carriage. Then the sails are spread, and the
+produce of the year’s work is carried off to chemical works far over
+sea, where, by processes unknown to me, iodine is extracted from it. The
+kelper receives about two pounds ten shillings for each ton of kelp he
+manufactures, and the importance and benefit of the industry to these
+crofters cannot be overestimated. I have known a man paying a rent of
+eight pounds receive thirty-four pounds for his kelp in one year. Nor
+is the actual price he receives the only benefit the crofter derives
+from kelp. Were it not for the share of the profit falling to the laird,
+he too often could not, in these days, afford to assist his tenants in
+improving either their houses or their land. On the whole, then, the
+kelper’s lot is not an unhappy one. His work lies in pleasant places, and
+it is eminently healthy, and his days, as a rule, are long in the land
+and on the sea.
+
+                                     DUNCAN J. ROBERTSON.
+                                  (_“Longman’s Magazine.” By permission._)
+
+
+
+
+A WHALE-HUNT IN ORKNEY.
+
+
+“Whales in the bay so soon in the season!” exclaimed the clergyman,
+starting to his feet. “Come away,” he continued, “you have yet another
+day before you; we imitate the great of old, who entertained their guests
+with tournaments.”
+
+The manse garden commanded a fine view of Mill Bay, and on rushing out
+into the open air we saw a long dark line of boats, some with sails and
+some with oars, stretching across the blue waters of the broad voe,
+upwards of a mile from the shore. The practised eye of my host caught the
+gleam of dorsal fins in front of the boats, and we immediately hurried
+down to the beach, scarcely drawing breath till we stood on the bank
+above the sands of Mill Bay. The inmates of the neighbouring cottages
+had already assembled in eager groups on the grassy downs, and other
+islanders still came flocking from remoter farms and cabins to the shore.
+Several of the men were armed with harpoons, while farm lads flourished
+over their shoulders formidable three-pronged “graips” and long-hafted
+hayforks.
+
+Many of the matrons had their heads encased in woollen “buities,” and
+this peculiar headdress imparted a singular picturesqueness to the
+excited groups on the sea-bank. Other boats with skilled hands on board
+put off from various points along the shore, and the fleet of small craft
+in the bay was rapidly increased by the arrival of fresh yawls. The crowd
+of urchins on the beach, who “thee’d” and “thou’d” each other like little
+Quakers in the Orcadian vernacular, cheered lustily as boat after boat
+hove in view round the headlands, swelling the fleet of whalers.
+
+The line of boats was now little more than a quarter of a mile from the
+beach. The bottle-nosed or ca’ing whales, showing their snouts and dorsal
+fins at intervals, seemed to advance slowly, throwing out skirmishers and
+cautiously feeling their way. As the beach was smooth and sandy, with
+a gentle slope, the boatmen in pursuit were endeavouring to drive the
+“school” into the shallows, where harpoons, hayforks, and other weapons
+could be used to advantage.
+
+The excitement of the spectators on land increased as the long line of
+the sea-monsters drew closer inshore. From the boats there came wafted
+across the water the sound of beating pitchers and rattling rowlocks,
+and the hoarse chorus of shouting voices. This babel of noises, which
+the water mellowed into a wild war-chant with cymbal accompaniment, was
+meant to scare the “school” and hasten the stranding of the whales. But
+an incident occurred that changed the promising aspect of affairs, turned
+the tide of battle, and gave new animation to the scene.
+
+Eager to participate in the expected slaughter, two or three farm lads,
+whose movements had escaped notice, suddenly shot off from the shore in
+a skiff rowing right in front of the advancing line. The glitter and
+splash of oars alarmed the leaders, and the entire “school,” seized with
+a sudden panic, wheeled round and dashed at headlong speed into the line
+of pursuing boats.
+
+A shout rose from the shore as the flash of tail-fins, the heaving of
+the boats, and the rapid strokes of the boatmen showed all too plainly
+the escape of the whales, and the success of their victorious charge.
+Away beyond the broken line of the fleet they plunged in wild stampede,
+striking the blue waters into spangles of silver foam. Arches of spray,
+blown into the air at wide distances apart, served to indicate the size
+of the “school” and the speed of the fugitives.
+
+“Whew!” exclaimed my reverend friend, “that was a gallant charge, and
+deserved to succeed; but I hope our brave lads will yet put salt upon
+their tails. The boatmen have toiled hard for their share of the fish,
+and great would be the pity if the whales made right off to the open sea.
+It is not every day that a ‘drave’ a hundred strong visits our shores,
+and there they go round the head of Odness in full career.”
+
+A commotion among the crowd at a short distance along the beach here
+arrested our attention. The exciting spectacle of the grand charge and
+wild flight of the whales had so absorbed our gaze that we failed to
+notice a mishap which was fortunately more ludicrous than alarming.
+The three youths who foolishly rowed off from the shore and caused the
+stampede had suffered for their rashness by getting their skiff capsized
+when the sea-monsters wheeled round to the charge. On gaining the
+outskirts of the crowd, we found the three luckless whale-hunters already
+beached. Bonnetless, dripping, and disconsolate, they were the objects
+of mirth to some, of commiseration to others.
+
+At last they made off, and we immediately set out in the direction of
+Odness to catch a sight of the whales, which had quite disappeared from
+the bay. The boats had turned in pursuit when the “school” escaped, and
+they were now making all haste to double the headland. On gaining the top
+of the cliffs, we were glad to observe that the whales, recovered from
+their fright, drifted leisurely along the coast, giving way at times to
+eccentric gambols.
+
+“All right!” cried my friend, handing me back my binocular; “they are
+coasting away famously round Lamb Head, and they are almost certain to
+take a snooze in Rousholm Bay, which is the best whale-trap I know in
+Orkney. Let us sit down here on the top of the cliffs till the boats come
+abreast, and then we shall take a nearer way to Rousholm than following
+the coast.”
+
+The summit of the rocks, softly carpeted with grass, moss, and wild
+flowers, afforded a pleasant resting-place, and commanded a picturesque
+prospect. To eastward there was a wide expanse of sea, stretching away
+without a break to the Norwegian fiords. The whale-hunting fleet,
+composed of all varieties of small craft, was soon well abreast of
+our resting-place. A fine and favourable breeze had sprung up, and
+fishing-yawls, with their brown sails outspread, coasted briskly along.
+The rearguard of the fleet consisted of row-boats manned by patient
+and determined boatmen, who pulled hard at the oars in the prospect
+of winning some share of the spoil. We remained a short time on the
+moss-crowned cliffs gazing on the animated scene, and listening to the
+voices of the boatmen, the plash of the waves below, and the plaint
+of restless sea-birds. On leaving our lair we dropped down upon a
+neighbouring farmhouse, where a couple of “shelties” were placed at our
+disposal, and away we trotted along field-paths and rough tracks to the
+head of Rousholm Bay, on the south side of the island. From all the
+cottages and farms in the district the islanders were flocking to the
+shore of the bay, and we thus had good hope that a portion of the school
+at least had run blindfold into the whale-trap of Rousholm. On nearing
+the shore we were delighted to find that our hope was fulfilled. A large
+detachment of the whales, supposed to number one hundred and fifty, had
+entered the bay, while the rest of the school had disappeared amid the
+reaches of the Stronsay Firth.
+
+Rounding the point of Torness, and stretching across the mouth of the
+bay, the fleet of small craft again hove into view, and pressed upon the
+rear of the slowly advancing and imprisoned whales. Among the onlookers
+there was now intense excitement, the greatest anxiety being manifested
+lest the detached wing should follow the main army, and again break the
+line of boats in a victorious charge. The shoutings and noise of the
+boatmen recommenced, and echoed from shore to shore of the beautiful and
+secluded bay. A fresh alarm seized the monsters, but instead of wheeling
+about and rushing off to the open sea as before, they dashed rapidly
+forwards a few yards, pursued by the boats, and were soon floundering
+helplessly in the shallows.
+
+The scene that ensued was of the most exciting description. Fast and
+furious the boatmen struck and stabbed to right and left; while the
+people on the shore, forming an auxiliary force, dashed down to assist
+in the massacre, wielding all sorts of weapons. The wounded monsters
+lashed about with their tails, imperilling life and limb, and the ruddy
+hue of the water along the stretch of shore soon indicated the extent of
+the carnage. Some of the larger whales displayed great tenacity of life;
+but the unequal conflict closed at last, and no fewer than a hundred and
+seventy carcasses were dragged up on the beach.
+
+One or two slight accidents occurred, but to me it seemed marvellous that
+the boatmen did not injure each other as much as the whales amid the
+confusion and excitement of the scene. The carcasses, as I was informed,
+would realize between £300 and £400; and grateful were the people that
+Providence had remembered the island of Stronsay, by sending them a
+wonderful windfall of bottle-noses fresh from the confines of the Arctic
+Circle.
+
+                                    DANIEL GORRIE
+                                 (_“Summers and Winters in the Orkneys.”_)
+
+[Illustration: _Wreck at Burgh Head, Stronsay._]
+
+
+
+
+ARTICLES MADE OF STRAW.
+
+
+The Orkney peasantry of two centuries ago lived in a poor country—a
+country ground down by the tyranny of greedy and unscrupulous rulers; a
+country whose inhabitants had neither the raw materials from which to
+construct many necessary utensils nor the money to purchase them. It is
+interesting to note some of the ways in which our forefathers overcame
+the circumstances in which they were placed. One of the most notable is
+the ingenious use of straw for the construction of many domestic utensils.
+
+The materials from which articles of straw were made were principally
+_bent_ and the straw of black oats. The bent, after being cut, was
+loosely bound into rough sheaves and left to dry and wither. It was then
+bound into neat sheaves called _beats_, the legal size of which used to
+be two spans in circumference. Each beat was carefully pleated at the
+upper end, gradually tapering upwards into a cord which served to bind
+two beats together. The pair of beats so fastened was called a “band of
+bent,” twelve of which formed a “thrave.” From this bent were made the
+cords, always called _bands_, which were used in the manufacture of
+straw. During the long winter evenings each ploughman was required to
+wind into bands one beat of bent. The cord was spun or twisted by the
+fingers, the two strands being each twisted singly, and at the same time
+laid into each other in such a way that the tendency of the strands to
+untwist was the means of keeping the two firmly twisted together.
+
+The straw used was that of the common Orkney black oats, which was at
+once tougher and more flexible than that of other cultivated kinds.
+The straw to be used was not threshed with the flail, which would have
+spoiled it, but was selected from the sheaves, held in a bunch between
+the hands, and beaten on some hard edge to remove the grain. Such straw
+was called _gloy_. From those two materials, bent bands and gloy, a very
+wide variety of indispensable articles were manufactured by the Orkney
+farmer.
+
+These articles may be divided into three classes—flexible, semi-flexible,
+and inflexible. Of the flexible type, the most simple and primitive
+article was the _sookan_, or, to give it a still older name, the
+_wislin_. This was simply straw twisted loosely into a thick cord of one
+strand, for temporary use. If not at once used to tie round something, it
+had to be wound into a clew to preserve its twist.
+
+A very common use of sookans in the winter-time was to form what were
+known as “straw boots.” A loop of the sookan was passed round the instep,
+over the shoe or _rivlin_, the thick straw cord being then wound round
+the ankles and the lower part of the leg. When the snow was deep, such
+straw boots formed a very comfortable part of the peasant’s attire. Less
+than a century ago, on a Sunday when the snow lay deep on the ground,
+more than forty men wearing straw boots were seen in one Orkney church.
+It must be added that on the way home some of them were severely reproved
+by a neighbour for having performed this unnecessary labour on the
+Sabbath day!
+
+Next in order comes _simmans_. This was a strong straw rope made of two
+strands, also twisted by hand, and rolled into great balls or clews, the
+size of which was the width of the barn door. The main use of simmans
+was to thatch the corn stacks, and also the roofs of the cottages. A
+newly-thatched cottage, with the bright warm colour of the new straw
+ropes, was a pleasing object in an Orkney landscape. The sombre colour
+given when the simmans were twisted of brown heather was less cheerful,
+but Nature did her best even here by her decoration of the low walls with
+bright yellow and green lichens.
+
+Most of the ropes and cordage required by the Orkney farmer were made
+either of hair or of bent. The bent bands already noticed were made
+into ropes on a rude machine called a _tethergarth_, and were used
+for tethering cattle and sheep, and for “boat tethers” for small
+fishing-boats. Finer bent ropes were applied to a great many uses, such
+as flail “hoods,” sheep shackles, and all parts of horse harness. A very
+important part of this, the collar or _wazzie_, was formed by twisting
+four thick folds of straw together; and, when properly made, I suspect
+the wazzie was much cooler for the horse than the modern collar with
+its absurd cape. Even the plough-traces were made of bent ropes, which,
+if quickly worn, were easily replaced. For bringing in the crop, a large
+net made of bent cord, and called a _mazie_, was put round a bundle of
+sheaves, and suspended, one on each side of the horse, from the horns of
+the _clibber_, a rough kind of wooden pack-saddle.
+
+_Flackies_, or mats made of straw bound together with bent cord, were
+used for many purposes. Small ones were used as door-mats, and large
+ones were hung up as an apology for an inner door. Horse flackies were
+laid over the back of the horse to protect it from the friction of the
+clibber, and his sides from the load which it supported. Flackies were
+also fixed on the rafters, under the straw, when thatching house roofs.
+
+We next come to what I have called the semi-flexible class of straw
+articles. The first to be noticed is the _kaesie_, which, in various
+shapes and sizes, was put to a great number of uses. It was made of
+straw, bound by bent cord, like the flackie, but was of a closer texture,
+and it was usually in the shape of a basket. The _meils-kaesie_ was so
+called because it was made to hold a “meil” of corn—that is, a little
+over a hundredweight.
+
+It was in these meils-kaesies that the corn was carried to the mill, and
+the meal brought back from it; for carts were unknown, and roads were
+but paths or tracks. Each horse carried a full kaesie on either side.
+The horses travelled in single file, the head of each being tied to the
+tail of the one in front. A man was in charge of each pair of horses,
+to attend to the proper balancing of their loads. A train of twenty or
+thirty horses marching in this way was a picturesque sight. On arriving
+at the mill, the burdens were removed, and the head of the foremost horse
+was tied to the tail of the hindmost, which prevented their moving away
+until their drivers were ready to return home.
+
+Next may be mentioned the _corn-kaesie_, which was used to hold dressed
+grain. These were shaped somewhat like a barrel, and were made in various
+sizes. Then comes the common kaesie, used for carrying burdens on the
+back. These also were of different sizes. In form they were narrow and
+rounded at the bottom, and widened gradually towards the top, which was
+finished by a stiff circular rim called the _fesgar_, to give firmness
+to the basket. To the fesgar were fastened the ends of a bent rope of
+suitable length, called the _fettle_, by which the kaesie was suspended
+from the shoulders of the bearer.
+
+To the same class as the kaesies belong the _cubbies_, the names and uses
+of which are legion. These were smaller than the former, and firmer in
+texture, while the shapes showed more variety, as might be needed for
+their special uses. We need only mention a few. The windo’ or winnowing
+cubbie was used to pour out the corn gently on the barn floor, while the
+wind blowing in at one door and out at the other carried away the chaff.
+The sawin’ or sowing cubbie carried the seed corn in spring. The horse
+cubbie was used as a muzzle for a horse when necessary. The hen cubbie
+was suspended as a nest for the domestic fowls. The use of the spoon
+cubbie, which hung by the side of the fire, needs no explanation. The
+bait cubbie and the sea cubbie must close our list, the former used for
+carrying bait, and the latter for the catch of fish. A cubbie was always
+carried by the beggars who swarmed before the introduction of the poor
+law, and to “tak’ the cubbie and the staff” was a phrase meaning to be
+forced to beg one’s bread.
+
+We now come to what I have called inflexible articles. Here we may
+mention first the _luppie_, once in universal use for holding all sorts
+of dry materials, such as meal, burstin, eggs, and the like. Luppies were
+round and barrel-shaped, close in texture, and as firm as a board. They
+varied much in size, being made from about ten inches to three feet in
+height. They had a rim round the lower end to protect the bottom, and two
+“lugs” at the top. Those of the smallest size were used by housewives as
+work-baskets.
+
+The work on these luppies, and on the straw stools to be mentioned next,
+was considered the finest and most durable. Small coils or gangs of straw
+were firmly and closely laced over one another. The lacing cord was of
+the strongest bent, and the projecting ends of the bent were carefully
+clipped off. These bands were known as _stool bands_.
+
+We now come to the straw stools or chairs, which were mainly of three
+kinds. The first was a sort of low, round stool without any back. Such a
+stool could be easily lifted to or from the fireside, and on an emergency
+could be instantly converted into a luppie by simply being turned upside
+down. The next was called the low-backed stool, having a semi-circular
+back reaching to the shoulders of the sitter. Last comes the high-backed
+or hooded stool, which was the easy-chair of the Orkney cottage. In
+later times the seat was always made of wood, in the form of a square
+box, with a slightly projecting top. Strips of wood were used to support
+the front edges of the back, and to form elbow rests in front of these.
+The seat box usually contained a drawer, in which the goodman kept his
+supply of snuff, and perhaps the few books which made up the cottage
+library. This form of chair, which is now regarded as the orthodox one,
+was invented in the middle of the eighteenth century by a native of North
+Ronaldsay, as the construction of the seat of wood took far less time
+than working it all in straw; but the older form, with its circular straw
+seat, and the side slips and elbow rests entirely covered with straw and
+bent cords, was much more elegant in the lines of its form.
+
+                                         WALTER TRAIL DENNISON.
+                                       (_Adapted from “Orcadian Papers.”_)
+
+[Illustration: _Making a straw-backed chair._]
+
+
+
+
+THE WEATHER OF ORKNEY.
+
+
+A foreign writer has said that Englishmen grumble more at their weather
+than at anything else, while it is really the only thing about their
+country of which they might be proud. His meaning is that, compared with
+other regions of the world, the climate of Great Britain is singularly
+free from disagreeable extremes of heat or cold, and of drought or flood.
+And if this is true of Great Britain as a whole, it is especially true
+of Orkney. In summer we rarely suffer from heat, and in winter we are
+equally free from extreme cold. The mean temperature of the whole year in
+Orkney (45·4°) is little below that of Aberdeen (46·3°), of Alnwick in
+Northumberland (46·3°), or of Kew near London (49·4°).
+
+The equability of our temperature, or its freedom from all extremes of
+heat and cold, is due to the influence of the sea. The temperature of the
+ocean varies only about 13° during the year; it is lowest in February,
+being 41·6°, while that of the air is 38·6°, and is highest in August,
+being 54·5°, while that of the air is 54°.
+
+The smallness of the difference between the annual mean temperature of
+Orkney and that of Kew is really due to the mildness of our winters.
+Taking the mean of the three winter months, we find that of Orkney to be
+almost the same as that of Kew, and slightly higher than that of Alnwick.
+For the three summer months, however, Orkney is three degrees colder than
+Alnwick and eight degrees colder than Kew. The hottest day in Orkney
+during the last thirty years only reached 76°, while at Kew 92° was
+recorded.
+
+The extent to which the sea influences our climate can best be seen by
+comparing it with that of an inland or continental station of similar
+latitude. Winnipeg, in the province of Manitoba, formerly well known to
+Orkney men as Fort Garry in the Red River Settlement, lies in nearly the
+same latitude as London. Its mean temperature, however, during the three
+winter months is only 0·9°, or thirty-one degrees below freezing-point,
+and thirty-eight degrees lower than that of Orkney; in summer it is 66°,
+or thirteen degrees above that of Orkney.
+
+Not only is our climate ruled by the sea; it is ruled by a sea whose
+waters are themselves somewhat warmer than their latitude might lead us
+to expect. The temperature of the ocean is often affected by currents,
+bringing water either from warmer or from colder regions. In the case of
+the ocean waters round our coasts, the movement is from the south-west.
+This movement is due at first to the Gulf Stream, which carries a great
+mass of warm water from the Gulf of Mexico into the North Atlantic, and
+afterwards to a surface drift caused by the prevailing south-westerly
+winds.
+
+Our coast waters are therefore somewhat warmer than they would be if
+there were no such movement, and much warmer than if there were a current
+in the opposite direction, sweeping along the shores of Norway from the
+northern ocean. If we compare our climate with that of Nain, in Labrador,
+which lies in nearly the same latitude, and is also on the Atlantic
+coast, we shall see how much depends upon the ocean currents. The cold
+Arctic current which washes the Labrador coast, bringing with it melting
+icebergs, snow, and fog, reduces the mean annual temperature of Nain to
+less than 26°, more than nineteen degrees below that of Orkney.
+
+While the climate of oceanic islands is benefited by the equable
+temperature of the ocean, it is often marked by excessive moisture and
+rainfall. Yet even in this matter we shall see that Orkney has little to
+complain of, while, of course, serious droughts are practically unknown.
+
+Scotland, though small in area, shows great inequality in the
+distribution of its rainfall, due to the diversity of its surface and to
+the fact that most of its rain is brought by westerly winds. Districts
+near the west coast, especially if mountainous, have a much greater
+rainfall than those towards the east, which are also on the whole less
+elevated. Thus considerable portions of the West Highlands have an annual
+rainfall of over 80 inches, Ben Nevis recording over 150. Many parts of
+the eastern Lowlands, on the other hand, have only 30 inches or less; and
+Cromarty, which is the driest station in Scotland, has only 23 inches.
+
+Compared with the mainland of Scotland, then, it does not seem that the
+climate of our islands gives us much cause for grumbling, for our annual
+rainfall varies from 37·7 inches at Sandwick to 30·7 at Start Point in
+Sanday. Our wettest months are October, November, and December, during
+which we receive from one-third to one-half of our yearly rainfall; our
+driest months are April, May, and June, which together give us only
+one-eighth of the total.
+
+One fact about rain is sometimes overlooked: in cool climates rain brings
+heat. This may not be noticeable at the time, but its general effect can
+be observed. Just as it requires heat to turn water into vapour, and as
+evaporation always produces cold, so the change back again from vapour
+into water sets free some of this heat, raising the temperature of the
+air, of the rain itself, and of the land on which it falls. Much of the
+warming effect of our westerly winds is due not to the direct warmth of
+the Gulf Stream, as used to be supposed, but simply to the fact that
+these winds are rain-carrying winds. They thus bring to us the benefit
+of that solar heat which far away to the south-west caused the vapour to
+rise from the surface of the ocean.
+
+The chief difference between our weather and that of Scotland is,
+perhaps, the greater prevalence of high winds in Orkney. The land being
+low, our islands are swept by the full force of the gales so common in
+the North Atlantic. When speaking of winds, it may be useful to remember
+the classification which is recognized by the Meteorological Office.
+A wind moving at the rate of thirteen miles an hour is called a light
+breeze; forty miles represents the velocity of a moderate gale, and
+fifty-six miles a strong gale; seventy-five miles an hour is the speed
+of a storm, and ninety miles that of a hurricane. We have the record of
+only one hurricane, on November 17, 1893, with a velocity of ninety-six
+miles. Several gales of over eighty miles have been experienced, and one
+summer gale of seventy-five miles in the year 1890. During the fifteen
+years 1890 to 1904 three hundred gales were recorded in Orkney, while
+Alnwick experienced only one hundred and fifty-seven, and Valencia, on
+the west coast of Ireland, one hundred and thirty for the same period.
+Fleetwood, on the coast of Lancashire, however, had a record of three
+hundred and six gales during those years.
+
+Every Orcadian must have noticed a type of weather which is common all
+the year round, but especially so in winter. On a blue sky wisps of
+cirrus or “mare’s-tail” cloud appear in patches. Gradually these increase
+till they form a continuous haze, in which a lunar halo or “broch,” and
+occasionally solar halos or “sun-dogs,” may be seen. Then the wind, which
+was light and probably westerly, backs to the southward and eastward, and
+the sky becomes threatening. The wind increases, perhaps to a moderate
+gale, and rain falls heavily. The wind then shifts towards the south and
+south-west, increasing in force, sometimes quite suddenly, or it may
+change still further round towards the north. Meantime the barometer,
+which has been low and falling, begins to rise briskly, and the weather
+clears.
+
+To understand how this common series of weather changes comes about, a
+little knowledge of cyclones is necessary. A cyclone is a movement in
+the air resembling a whirlwind; the cyclones of the Indian Ocean and
+the China seas, indeed, are real whirlwinds of the most violent and
+destructive type. In the North Atlantic they exist for the most part as
+enormous eddies in the great air-ocean, often several hundreds of miles
+in diameter, probably rotating with the force of a gale near the centre,
+and at the same time moving forward as a whole at a moderate speed. A
+cyclone has been known to keep company with one of our Atlantic liners
+during its whole voyage, but the rate of progress is often less than this.
+
+A cyclone owes its origin to some local excess of heat, such as might
+arise from a heavy rainfall, the heat causing an upward movement in
+the air. The inrush of cool air which then follows begins a circular
+or whirling motion. The moist air in front of the cyclone gives up
+its moisture with the fall in temperature, causing the rains that are
+invariably found in front of such a movement. The air after the rainfall
+is dry and warmer, and its ascent keeps up a partial vacuum or area of
+low pressure, which is the centre or vent of the cyclone. It is really
+the rainfall in front of the cyclonic system that causes its forward
+movement, assisted by the rotation of the earth. Each space relieved
+of its moisture forms in its turn the new centre. A coast-line, or an
+anti-cyclonic movement of the air in front of a cyclone, will alter its
+course. When one reaches the shores of Europe, it soon spends itself for
+want of the moisture-laden winds in front to keep up the system.
+
+In the northern hemisphere the direction of rotation of a cyclone is
+opposite to the movement of the hands of a watch; in the southern
+hemisphere it is in the same direction as the movement of the hands of a
+watch. This is the effect of the rotation of the earth, as will be clear
+after a little thought on the matter. In the North Atlantic the forward
+motion of a cyclone is always from the westward to the eastward; hence
+the “storm warnings” which reach us from the United States.
+
+[Illustration: _Diagram of a typical Atlantic cyclone._]
+
+Our islands lie in the most common track of those Atlantic cyclones, and
+the centre of the whirl often passes over or near the Orkneys. Now if you
+will look at the chart or diagram of a typical cyclone as given here, and
+suppose it to be moving slowly from south-east to north-west, or suppose
+yourself to be moving through it in the opposite direction while it
+remains still, you will see how the changes of wind and weather which we
+have described must result from this movement.
+
+During the greater part of the year our weather is mainly due to a
+constant procession of those Atlantic cyclones, great and small, and
+hence arises the changeableness of our winds and our weather. But in
+the spring we often have weather of a different type. Our winds are
+then often cold, sometimes dry, and frequently easterly or northerly
+in direction for several days together. Such weather is due to
+anti-cyclones—that is, areas of high pressure, from which the air flows
+downwards and spreads outwards in every direction. An anti-cyclone is
+the opposite of a cyclone in almost every respect. Its supply of dry air
+often comes from the ascending air in the centre of a cyclone, which has
+deposited its moisture. At the meteorological station on Ben Nevis it
+was sometimes noticed that when an anti-cyclone was stationed over the
+south of England, and a cyclone was crossing the north of Scotland, there
+was an upper air-current travelling from the latter to the former, and
+no doubt supplying the dry air of the anti-cyclone. This is a type of
+movement which is usually found over land rather than sea, and it has not
+the regular forward movement of the cyclone.
+
+The last point which we may notice about our weather is the amount of
+sunshine which we receive. At every well-equipped observatory, such as
+that of Deerness, there is an instrument which records the duration of
+sunshine, hour by hour and day by day, all the year round. In the matter
+of sunshine, Orkney is not so badly treated as we may sometimes think.
+The average number of hours of sunshine each year recorded at Deerness
+is 1,177, while Edinburgh enjoys only 1,166. London is a little better,
+with 1,260, while Hastings, on the more favoured south coast of England,
+has an average record of 1,780 hours. Our brightest month is May, with an
+average of 178 hours of sunshine, and our gloomiest month is naturally
+December, with only 20·6 hours.
+
+
+
+
+THE PLACE-NAMES OF ORKNEY.
+
+
+Orkney place-names form an attractive subject of study. There is always
+some reason why a certain place received its own particular name, though
+that reason may often be difficult to discover. The use of a name is, of
+course, to distinguish one place from other places of a similar class,
+and the most obvious way of doing so is to refer to some special feature
+or peculiarity of the place. In this way arise such names as the Red
+Head, the North Sea, the Muckle Water, and Green Holm. Houses and farms
+and islands are often named after the owner.
+
+When people of a different race and language settle in a country, or
+when the language changes, as happened in Orkney after its annexation to
+Scotland, the old names may still be used, although when their meaning
+is unknown or has been forgotten they are apt to be changed in various
+ways. People rarely take the trouble of inventing a new name for a place
+if they can find out the name already given to it. Thus if there had
+been any Celtic or Pictish inhabitants left in Orkney when the Norsemen
+settled there, the Celtic names of the islands and hills and bays would
+have been handed down from them to us. But all the old place-names in
+Orkney are Norse, and the only Celtic elements found in them refer to the
+settlements and churches of the Culdees, as we have already mentioned.
+
+The Norse place-names are usually descriptive, based either on the
+appearance or the situation of the place, or on the name of its occupier.
+Such names have an interest which is entirely wanting in the modern
+names given to farms or houses, names which are often selected for
+absurd or trivial reasons. There is little need for inventing any new
+names in a land which has been so fully supplied with them already. For
+it is not only the various islands and their most prominent physical
+features that bear descriptive Norse names; hillock and meadow, field
+and spring, rock, geo, and skerry—all have been named by our forefathers
+with names of which the form as well as the meaning is now in many cases
+forgotten. Those names should be regarded as relics entrusted to our
+care, and we ought to learn them from the old people by whom they are
+still remembered, and preserve them from alteration or oblivion, as the
+material relics of our romantic history are now being preserved from
+destruction and decay.
+
+_Orkney_, the general name of the island group, is partly Celtic and
+partly Norse. Pliny, the Roman geographer, mentions _Cape Orcas_,
+probably Duncansby Head in Caithness, and calls the islands _Orcades_.
+The Celtic Scots called them the _Orc Islands_, and southern writers use
+the form _Orcanig_. The root of the name is supposed to be _orc_, which
+meant the bottlenose whale. The Norse visitors added the termination
+_-ey_, meaning “island.”
+
+When the Norsemen settled in these islands, they gave to each a name
+in their own language, and these names have been preserved with little
+alteration, though their meaning has generally been forgotten. Some were
+named from their configuration or appearance, as Hoy (_Ha-ey_), the high
+island; Flotta (_Flat-ey_), the flat island; Sanday, the sand island;
+Eday, the island of the _eith_ or isthmus; Burray (_Borgar-ey_), the
+islands of the “brochs.” Some were named from their position, as Westray,
+the west island; Auskerry, the east skerry. Some were named after
+persons as Rousay, Rolf’s island; Gairsay (_Gareksey_), Garek’s island;
+Graemsay (_Grimsey_), Grim’s island; Copinsay, Kolbein’s island. The name
+_Rinansey_, the island of St. Ninian, often called Ringan, was afterwards
+changed to Ronaldsay, with “North” prefixed to distinguish it from the
+original Rognvald’s island, now South Ronaldsay. A few were named from
+their uses, as Faray, the sheep island; and Hrossey, the horse island, an
+old name for the Mainland (_Meginland_), or principal island of the group.
+
+It is very odd to find in books and on maps the Latin name _Pomona_
+applied to this last island—Pomona, the Roman goddess of harvest-plenty,
+whose name was also used to indicate the fruits of the earth. The
+explanation seems to be that a mistake was made by George Buchanan,
+the greatest Latin scholar whom Scotland ever produced, in quoting a
+passage from Solinus, an old Latin writer. Solinus, speaking of some
+island which he calls Thylé or Thulé, says that it is five days’ sail
+from the Orcades, and that it is large and rich in the constant yield
+of its harvests (_pomona_). Buchanan, who knew much of Latin but little
+of either Thulé or the Orcades, takes this to mean that “Thulé is large
+and Pomona is rich and fertile,” and he concludes from this that Pomona
+must be the chief island of the Orcades. Thus by a mere blunder the name
+“Pomona” was given to the Mainland; but there is no good reason why
+we should perpetuate this blunder. “Mainland” is the name which every
+intelligent Orcadian should use. It is believed by some that the use of
+the word _pomona_ itself is due to another blunder, the mistake of a
+copyist, and that what Solinus really wrote was a contracted form of a
+word which simply meant fruit.
+
+Our place-names have suffered much from the blunders of surveyors and
+map-makers who knew nothing of the Norse language. Whenever they found
+a name which bore some resemblance to an English word, they immediately
+changed it into what they supposed to be its correct English form. A
+good example of a name thus “corrected” for us is that of the place now
+called “Walls.” The proper name of the district is _Waas_, and this is
+the name which it should bear on the map. But the intelligent surveyors
+no doubt knew that there is an English word “walls” which is pronounced
+“wa’s” in Scotland, and so they assumed that the Norse place-name “Waas”
+ought to be written and pronounced “Walls.” This is of course an absurd
+error. “Waas” is a form of “Voes,” a name which is admirably suited to
+the district, the land of the voes or bays.
+
+The name of our county town, Kirkwall, has been similarly disguised
+by the well-meaning reforms of ignorant persons. Old people in the
+islands still call it “Kirkwaa,” and this is the correct form of the
+name. The Peerie Sea was called the “Kirk-voe” long before St. Magnus
+Cathedral was built, the name being derived from the old church of St.
+Olaf, whose doorway still exists, and this name, applied to the town,
+naturally changed into “Kirkwaa.” It would probably be impossible now
+to restore the old name; we can only be grateful that our map-makers
+did not also turn “kirk” into the English form “church.” We may suspect
+that the parish name Holm has been similarly tampered with. The local
+pronunciation, which is “Ham,” indicates that the name may be derived
+from _hafn_, a harbour, as in “Hamnavoe” (_Hafnarvagr_) and other cases,
+but has no connection with _holm_, which means a small island. When the
+meaning of _hafn_ had been forgotten, and the local pronunciation was
+ignored, the name was naturally supposed to be connected with the _holms_
+which lie off the shore.
+
+A similar intrusion of the letter _l_ is found in _Pierowall_, and also
+in _Noltland_, in Westray. The latter is sometimes, and more correctly,
+written as “Notland.” The Norse name was _Nautaland_, the pasture for
+“nowt” or cattle. The word _Pentland_ must be our last example of such
+blunders. To the Norsemen the Scottish mainland was _Pettland_, the land
+of the Picts; and even at the present day Orcadians, who have not been
+misled by books and maps, still speak of the “Pettland Firth.”
+
+The names of farms or small districts are often very interesting. A
+common termination in these is _-bister_, which represents the Norse
+_bolstadr_, a farmsteading, the first part of the name usually being
+derived from the name of the original owner, as in “Grimbister” and
+“Swanbister,” the farm of Grim and of Sweyn. The word is connected with
+_bol_, a dwelling, which still exists in our local dialect in the form
+“beul,” meaning a stall in a byre or stable. Two Norse words, _bu_ and
+_bær_, meaning a home or a household, give rise respectively to the
+common farm name Bu, and to several names ending in _-by_, as Houseby
+and Dounby.
+
+The termination _-ster_ or _-setter_, which is also very common,
+represents the Norse word _setr_; the name _saeter_ is still used in
+Norway for a summer pasture among the hills at some distance from the
+farm. Several of our farms bear the name of Seatter, and the number of
+compounds of this word is too large to need illustration.
+
+_Garth_, which meant an enclosure, is akin to the English words _yard_
+and _garden_, and is found in numerous farm names, sometimes alone, but
+more frequently in compounds, where it appears as the termination _-ger_,
+the _g_ being sounded hard. Other names for enclosed land were _quoy_
+(_kvi_) and _town_ (_tun_), and in almost every district we find farm
+names in which these words appear. The Norse _skali_, a hall, appears
+as _skaill_, either alone or as an element in compound names. There
+are other common terminations which might be mentioned, all of them
+significant and worthy of study, but these may suffice to illustrate how
+full of meaning and interest our common place-names really are.
+
+We have said that the Norse word for “island” now appears as the
+termination _-ay_ or _-a_. This termination, however, has in some cases a
+different origin, especially where the name does not refer to an island.
+Thus in the names Scapa and Hoxa the _-a_ is a contraction of _eith_,
+meaning an isthmus. Scapa was _Skalpeith_, the ship-isthmus, and Hoxa was
+_Haugseith_, the isthmus of the haug or howe. In the name of the island
+of Sanday, the termination means “island;” in the name Sanday applied to
+several places round Deer Sound, the reference is to the “Sand aith” or
+isthmus already mentioned. In names of places such as Birsay and Swannay,
+where a large burn is found, we may conclude that the _-ay_ represents
+the Norse _-a_, meaning a river, as the _o_ does in Thurso.
+
+As we should expect from a seafaring race, the Norsemen have left us a
+very liberal heritage of names for the various natural features of our
+shores. Projecting points of land are called “ness” or “moul” or “taing,”
+according to their configuration, and even the less prominent rocks
+are still known as “clett” or “skerry,” or bear other names which were
+originally simple descriptions of their peculiar forms. In the same way
+descriptive names were applied to the water features, and every “voe” and
+“sound,” every “hope” and “geo” have names which offer us a fine field
+for study.
+
+In dealing with this last class of names, there are two Norse words
+which may cause us some trouble—_hella_, a flat rock, and _hellir_, a
+cave, both of which appear in place-names as _hellya_, while a third
+word _helgr_, holy, sometimes assumes the same form. It is impossible to
+determine what the original form and meaning of a name have been unless
+we examine the place as well as its name.
+
+In studying our place-names, we ought to remember that the correct names
+are those that are used by the old people who live in the district, not
+those that are found on the map, or are used by people who adopt the
+pronunciation suggested by the spelling. By means of the knowledge of a
+few dozen common Norse roots, and a careful examination of the places
+to which the names belong, most of our old-fashioned place-names may be
+made to yield up their ancient meanings, and to throw some light upon the
+past condition of the islands. When studied in this way, our place-names
+are seen to be fragments of fossil history, organic remains of an early
+stratum of society, as eloquent of the past as are the geological fossils
+of the early ages of plant and animal life.
+
+[Illustration: _At the quern._]
+
+
+
+
+Part III.—Nature Lore.
+
+
+
+
+THE STORY OF THE ROCKS.
+
+
+“Sermons in Stones.”
+
+A stone quarry is a common enough object in Orkney—so common, indeed,
+that we may never have taken any interest in it. Yet this common quarry
+is a place where we may learn some strange facts about the making of our
+islands, if we visit it in the spirit of one who
+
+    “Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
+    Sermons in stones, and good in everything.”
+
+The quarrymen begin their work by clearing away the “redd” from the rock
+beneath. First they remove the soil. This is dark in colour, not very
+rich or deep, perhaps, and not so black as the more fertile soils of
+other lands. Yet it contains the plant-food which nourishes our crops,
+and thus nourishes ourselves. The particles are fine and loose, and the
+soil is traversed everywhere by the small rootlets of plants. The dark
+colour is due to the decayed substance of past crops of plants, which
+largely consists of carbon. We must try to find out how this soil, which
+is so precious to the farmer, has been formed.
+
+Every one knows the difference between the appearance of a new house and
+that of an old one: in the former the stones of the walls are clean and
+sharp, in the latter they have a weathered, time-worn look. In graveyards
+the headstones recently put up have their inscriptions sharp and clear;
+the older stones have their surfaces pitted, and the letters carved on
+them are indistinct. Compare the old carvings and tracery on the outer
+walls of our cathedral, made hundreds of years ago, with the clean-cut
+masonry of new buildings which stand near it, and you will see that
+stones decay with time and moulder away; they crumble into dust under the
+winter’s frost and rains and the heat of the summer sun.
+
+So it is with all the rocks of which the surface of our islands is made
+up. Year by year they moulder away. The dust or earth into which they
+break down forms a soil in which plants take root and grow. The plants
+push their root fibres downwards, helping to open up the cracks in the
+rock; and when these roots die and decay their substance mingles with the
+soil, giving it that black colour which marks old fertile soils that have
+long been cultivated.
+
+Under the soil lies the subsoil—that is, rock which is half decayed and
+partly broken up. In course of time it will become as fine as the soil
+itself; for the subsoil gradually changes into soil. In wet weather the
+rain, and in dry weather the wind, carry away the fine particles of earth
+from the surface of the fields, and would sooner or later take away all
+the fertile soil; but the continual action of the weather on the subsoil
+supplies fresh material. Hence, while the old soil is constantly being
+removed, new soil is forming to take its place.
+
+As we see in the quarry, under the soil and the subsoil there is rock.
+This is true of all parts of our country; there is a rocky skeleton
+beneath the thin layer of fertile soil which supports the plants and
+animals. In the rocky skerries which are common along the shores we see
+the nature of the rock-built framework of the islands. If the soil and
+subsoil were swept away, as the waves have swept it from the skerries, it
+would be plainly seen that the islands are built up of rocks.
+
+All the rocks of our islands, almost without exception, were laid down
+under water. They consist of three different substances. One is sand,
+in small rounded white or yellow grains. Another is clay, dark gray in
+colour, very close grained and soft. The third is lime.
+
+A rock which consists mostly of sand is called sandstone. The Eday
+freestone, which is much used for putting round the doors and windows
+of shops and large buildings, is a sandstone. The common blue flagstone
+contains clay mixed with more or less sand. The sandy beds are coarse,
+gritty, and hard; the fine-grained flags contain more clay, and are
+darker in colour, softer, and smoother on the surface. Nearly all the
+fine flags contain lime; often it is seen in white shining crystals on
+the joint-faces of the stones used in building. The presence of lime in a
+soil improves it considerably.
+
+In different parts of Orkney the rocks differ much in appearance. In one
+place we find yellow and red sandstone, in another blue and gray flags,
+in another pudding-stone and granite. What is the meaning of this? It
+shows that while the whole area of our islands was covered with water,
+gravel was being laid down at one place, sand or muddy silt at another,
+and so on. We can even make out the order in which the different layers
+or strata were laid down.
+
+It is done in this way:—Usually the beds of rock are not now flat but
+tilted, and show their edges turned up in a more or less sharp slope. If
+we walk along any bare rocky shore we shall find that bed succeeds bed,
+each resting on the top of all those which underlie it. No place could be
+found to show this better than the shore of Hoy Sound from Stromness to
+Breckness. We go on and on, crossing over bed after bed of rock, till we
+have passed over the edges of a pile of flagstone which must be several
+thousand feet thick. The same thing can be seen to the east of Kirkwall,
+or, in fact, almost anywhere in the islands.
+
+Sometimes the beds dip or slant in different directions at different
+parts of the shore. Then again they may be broken by cracks or faults
+which bring different kinds of rock up against one another. If one could
+visit the whole of Orkney and examine all the rocks, making out in what
+order they follow one another, how often they are interrupted or repeated
+by faults, and what is their inclination or dip, one could tell exactly
+the order in which the rocks of each district were laid down on the
+bottom of the old lake where they were formed. This is one of the tasks
+which the geologist undertakes; and though it looks very difficult, yet
+in Orkney it is quite possible to do so with pretty fair accuracy.
+
+What is the result? At the bottom of the whole we place the granite of
+Stromness and Graemsay. This represents part of the floor of the old lake
+on which the gravel and sand and mud were laid down—a part which stood
+up above the water as an island. Next to this we find a thin layer of
+pudding-stone. This is formed of the old gravel which gathered on the
+beaches and shores around the granite island as it was slowly covered
+over. Above that were laid down the flagstones of the West Mainland;
+then those of Kirkwall, the East Mainland, and the North Isles; then
+the yellow and red sandstones of Eday, Shapinsay, the Head of Holland,
+Deerness, and South Ronaldsay.
+
+[Illustration: _Cliff showing horizontal strata._]
+
+The whole series of these rocks must be thousands of feet thick, and how
+long they took to form we cannot conceive.
+
+Then there is a gap in the series. This means that for a time the lake
+was dry land and instead of mud and sand being laid down, the rocks which
+had been formed were partly washed away by rain and streams. After a long
+time had passed, another lake was formed, and in it were laid down the
+yellow sandstones of Hoy, which are quite different from the other yellow
+sandstones of Orkney.
+
+When you think that each thin flagstone or layer of sandstone in our
+quarry was once a sheet of mud and sand, and that it took months, no
+doubt, or even years, to gather on the lake bottom, you can understand
+how vast a space of time is represented by the old red sandstone of
+Orkney.
+
+
+“Books in the Running Brooks.”
+
+Let us now take a stroll along one of the little burns which flow between
+their green or heathery banks in any of the valleys of our native
+islands. These little burns are very small in comparison with the mighty
+rivers of the world, yet they are quietly performing a great task, and in
+the long past ages the amount of work which they have done is far greater
+than you have ever imagined.
+
+It is summer, and the burn runs shallow and slow; the pebbles and sand
+show clearly in the pools. The burn enters a little bay, and as it flows
+across the shore it breaks up into several streamlets, each working its
+way through the gravel. Brackish water plants grow here; the shore is
+muddy, and the seaweed is often soiled with fine sediment. The burn has
+brought this down, and has dropped it where it enters the sea.
+
+We follow the channel upwards, through flat, rich meadows, which may
+be tilled, and covered with corn and other crops. In the meadow the
+burn winds to and fro, and in each loop the outer side is steep, often
+overhanging: under the grassy bank the trout lie hid. The inner side of
+the bend is shallow, slopes gradually down to the water, and is covered
+with small broken stones and gravelly pebbles. We can see that the
+current is eating away the steep outer bank by undermining it, while on
+the inner side the small stones are gathering.
+
+The meadow through which we are passing is flat, and covered with wiry
+grasses which love wet situations. The stuff of which it is made can be
+seen on the banks of the burn. It is a soft, dark-brown earth, almost
+without stones, or with here and there a layer of pebbles. How has this
+meadow been formed? The stream has done it.
+
+To find out how the stream made the meadow we must visit it in winter
+after several days of heavy rain. Then a sheet of water covers the
+meadow, making it a shallow lake. The water is very still except near the
+channel of the burn; it is brown and full of mud. For some days the lake
+remains, then the water begins to fall. The stream is clearer now, though
+still dark with mud; good water this for the trout-fisher. A few days
+more and the lake has vanished; the stream keeps within its banks, though
+it is still full.
+
+Now look at the meadow. It is covered with a very thin film of
+grayish-brown mud. In spring the grasses will grow quickly, and will be
+greener than ever. The meadow is a little—ever so little—higher for the
+new sheet of mud it has acquired. Winter after winter this goes on. The
+brown earth which forms the meadow is flood mud. Its flat configuration
+is due to its being laid down in a little temporary lake.
+
+Let us follow the stream still farther, and leave the meadow behind. The
+channel gets steeper, and the water flows along quite merrily, faster
+than in the level meadow below. The bends in the burn disappear. It is
+in a hurry here and flows straight; in the flat meadow below it loiters
+and swings lazily to and fro. The channel is shallow, and there are few
+pools. The banks are often bare rock, or the stony clay which is produced
+by the weathering of rock. The stream is washing away the clay; it even
+attacks the hard rocks.
+
+To see how this is done you must come when the burn is swollen with heavy
+rains. Then you will hear it rolling the stones along. They grind on one
+another, and thus they get their rounded shape, or are broken up into
+small fragments. As they are rolled along they wear away the rocks and
+deepen the bed of the stream. Loose pieces are swept away, soft layers
+are planed down. Many of the cracks and joints are opened and loosened,
+ready for fresh attacks during the floods of next winter.
+
+This is where the gravel comes from. In the lower part of its course the
+stream cannot move large stones, but in floodtime the smaller pebbles
+are carried downwards. The big stones lie in the upper stream; they must
+be broken smaller before they can be carried away. After rainy weather
+you will often find that a rapid branch stream has shot a big heap of
+pebbles into the main stream. When the floods rise above the surface of
+the meadow they may strew sheets of little stones here and there over the
+grass.
+
+After a big flood, if you know the stream well, you will find many
+changes. Here a bank of gravel has been carried away; there a new one has
+gathered. At every bend the bank shows undermining, and pieces have been
+swept away. The fine stuff makes mud: part of this is laid down on the
+meadow, but much of it is carried right out to sea.
+
+That running water will wash away sand, gravel, and mud is not new to
+you. You have often seen it on the roads and in the roadside ditches,
+in the little runnels around the farmhouses, or in the ploughed fields.
+The burn is always doing the same thing, according to its powers. In
+dry weather it does little, for its current is weak; in floods it works
+rapidly. For perhaps two dozen days in a year every burn is in great
+strength, and is a powerful agent in changing the form of the land.
+This leads you to grasp the fact that the stream has dug out its own
+channel, and that it carries rock material to lower levels, and at last
+to the sea. If you know some of our burns well, and study and watch them
+closely, you will find a world of interest in them. Every feature of
+their channels is due to the work the flowing water is doing, and shows
+the manner in which it is done.
+
+But what of the wide valley in which the burn flows? Other agencies have
+been at work here besides the water: ice has left its mark on every
+part of our valleys. But the burn has done most. On either side it is
+joined by branches. Each of these is cutting its own channel, and thus
+gradually deepening the valley. Each branch has its lesser branches;
+together they cover the whole valley with an intricate system of water
+channels.
+
+Between these channels, heather and grass are growing in the stony soil.
+The soil, as you have learned already, is due to the decay of the rocks.
+Frost and rain begin the work, and the growth of plants hastens and helps
+it. Over the whole of the sloping valley sides the rocks are being broken
+up into finer and finer particles. When heavy rain comes it washes away
+the smaller particles, and little runnels appear which carry away the
+surface water.
+
+Every year a portion of the soil is swept away to the meadows, or to the
+mud sheets which floor the shallow sea below. None of this ever comes
+back; it is sheer loss—a little at a time, but if the time be long enough
+it amounts to a very great quantity. Every day since that burn began to
+flow it has carried downwards a greater or smaller burden of soil.
+
+It took a long time for people to grasp the fact that running water is
+a great earth-shaping agent. Every valley you have ever seen was made
+in this way. Other things helped, but the stream was the main cause. A
+valley is only a great groove eaten out of the rock. It is not due to any
+earthquake or rending apart of the rocks; it is not an original feature
+of the country. There was a time when there was no valley there; but from
+the day the stream first began to trickle over the rocks it has gone on
+deepening its channel and excavating the valley, and it is still doing so.
+
+The stream not only made the valley; it shaped the hills also. We
+sometimes speak of “the everlasting hills.” No doubt the hills are very
+old, and will last a long time. Yet the little stream is older and
+mightier than they. It shaped them and brought them into being; in time
+it will remove them and level them with the plain.
+
+Let us climb the side of a hill, and see what we can learn about it
+by patient observation and inference. Any one of our flat-topped,
+round-shouldered Orkney hills will do. They were all formed in the same
+way, and teach the same lessons.
+
+[Illustration: _The Ward Hill, Hoy._]
+
+The ascent is gentle at first as we leave the plain or the bottom of the
+valley. Then it gets steeper and steeper. Often it is like a series of
+great steps—a sharp rise for a little, then a flat ledge; another sharp
+rise, followed by a gentle slope, and so on. These terraces are formed
+of beds of hard stone, which weather down very slowly. The softer rocks
+crumble fast, and form the steep slope. All our flagstone hills show
+these steps or terraces. They prove that the slope of the hillside is
+determined largely by the rate at which the different rock beds wear away.
+
+After our stiff climb we get near the top. Many of our hills are
+broad-backed. When we get above the steep part we find a flat top, and
+it is often difficult to say where the actual summit is. In many places
+there are great groups of hills, all of about the same height, but
+separated by valleys. The Orphir, Firth, and Harray hills, the Rousay,
+Evie, and Birsay hills, and the hills of Walls are all of this kind. Even
+the Hoy hills show the same feature, though less clearly. In all these
+cases the hilltops look like the remains of one continuous stretch of
+high ground, which has been cut up into pieces by the digging out of the
+valleys. The hills are the remnants of a plateau.
+
+This is not a mere supposition, but can be proved quite clearly. In
+many Orkney hills there are beds of rock which can be identified by
+the geologist by certain marks. They may contain peculiar fossils, or
+they may be of a special colour or structure. In Firth and Orphir, for
+example, there is a band of flagstone which yields roofing slabs. You
+can follow this band from hill to hill for several miles, often by the
+quarries in which it was extensively worked in former years. It occurs at
+much the same level in all the different hills, though sinking somewhat
+to the north according to the dip or slope of the rock bed. It is found
+on both sides of the valleys, as, for example, at Finstown, at much the
+same height.
+
+[Illustration: _The Hills of Orkney. Photographed from a Relief Model
+based on the Ordnance Survey._]
+
+The Orkney hills, then, consist of a great pile of beds of flagstone
+which once spread unbroken over the whole country. Out of this great mass
+of flagstones and sandstones the running water of the burns has carved
+the valley systems. The hills are the remnants which the streams have
+not yet removed. As time goes on the valleys deepen and broaden, and the
+hills get less and less.
+
+    “The hills are shadows, and they flow
+    From form to form, and nothing stands.”
+
+It has taken vast ages to do this work, and the work is still going on.
+It is very slow. The oldest man hardly notices any visible change in
+the configuration of the country. But wind, rain, frost, and running
+water are ever at work. Every day sees some loss, some material swept
+away never to return. What becomes of it? It reaches the sea, and there
+forms mud and sand. Time will change these into solid rock again, and may
+ultimately use them in building new continents. The hills crumble into
+dust, but it is “the dust of continents to be.”
+
+
+Cliffs and Beaches.
+
+On looking at a map of Orkney or Shetland we are struck with the
+irregularity in the shape of the islands and the winding nature of the
+coast line. There must be some reason for this, and a little reflection
+will bring it to light. If you look at the larger valleys you will notice
+that most of them end in salt-water bays, while the hills or ridges
+between the valleys run out into points or “nesses.” This is especially
+the case in Shetland; but in Orkney, too, there are many instances
+of it. The shape of the land extends beneath the water—the deep bay
+continues the land valley, the point and the skerry mark the position of
+the watersheds.
+
+We have seen that the valleys were eaten out by running streams. At one
+time the land stood higher, and the burns flowed where now the salt
+water covers the bottom of the bay. Thus the land was shaped. Then
+the ground sank a little, and the sea flooded the lower grounds. The
+hilltops remained above water as islands; the valleys and flat grounds
+were changed into bays and sounds and firths. Think what would happen if
+the land sank another hundred feet. Many of the present islands would
+become shoals, and new islands would be made where the sea flowed round
+the higher ground, winding out and in among them in narrow sounds and
+straits, just as it does among the islands of the present day.
+
+Long ago Orkney and Shetland were much larger than they are at present.
+Most of the North Sea was dry land, covered with trees. In several parts
+of Orkney we can see trunks and roots of trees uncovered after heavy
+storms have shifted the sand on the beach. These trees did not grow
+beneath the sea, of course; but the land sank, and the salt water covered
+the site of the old forest.
+
+Our wild animals, such as hares and rabbits, mice, voles, and shrews,
+were not imported in boats. They were here probably before man arrived,
+and they walked in on their own feet when the sea bottom was still part
+of the dry land of Europe. Those who have studied this question think the
+land is still sinking, or at any rate has not yet begun to rise. If it
+were rising, we should find gravels and shells and sea-beaches above the
+level of the present shores. Such raised beaches are found in many parts
+of Scotland, but not in Orkney or Shetland.
+
+The shores are always changing, and every part of them bears evidence
+of constant alterations. Where there are high banks or cliffs, you will
+often find that pieces have fallen down; this is especially the case
+where the bank consists of clay. Our Orkney rocks are very hard and our
+cliffs very lasting, but in some parts of England there are villages
+and churches now standing on the very edge of the cliffs which a few
+centuries ago were at a considerable distance from the sea.
+
+It is the sea that wears away the cliffs by hammering at the rocks;
+during storms the big stones on exposed beaches are rounded and worn by
+the billows tossing them about and driving them against the rocks. On the
+west coasts of our islands the great winter waves have enormous power;
+no breakwater could resist them, and a ship which is driven ashore soon
+goes to pieces. The cliffs are undermined at their base by the formation
+of caves; the soft parts are eaten out into geos. Frost and rain open the
+seams of the rocks and great masses tumble down; these are then tossed to
+and fro until they are converted into heaps of boulders. The boulders get
+less and less, and become pebbles; last of all they are ground down to
+fine shingle and sand.
+
+Every kind of rock has its own characteristic type of cliff scenery. When
+pieces are detached they separate along natural cracks which are called
+“joints,” and these joints have a different arrangement in sandstone,
+in granite, in serpentine, and in schist. Weathering then acts on the
+exposed surface, and, if the rock is bedded, some beds are eaten away
+more rapidly than others. There is much to interest us in our cliffs;
+there is not a detail in their form which has not a meaning.
+
+[Illustration: _A sandstone cliff._]
+
+On wild shores where storm-waves are high we find large boulders; the
+smaller ones are washed away and swept out to sea. Sometimes there is no
+beach, but the cliff plunges down into deep water, for there the waves
+are so powerful that they clear away all the broken rock. On sheltered
+beaches we find small rounded pebbles. If we look at the stones on the
+shore of a small fresh-water loch we find them scarcely rounded at all,
+for the little waves cannot toss them about and rub them against one
+another.
+
+The tear and wear of pebbles produces sand, and the sand is driven to and
+fro by currents and by storms. It rests for a time in some of the bays,
+but is not a fixture. A high wind drives some of it ashore to cover the
+grass of the sandy links. A heavy storm may drag a great deal of it out
+to sea. Unless it is held fast by bent or other plants, sand is always
+moving.
+
+Even the stones travel along the shore, driven by the beat of the waves
+in bad weather. There are stone beaches common in Orkney and Shetland
+which are often called ayres, and which have behind them a salt lagoon
+or oyce. The oyce opens to the sea at one end of the ayre, and a strong
+tidal current flows out and in through the opening. An ayre is really
+an army of stones on the march, constantly moving forward. In every bay
+there is one direction from which the biggest waves come, and the stones
+of the ayre have come from that direction. The opening of the oyce is at
+the other end of the ayre.
+
+At first there was a bay with a shallow inner end. When the big waves
+reach shallow water they turn over and have their speed checked. Stones
+carried along the shore are dropped at the edge of the shallow water,
+forming a bar. The bar goes on stretching across the bay as the storms
+fetch more stones, and in time the oyce is nearly walled in. But as the
+opening gets narrower and narrower the tidal flow gets stronger and
+stronger There is a combat between the tidal currents and the storm
+currents, and in time things are adjusted so that the speed of the
+outflow is just enough to keep the opening from being closed up.
+
+
+The Age of Ice.
+
+Along the burns and the seashores, and in stone quarries, we often see
+banks of clay. Usually this clay is full of stones. In some places the
+clay is merely the softened, crumbling top of the rock, and the stones in
+it are of the same kind as the solid rock below. In other places the clay
+contains stones which are quite unlike any rocks in the neighbourhood.
+Sometimes these stones are very large, and they must have been carried
+from some distant place, for they are of a kind of rock which is not
+found in the islands. What is the history of this clay with travelled
+stones, or “boulder clay,” as it is called?
+
+Boulder clay may be recognized by several marks. It is tough and sticky;
+it shows no bedding or layers; and it may be only a few inches thick, or
+it may form cliffs thirty or forty feet high. Pick a few stones out of
+it: you will notice that they are not all of the same kind. Wash them
+carefully in the sea or the burn. Their ends are blunt and worn, but they
+are not rounded like sea-pebbles. Their surfaces are smooth, and are
+covered with fine scratches, as if some one had drawn a needle or the
+point of a knife along them. Nowhere except in this clay will you see
+stones with these curious scratches.
+
+If you find the place where the bottom of the clay rests on the hard
+rock, you should carefully remove a little of the clay and lay bare the
+rock surface beneath. Wash it with a little water, and you will see that
+it is covered with fine scratches exactly like those on the stones. Now
+this smoothing and scratching of the stones and of the rock might be
+explained by imagining that the clay at one time was in motion, pushed
+forward by some immense force, and that the stones rubbing on one another
+and on the rocky floor produced these scratches.
+
+Among the Alps, in Norway, in Greenland, and in other places where there
+are high snow-clad mountains or a very cold climate, the snow gathers
+in the valleys till it forms thick masses, and is compressed by its own
+weight into ice: these masses are known as glaciers. Glaciers are really
+slow-moving rivers of ice; they slip very slowly down the valley slopes,
+travelling usually only a few inches in a day. When they reach the warmer
+region at the base of the mountains, they melt away, leaving behind them
+heaps of clay which they have swept down from the hills. The stones in
+this clay are worn and smoothed and scratched exactly like those in
+the boulder clays of Orkney and Shetland, and the rocks over which the
+glaciers have moved are smoothed and scratched likewise.
+
+The boulder clay, then, is clearly a glacial deposit, formed at a time
+when our islands were covered with moving sheets of ice. These ice sheets
+were travelling from the North Sea towards the Atlantic, in a west or
+north-west direction, for the scratches on the rock surface always have
+that trend. We can often prove also that the boulders found in the clay
+have travelled from the south-east. Thus at the Mont, near Kirkwall,
+the boulder clay is full of red sandstone from the Head of Holland and
+Inganess Bay. In Shetland stones have been carried from the east side of
+the mainland right over the hills to the west shores.
+
+When we piece together all the evidence about this Ice Age or Glacial
+Period, not only in Orkney and Shetland but in all the north-west of
+Europe, we learn that it lasted a very long time, and that the North
+Sea was filled with a great sheet of ice which must have been several
+thousand feet thick. This ice was pushed out of the basin of the North
+Sea westwards into the Atlantic by the pressure of the deep snow-cap
+which covered the mountains of central Europe, and on its way it passed
+over Orkney and Shetland. The broken stones and rubbish which gathered
+below it formed the boulder clay. This may seem a very strange tale,
+but every kind of evidence that is needed to prove its truth has been
+found by those who have studied the boulder clay and the scratched rocks
+beneath it.
+
+After the great ice sheet melted, the climate was still cold, and there
+were times when snow and ice gathered on our hilltops and little glaciers
+flowed down the valleys. These also have left traces behind by which you
+can know where they were. In every one of the higher glens in the Orkney
+hills you will find mounds of clay and stones, often forming a crescent
+or bow running from side to side of the valley. They are very well seen
+in Harray, Birsay, Orphir, and Hoy; but even in the East Mainland the
+hills, though low, gave rise to little glaciers. In Shetland they are
+almost as common as in Orkney. In many parishes there are clusters of
+large and small mounds, some of them grassy and others covered with
+heather, lying near the mouths of the main valleys. When these mounds
+have been cut into by streams or by roads, we see that they are not
+rocky hillocks but consist only of clay and stones, and that the stones
+are often scratched like those in the stiff boulder clay. These mounds
+are the “dumps” or moraines where the glaciers which filled the valleys
+melted and dropped their rubbish. At that time our islands must have
+resembled Spitzbergen, where to-day most of the hills have an ice-cap and
+nearly all the valleys are filled with glaciers, some of which reach the
+sea and give birth to icebergs, while others melt away and deposit lumpy
+moraines over the valley bottoms.
+
+
+Orkney Fossils.
+
+You cannot examine many of our Orkney flagstones carefully without
+finding fossils. The most common are scales and bones of fishes. In the
+rock these often appear as coal-black specks. When a fossil has weathered
+for a long time, as in a stone dyke or on the seashore, it often becomes
+bright blue, like a splash of blue paint. Sometimes whole fishes are
+found in the gray flagstones, with every fin and every scale perfect. Of
+course you will not find these every day or every year, but there are
+many quarries in Orkney where you may get them occasionally. When the
+quarryman uncovers a bed of rock, he often finds it sprinkled over with
+great numbers of fossil fishes.
+
+We can picture to ourselves that, at some time long gone by, when these
+flagstones were being laid down in the old Orcadian lake as sheets of
+sandy and muddy silt, the fishes were suddenly killed by a volcanic
+eruption, or by a period of drought, and their dead bodies covered the
+muddy bottom for miles. Fresh mud then came down and buried them, and
+preserved their remains. In process of time their bones and scales were
+changed into the pitch-black substance which we now find in the rocks.
+But we can still see that these specks and scales are really parts of
+fishes. If we examine them under the microscope, we find that they have
+all the marks of structure that the same parts of certain fishes have at
+the present day.
+
+In almost every parish in Orkney there is at least one quarry which
+contains good fossils, and there must be many others which we do not yet
+know of. But no person who knows what a bit of fossil fish is like need
+search very long among the flagstones of the shore without finding a
+scale, a jaw bone, a tooth, or other relic of the fishes which lived in
+Orkney at the time the flagstone muds were gathering. A heap of stones
+thrown down by the roadside, for building a dyke or for mending the
+roads, often contains fragments of dozens of fishes.
+
+It is not difficult for us to picture what these fishes were like when
+alive. Some of them were about the size of sillocks or herrings, others
+were as large as a big cod. They had scales all over their bodies, and
+fins, supported by bony rays, just like living fishes. But though many of
+them were of the same shape and general outline as a trout or a herring,
+they differed from these in many ways.
+
+Their scales were often hard and bony, with a smooth, shining outer
+layer of enamel like that which covers a tooth. Those fishes are called
+_ganoids_. On their heads they had bony plates with the same hard
+covering, often showing ridges and furrows, knobs, and other markings.
+You may see these beautifully preserved in many of the fossil bones which
+occur in the gray and blue flagstones. Those fishes belong to species
+which are no longer living on the earth’s surface, but closely allied
+kinds of fish are still found in a few rivers in Africa, America, and
+Europe. The royal sturgeon is one of these.
+
+None of the fishes which are common in our seas at the present day are
+ever found as fossils in rocks as old as the Orcadian flagstones. The
+water of the Orcadian lake was fresh water. We know this because we find
+no marine shells, and no crabs or cuttle-fishes in the flagstones, though
+these kinds of animals peopled the sea at that time, and would have been
+preserved as fossils if they had inhabited the lake.
+
+Some of the fishes in the lake were very grotesque and oddly-shaped
+creatures. One of them had two curious bony arms or wings which stuck out
+from its sides. It is not very common in Orkney, but is sometimes found
+in quarries near Stromness, and a smaller fish of much the same shape may
+be got in Deerness occasionally. They are called “winged fishes,” and are
+quite unlike any fishes now living. So strange is this fossil that when
+first found it was thought to be a curious beetle.
+
+Another strange fish was of great size; its head bones are a foot or more
+in length. Pieces of the head of this fish may be seen in many parts of
+Orkney, but the bones of the body were soft and rotted away after the
+fish died. The back of its head was somewhat like a shovel in shape, and
+the bones are often half an inch in thickness. There were two great holes
+for the eyes near the corners of this shield. The back of the neck was
+protected by another large plate. A specimen of this fossil can be seen
+in the Stromness museum; it was called by Hugh Miller the _Asterolepis_,
+or “star-scale fish,” of Stromness.
+
+Besides the fishes, other fossils occur in the flagstones, but not of
+many kinds. At Pickaquoy, near Kirkwall, and in several other places,
+very small shells, like tiny mussel shells, often cover the surface of
+the beds of rock. Pieces of wood may also be seen in the flagstones; they
+are flattened out and form black strips of a coaly substance, but as
+they must have drifted a long distance from land, and sunk to the bottom
+only when they became water-logged, they do not tell us much about the
+nature of the plants which clothed the islands and the shores of the
+lake. Yet we know that there were no flowers then, no grasses, or sedges,
+or trees like those that now live, but only great reeds and tree-like
+plants belonging to the same groups as the horse-tail that grows in
+watery places and along roadsides, and the little green scaly club moss
+that creeps through the heather, sending up its fruit-bearing spikes.
+There were also many kinds of ferns. In the forests and swamps there were
+land-snails and insects, but no frogs or lizards, still less any birds or
+other warm-blooded creatures. The fishes are the highest types that then
+existed; they were the “lords of creation” in that day.
+
+[Illustration: _“Winged fish” (Pterichthys)._]
+
+
+
+
+A PEAT-MOSS.
+
+
+Earl Einar it was, as the story goes, who first taught the Orkneyman to
+make the turf into peats—Torf Einar, as he was called in memory of this
+fact. If the story is true, he did a great work for the islands,—not
+quite treeless in his day, perhaps, but yet in a bad way for fuel in the
+long winter evenings,—and he deserves a monument almost as splendid as
+that of Earl Magnus.
+
+The wood fires went out long ago, and the peat fires will, no doubt,
+follow in due time. True, the peat-mosses are not yet exhausted, but year
+by year they recede, and the road to “the hill” grows longer. There is
+less time to spare now for peat-cutting than there used to be, for our
+modern methods of farming require more constant labour. But through our
+trade with other lands money is circulating more freely, and coal can be
+bought to take the place of peat. The change means more money and less
+time, and that is just the great difference between this century and
+those which have gone by.
+
+But the peat-moss is not yet deserted, and in the early summer it is
+still a busy scene in many places. Harvest has ever been a time of
+joy, and peat-cutting is the harvest of the moss. The flaying-spade and
+the tuskar are not mere toys, nor is “taking out” the newly-cut peats
+a holiday task; but there are few scenes where more cheerfulness and
+wholesome mirth can be seen than at many an Orkney peat-cutting.
+
+Let us approach one of these familiar “peat-banks,” not necessarily to
+share in the fun, and certainly not to take part in the labour, but to
+find out what we can about the substance which we call peat. Here is a
+bank where the moss is deep enough to give three lengths of peat, one
+above the other, besides the surface layer, which is cut off and thrown
+down on the old peat ground.
+
+This top layer, we see, is, like ordinary turf, full of the roots of
+growing plants—heather, rushes, sedges, and grasses of various kinds.
+Filling up the spaces between them is a tangled mass of spongy mosses.
+These mosses are the most important plants of all in the formation of
+peat.
+
+The most common of the bog-mosses is the _Sphagnum_, a small branching
+plant with thin, scaly leaves. Where there is plenty of light it is of
+a vivid green, and the tops of the sprays look like tiny emerald stars.
+Lower, where less light comes, the plant looks yellow and sickly, while
+still lower it is black and decaying. The black substance which we call
+peat is really a mass of decayed sphagnum moss.
+
+The upper part of our peat-bank, just below the turf which has been cut
+away, is more loose and fibrous than the under part. The roots of the
+larger plants may still be seen in it. The second and especially the
+third peat are much closer in texture and of a deeper black colour. The
+vegetable matter is more completely decayed, and if we were to compress
+it sufficiently it would look very like coal.
+
+At one part of the face of the bank we notice a layer of a different
+kind. We find the roots and parts of the stems and branches of small
+trees embedded in the moss. There has been a wood here at one time—how
+long ago, we cannot tell. That layer of moss which now lies above the
+remains of the trees may have taken centuries to form.
+
+In many places we find more than one such layer of wood, separated as
+well as covered by thick layers of moss. Some of the trees have been of
+considerable size, too; the trunk of one found in the parish of Stenness
+measured about five feet in circumference, while the moss near it was
+thickly studded with the nuts which had fallen from it year after year.
+
+The trees whose remains have been found in our mosses include the poplar,
+pine, mountain ash, birch, hazel, alder, and willow. One very interesting
+fact is that the silver fir is also found, a tree which does not now
+grow in Scotland, and is not found in Scottish peat-mosses, but which is
+common in Norway.
+
+What curious tales those peat-mosses tell of the changes of climate
+which have passed over our islands! At the present day it is only in our
+deepest glens, as in Hoy, that we can find even small trees and bushes
+growing wild. Yet at one time our islands must have been well wooded,
+though it is only in the mosses that the remains have been preserved for
+us to see.
+
+The sphagnum, again, has another story to tell. It requires abundant
+moisture for its growth, and at present it can find this only in flat and
+boggy ground. It is therefore only in such places that peat is now being
+formed. Yet we find peat on most of our hillsides and even hilltops. This
+tells of a time when our climate was much wetter than it now is, and when
+sphagnum flourished everywhere.
+
+One more story of a different kind can be read from the peat-moss. Here
+and there, as at Deersound and Widewall Bay, when the tide is out, we may
+find peat-moss, and the remains of large trees among it, far down on the
+beach, many feet below the level of high water, and most of it covered to
+a considerable depth with the sand and gravel which form the upper beach
+and the land near it. This tells clearly of a gradual sinking of the land
+in the neighbourhood. When that moss was being formed, and when those
+trees were growing, the shallow bay must have been dry land.
+
+The plants and flowers which grow on our mosses are worth more than a
+passing glance. Let us look at some of them. The sphagnum we have already
+mentioned; it belongs to the class of flowerless plants. The others we
+shall mention are flowering plants.
+
+Best known of all, perhaps, is what we call heather. This name is used
+for at least four different plants in Orkney. Two of these bear that
+common but beautiful flower the heather-bell. One bears bells of a pale,
+rose-coloured, waxy appearance; the other, which is more common, has
+bells of a darker and often purplish red. The former is the cross-leaved
+heath, with its little green leaves arranged in whorls of four; the
+latter has its leaves in whorls of three, and is known as the fine-leaved
+heath.
+
+The most common kind of heather is the ling, which flowers somewhat later
+than the heaths. It is this plant whose spikes of tiny rose-coloured
+flowers make our hillsides a purple glory in the early autumn, and whose
+leaves and stems give them their familiar brown tint during the rest of
+the year. A white variety is also found, the “white heather” which is
+supposed to bring good luck to the finder.
+
+Another kind of heather is that which bears the small black berries so
+well known to every young Orcadian. This plant is not a heath at all; it
+is really the black crowberry. The berry is preceded by a tiny purplish
+flower, which probably few of the berry-gatherers have ever seen.
+
+The “rashes” or rushes are a common feature of our moors. Two kinds may
+be noticed, one with its flower-tuft more closely packed together than
+the other. These rushes were of some use in former days. The white pith
+was extracted and dried for winter use as wicks in the old oil-burning
+“crusies,” before the introduction of paraffin.
+
+There are many smaller plants of a similar type, one of which, the bog
+asphodel, ought to be well known; its pretty, yellow, star-like flowers,
+grouped on a stalk some eight inches high, often make patches of our
+moorlands glow with the shimmer of gold.
+
+The cotton-grass is probably more familiar. There are two kinds found
+in Orkney, one bearing a single tuft of white down on each stem when
+seeding, the other a group or cluster of tufts. This plant is not a
+grass, and has no connection with the cotton plant; but the name is a
+good one for all that, and no one can mistake the plant to which it
+applies.
+
+[Illustration: _Plants of the peat-moss._
+
+1. Common ling (_Calluna vulgaris_). 2. Cross-leaved heath (_Erica
+tetralix_). 3. Black crowberry (_Empetrum nigrum_). 4. Cotton grass
+(_Eriophorum polystachion_). 5. Grass of Parnassus (_Parnassia
+palustris_). 6. Bog asphodel (_Narthecium ossifragum_).]
+
+One of our most beautiful moorland plants is that which bears the
+attractive name, “grass of Parnassus.” This also is not a grass, and does
+not in the least resemble one. It is well worth looking for and looking
+at when found. From a group of dark-green, glossy, heart-shaped leaves
+rises a slender stem four or five inches high, with one leaf growing on
+it midway up its height. This stem bears a single cup-shaped flower as
+large as a common buttercup, with five white petals marked with darker
+veins. The central parts of the flower are yellowish-green. Round the
+stigma stand the five stamens, and between these and opposite the petals
+are five curiously shaped nectaries or honey vessels. They are fringed
+with a row of white hairs, each ending in a yellow knob, and look like a
+tiny golden crown placed in the centre of the flower-cup. The name of the
+flower is said to be taken from Mount Parnassus in Greece, the home of
+the Muses. Certainly the flower itself is dainty enough to be a favourite
+with the poets.
+
+[Illustration: _Butterwort._]
+
+Some plants have developed the curious habit of eating, or, at any rate,
+digesting and absorbing the juices of insects. Two of those insectivorous
+plants may be found in our peat-moss. In certain places we may notice
+that the thick carpet of moss is dotted with little rosettes of bright
+yellowish green, which look like vegetable star-fishes scattered over
+a beach of moss. That is one of our “plants of prey.” It is called the
+butterwort.
+
+From the centre of the rosette rises a slender stalk of two or three
+inches, bearing a small dusky purple flower somewhat like a dog-violet.
+The green leaves which form the rosette are stiff, and lie close to the
+ground, as if to keep a clear space among the other plants. They curl
+up at the edges, and look as if they did not want to mingle with their
+kindred round about; and indeed they do not, for they have other game in
+view.
+
+Attracted by this bright green star, a small insect comes in search,
+perhaps, of honey. He finds the leaf covered with a sticky fluid, and his
+touch causes more of the fluid to come out of little pores in the leaf.
+The insect is held fast, and the gum clogs up the pores of his body so
+that he cannot breathe. He soon dies. Then the plant pours out an acid
+liquid, which dissolves all the soft parts of the captured insect, and
+leaves only the skeleton. At the same time this dissolved or digested
+food is sucked in by the pores of the leaf.
+
+The acid juice of the butterwort is so like the juice of the animal
+stomach, that in Lapland the people used to pour warm milk over
+butterwort leaves, and thus changed it into a curd, just as we do by
+adding to the milk some rennet, made from the stomach of a calf.
+
+[Illustration: _Sundew._]
+
+On this same patch of moor we may find another flesh-eating plant.
+This is smaller than the last, and less easily found. It has a slender
+flower-stalk with a spike of small whitish flowers rising from the centre
+of a curious group of leaves. The leaves lie flat on the ground; they are
+small and round, no larger than split peas, and covered with bright red
+hairs that look like tiny red pins stuck in a tiny green pin cushion.
+
+Each of these hairs carries at its tip a bead of clear fluid, which
+glitters in the sun; hence the plant is called the sundew. Let any
+thirsty insect come to drink this dew, and a strange thing happens.
+He finds his feet held fast by the sticky dewdrops, and the more he
+struggles the more of these does he rub against. He is held fast until he
+is suffocated, and then he is digested and absorbed by the leaf.
+
+When the fly alights on the plant, the hairs begin to bend in towards the
+centre of the leaf. Even those hairs which have not been touched bend
+over until all of them are helping to hold fast the prey and dissolve it
+with their liquid. If the insect alights near the edge of the leaf, he
+is thus carried towards the centre and held fast, while the leaf itself
+bends so as to form a cup for the acid that pours from the hairs. If two
+insects alight on the same leaf, the hairs form into two groups, those
+near each animal curving towards him, so that the leaf acts as if it had
+two hands. In this way all the insects that come are attended to.
+
+There are many other curious plants to be found in the peat-moss, but
+those we have mentioned will suffice to show how much of interest there
+is in our bleak mosses and moors.
+
+
+
+
+SOME COMMON WEEDS.
+
+
+What is a weed? We may best describe it, perhaps, as a plant growing in
+the wrong place. A weed is not necessarily ugly, or harmful, or even
+useless. Many common weeds are very beautiful, and some of them are very
+useful; but if they are growing where we wish something else to grow,
+we call them “weeds,” and root them out, or try to do so. Grass in our
+hayfields and meadows is a valuable plant; grass in our flower-borders or
+turnip-fields is a weed. So when we speak of weeds, we do not mean any
+special class of plants, but only those which force themselves upon our
+notice by springing up where we wish something else to grow.
+
+Many of our common weeds are very interesting plants to the botanist.
+They have to fight for their lives; and the way in which they scatter
+their seeds, and the power of those seeds to lie dormant for years
+waiting a chance to grow, are well worth study. It is a war between the
+farmer and wild nature, and when we look over our fields and pastures in
+spring and summer we see clearly enough that the farmer is not always the
+victor. In many a cornfield the oat crop seems to be merely incidental,
+while the hardier children of nature flourish in spite of its intrusion.
+
+This is not as it ought to be. Even if they are otherwise harmless, the
+weeds use up a large part of the plant food in the soil, and they rob the
+young oats of the necessary light and air. In this way weeds prove an
+expensive crop to the farmer. It pays him to study their life-history so
+as to learn how they may be eradicated, and to spend some labour in the
+task of doing so.
+
+A common pest in the Orkney cornfields is the “runcho” or “runchic,”
+known elsewhere by the name of charlock or wild mustard. Its pale-yellow
+flowers overtop the growing oats, and their unwelcome gleam makes some
+fields conspicuous for miles around. The form of the flower shows that
+the charlock belongs to the same family as the turnip and the cabbage
+and the fragrant wallflower of our gardens. The flower has four petals,
+and the cross-like arrangement of its six stamens, four long and two
+short, has given them their name of _Cruciferæ_, or cross-bearers. The
+seed-vessels, like those of the turnip, are in the form of a long, narrow
+pod with a partition running down the middle. The seeds are small and
+hard, and they grow only in a freshly-stirred soil with plenty of light
+and air. When a field is laid down in grass they make no sign of life,
+but when it is ploughed for the next crop of oats they spring up once
+more, and make it as gay as a flower-bed. Two kinds of this plant are
+found—the one, charlock, of a light yellow colour, common in peaty and
+clayey ground; and the other, wild mustard, of a deeper yellow, found in
+sandy soil.
+
+[Illustration: _Some common weeds._
+
+1. False oat grass. 2. Chickweed. 3. Ragwort. 4. Prunella. 5. Wild
+mustard (_Brassica Sinapis_). 6. Charlock (_Raphanus Raphanistrum_). 7.
+Corn spurrey. 8. Sheep’s sorrel. 9. Common sorrel.]
+
+Another showy weed is the yellow corn-marigold. This handsome flower
+seems more dainty in its choice of soil, and in some districts it is
+not common. A glance at the open flower shows its kinship to the “wee,
+modest, crimson-tipped” daisy. The so-called flower is not one, but a
+host of tiny flowers or florets growing upon a broad green disc called
+the receptacle. This compound or composite type of flower is found in a
+large number of common plants, named on this account _Compositæ_. Many of
+them are found in Orkney, and they are a very interesting as well as a
+numerous family.
+
+One of the best known is the dandelion, a more beautiful flower than
+many which we grow in our gardens, and only its abundance prevents our
+admiring it. If we examine the florets of the dandelion, we see that
+each of them has a corolla forming a long yellow ribbon on the side
+farthest from the centre of the flower. In the corn-marigold only the
+outer florets have this ribbon, which forms a halo of rays round the
+central portion. In the daisy these rays are white, with the tips pink,
+especially underneath.
+
+A well-known feature of the dandelion is the white down which it produces
+when in seed—a wonderfully beautiful arrangement for spreading its seeds
+far and wide to find room to grow. This is a common method of broadcast
+sowing among the Compositæ family. The thistles, which form a well-known
+section of that family, depend largely on their floating seeds in their
+struggle against the farmer. Some farmers seem to forget this fact, for,
+crowded in some corner of an old pasture, or in serried ranks by roadside
+and ditchside, we may see those armed foes allowed to blossom and send
+forth thousands of winged seeds to overrun the neighbouring fields,
+and even the neighbouring farms. A few hours’ work with a scythe would
+prevent the mischief. There might well be laws to prevent the careless
+spreading of weeds as there are to prevent the spreading of infectious
+disease among animals.
+
+One of the Compositæ family is a common weed in Orkney pasture fields—the
+“tirsac” or ragwort. This is a coarse, vigorous plant, with a tough
+stalk about two feet in height, crowned with a spreading tuft of yellow
+daisy-shaped flowers. In fields where this weed is allowed to grow and
+multiply, it soon comes to occupy a large proportion of the whole area,
+and this means a considerable loss in the grazing value of the pasture.
+
+The large family of the grasses includes some of the plants most useful
+to the farmer. All the grain crops, such as wheat, barley, and oats, are
+cultivated grasses, as are also the plants which are used for pasture and
+for hay. There are some wild grasses, however, which are very persistent
+and troublesome weeds. Some of these, like couch grass, spread more by
+creeping underground stems than by seeds. A common grass in Orkney is
+that known as “swine-beads,” from the knotted form of its underground
+stems. Its common name is false oat grass. It resembles small black oats,
+but is much taller. Cartloads of its beaded stems may be gathered from
+some fields when being prepared for turnips, and by so doing much trouble
+may be saved.
+
+When a field is laid down in turnips or potatoes, the weeds have a hard
+struggle for life. Those of slow growth are checked by the ploughing and
+grubbing and harrowing, and later by the hoe and the scuffler. Yet there
+are a few which in a moist season spring up quickly and soon cover the
+drills. The common spurrey, with its narrow, sticky leaves growing in
+whorls, and its tiny white flowers which open only in the sun, is perhaps
+the best known. The chickweed is another common weed in such fields.
+These, however, if kept down at first by the hoe, are of too feeble
+growth to injure the crop among which they strive to find a living.
+
+Sheep’s sorrel and common sorrel, both commonly known as “sooricks,” were
+more harmful half a century ago than they are at present. Cultivation and
+the rotation of crops have reduced their quantity, but their enormous
+power of spreading can be witnessed in a poor, thin, or peaty soil, where
+the crops, especially grass, are meagre. There they spread, and sometimes
+with such vigour that they push every other plant aside. Both kinds of
+sorrel are common. The one with arrow-shaped leaves is called common
+sorrel; that with spear-shaped leaves, sheep’s sorrel. Their leaves,
+which have a very acid taste, often turn reddish.
+
+Another common and pretty little flower is prunella or self-heal. Whorls
+of green bracts and violet flowers form a dense, short spike. It grows
+from four to six inches high, and is to be met with on dry soils, and
+although fairly common in oats, flourishes best in second year’s grass.
+It is one of the large order of _Labiates_, a group which includes
+the dead-nettle and the hemp-nettle, and when abundant it is a clear
+indication of the exhaustion of some ingredients of the soil—often
+lime. When fields are brought to a high state of cultivation, or are
+near enough the seashore to get an abundant supply of sand, it almost
+disappears; but when they are impoverished, it soon returns.
+
+These are only a few of the weeds which every farmer knows well. They are
+worth study, for it is only when we know how they grow and spread that we
+are able to prevent their increase. The cultivation and manuring of the
+soil and the sowing of seeds are only one side of the farmer’s work; he
+has to remove the wild growth as well as to promote the growth of what he
+sows. Otherwise his fields will bear two crops at a time, one of nature’s
+sowing and one of his own, and of these two the natural crop is likely to
+be the more flourishing.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+HOME LIFE ON THE ROCKS.
+
+
+Guillemots.
+
+Nothing is more interesting than to look down from the summit of some
+precipice on to a ledge at no great distance below, which is quite
+crowded with guillemots. Roughly speaking, the birds form two long rows,
+but these rows are very irregular in depth and formation, and swell here
+and there into little knots and clusters, besides often merging into or
+becoming mixed with each other, so that the idea of symmetry conveyed is
+of a very modified kind, and may be sometimes broken down altogether.
+In the first row a certain number of the birds sit close against and
+directly fronting the wall of the precipice, into the angle of which
+with the ledge they often squeeze themselves. Several will be closely
+pressed together, so that the head of one is often resting against the
+neck or shoulder of another, which other will also be making a pillow of
+a third, and so on. Others stand here and there behind the seated ones,
+each being, as a rule, close to his or her partner. There is another
+irregular row about the centre of the ledge, and equally here it is to
+be remarked that the sitting birds have their beaks pointed towards
+the cliff, whilst the standing ones are turned indifferently. There are
+generally several birds on the edge of the parapet, and at intervals one
+will come pressing to it through the crowd in order to fly down to the
+sea, whilst from time to time others also fly up and alight on it, often
+with sand-eels in their beaks. On a ledge of perhaps a dozen paces in
+length there may be from sixty to eighty guillemots, and as often as they
+are counted the number will be found to be approximately the same.
+
+[Illustration: _Guillemot._]
+
+Most of the sitting birds are either incubating or have young ones under
+them, which, as long as they are little, they seem to treat very much as
+though they were eggs. Much affection is shown between the paired birds.
+One that is sitting either on her egg or her young one—for no difference
+in the attitude can be observed—will often be very much cosseted by the
+partner who stands close behind or beside her. With the tip of his long,
+pointed beak he, as it were, nibbles the feathers (or, perhaps, scratches
+and tickles the skin between them) of her head, neck, and throat; whilst
+she, with her eyes half closed, and an expression as of submitting to an
+enjoyment—a “Well, I suppose I must” look—bends her head backwards, or
+screws it round sideways towards him, occasionally nibbling with her bill
+also amidst the feathers of his throat, or the thick white plumage of
+his breast. Presently she stands up, revealing the small, hairy-looking
+chick, whose head has from time to time been visible just peeping out
+from under its mother’s wing. Upon this the other bird bends its head
+down and cossets in the same way—but very gently, and with the extreme
+tip of the bill—the little tender young one. The mother does so too, and
+then both birds, standing side by side over the chick, pay it divided
+attentions, seeming as though they could not make enough either of their
+child or of each other. It is a pretty picture, and here is another one.
+
+A bird—we will think her the female, as she performs the most mother-like
+part—has just flown in with a fish—a sand-eel—in her bill. She makes her
+way with it to the partner, who rises and shifts the chick that he has
+been brooding over from himself to her. This is done quite invisibly, as
+far as the chick is concerned, but you can see that it is being done.
+
+The bird with the fish, to whom the chick has been shifted, now takes it
+in hand. Stooping forward her body, and drooping down her wings, so as
+to make a kind of little tent or awning of them, she sinks her bill with
+the fish in it towards the rock and then raises it again, and does this
+several times before either letting the fish drop or placing it in the
+chick’s bill—for which it is I cannot quite see. It is only now that the
+chick becomes visible, its back turned to the bird standing over it, and
+its bill and throat moving as though swallowing something down. Then the
+bird that has fed it shifts it again to the other, who receives it with
+equal care, and bending down over it, appears—for it is now invisible—to
+help or assist it in some way. It would be no wonder if the chick had
+wanted assistance, for the fish was a very big one for so small a thing,
+and it would seem as if he swallowed it bodily. After this the chick
+is again treated as an egg by the bird that has before had charge of
+him—that is to say, he is sat upon, apparently, just as though he were to
+be incubated.
+
+On account of the closeness with which the chick is guarded by the parent
+birds, and the way in which they both stand over it, it is difficult to
+make out exactly how it is fed; but I think the fish is either dropped at
+once on the rock, or dangled a little for it to seize hold of. It is in
+the bringing up and looking after of the chick that one begins to see the
+meaning of the sitting guillemots being always turned towards the cliff,
+for from the moment that the egg is hatched one or other of the parent
+birds interposes between the chick and the edge of the parapet. Of course
+I cannot say that the rule is universal, but I never saw a guillemot
+incubating with its face turned towards the sea, nor did I ever see a
+chick on the seaward side of the parent bird who was with it.
+
+I observed that the chick—even when, as I judged by its tininess, it had
+only been quite recently hatched—was as alert and as well able to move
+about as a young chicken or partridge; but whilst possessing all the
+power, it appeared to have little will to do so. Its lethargy—as shown
+by the way in which, even when a good deal older, it would sit for hours
+without moving from under the mother—struck me as excessive; and it would
+certainly seem that on a bare, narrow ledge, to fall from which would be
+certain death, chicks of a lethargic disposition would have an advantage
+over others who were fonder of running about.
+
+The young guillemot is fed with fish which are brought from the sea in
+the parent’s bill, and not—as in the case of gulls—disgorged for them
+after having been first swallowed. It is, however, a curious fact that
+the fish when thus brought in are, sometimes at any rate, headless. The
+reason of this I do not know, but with the aid of glasses I have made
+quite certain of it, and each time it appeared as though the head had
+been cleanly cut off. Moreover, on alighting on the ledge the bird always
+has the fish (a sand-eel, whenever I saw it) held lengthways in the beak,
+with the tail drooping out to one side of it, and the head part more or
+less within the throat—a position which seems to suggest that it may have
+been swallowed or partially swallowed—whereas puffins and razor-bills
+carry the fish they catch crosswise, with head and tail depending on
+either side.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+I have once or twice thought that I saw a bird which just before had
+no fish in its bill all at once carrying one. But I may well have been
+mistaken; and it does not seem at all likely that the birds should
+usually carry their fish, and thus subject themselves to persecution,
+if they could disgorge it without inconvenience. With regard to the
+occasional absence of the head, perhaps this is sometimes cut off in
+catching the fish.
+
+
+Seals.
+
+Quite near to where I watch the guillemots there is a little iron-bound
+creek or cove, walled by precipice, guarded by mighty “stacks,” and
+divided for some way into two by a long rocky peninsula running out from
+the shore. On the rocks in one of these alcoves were lying eight seals,
+which were afterwards joined by another, making nine, whilst in the
+adjoining one were four—also, as it happened, joined by another, as I
+watched—making fourteen in all: such a sight as I had never seen before.
+
+[Illustration: _Common seal._]
+
+I watched these seals of mine on this, my first meeting with them, for
+a considerable time from the top of the cliffs—the glasses giving me a
+splendid view—and soon knew more about them than I had done before, and
+got rid of some popular errors. For instance, I had always imagined that
+seals had one set attitude for lying on the rocks—namely, flat on their
+bellies—a delusion which every picture of them in this connection had
+helped to foster. Imagine my surprise and delight when it burst upon
+me that only some three or four were in this attitude, and that even
+these did not retain it for long. No; instead of being in this state of
+uninteresting orthodoxy, they lay in the most delightful free-thinking
+poses, on their sides, showing their fine, portly, columnar bellies in
+varying degrees and proportions; whilst one utter infidel was right and
+full upon his broad back, yet looked like the carved image of some old
+Crusader on the lid of his stone sarcophagus. Every now and then they
+would give themselves a hitch, and bring their heads up, showing their
+fine round foreheads and large mild eyes; a very human—mildly human—and
+extremely intelligent appearance they had, looking down upon them from
+above. Again, they had the oddest or oddest-appearing actions, especially
+that of pressing their two hind feet or flippers together, with all their
+five-webbed toes spread out in a fan, with an energy and in a manner
+which suggested the fervent clasping of hands. Then they would scratch
+themselves with their fore feet lazily and sedately, raising their heads
+the while, looking extremely happy, having sometimes even a beatific
+expression. And then again they would curl themselves a little and roll
+more over, seeming to expatiate and almost lose themselves in large,
+luxurious ease—more variety and expression about them lying thus dozing
+than one will see in many animals awake and active.
+
+Even in this little time I learnt that they were animals of a finely
+touched spirit, extremely playful, with a grand sense of humour, and
+filled “from the crown to the toe, top-full” of happiness. Thus one
+that came swimming up the little quiet bay, in quest of a rock to
+lie upon, seemed to delight in pretending to find first one and then
+another too steep and difficult to get up on (for obviously they were
+not), and would fling himself from off them in a sort of little sham
+disappointment, gambolling and rolling about, twisting himself up with
+seaweed, and generally having a most lively, solitary romp. A piece of
+bleached spar, some four or five feet long, happened—and I am glad that
+it happened—to be floating in the water at quite the other side of the
+creek and, espying it, this delightful animal swam over to it, and began
+to play with it as a kitten might with a reel of cotton or a ball of
+worsted. More frolicsome, kitten-hearted, and withal intelligent play I
+never saw. He passed just underneath it, and, coming up on the opposite
+side, rolled over upon it, cuffed it with one fore foot, again with
+the other, flipped it then with his footy tail as he dived away, and
+returning, in a fresh burst of rompiness, waltzed round and round with
+it, embracing it, one might almost say. At last, going off, he swam to a
+much steeper rock than any he had made-believe to find so difficult, and,
+scrambling up it with uncouth ease, went quietly to sleep in the best
+possible humour.
+
+What intelligence all this shows! Much more, I think, than the sporting
+of two animals together. This seal was alone, saw the floating spar at a
+distance, and swam to it with the evident intention of amusing himself in
+this manner. Later, another seal played with this same spar in much the
+same way; yet both of them seemed to be quite full-grown animals.
+
+Then I saw something which looked like a spirit of real humour, as well
+as fun. Three seals were lying on a slab of rock together, and one of
+them, raising himself half up, began to scratch the one next him with
+his fore foot. The scratched seal—a lady, I believe—took it in the most
+funny manner, a sort of serio-comic remonstrance, shown in action and
+expression: “Now do leave off, really. Come now, do leave me alone”—and
+when this had reached a climax the funny fellow left off and lay still
+again; but as soon as all was quiet, he heaved up and began to scratch
+her again. This he did—and she did the other—three times, at the least,
+and if not to have a little fun with her I can hardly see why.
+
+
+Shags.
+
+Now I have found a nest with the bird on it, to see and watch. It was
+on a ledge, and just within the mouth of one of those long, narrowing,
+throat-like caverns into and out of which the sea, with all sorts of
+strange, sullen noises, licks like a tongue. The bird, who had seen me,
+continued for a long time afterwards to crane about its long neck from
+side to side or up and down over the nest, in doing which it had a very
+demoniac appearance, suggesting some evil being in its dark abode.
+
+[Illustration: _Shag._]
+
+As it was impossible for me to watch it without my head being visible
+over the edge of the rock I was on, I collected a number of loose flat
+stones that lay on the turf above, and, at the cost of a good deal of
+time and labour, made a kind of wall or sconce with loopholes in it,
+through which I could look and yet be invisible. Presently the bird’s
+mate came flying into the cavern, and wheeling up as it entered, alighted
+on a sloping slab of the rock just opposite to the nest. For a little
+both birds uttered low, deep, croaking notes in weird unison with the
+surroundings and the sad sea-dirges, after which they were silent for a
+considerable time, the one standing and the other sitting on the nest
+_vis-à-vis_ to each other. At length the former, which I have no doubt
+was the male, hopped across the slight space dividing them on to the
+nest, which was a huge mass of seaweed. There were now some more deep
+sounds, and then, bending over the female bird, the male caressed her by
+passing the hooked tip of his bill through the feathers of her head and
+neck, which she held low down the better to permit of this. The whole
+scene was a striking picture of affection between those dark, wild birds
+in their lonely wave-made home.
+
+The male bird now flies out to sea again, and after a time returns
+carrying a long piece of brown seaweed in his bill. This he delivers to
+the female, who takes it from him and deposits it on the heap, as she
+sits. Meanwhile the male flies off again, and again returns with more
+seaweed, which he delivers as before; and this he does eight times in the
+space of one hour and forty minutes, diving each time for the seaweed
+with the true cormorant leap. Sometimes the sitting bird, when she takes
+the seaweed from her mate, merely lets it drop on the heap, but at
+others she places and manipulates it with some care. All takes place in
+silence for the most part, but on some of the visits the heads are thrown
+up, and there are sounds—hoarse and deeply guttural—as of gratulation
+between the two.
+
+The nest of the shag is continually added to by the male, not only while
+the eggs are in process of incubation, but after they are hatched, and
+when the young are being brought up. In a sense, therefore, it may be
+said to be never finished, though for all practical purposes it is so
+before the female bird begins to sit. That up to this period the female
+as well as the male bird takes part in the building of the nest I cannot
+but think, but from the time of my arrival on the island I never saw the
+two either diving for or carrying seaweed together. Once I saw a pair of
+birds together high up on the cliffs, where some tufts of grass grew in
+the niches. One of these birds only pulled out some of the grass, and
+flew away with it, accompanied by the other.
+
+It is not only seaweed that is used by these birds in the construction
+of the nest. In many that I saw grass alone was visible, though I have
+no doubt seaweed was underneath it; and one in particular had quite
+an ornamental appearance, from being covered all over with some land
+plant having a number of small blue flowers; and this I have observed
+in other nests, though not to the same extent. I think it was on this
+same nest that I noticed the picked and partially bleached skeleton—with
+the head and wings still feathered—of a puffin. It had, to be sure, a
+sorry appearance to the human—at least to the civilized human—eye, but
+if it had not been brought there for the sake of ornament, I can think
+of no other reason; and brought there or at least placed upon the nest
+by the bird it must almost certainly have been. The brilliant beak and
+saliently-marked head of the puffin must be here remembered. Again,
+fair-sized pieces of wood or spar, cast up by the sea and whitened by
+it, are often to be seen stuck amongst the seaweed, and on one occasion
+I saw a bird fly with one of these to its nest and place it upon it. In
+all this, as it seems to me, the beginnings of a tendency to ornament the
+nest are clearly exhibited.
+
+Both the sexes share in the duty and pleasure of incubation, and (as in
+some other species) to see them relieve each other on the nest is to see
+one of the prettiest things in bird life. The bird that you have been
+watching has sat patiently the whole morning, and once or twice, as it
+rose in the nest and shifted itself round into another position on the
+eggs, you have seen the gleam of them as they lay there “as white as
+ocean foam in the moon.” At last, when it is well on in the afternoon,
+the partner bird flies up and stands for some minutes preening itself;
+while the one on the nest, who is turned away, throws back the head
+towards it, and opens and shuts the bill somewhat widely, as in greeting,
+several times. The new-comer then jumps and waddles to the farther side
+of the nest, so as to front the sitting bird, and sinking down against it
+with a manner and action full both of affection and a sense of duty, this
+one is half pushed, half persuaded to leave, finally doing so with the
+accustomed grotesque hop. It has all been done nearly in silence, only
+a few low, guttural notes having passed between the birds whilst they
+were close together. Just in the same way the birds relieve each other
+after the eggs have been hatched, and when the young are being fed and
+attended to.
+
+A shag is sitting on her nest with the young ones, whilst the male stands
+on a higher ledge of the rock a yard or so away. He now jumps down and
+stands for a moment with head somewhat erected and beak slightly open.
+Then he makes the great pompous hop which I have described before, coming
+down right in front of the female, who raises her head towards him, and
+opens and closes the mandibles several times in the approved manner. The
+two birds then nibble, as it were, the feathers of each other’s necks
+with the ends of their bills, and the male takes up a little of the grass
+of the nest, seeming to toy with it. He then very softly and persuadingly
+pushes himself against the sitting bird, seeming to say, “It’s my turn
+now,” and thus gets her to rise, when both stand together on the nest
+over the little ones. The male then again takes up a little of the grass
+of the nest, which he passes towards the female, who also takes it,
+and they toy with it a little together before allowing it to drop. The
+insinuating process now continues, the male in the softest and gentlest
+manner pushing the female away, and then sinking down into her place,
+where he now sits, whilst she stands beside him on the ledge. As soon as
+the relieving bird has settled itself amidst the young, and whilst the
+other one is still there—not yet having flown off to sea—it begins to
+feed them. Their heads—very small, and with beaks not seeming to be much
+longer in proportion to their size than those of young ducks—are seen
+moving feebly about, pointing upwards, but with very little precision.
+Very gently, and seeming to seize the right opportunity, the parent
+bird takes first one head and then another in the basal part, or gape,
+of his mandibles, turning his own head on one side in order to do so,
+so that the rest of the long bill projects sideways beyond the chick’s
+head without touching it. In this connection, and while the chick’s head
+is quite visible, little, if any, more than the beak being within the
+gape of the parent bird, the latter bends the head down and makes that
+particular action as of straining so as to bring something up which one
+is familiar with in pigeons. This process is gone through several times
+before the bird standing on the ledge flies away, to return again in a
+quarter of an hour with a piece of seaweed, which is laid on the nest.
+
+As the chicks become older they thrust the head and bill farther and
+farther down the throat of the parent bird, and at last to an astonishing
+extent. Always, however, it appeared to me that the parent bird brought
+up the food into the chicks’ bills in some state of preparation, and
+was not a mere passive bag from which the latter pulled fish in a
+whole state. There were several nests all in unobstructed view, and so
+excellent were my glasses that, practically, I saw the whole process as
+though it had been taking place on a table in front of me. The chicks, on
+withdrawing their heads from the parental throat, would often slightly
+open and close the mandibles as though still tasting something, in a
+manner which one may describe as smacking the bill; but on no occasion
+did I observe anything projecting from the bill when this was withdrawn,
+as one would expect sometimes to be the case if unmodified fish were
+pulled up. Always, too, the actions of the parent bird suggested that
+particular process which is known as regurgitation, and which may be
+observed with pigeons, and also with the night-jar.
+
+Young shags are at first naked and black, also blind, as I was able to
+detect through the glasses. Afterwards the body becomes covered with a
+dusky gray down, and then every day they struggle more and more into
+the likeness of their parents. They soon begin to imitate the grown-up
+postures, and it is a pretty thing to see mother and young one sitting
+together with their heads held stately upright, or the little woolly
+chick standing up in the nest and hanging out its thin little featherless
+wings, just as mother is doing, or just as it has seen her do. At other
+times the chicks lie sprawling together either flat or on their sides.
+They are good tempered and playful, seize hold playfully of each other’s
+bills, and will often bite or play with the feathers of their parent’s
+tail. In fact, they are a good deal like puppies, and the heart goes out
+both to them and to their loving, careful, assiduous mother and father.
+
+When both birds are at home, the one that stands on the rock, by or
+near the nest, is ready to guard it from all intrusion. Should another
+bird fly on to the rock and alight, in his opinion, too near it, he
+immediately advances towards him, shaking his wings, and uttering a low
+grunting note which is full of intention. Finding itself in a false
+position, the intruding bird flies off; but it sometimes happens that
+when two nests are not far apart, the sentinels belonging to each are
+in too close a proximity and begin to cast jealous glances upon one
+another. In such a case neither bird can retreat without some loss of
+dignity, and, as a result, there is a fight.
+
+I have witnessed a drama of this nature. The two locked their beaks
+together, and the one which seemed to be the stronger endeavoured with
+all his might to pull the other towards him, which the weaker bird, on
+his part, resisted as desperately, using his wings both as opposing props
+and to push back with. This lasted for some while, but the pulling bird
+was unable to drag the other up the steeply-sloping rock, and finally
+lost his hold. Instead of trying to regain it, he turned and shuffled
+excitedly to the nest; and when he reached it, the bird sitting there
+stretched out her neck towards him, and opened and shut her beak several
+times in quick succession. It was as if he had said to her, “I hope you
+observed my prowess. Was it well done?” and she had replied, “I should
+think I did observe it. It was indeed well done.” On the worsted bird’s
+ascending the rock to get to his nest, the victorious one ran, or rather
+waddled, at him, putting him to a short flight up it. This bird was also
+cordially received by his own partner, who threw up her head and opened
+her bill at him in the same way, as though sympathizing, and saying,
+“Don’t mind him; he’s rude.” In such affairs, either bird is safe as soon
+as he gets within close distance of his own nest; for it would be against
+all precedent, and something monstrous, that he should be followed beyond
+a charmed line drawn around it.
+
+               EDMUND SELOUS. (_From “Bird Watching” and “The Bird-Watcher
+               in the Shetlands.” J. M. Dent and Co. By permission._)
+
+
+
+
+THE BIRDS OF SULE SKERRY.
+
+
+Sule Skerry is a tiny, barren, surf-bleached islet, lying far out in the
+open ocean, thirty-two miles west from Hoy Head, about the same distance
+from Cape Wrath, and thirty miles from the nearest land, Farrid Head,
+in Sutherlandshire. The Skerry, roughly rhomboidal in outline, is about
+half a mile in length and a quarter of a mile in its greatest width, and
+attains a height of only forty-five feet in its central part. All round
+the shore is a belt of bare, jagged rock, where the wash of the great
+Atlantic waves prevents any vegetation from finding a foothold, and of
+the thirty-five acres or so which form the entire area of the island only
+some twelve are covered with a mossy, vegetable soil.
+
+Lying, as it does, right in the track of trading vessels, this low
+islet, together with the Stack, which rises to a height of more than a
+hundred feet some four and a half miles to the south-westward, formed
+a death-trap to many a ship, which was, no doubt, afterwards merely
+reported as “missing,” and its shores when visited were rarely found
+without some stranded wreckage to tell of the unrecorded tragedies of
+the winter seas. It was not till the year 1892 that steps were taken to
+mark this dangerous rock, but three years later saw the completion of
+Sule Skerry Lighthouse, a massive tower of a hundred feet in height, with
+a powerful light visible for a distance of eighteen miles.
+
+Sule Skerry is no longer either a dangerous or a lonely islet when
+compared with its former state. The three lightkeepers who are always
+on duty, together with their goats, poultry, and rabbits, give quite
+an inhabited air to the place—probably too much so for the comfort of
+the original occupants, the flocks of birds which find on it either
+a permanent home or a temporary dwelling-place. Sule Skerry is an
+ideal place for observation of the birds which frequent our islands,
+both from the immense numbers of them which nest there, and from the
+absence of high cliffs or inaccessible rocks. Luckily for us, one of the
+lightkeepers formerly on this station, Mr. Tomison, a native of Orkney,
+was a man unusually well qualified for such observation, and he has
+recorded much that is of interest regarding the bird life of the Skerry.
+From one of his papers on this subject we quote the following interesting
+pages.
+
+[Illustration: _Sule Skerry Lighthouse._]
+
+
+The Residenters.
+
+The birds of Sule Skerry may be divided into three classes—the
+residenters, the regular visitors, and the occasional visitors. The class
+of residenters is represented by the great black-backed gull, the herring
+gull, the shag or green cormorant, and the meadow pipit.
+
+[Illustration: _Great black-backed gull._]
+
+The great black-backed gull is one of the handsomest birds of the gull
+family, but owing to its destructive propensities amongst small birds,
+rabbits, and occasionally young lambs, a continual warfare has been
+waged against it for years by farmers and gamekeepers, until now it is
+almost entirely banished to the outlying parts of the country. Before
+the lighthouse was erected on Sule Skerry, large numbers of this species
+frequented the island; but the lightkeepers found them such arrant
+thieves that they reduced their numbers considerably. There are still
+about twenty pairs resident on the island all the year round, and they
+seem to find plenty of food either on land or at sea. Their breeding-time
+is in May, and sometimes as late as June. When the young are hatched the
+parents are continually on the lookout for food, and I have often seen
+them swoop down and seize young rabbits. Frequently they make desperate
+efforts to capture the old rabbits, but never successfully. They lay
+three eggs in a nest composed of withered grass, and the process of
+incubation lasts about four weeks.
+
+[Illustration: _Herring gull._]
+
+A small colony of herring gulls stays on the island all the year round,
+but in summer vast flocks of them are in evidence when the herrings are
+on the coast. Only the residents remain to breed, and about a dozen
+pairs annually rear their young and spend their whole time in the
+vicinity. Some of the young must emigrate to a more genial climate, for
+although rarely disturbed their numbers are not increasing. They lay
+three eggs early in May, and sit about four weeks. When hatched, the
+young immediately leave the nest, and are so like the surrounding rocks
+in colour that when they lie close it is almost impossible to discover
+them. When hunting for food for their offspring, these gulls are almost
+as great a pest as their cousins, the great black-backed, and are more
+audacious thieves.
+
+The most numerous of the residenters are the scarfs. In summer and winter
+they are always on the island, and apparently there is an abundant supply
+of suitable food in the vicinity, for they never go far away. During
+winter they congregate on the rocks in large flocks or colonies, and they
+have become so accustomed to man’s presence that they fly only when one
+approaches within a few yards of them. In very stormy weather they seek
+refuge in some sheltered spot, far enough away from the coast-line to
+be safe from the encroaching waves, and only when frightened by any one
+approaching too near do they choose what is, in their opinion, the lesser
+of two evils, and seek safety in flight. With the advent of spring they,
+like all other birds, turn their thoughts to love. Their comparatively
+homely winter dress gradually changes to one more appropriate to this
+sentiment and more in harmony with the imposing surroundings. Early in
+the year their plumage assumes a greener tint, and the graceful tuft
+or crest on the top of the head becomes more and more prominent. This
+crest practically disappears about the end of June, and seems to be a
+decoration in both sexes only during the nuptial season. Usually they
+manage to get through with their love-making and selecting of partners
+by the middle of March, after which the operations of nest-building are
+undertaken.
+
+In Orkney we associate a scarf’s nest with some almost inaccessible
+cliff, but such is not the case on Sule Skerry, for the simple reason
+that there are no cliffs. The nests are built all over the island, but
+principally near the coast-line; and the sociableness of the bird’s
+disposition shows itself in this fact, that they tend to crowd their
+nests together in certain selected spots, to which they return year after
+year. One place in particular, a patch of rough, rocky ground from forty
+to fifty yards square, I have named the scarf colony on account of its
+numerous population during the breeding season. Here in 1898 I counted
+fifty-six nests.
+
+As to the materials used for nest-building, these are principally seaweed
+and grass, but the scarf is not very particular as to details, and uses
+anything that will suit the purpose. I have found pieces of ordinary
+rope, even wire rope, and small pieces of wood used, and a very common
+foundation is the skeleton of a rabbit which has died during the winter.
+During building operations I have observed that one bird builds and the
+other brings the materials. After all has been completed, three, four,
+and sometimes five eggs are laid. Three is the most common number; five
+is rare. During incubation the one bird relieves the other periodically.
+It is a common sight to see one come in from the sea, sit down at the
+edge of the nest, and hold a long palaver with its mate. The sitting bird
+then gets up and flies out to sea, the other taking its place.
+
+When the young come out of the egg they are entirely naked, of a dark
+sooty colour, and particularly ugly. Towards the end of the first week of
+their existence a coating of down begins to grow, followed by feathers in
+about three weeks. As near as I can judge from observation, the bird is
+fully fledged in five weeks from the time of hatching.
+
+[Illustration: _Meadow-pipit._]
+
+The only other residenter is the meadow-pipit, tit-lark, or moss-cheeper.
+It is the only small bird that remains on the island all the year round.
+It nests generally in May, and lays five or six eggs. It is said that
+two broods are raised in the season, but I have never noticed that here.
+Towards the end of summer they are to be seen in considerable numbers,
+but in September and October the island is visited by kestrels, who soon
+thin them down.
+
+
+The Regular Visitors.
+
+The regular visitors are puffin, razor-bill, common guillemot, black
+guillemot, oyster-catcher, tern, eider duck, kittiwake, stormy petrel,
+curlew, snipe, turnstone, and sandpiper. In this list I have advisedly
+placed first the puffin, or tammynorie, or bottlenose, or coulterneb,
+or pope, or sea-parrot, for it is a well-known and well-named bird. In
+point of interest it undoubtedly takes the first place among all our
+feathered friends. Its remarkable appearance, its activity, its assertive
+disposition, and the regularity of its habits, compel the attention of
+the most careless observer.
+
+[Illustration: _Puffin._]
+
+At one time puffins were much in demand for food. An old history of the
+Scilly Islands tells us that in 1345 the rent of these islands was three
+hundred puffins. In 1848, on account of the bird having got scarcer, and
+consequently more valuable, the rent was fifty puffins. We are also led
+to understand that the young birds, being plump and tender, were more
+highly esteemed than their more elderly and tougher relatives.
+
+The most remarkable feature of this curious bird is its beak, the
+peculiarities of which are its enormous size compared with the size of
+the body, and its brilliant colours—blue, yellow, and red. For a long
+time it was a puzzle that occasional dead specimens found washed ashore
+in winter had a beak very much smaller and destitute of bright colours.
+It has now been ascertained that the outer sheath is moulted annually,
+being shed on the approach of winter and replaced at the return of the
+breeding season.
+
+To give any idea of their numbers on Sule Skerry is an almost impossible
+task, for when they are on the island they are hardly ever at rest. The
+air is black with them, the ground is covered with them, every hole is
+tenanted by them, the sea is covered with them. They are here, there, and
+everywhere.
+
+They first make their appearance early in April, and spend from eight to
+twelve days at sea before landing, coming close in round the island in
+the forenoon and disappearing at night. Before landing they fly in clouds
+round the place, and after having made a survey to see that all is right,
+they begin to drop in hundreds, till in half an hour every stone and rock
+is covered. They do not waste time, but start at once to clear out old
+holes and make new ones, and for burrowing they can easily put a rabbit
+in the shade. Those who are not engaged in digging improve the shining
+hour by fighting, and for pluck and determination they are hard to beat.
+They are so intent on their work that I have often seized the combatants,
+and even then they were unwilling to let go their hold of each other; but
+when they do, it is advisable for the person interfering to let go also,
+if he would avoid a rather unpleasant handshake.
+
+After spending a few hours on the island they all disappear, and do not
+usually land again for two days; but when they do come back the second
+time there is no ceremony about their landing. They come in straggling
+flocks from all points of the compass, and resume their digging and
+fighting. They continue in this manner, never remaining ashore all
+night till the first week of May. They spend very little time on the
+construction of their nests, which consist merely of a few straws. The
+greater number burrow in the dry, peaty soil, and their holes will
+average at least three feet underground; but there are also an immense
+number that lay amongst loose rocks and stones on the north side of the
+island. The eggs laid there are always clean and white until the young
+bird is hatched; but those laid underground in a day or two become
+as brown as the soil, and seem more like a lump of peat than an egg.
+During the time of incubation, which lasts a month, those not engaged in
+hatching spend their time in fishing and resting on the rocks, and as a
+pastime indulge in friendly sparring matches.
+
+One easily knows when the young are hatched by seeing the old birds
+coming in from sea with herring fry or small sand-eels, which are carried
+transversely in their bills, from six to ten at a time. The sole work of
+the parent birds for the next three or four weeks is fishing and carrying
+home their takes to the young. Very little time is given to nursing.
+They remain in the hole just long enough to get rid of their burden,
+and then go to sea again. As the young ones grow, the size of the fish
+brought home increases. At first it is small sand-eels from one and a
+half to two inches long, but at the end of a fortnight small herrings and
+moderate-sized sand-eels are the usual feeding. I noticed an old bird fly
+into a hole one day with a bigger fish than usual, and, to see what it
+was, I put in my hand and pulled out both birds. The tail of the fish was
+just disappearing down the young one’s throat, but I made him disgorge
+his prey, and found it to be a sand-eel eight inches long. How that small
+bird could find room for such a dinner was really wonderful.
+
+At first the young are covered with a thick coating of down, and probably
+their appearance at this stage has given rise to the name “puffin,”
+meaning a “little puff.” In a fortnight the white feathers on the breast
+begin to show, and the birds are fully fledged in four weeks, when they
+at once take to the water. As soon as they go afloat, young and old leave
+the place, and about the middle of July one can easily see that their
+numbers are decreasing, the end of August usually seeing the last of them.
+
+[Illustration: _Razor-bill._]
+
+There is a considerable colony of razor-bills on the island. Their time
+of arrival is about the same as that of the puffin, but they make no
+commotion when they come. They seem to slip ashore, and always keep near
+the coast-line, ready to fly to sea when any one approaches. They begin
+laying towards the end of May, and lay one egg on the bare rock, usually
+under a stone, but in some cases on an exposed ledge. During incubation
+one bird relieves the other, for if the egg were left exposed and
+unprotected the black-backed gull would very soon appropriate it. Some
+authorities say that the male bird brings food to its mate; but I have
+never observed this, though I have watched carefully to see if such were
+the case The young remain in the nest, or, to speak more correctly, on
+the rock, for about two weeks if not disturbed, and I have seen a young
+one remain ashore until covered with feathers, which would mean about
+four weeks from the time of hatching. They all, young and old, leave
+early in August. I am sorry to say they are becoming scarcer every year,
+chiefly on account of their shyness and fear of man.
+
+The common guillemots are scarce. Their great haunt in this vicinity is
+the Stack. There they are to be seen in myriads on the perpendicular side
+of the rock facing the west. Only two or three pairs take up their abode
+on the island; in fact their numbers scarcely entitle them to be called
+Sule Skerry birds. The few young ones I have seen are carried to the
+water as soon as they are hatched—at least they disappear the same day.
+
+Black guillemots or tysties are plentiful. Their time of arrival is about
+the middle of March, but they are rarely seen ashore before the end of
+April. Their nests are to be found in out-of-the-way crevices or under
+stones, and are not easily discovered on account of the extraordinary
+watchfulness of the birds and their care not to be caught on or near
+their nests. They lay two eggs, and the young are fully feathered before
+going afloat. They remain about the island till the end of September.
+
+[Illustration: _Oyster-catcher._]
+
+The first of all the visitors to arrive are the oyster-catchers. They
+first put in an appearance about the end of February, when their
+well-known cry denotes that the long, dreary winter is over. They spend
+their time till the end of March chiefly feeding along the coast-line;
+but after that time they pair, and are seen all over the island. About
+the end of May they lay three eggs in a nest composed of a few small
+stones; and when the young are hatched the noise of the old birds is
+perfectly deafening on the approach of an intruder, and even when no one
+is annoying them the clamour they make almost amounts to a nuisance.
+On calm, quiet nights it is hardly possible to sleep for them, and one
+feels inclined to get out of bed and shoot them down wholesale. The young
+leave the nest as soon as hatched, and are rarely seen, for on hearing
+the warning cry of the parent bird they at once hide among the long
+grass or under stones, and on one occasion I found a pair some distance
+underground in a rabbit’s hole. They all leave the island during the
+first half of September.
+
+Next to the puffins in numbers are the terns—the Arctic terns. They are
+also like the puffins in the regularity of their arrival at the island.
+When first seen they are flying high up, and they continue doing so for a
+day or two, only resting at night. There are several varieties of terns
+scattered all over the British Isles, but in the north the most numerous
+are the Arctic and the common tern. The latter rarely visits the island.
+
+[Illustration: _Arctic tern._]
+
+There are certain localities where the terns take up their abode, and
+they stick closely to the same ground year after year, never by any
+chance making a nest twenty yards outside their usual breeding ground.
+They begin to lay in the first week of June, but I have found eggs on
+the last day of May. They lay two eggs, and sometimes three. When the
+young are hatched the parents are kept busy supplying them with food,
+which consists chiefly of sand-eels and herring fry. Their method of
+fishing is to hover over the water, not unlike the way a hawk hovers
+when watching its prey, and when they see a fish to make a dart on it,
+rarely if ever failing to make a haul. They also prey on worms when
+it is too stormy for fishing at sea. On a wet evening, when the worms
+are having an outing, the terns are to be seen in hundreds all over
+the island, hovering about six feet above the ground, every now and
+again making a dart down, and, when successful, flying home with their
+catch to the young. No time is lost, for the old bird seldom alights
+when handing over the worm. It swoops down to where the young ones are
+standing with outstretched necks and bills gaping, screaming out to let
+their whereabouts be known, and then flies off again for more. When the
+young are able to fly they accompany their parents over the island, and
+occasionally do a little hunting on their own account.
+
+About the first of August the young are fully fledged. Young and old then
+assemble from all parts of the island to a piece of bare rocky ground on
+the north-east corner, which they make their headquarters for about ten
+days, flying out to sea for food, but always returning at night. About
+the fifteenth of August they all disappear, and are seen no more till the
+following May.
+
+[Illustration: _Stormy petrel._]
+
+The island is the headquarters of a large colony of stormy petrels. It
+is not an easy matter to fix the exact date of their arrival, for they
+are never seen during the day, and only come out of their holes at night.
+They are first seen in the latter end of June, when on a fine clear night
+one can see them flitting about close to the ground, very like swallows
+in their movements. They begin to lay in July, and their nests are to be
+found under stones and in rabbits’ holes. Almost the only way to find
+them is to listen for their peculiar cry, which they keep up at intervals
+the whole night through. If captured during the day, they seem quite
+dazed when released, and at once fly into some dark place. The date of
+their departure, like that of their arrival, is not easily fixed, but I
+think it is during September. Young birds have been got on the lantern at
+night as late as the end of September, but never in October.
+
+[Illustration: _Eider duck (male)._]
+
+The eider duck is a regular visitor, and a considerable flock make Sule
+Skerry their headquarters for about eight months in the year. They are
+first seen in March fishing off the island, but they very rarely land
+before the end of April. In May they may be seen ashore every day, but
+always near the water, ready to pop in if alarmed. They are very shy and
+difficult to approach. In June the duck and the drake both come ashore
+and select a place for their nest, and that is the only occasion on which
+the drake takes a part in the hatching process. So far as my observation
+goes, I have never seen him approach his mate during the month of
+incubation.
+
+The nest is built sometimes on a bare rock, but more commonly among
+grass, and consists of coarse grass for a foundation, the famous down
+being added only as the eggs are laid. Five or six is the common number
+found in one nest. From the time it begins to sit until incubation is
+completed, the duck never leaves the nest unless disturbed, and will only
+fly to sea if driven off. If approached quietly, it will allow one to
+stroke it, and does not seem afraid. There are always one or two nests
+close to the house, and though I have watched them closely at all hours,
+night and day, I have never seen the birds go away for food, nor have I
+seen their undutiful spouses bring any to them. I will not venture to
+say that the duck lives a month without sustenance, but I am strongly
+inclined to that belief. When frightened away, it goes only a short
+distance, and returns immediately as soon as the cause of its fright has
+been removed.
+
+[Illustration: _Eider duck on nest._]
+
+The whole inside of the nest is lined with down, which seems to be
+intended only for the purpose of keeping the eggs warm. It is certainly
+not intended to form a cosy nursery for the young, as they leave for the
+sea a few hours after birth and do not return. Unless the down is removed
+before the young are hatched it is useless, for it gets mixed up with the
+egg-shells, which are always broken into very small pieces. After leaving
+the nest the young birds rarely come ashore again, but remain afloat,
+feeding along the edge of the rocks on mussels and crustaceans. The old
+birds disappear in October, but some young ones remain till the end of
+November.
+
+[Illustration: _Kittiwake._]
+
+Few kittiwake gulls visit the island, but these come regularly, and take
+up their abode on the same ground year after year. They arrive in April,
+and about the first of May begin nest-building, a work which keeps them
+employed for about three weeks. They begin laying about the end of May,
+and lay three eggs. The young are fully grown before leaving the nest,
+and are fed by both the parent birds. They all leave the island about the
+end of August, and not even a straggler is seen till the following spring.
+
+[Illustration: _Curlew or whaup._]
+
+I have now gone over all the birds that breed on Sule Skerry, and come
+next to the regular winter visitors, consisting of the curlew, the snipe,
+the turnstone, and the common sandpiper.
+
+About a dozen curlews or whaups make the island their home for about nine
+months of the year. They leave about the end of May and return in August,
+remaining on the island all winter. Their number always keeps about the
+same—twelve or fifteen. They have the same characteristics as those found
+elsewhere—their extraordinary alertness and their peculiar cry—but they
+are distinctly less shy than is usually the case in other parts of the
+country. They are never disturbed in any way, and the result is that, if
+any one wished, it would be an easy matter to get within gunshot of them.
+Their chief food is worms and insects, of which there is a plentiful
+supply on the island.
+
+When the curlews leave the island, a few whimbrels take their place, and
+remain about six weeks. They breed in Orkney and Shetland, but though
+they remain on the island most of the breeding season I have never yet
+found a nest. I have spent many an hour watching them from the light-room
+with the glass to see if they were sitting, and have gone over the ground
+where they are most frequently seen, but could never find an egg or any
+attempt at nest building. They are very much like the curlew in general
+appearance, only much smaller.
+
+[Illustration: _Snipe._]
+
+The snipe leaves the island in May, and is absent about four months,
+usually returning in October. None, so far, have ever nested on
+Sule Skerry, and they all go elsewhere for that purpose. There is a
+considerable number of them resident during the winter, larger in some
+years than in others. They sometimes get killed by dashing against the
+lantern at night, but it is not often they fly so high.
+
+[Illustration: _Turnstone._]
+
+The turnstone always spends the winter on the island, arriving about
+the end of August or the first of September, and from then on till
+April it spends its time feeding on insects. On Sule Skerry it is in
+no way afraid of man, but rather the opposite, for it depends a good
+deal on the lightkeepers for its livelihood in stormy weather. Whenever
+the lightkeepers go to feed their hens, the turnstones gather from all
+parts of the island and sit round at a respectful distance—about a dozen
+yards—waiting for their share, which they receive regularly every day,
+and they seem to enjoy it very much. The lightkeepers often turn over
+big stones to enable the hens to feed on the insects which are there
+in immense quantities. The turnstones have learned the meaning of this
+operation, and whether the hens are present or not, they soon gather
+round for a feast when one retires a short distance. A few specimens of
+the common sandpiper always accompany them, but they feed more amongst
+the seaweed along the coast-line, and are more afraid of the approach of
+man.
+
+[Illustration: _Sandpiper._]
+
+
+Occasional Visitors.
+
+We now come to the third class, the occasional visitors. These are the
+wild goose, the mallard or stock duck, the teal, the widgeon, the Iceland
+gull, the Sclavonian grebe, the heron, the kestrel, the hooded crow,
+the rook, the lapwing, the golden plover, the redshank, the corncrake,
+the water rail, the fieldfare, the redwing, the snow-bunting, the
+starling, the song thrush or mavis, the blackbird, the water-wagtail, the
+stonechat, the woodcock, the skylark, the twite or mountain linnet, the
+robin, the swallow, the black-headed gull, and the little auk.
+
+Wild geese pass the island on their way south in October, but very rarely
+rest. Occasionally a flock will hover round for some time, but the sight
+of a human habitation scares them away, and they continue on their way in
+the direction of Cape Wrath. Last October half a dozen were seen resting
+on the island one morning about eight o’clock. They seemed to be feeding
+in one of the fresh-water pools, but all they would find there would not
+fatten them. Sule Skerry is a very likely place for them to call at, as
+it is right in their track when on the way to and from Iceland and Faroe,
+but perhaps the island being inhabited causes them to give it a wide
+berth. At any rate very few of them ever honour it with a visit.
+
+[Illustration: _Mallard._]
+
+The mallard pays the island frequent visits during the winter, two and
+three at a time. They never stay long, for there is very little feeding
+for them. They are particularly shy, resting only on the most outlying
+parts, and seeming continually on the watch. Teal and widgeon are not
+common. Of the former one sees a specimen or two every winter, while of
+the latter only two have visited the island, and that was in March 1897,
+when they stayed a few days.
+
+In November 1895 an Iceland gull arrived on the island, and remained to
+the end of February following. It became fairly tame, sitting the greater
+part of the day near the house on the watch for any scraps of meat that
+were thrown out. Hopes were entertained that it intended remaining
+permanently on the island, but on the approach of the breeding season it
+departed. In 1898 one stayed for a week in November; in the following
+year another was seen on the 23rd of November. This one was fishing in
+company with some common gulls, and occasionally flew over the island
+quite close to the tower; but I did not see it alight, nor was it seen
+again on any of the following days.
+
+[Illustration: _Heron._]
+
+The common heron every year spends a day or two on the island, generally
+in October or November, but it never seems at home. They wander about
+in search of food, but apparently do not find very much. When leaving
+the island they always, without exception, fly in the direction of Cape
+Wrath, but where they come from I cannot say, never having noticed them
+arriving.
+
+The hooded crow is an annual visitor, generally in November, and it
+sometimes comes for a short visit in April. Two or three is the common
+number at one time. There is, however, not much food for them, and on
+that account their visit is soon over. A few rooks call about the same
+time.
+
+Every year in April the lapwings make the island a resting-place,
+staying from a week to a fortnight. The place does not seem to suit them
+for nesting purposes, for I have never seen them make any attempt at
+nest-building. After resting and renewing their strength, they seek out
+some more hospitable part of the country. Small flocks of the golden
+plover also rest on the island on their passage north in March and April,
+and again on their way south in October and November, staying from eight
+to twelve days. There are also a few straggling visitors during the
+winter.
+
+The common redshank is a frequent visitor, staying perhaps a week at a
+time, but it never nests on the island. In 1896 a corncrake’s well-known
+song was heard during the greater part of June. It was heard again the
+following season, but never since. The bird, however, is occasionally
+seen in summer. The only way I can account for its silence is that the
+goats and rabbits never allow the grass to grow to any length, and thus
+there is no cover for it. I think most ornithologists are now satisfied
+that this bird migrates to a warmer climate every year on the approach of
+winter. Whether such is the case or not I do not feel prepared to say,
+but from my experience of Sule Skerry I am quite satisfied it is only a
+summer visitor there, and does not remain on the island all winter. The
+water-rail pays the island a visit every winter, but I do not think
+there is any danger of its being mistaken for the corncrake. They are a
+little like one another in shape, but they are two distinct species, and
+easily recognized.
+
+[Illustration: _Water-rail._]
+
+In October and November the island is visited annually by considerable
+numbers of fieldfares, redwings, blackbirds, rock-thrushes, starlings,
+and woodcocks. They generally stay from a week to a fortnight, and are
+more numerous some years than others. Water-wagtails are rare visitors,
+seen at various times of the year. Stonechats are also rare visitors,
+only staying a few days in May. The skylark, so common everywhere else,
+is a very rare visitor, and is only seen or heard once or twice during
+the summer months. Robin redbreast is always seen in the autumn, and
+generally stays a few weeks if the weather is moderate. The twite or
+mountain linnet pays an occasional visit in summer, and stays for some
+time; but I have never yet found a nest, and cannot say if it breeds on
+the island. In June every year a few sparrows spend a fortnight on Sule
+Skerry. Snow-buntings almost deserve the name of regular winter visitors,
+for from October to March they are seldom long absent.
+
+Last September I got a bird which I knew to belong to the grebe family,
+but I could not be sure of its proper name, and I sent it to Mr. Harvie
+Brown for identification. He informed me it was a Sclavonian grebe, a
+bird not very common in this part of the country. In November 1897 I
+found a dead specimen of the little auk.
+
+[Illustration: _Solan goose._]
+
+Though not a Sule Skerry bird, the solan goose deserves notice in this
+paper. The Stack, distant four and a half miles, has been their chief
+breeding place in Orkney for ages, and every year it is tenanted by
+immense numbers. The rock is 140 feet high, rising perpendicularly on
+the west, but sloping gradually from the water to the summit on the
+east side. It is on this slope that the solans congregate, and no other
+bird is allowed to trespass on their preserves. In May, June, July,
+and August their numbers are so vast that any one seeing the rock at a
+distance would imagine it was painted white or composed of chalk. Sule
+Skerry, however, is too far distant to allow of one forming any idea
+of their numbers, but looking at them with the glass one sees the rock
+simply covered, and apparently as many flying about as resting. Lewis men
+visit the place annually in August, and carry away a boatload of young
+birds. Last year they came up to the rock, but there was too much surf
+for a landing, and as the weather was threatening they headed for the
+Sutherlandshire coast. That night the wind blew half a gale, and fears
+were entertained that it would prove too much for them, for their boat
+was small and hardly powerful enough to be so far from home; but a few
+days later they again approached the rock. They again failed to negotiate
+it, and after waiting for about an hour they made sail for home, and did
+not return. The weather certainly favoured the solans on these occasions.
+
+I have never seen a solan resting on Sule Skerry; they even carefully
+avoid flying across the island, though they fish in immense numbers all
+round, and sometimes within forty or fifty yards of the shore. They
+usually begin to arrive in the vicinity about the end of January, and
+their numbers continue to increase until the end of April, when they take
+possession of the rock, and from then until the end of August their name
+is legion. When the young are fledged, they gradually disappear, and from
+the first of December till the last days of January they are not to be
+seen.
+
+Thus they go on year after year, a fraction of that great feathered
+multitude which has come and gone since the earliest ages, and will
+probably continue to come and go as long as the world lasts, some
+arriving and departing in silence, others heralding their coming and
+going with the wildest clamour. On this subject, and speaking of the
+northern isles, Thomson the poet says:—
+
+    “Where the Northern Ocean, in vast whirls,
+    Boils round the naked melancholy isles
+    Of farthest Thule, and the Atlantic’s surge
+    Pours in amongst the stormy Hebrides;
+    Who can recount what transmigrations there
+    Are annual made? what nations come and go?
+    And how the living clouds on clouds arise,
+    Infinite wings! till all the plume-dark air
+    And rude resounding shore are one wild cry?”
+
+                                                       J. TOMISON
+                                                    (_“Orcadian Papers.”_)
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+COMMON SEAWEEDS.
+
+
+A severe storm has been raging for several days on our shores, and no
+ship has dared to cross the Pentland. To-day a great calm has fallen upon
+the face of the waters, and the sun shines clear in the sky. A walk by
+the seashore on such a morning will afford an excellent opportunity for
+collecting specimens of our seaweeds, and for studying their life-history.
+
+Here they lie in all their varied colours, strewn on the beach like
+autumn leaves in a forest. Now is our chance to secure some of those rare
+and beautiful weeds that grow in the deeper water, and have been torn
+off and driven ashore by the waves. If pressed and dried with care, they
+will remain things of beauty for long. For this purpose we use squares of
+stiff paper or card, on which we spread them out carefully under water.
+When pressed, they will adhere to the paper by means of the mucilage
+which they contain.
+
+[Illustration: _Common seaweeds.—I._
+
+A, _Sargassum_ (Gulf-weed), B, _Cladophora_. C, _Enteromorpha_. D 1,
+_Fucus vesiculosus_. D 2, Receptacle of same, with eggs and sperms. D 3,
+Egg, with sperms. E, _Polysiphonia_.]
+
+The delicate fern-like or feathery fronds of those red seaweeds will
+compare in beauty with the best of our flowering plants. This is all
+the more wonderful when we consider their lowly origin. For the family
+of the _Algæ_, to which the seaweeds belong, is the oldest and most
+primitive of all the families of plants. To the Algæ most likely
+belonged the first forms of life which appeared on the earth.
+
+If we are fortunate to-day we may find a specimen of the famous Gulf-weed
+(_Sargassum_), which gives its name to the Sargasso Sea, and which is
+said to have cheered Columbus on his celebrated voyage of discovery. In
+the tropical Atlantic it covers immense areas of the ocean, and it is
+occasionally cast ashore on the Orkney coasts, drifted hither by the Gulf
+Stream and the westerly winds. It is easily recognized by its numerous
+little round air-bladders, each on a separate branch.
+
+Now let us turn our attention to the seaweeds which we find growing
+on the beach around us. In many a rock pool in the “ebb” we may see
+a miniature forest of tiny weeds of beautiful colours and forms, a
+veritable ocean garden. Near high-water mark we find here and there
+in the pools pretty green algæ, some with broad, flat fronds, such as
+the sea-lettuce (_Ulva_), and others with slender branching feathery
+filaments (_Cladophora_). Many of the green algæ, however, prefer to live
+in fresh water. If you make an aquarium, you will find the sea-lettuce
+and the sea-grass (_Enteromorpha_) of great value in keeping the water
+pure, owing to the amount of oxygen which they give out.
+
+Farther down on the beach the rocks are covered thickly with algæ of an
+olive-brown colour. The rocks, indeed, would fare much worse in a storm
+if the seaweeds were not there to protect them, as the grass protects the
+soil of the fields.
+
+Look more closely at those big brown sea-wracks and you will notice
+that the most common kind (_Fucus vesiculosus_) has little globular
+air-bladders arranged in pairs along its flat, smooth-edged fronds. Each
+blade has a distinct midrib, and where it divides, like all the Fucus
+group, it splits into two equal branches. On some of the little end
+branches you may see a yellowish swelling dotted over with minute knobs
+and pores. These swellings are receptacles for holding the eggs and
+sperms, which are contained in tiny cavities under each projecting knob.
+Many seaweeds produce their fruit in winter, when the land plants are
+sleeping and the fields are bare.
+
+The microscopic sperms correspond to the pollen and the eggs to the
+ovules of the flowering plants. But there is one wonderful difference.
+The sperms of the Fucus can move about freely by means of two little
+projecting threads or cilia. When the tide is out, both eggs and sperms
+come to the door of their little houses by the help of the mucilage in
+which they float; and when the sea comes back swarms of these sperms swim
+away and wriggle about, till one of them comes in contact with an egg. It
+adheres to and fuses with the egg, which thus becomes fertilized, and is
+then able to give rise to a young plant. A similar process goes on in all
+the plants of the Fucus group.
+
+Here is one with notched or serrated edges (_Fucus serratus_), and
+without air-bladders; there another well known to every schoolboy as the
+“bell tang” (_Fucus nodosus_), with large air-bladders in the centre
+line of the frond, and yellow fruit-bodies each on a branch of its own,
+without any trace of midrib.
+
+The air-bladders of the seaweeds are natural buoys, by means of which
+the plants are kept erect in the water. The mucilage which makes them so
+slippery to walk over is of the utmost importance, as it protects them
+from drought when they are left uncovered by the tide. Seaweeds are very
+simple in their structure, and have no true roots, stems, or leaves. They
+do not need such organs, for every part of their body is in contact with
+the water which contains their food-supply.
+
+What are those tufts of reddish-brown threads growing all over the fronds
+of this Fucus? That is a red seaweed (_Polysiphonia_), which often
+makes its home under the shelter of a more hardy plant. In the red algæ
+the sperms have no cilia, and cannot move about of themselves, but the
+eggs have each a long thread, corresponding to the stigma of the higher
+plants, and against this thread the sperms are driven by currents of
+water.
+
+The little Fucus known as “teeting tang” (_Fucus canaliculatus_) ought
+not to be passed unheeded. It is often much relished by sheep and cattle.
+You may know it by its greenish-brown colour and by the distinct groove
+on one side all along its length. It is found only in the upper part
+of the “ebb”. Another interesting plant of this group may be found on
+the large rocks nearer low-water mark. It is called the “sea-thong”
+(_Himanthalia lorea_), because its fructification grows out from a
+button-shaped base into long, forked, thong-like branches.
+
+[Illustration: _Common seaweeds.—II._
+
+F, _Fucus canaliculatus_. G, _Himanthalia lorea_. H, _Laminaria
+digitata_. I, _Rhodymenia_. K, _Chondrus crispus_. L, _Porphyra_.]
+
+If the tide is far out, we shall be able to see the tops of the
+“red-ware” standing out of the water, and some of the tangles will be
+quite dry. These tangles belong to the _Laminaria_ group, the giants
+among the seaweeds. They contain a large amount of iodine in their
+composition, and that is why they are used for the manufacture of kelp.
+Notice how firmly they cling to the sea-bottom by their strong holdfasts,
+which have weathered many a storm.
+
+An interesting feature in this group is their manner of growth. The
+growing region lies at the junction of the stalk with the blade. You
+will often find a specimen in which the old blade is being pushed away
+on the end of the young one, ready to be broken off and cast adrift by
+the waves. The stalk itself is perennial, but in some kinds of Laminaria
+(_Laminaria digitata_, for example) the blade is usually torn into shreds
+before it is thrown off.
+
+A well-known ally of the tangles is the “merkal,” also called
+“honey-ware.” You can tell it by the prominent midrib and the broad, thin
+wing on each side, running all its length. This is one of the edible
+seaweeds. Do you see this bright red palmate plant growing under the
+shelter of the tangles? It is the common dulse (_Rhodymenia palmata_),
+which may often be seen for sale on the streets of our cities. Examine
+it well and taste it, and you will be able to recognize it in future,
+however much it may vary in form or colour. But do not eat too much of
+it, for it is said to be somewhat indigestible.
+
+Another edible seaweed which has been widely used as an invalid food
+may be found in the lower part of the “ebb,” often under the shelter of
+larger plants. This is the Irish moss or carrageen (_Chondrus crispus_).
+It is fleshy and pink in colour. A jelly is made from it which is
+considered a great delicacy.
+
+The purple laver (_Porphyra_) is perhaps the most valuable of the
+seaweeds as a food, and is said to sell at a high price in Yokohama. In
+form it resembles the sea-lettuce. Many other marine algæ have been used
+as food, and none of them are poisonous. In North Ronaldsay the sheep
+seem to esteem them highly as food.
+
+The most important use of seaweed is to serve as food for various
+kinds of molluscs, crustaceans, and fishes. The “plankton” of the
+sea-surface—minute one-celled algæ—are very important in this way. What
+grass is to the land animals, the marine algæ are to the living creatures
+of the sea. When driven ashore by the waves, or when cut down by the once
+familiar “hook,” the larger seaweeds are much used as manure for field
+crops. They thus repay the debt they owe for any portion of their food
+that may have come originally from the dry land.
+
+Before returning from our walk let us haul down this small boat from
+its “noust” and take a bird’s-eye view of the seaweeds in their natural
+habitat. Through the clear water beneath us we can see the strange shapes
+of the submerged vegetation, dense and tangled, with here and there a
+lazy sea-urchin on the broad red-ware, and the sillocks actively swimming
+around. But our oars are entangled in the “drew” (_Chorda filum_), so
+full of annoyance and even of danger to the swimmer. Look at one of those
+long threads. It is covered with hairs; it tapers towards both ends, and
+its fructification extends along its whole surface. In structure it is a
+hollow tube divided into many chambers.
+
+What a variety of colours and shades we see as we look down on this
+wonderful submarine scenery! We notice that near high-water mark green is
+the predominant colour, and that the lower belt is mostly brown, while
+here at low-water mark and beyond it, as well as under the shelter of the
+sea-wracks and tangles, shades of red prevail. Beyond the depth of thirty
+or forty fathoms seaweeds are extremely rare, owing to the want of light
+at the sea-bottom: seaweeds, like other plants, cannot take in their food
+in darkness.
+
+Notwithstanding their varied tints, the fundamental colour of all
+seaweeds is green, as you can prove for yourselves by boiling a few brown
+specimens, or soaking them for some time in fresh water. You will find
+that the other colouring matters are dissolved out, and only the green
+is left. The red or brown pigments are probably of use in aiding or in
+protecting the green colouring matter, chlorophyll, in its important work
+of assimilating the food material.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CRABS.
+
+
+When I was a boy at school we frequently amused ourselves by catching
+crabs. The scene of our operations was the Peerie Sea, where a wall had
+been built along the shore. Here we used to gather, armed with a piece
+of string and bait of some kind, and we often spent a whole long evening
+perched on the wall, fishing for crabs. The Peerie Sea was a receptacle
+for all kinds of refuse, and formed a happy hunting-ground for swarms of
+crabs.
+
+When one thinks of catching crabs, one may naturally imagine an excursion
+to the shore during ebb-tide, and much turning over of stones and
+seaweed. Our method was quite different. We made the crabs come to us.
+Our bait was a piece of fish or anything of an animal nature, provided it
+was fairly tough. No hook was necessary; we simply tied the end of the
+string round the bait.
+
+The baited line was let down into the water, preferably in the vicinity
+of a crab, and drawn slowly along the bottom. If the animal was timid,
+and not very hungry, he often scuttled off in a fright. Usually,
+however, he was both hungry and fearless, and seized the bait at once,
+trying to drag it in among seaweed or into a hole. Now came the exciting
+part of the business. Our object was to haul him up before he quitted his
+hold. The wall was high, and he required careful management. Sometimes
+when he was drawn up out of the water he would let go, and fall back with
+a flop into the sea again; sometimes he would hold on till he was drawn
+up over the wall, and then we shook him off on the pavement behind.
+
+[Illustration: _Common shore crab._]
+
+Occasionally when we had no bait we would manage to land a crab with a
+small stone or a cinder. So long as the stone lies motionless on the
+bottom he pays no attention to it. As soon as it begins to move, drawn
+along by the string, the crab rushes at it and seizes it with his claws,
+and it is some time before he finds out his mistake. Not infrequently
+he will allow himself to be drawn quite out of the water, clinging to
+his find. It is very amusing to see the crab worrying a hard stone, then
+dropping it when he has discovered it is not eatable, and then seizing it
+again as it begins to move away from him, just like a kitten with a ball
+of wool. Apparently he cannot resist the idea that movement means life.
+
+The commonest kind of crab in Orkney is the green shore-crab. He is on
+the whole a bold animal, but when frightened he runs away with great
+speed. He moves sideways, and thus meets with less resistance from the
+water than if he were to move directly forward. Usually, however, he does
+not walk fast, but creeps over the bottom in a leisurely fashion. When
+seizing his food he comes up to it “head on,” his nipping claws held wide
+apart; when he is near enough, he suddenly brings them together, and
+begins to tear up the food in little bits and pack it into his mouth.
+
+His eyes are placed on the tip of movable projections, so that they
+command a wide view. He cannot see behind him, however, or under his
+body, and he usually keeps his eyes fixed in the direction in which he is
+going. When he is resting, his eyes are ever on the watch. Every little
+movement on the beach near him he notices at once.
+
+The crab has a peculiar method of feeding. His mouth is just under his
+head, and the opening is guarded by two flat jointed plates, one on
+each side of his mouth. If you pull these two plates apart—after having
+arranged with a friend to hold his pincers—you can see where his mouth
+is, and you may notice two strong things which look like teeth. These are
+really his jaws; they move from side to side, and not up and down like
+our jaws. To see how he feeds, you must put him into a glass jar, and
+look up from below while he is eating a bit of fish. He tears it up with
+his pincers, and puts little bits into his mouth, the parts of which move
+from side to side as he eats.
+
+He is not very particular as to what he eats. He is, indeed, a cannibal,
+and will eat the crushed leg of another crab as readily as anything else.
+He is one of the most useful animals on the beach, however, and has been
+called the scavenger of the shore. In fact, if one wishes to get the
+flesh cleaned off the skeleton of any large animal, there is no easier
+method than to lay it on the beach, well below high-water mark, and build
+stones around it, leaving spaces between them to admit crabs.
+
+As we have already said, the crab is bold and fearless. He is safe in
+his coat of armour, and his pincers are powerful weapons of offence and
+defence. When fighting he rears himself up and throws his nipping legs
+far apart with the pincers wide open. He then looks a formidable animal;
+and he really is formidable, for with these legs he can protect almost
+any part of his body, and the strength of his grip is considerable.
+
+Take up a dead crab and examine his biting leg. The different parts are
+joined by hinges. Each hinge allows of motion only in one plane, but the
+various planes are so adjusted that the limb can be moved in almost any
+direction. Only one part of his body cannot be touched by his pincers,
+and that is his back. If you wish to grasp a live crab with impunity,
+seize him across the back just where his walking legs join the body. He
+may struggle as he pleases, but he cannot nip you.
+
+It is quite a common thing to find a shore crab with one or more legs
+wanting, or with one large pincer and one small one. What is the reason
+of this? It means that at one time or other the crab has had a limb torn
+off in a fight, for the males are continually fighting with one another.
+When a limb is lost it is not a very serious matter, for a new limb soon
+begins to grow on again, and after a time becomes as large as the lost
+one.
+
+There are times, however, when the crab is by no means pugnacious. One
+sometimes finds under a stone a crab which has hardly enough spirit to
+lift his pincers in self-defence. On touching him one finds that he is
+quite soft. What has happened to him? He has recently been casting his
+coat; for, as the animal goes on growing within his shell, he becomes
+too big for it, and the only thing he can do is to burst the shell and
+come out of it, and then wait for a bigger one to grow. When he is thus
+moulting, he is glad to crawl away and hide till he is able to face the
+world again. Many of the empty crab shells that one picks up on the
+beach are the old cast-off clothes of crabs still alive and vigorous. By
+examining one of these we can see how thorough the process of moulting
+is; not only are the shells of his back and his legs thrown off, but the
+covering of his eyes, his feelers, his mouth parts, and even the inside
+lining of his stomach,—for, strange to say, the wall of his stomach is
+lined with the same kind of shell as the outside of his body.
+
+The crab is formed for living in water, but he can stand long exposure
+to the air. If you cover him with damp garden soil or peat mould he will
+survive for days. The reason is that so long as his gills are kept damp
+he can breathe and live quite well. The lobster breathes in exactly the
+same way, and when lobsters are being shipped for the southern markets
+they are put in boxes with layers of wet seaweed to keep them alive.
+
+Have you ever seen the beautiful set of gills which the crab has? If you
+find a dead crab that has been lying on the beach for some little time,
+you can easily remove the upper shell, leaving the soft parts of the body
+with the legs attached. Just above the attachment of the legs there is
+a series of brown feathery-looking things which seem to cover the whole
+side of the body. These are the gills. They lie in a special chamber,
+occupying about half of the whole space inside the shell. While the crab
+is alive, the gills are continually bathed in a current of water, which
+is pumped in through a small hole at the side of his mouth and drawn out
+at another hole near it. If the gills become dry the animal soon dies.
+
+There is a curious pointed flap folded tightly across the crab’s body
+underneath, which is commonly called its “purse.” It used to be a
+schoolboy belief that the crab carries its money here. The fact simply
+is that the purse is kept closed for the sake of protection, as the skin
+underneath it is soft and might easily be injured in a fight.
+
+You have all seen the long tail of the lobster, with its broad flaps at
+the end. By suddenly bending its tail underneath its body the lobster is
+able to propel itself backwards through the water at a great rate. The
+crab and the lobster are, as you may know, closely related, and the purse
+of the former corresponds to the tail of the latter. The purse or tail of
+the crab, however, is always tucked up under the body, and is never used
+for swimming.
+
+Both animals carry their eggs on this part of their body, and you may
+occasionally find a crab with its purse so full of eggs that it cannot be
+closed. These eggs have a curious history. When they are hatched, it is
+not a small crab that comes out, but a funny little creature not in the
+least like its parent. It has a rounded body and a long thin tail, and
+swims actively about. At this stage it is called a _zœa_.
+
+By-and-by the creature settles down to the sea-bottom and casts its
+shell. Its back is now broader and its tail shorter, and it is provided
+with claws; but it is still quite unlike a crab, and swims freely about.
+It is now known as a _megalopa_. Swarms of these may be found clustered
+round seaweed and other floating substances, both near the shore and in
+deep water. As it grows it again casts its shell, but it now tucks in
+its tail and settles down in life as a real crab, though of course a
+very small one as yet: you may find scores of them on the beach not much
+bigger than a split pea.
+
+Besides the green crab there are others which are common on the
+sea-beach. One of these is the edible crab or “partan.” This crab lives
+in somewhat deeper water than the other, and is of a dark reddish or
+purplish hue on the back, while its under parts are white. It is not
+nearly so quick and active in its movements as the green crab, but when
+it does get hold of anything it has a stronger bite. In deep water it
+grows to a giant size, and it is regularly caught in creels and sold for
+food, as its flesh is firm and good to eat. The flesh of the green crab,
+on the other hand, is much softer and less abundant, and it is not used
+for eating. Strangely enough, all crabs turn red when boiled, whatever
+their colour when alive.
+
+Another curious crab is sometimes found in weedy pools on the beach. This
+animal is of a spidery form, and is much more difficult to see than an
+ordinary crab, for he is elaborately disguised. His back and legs are
+grown over with hairy brown seaweed, and as he always lies among a mass
+of similar weed it is impossible to detect him so long as he remains at
+rest. When he does move, his movements are extremely slow. If you take
+him out of the water, he looks a most uncouth creature as he feebly
+sprawls about. Place him back in the bunch of seaweed from which he was
+taken, and he immediately adjusts himself so as to become invisible. This
+is his mode of escaping observation, for he is too slow and weak to be
+able to defend himself.
+
+Still another odd-looking crab may be found in deep water. This animal
+has rather thin legs, while its back is somewhat pear-shaped, the pointed
+end being directed forwards. It is, however, a much more active animal
+than the last mentioned, and we may often see it from a boat as it climbs
+about on the broad blades of the tangles. It is rarely found on the
+beach, but the cast-off shell of the animal may be found on almost any
+part of our shores.
+
+One of the most interesting of our crabs is known as the hermit-crab.
+He belongs to the family of soft-tailed crabs, and in shape is more
+like the lobster than the other crabs we have mentioned. The hinder part
+of his body being without armour, he is forced to seek an artificial
+defence, and this he finds in the empty shell of a whelk or “buckie,”
+into the spiral coils of which he inserts his unprotected tail. These
+creatures are generally called hermit-crabs, because each lives in his
+own separate habitation, like a hermit in his cell or like Diogenes in
+his tub; but unlike these in their habits, they are so pugnacious that
+they are also known as soldier-crabs.
+
+[Illustration: _Hermit-crab (with anemone on shell)._]
+
+Hermit-crabs may be found plentifully on the shores, of various sizes,
+and inhabiting any kind of shell that they find to suit their size. If
+we look into a shallow sand-bottomed rock-pool, we may see some of these
+shells moving about at a rate to which they were quite unaccustomed
+during the life of their builder and original occupier: we know at once
+that each of these shells has now as a tenant one of those interesting
+crabs.
+
+By means of an apparatus at the extremity of his tail the hermit holds
+firmly to his temporary abode, and he flattens himself closely against
+the shell, leaving exposed only the one large pincer which is specially
+fitted to bar the door against intruders. It is difficult to seize the
+creature at all; and even when a grasp of any portion can be secured, the
+hold of the tail is so firm that the animal runs some risk of being torn
+apart rather than leave his shell.
+
+A well-known writer on Natural History, the Rev. J. G. Wood, has given an
+interesting account of the hermit-crab, from which we quote the following
+paragraphs:—
+
+“The combative propensities of these creatures are wonderful. If two
+hermits of fairly equal size are placed in an aquarium, they are
+not content with appropriating different portions of the vessel to
+themselves, but must needs travel over it and fight whenever they meet.
+This struggle is constantly renewed, until one of them discovers his
+inferiority and makes way whenever the victor comes near. When they fight
+they do so in earnest, tumbling over each other, and flinging about their
+legs and claws with great energy. They are not at all particular about
+diet so long as it is of an animal substance, and will eat molluscs, raw
+meat, or even their own species. More than once when a hermit has died
+I have dropped the body into the water so as to bring it within view of
+another hermit. The little cannibal caught the descending body in one of
+his claws very dexterously, and holding it firmly with one claw he picked
+it to pieces with the other, and put each morsel into his mouth in a
+rapid and systematic manner that was highly amusing.”
+
+“When a hermit desires to change his habitation, he goes through a
+curious series of performances. A shell lies on the ground, and the
+hermit seizes it with his claws and his feet and twists it about with
+wonderful dexterity, as if testing its weight; and after having examined
+every portion of its exterior, he proceeds to satisfy himself about its
+interior. For this purpose he pushes his fore legs as far into the shell
+as they will reach, and probes every spot that can be touched. If this
+examination satisfies him, he whisks himself into the new shell with such
+rapidity that he seems to have been acted upon by a spring. Such a scene
+as this will not be witnessed in the sea unless the hermit is forcibly
+deprived of his shell, but when hermits are placed in a tank or vase they
+seem to be rather fond of ‘flitting.’”
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+HOPPERS AND SHOLTIES.
+
+
+Of the great multitude of different animals which live on the seashore
+possibly the most numerous are the little creatures known as “sholties”
+or “Shetland sholties.” They are to be found on almost every beach. Their
+peculiar shape, flattened on the sides, their habit of hiding in crowds
+under stones or seaweed, their intense alarm when they are suddenly
+exposed, and their vigour in escaping into a new hiding-place, are known
+to every schoolboy. They look very different from their pugnacious
+relatives, the crabs; they are feeble creatures, more ready to escape
+from danger than to offer fight. Yet they are most interesting little
+animals, and the more one watches their ways the more one comes to
+understand their wonderful adaptation to their surroundings.
+
+Though their general appearance is quite familiar, it is not so commonly
+known that there are many different varieties of these creatures. As a
+matter of fact, there are scores of different kinds, some living on the
+beach, some just below extreme low-water mark, and others in the deep
+sea. We shall concern ourselves here only with those that live on the
+beach.
+
+There are three common kinds which every one ought to know. Two of these,
+curiously enough, though _beach_ animals are not really _sea_ animals.
+They are hardly ever in the water; they live on the fringe of beach which
+lies just above high-water mark. The sea reaches them but rarely, and
+they never voluntarily seek the water. These two kinds are known as the
+shore-hopper (_Orchestia_) and the sand-hopper (_Talitrus_), the latter
+being found mostly on sandy beaches, where they make little burrows in
+which to hide, and the former living under stones or among the decaying
+seaweed on stony beaches. They both get their name of “hopper” from their
+habit of leaping or springing into the air, by means of which they often
+avoid capture by enemies. French people call them “sea-fleas.”
+
+[Illustration: _Shore-hopper (Orchestia)._ _Sand-hopper (Talitrus)._
+_Sholtie (Gammarus)._
+
+(All magnified about three times.)]
+
+The third variety, which is probably best known of all, and to which
+the name of “sholtie” is here more especially applied, is that which
+occurs farther down on the beach in places which are constantly wet with
+sea-water. This animal (_Gammarus_) is much narrower in the body than
+the other two, and some of its legs are bent backwards along its side,
+so that by means of them it can run or crawl on its side. Indeed, when
+out of the water this creature in quite unable to walk back uppermost;
+whenever by any chance it does succeed in raising itself into what is for
+most animals the normal attitude, it immediately topples over on its side
+again. It can be readily distinguished from the other two forms by having
+_two_ pairs of long, delicate feelers or antennæ in front of its head;
+the hoppers have only one long pair of antennæ and one short pair.
+
+All these animals, in spite of their small size, are near allies of the
+crabs and lobsters. A naturalist would tell you that they belong to
+the group of the _Crustacea_, this name being applied to all animals
+of the crab tribe on account of the firm, crackly skin or shell which
+surrounds them. The Crustacea are marked by other features in addition
+to the possession of this hard exterior. They are all jointed animals,
+their body being built up of a series of segments, each of which carries
+a pair of legs or appendages of some kind, these appendages also being
+jointed. In the crab and the lobster a number of segments have become
+fused or welded together to form the front part or body of the animal. In
+the group of animals to which the sholties belong the segments are all
+distinct.
+
+To understand something of the structure and the general habits of the
+sholtie, all that we require to do is to collect a few specimens from
+the beach and put them in a saucer with a little sea-water. They will
+swim about in a very active fashion, the swimming being performed by
+means of little fan-like appendages attached to the under part of the
+animal just where the swimmerets are in the lobster. By the vigorous
+strokes of these appendages the animal forces its way through the water.
+
+These appendages are, however, of use in another way; the gills of the
+animal are attached to them. Even when it is lying almost dry, or in
+water too shallow for swimming, these appendages can be seen to work
+regularly and rhythmically with a gentle flapping movement. Sometimes
+they stop working for a little and then begin again, but they are never
+long at rest. In this way currents of water are made to bathe the gills
+continually, and the flapping of the appendages is really a breathing
+movement.
+
+The walking legs are attached to the fore part of the body. Some of them
+point backwards, as has already been mentioned, and the animal prefers
+to crawl or run on its side. As a rule, too, it propels itself over the
+ground by jerking movements of its body, its tail being alternately
+curled up and then suddenly straightened out again. It is in this way
+that it wriggles over the stones and escapes into a place of safety when
+exposed.
+
+One of the most characteristic points about the sholtie is its habit of
+clinging to objects, especially if they afford a cover from the light.
+Drop a bit of seaweed into the dish where they are swimming, and in two
+or three minutes the sholties will all be found clinging to the under
+surface of the weed. We might indeed imagine that they had escaped
+from the saucer. They cluster like swarming bees round the smallest
+blade of seaweed, and it is only by turning over the weed that we can
+make sure that they are there. When exposed to full daylight they seem
+uncomfortable, and keep swimming about trying to find a hiding-place. It
+is only when they find something to cling to and to hide under that they
+really rest and feel at ease.
+
+But we have not yet examined the hoppers. Though externally so like
+the sholties, they are very different in constitution and habits. To
+understand the difference between the two classes of animals, the best
+plan is to put either a shore-hopper or a sand-hopper into some water
+along with a sholtie. The latter is an active little animal in the water,
+capable of moving about like a fish. The hopper, on the other hand, is
+obviously out of his element; he sinks to the bottom of the dish and
+there works his way along in lumbering fashion. His breathing organs can
+be seen waving backwards and forwards in rhythmical fashion, but they are
+too feeble to be used for swimming. The shore-hopper can breathe quite
+well in water, and may live in it for days. It is said that sand-hoppers
+do not stand long-continued immersion, and die of drowning.
+
+On land, however, the hopper is at home, provided he gets just
+sufficient moisture to keep his gills damp. Not only can he crawl about
+back uppermost—a feat which the _Gammarus_ would attempt in vain—but
+as he crawls he keeps his tail curled up under his body, and by
+suddenly straightening this out he can throw himself into the air with
+considerable vigour. In this way he often not merely escapes from an
+enemy, but even drives terror into the heart of the pursuer. It takes
+some little time to realize that hoppers can be handled with impunity,
+and are harmless for all their sudden jerky movements.
+
+Why do these animals live on the upper fringe of beach, and what do they
+find there to eat? The answer is simple. They live on the cast up refuse
+of the sea; they are the scavengers of the jetsam. Naturalists who are
+collecting the skeletons of small animals often put the carcases which
+they wish to have cleaned under some decaying weed on the beach. After a
+week or a fortnight the bones are found to be picked absolutely clean.
+
+In order to tell the sand-hopper from the shore-hopper we have only to
+look at his front feet. If they are all thin and slender, the animal is
+a sand-hopper; if one pair of the front feet are clubbed at the end and
+armed with a claw, we know that he is a shore-hopper.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+SEA-ANEMONES.
+
+
+When the tide ebbs and leaves the rocks exposed we may find here and
+there a few soft, rounded objects attached to the bare rock, often bright
+red in colour, and looking like strawberries or ripe cherries. They are
+found especially on the sheltered sides of high rocks and in the angles
+formed by slight ridges and clefts. We do not seem to have any local
+name for these objects, although they are so common and conspicuous; one
+wonders why our name-inventing forefathers did not bestow on them some
+descriptive title. Their English name is “sea-anemone,” a term derived
+from their resemblance to the anemone flower.
+
+It is only when they are covered by the water, however, that they deserve
+the name of anemone, for then they open out like a bud and spread out
+circles of leaf-like projections, much as an opening daisy or dandelion
+does. They usually remain open during the whole time that the tide is
+up; when the water goes back again these leaves all curl in towards the
+middle of the anemone and are folded up inside, leaving only a little
+dimple on the top to indicate where they have disappeared.
+
+Sea-anemones, however, are by no means flowers. Their jelly-like
+consistency and their habits would lead us to classify them as animals,
+and this they undoubtedly are. Though they seem to be rooted to one spot,
+and to open and close like a plant, their real habits are those of an
+animal. As a matter of fact, they are carnivorous animals; they first
+kill their victims by poisoning them, and afterwards devour them. If they
+had the power of moving rapidly in pursuit of prey, they would be as
+deadly to the general population of the beach as are the most venomous
+snakes to the creatures on land. As it is, they account for a very
+considerable number of the beach inhabitants by simply lying in wait and
+grasping the little animals that happen to stray within their reach.
+
+[Illustration: _Sea-anemones._]
+
+The beautiful circles of leaflets which we see so regularly arranged are
+really active grasping tentacles, armed with whole batteries of little
+poisonous stings. With these tentacles they seize hold of any little
+creature, such as a “sholtie” or a young crab, that happens to move
+over them. The poor animal is held fast in spite of all its struggles,
+tentacle after tentacle is brought up by the anemone to grasp it, while
+hundreds of fine stinging darts discharge into it their poison, and
+the victim, its struggles gradually becoming more and more feeble, is
+ultimately drawn into the centre of the animal, where lie its mouth and
+its stomach. Then the tentacles are all closed in over the prey, and
+remain thus closed for a time—a day or several days, according to the
+size of the animal caught. During this time the process of digestion is
+going on, and when it is completed the skeleton and useless parts of the
+animal are discharged by the same opening as that by which it was taken
+in, and the anemone once more spreads its tentacles to wait for its next
+victim.
+
+It is not only living animals that the anemone will devour. Anything of
+animal nature, dead or alive, is grist to its mill; and though it has
+no eyes, it can quite well distinguish what is good for food. A waving
+branch of seaweed borne towards it by currents in the water is quite
+ignored, while a bit of flesh is never allowed to come in contact with
+the tentacles without an effort being made to secure it. By some natural
+power, whether by the sense of smell or of taste or by some other sense
+unknown to us, the creature distinguishes unfailingly what it needs. It
+is great fun to feed it with small portions of limpet or of whelk, and by
+doing so one can see exactly how the process of feeding is carried on.
+
+One might imagine that the anemone would easily fall a prey to larger
+and stronger animals. It has no hard skin or shell to protect it, and
+its beautiful jelly-like appearance would suggest to any hungry fish or
+crab that it is not only easy to demolish but would form a juicy morsel.
+Yet it does not seem to be in any danger from such enemies. I was once
+amusing myself by throwing little pieces of bait into the sea among a
+crowd of sillocks. Along with the bait, which consisted of limpet and
+fish, I threw in a morsel of one of these red anemones. A bold young
+sillock immediately snapped it up. Then something seemed to go wrong, for
+the poor young fish suddenly shot the anemone out of its mouth and swam
+off without so much as looking at the other bait which I threw all round
+about it. The piece of anemone was less palatable than it looked.
+
+Strangely enough an anemone is not much inconvenienced by being cut into
+bits. The individual pieces if put into the sea again close up and grow
+into new animals. No doubt the piece which the sillock swallowed was
+fully alive, and stung the mouth and throat of its captor so severely
+that the fish was only too glad to be rid of it.
+
+All anemones are not red in colour like those of which we have been
+speaking. There is a great number of different kinds of these creatures
+round our shores, but most of them are only to be found by careful
+searching. Some are found in rock-pools; these are generally coloured
+more or less like the seaweeds in the pools. Others are found only in
+dark places; under large stones or boulders near low-water mark they grow
+in all attitudes—upright, sideways, and upside down—attached by their
+base to the surface of the stone. The greatest variety of them I ever saw
+was found among the stones of a little jetty or pier, which was being
+taken down to make room for a larger pier. The under surface and the
+sides of the stones on this pier were simply covered with anemones of all
+sizes, shapes, and colours.
+
+The various kinds of anemone differ not only in colour but also in size
+and shape. Some are minute things, with a thin body or stalk crowned at
+the top with long, fine tentacles, which they wave about actively through
+the water in search for small prey. Others again are large, and one kind,
+known as the dahlia, which is common in Orkney, attains to gigantic
+proportions; when its tentacles are expanded it is as wide across the top
+as the mouth of a large breakfast cup. The dahlia is variously coloured,
+sometimes dark crimson, the tentacles being marked with broad rings of
+crimson and white, sometimes green with red markings. The outside of
+its body is usually covered with bits of gravel and broken shells, so
+that when the animal closes up there is nothing to be seen but a rounded
+heap of gravel. When open it is a magnificent creature, and its broad,
+tapering tentacles shine with an iridescent light.
+
+[Illustration: _Dahlia anemone._]
+
+
+
+
+Part IV.—Legend and Lay.
+
+
+
+
+THE OLD GODS.
+
+
+In the north of Europe there lived long ago that race of people whom we
+know as the Norsemen—tall, fair-haired men, strong and warlike, and as
+much at home on sea as on land. They came to Britain in great numbers
+at different times, and many of them settled there. We read of them
+sometimes as Vikings, sometimes as Danes, and sometimes as Normans. The
+Saxon settlers of a still earlier time were of the same kindred. We have
+already told the story of their settlement in Orkney, and of the earldom
+which they established there. Everything that we can find out about this
+wonderful race of sea-rovers and warriors is of interest to us; for
+while most of the lowland dwellers of Scotland and England have some
+Norse blood in their veins, we who live in these northern islands regard
+ourselves as the lineal descendants of those Vikings.
+
+Before the Norsemen became Christians, they believed in many gods and
+goddesses. They had gods of the sky and of the sea, of spring and of
+summer, of thunder and lightning, of frost and of storm. Many a strange
+tale they told of the doings of their gods, and most of those tales are
+really pictures of the processes that take place in nature—of the wars
+between wind and sea, between light and darkness, and between sun and
+frost.
+
+In the beginning, they believed, there was the great Spirit, the Creator.
+Of him they have no tales to tell. Then the world was made—or rather
+the worlds, for the Norsemen thought that besides this world of men
+there were a world of the gods, a world of the giants, and other worlds.
+Between Asgard, the home of the gods, and Midgard, the world of men, a
+beautiful bridge was built, which we call the rainbow.
+
+Odin was the highest of the gods. He was the god of wisdom and of
+victory, and the friend of heroes. Men spoke of him as tall and strong,
+with long, flowing hair and beard, and wearing a wide blue mantle flecked
+with white, as the blue sky is flecked with fleecy clouds. On his
+shoulders sat two ravens, Thought and Memory. They roamed over the world
+every day, and came back at night to whisper in his ear all they had seen
+and heard. At his feet crouched two wolves, which he fed with his own
+hand.
+
+Odin had three palaces in Asgard. One of these was Valhalla, the home
+of heroes; and hither came at their death all the brave men Odin loved
+so well. He sent forth beautiful maidens to hover over every field of
+battle, and to carry home to Valhalla those who fell in the fight. In
+Valhalla the brave lived for ever. They spent their days in fighting, as
+they had loved to do on earth; but every evening the warriors returned
+to the hall of feasting, unhurt, and the best of friends. Such was the
+Norsemen’s idea of a heaven for heroes.
+
+Odin gave men wisdom as well as courage. Only through suffering, however,
+did he become the god of wisdom. It happened on this wise. Far below
+the world of the giants was a crystal spring which watered the roots of
+the tree of life—a great tree reaching up to heaven. This well was the
+fountain of wisdom, and whoever drank of it became wise. It was guarded
+by a giant called Mimir, or Memory. Mimir was older than the gods, and
+wiser than they, for he remembered all things. Odin went down below the
+world of the giants one day, and he said to Mimir, “Give me a drink of
+the clear water of your well.”
+
+“Ah,” said Mimir, “this water is never given to any except at a great
+price. You must be willing to give up the most precious thing you possess
+before you can drink at Mimir’s fountain.”
+
+“Be it so,” replied Odin; “I will give whatever you ask.”
+
+Mimir looked at him, admiring his courage, and at length replied, “If you
+would drink, you must leave with me one of your eyes.”
+
+This was a great price to pay, but Odin did not flinch. He drank of the
+fountain, and came back to Asgard with only one eye, but he had won the
+wisdom he desired.
+
+Thor was the god of thunder; he was the champion of the gods, and
+defended Asgard against the giants. His was the largest palace in Asgard;
+it had five hundred and forty halls and many great doors, and was called
+by a name which means Lightning. Thor wore a crown of stars upon his
+head, and rode in a chariot drawn by two goats, from whose hoofs and
+teeth flashed sparks of fire. To Thor belonged three very precious
+things. The first was his mighty hammer, with which he fought the frost
+giants. The second was his belt of strength: when he girded himself with
+this his strength was doubled. The third was his iron gauntlet: with this
+he grasped his famous hammer, which he made red-hot when he fought the
+giants.
+
+Loki was the spirit of evil and mischief. Having been banished from
+Asgard for his wickedness, he lived many years in giant-land, rejoicing
+in his evil deeds. He had three children, each as full of evil as
+himself. So much mischief did they work that Odin looked down from Asgard
+with a grave countenance. “This must not be,” he said; “Loki’s children
+will fill the world with evil.” So Odin fared forth to giant-land. One of
+the evil brood he sent to the under world of darkness, and one he threw
+into the sea. The third, Fenris the wolf, was so strong that Odin spared
+him. “If he were to live with the gods,” he said, “his strength might be
+turned to good instead of ill.” So he took Fenris the wolf up to Asgard,
+to see whether he would learn goodness with his strength.
+
+Who among the gods would care for the wolf-spirit? Brave Tyr was ready
+with the answer. “Father Odin,” he cried, “I delight in strength. Let me
+have the charge of this fierce fellow; I care not if the task be hard and
+dull.” So Fenris became his charge. He fed him with sheep and oxen, and
+took him with him upon his journeys. But Fenris did not learn the ways of
+the gods. His muscles were like iron, and his teeth stronger than steel,
+but his heart remained savage and cruel.
+
+One night Odin called the gods together. “Sons,” he said, “I have looked
+upon Fenris, and seen his cruel strength. There is no love in his eyes,
+and no thought of good in his heart. Day by day he becomes stronger for
+evil. We must bind him, or he will destroy us.” They listened, and saw
+that the counsel of Odin was good. “Come with me,” said Thor the mighty;
+“I will forge a chain that will hold him fast.” All night long the gods
+watched Thor toiling at his anvil, dealing great blows upon the glowing
+iron, and sending sparks like shooting-stars through the darkness. When
+morning came the massive chain was finished.
+
+“Come, Fenris,” called Thor, “you are strong; let us see you break this
+chain which I have made.” Fenris allowed them to bind him with the heavy
+links: when they had done so, he stretched his huge limbs, and the thick
+iron snapped like a thread of silk. The gods kept silence as Fenris
+walked away.
+
+Again Thor led them to his forge; again he toiled all night, hammering
+and shaping great bars of steel. When morning came, another chain was
+ready, ten times stronger than the first. But this chain also snapped
+like a spider’s thread before the might of Fenris.
+
+The gods once more sat in council, and Odin’s face was grave. “Great
+indeed is the power of evil,” said the All-wise, “but the power of good
+must be greater still. Sons, let us call to our aid the skill of the
+dwarfs. Tyr shall tell them of our need, and they will help us to bind
+the enemy.” Like an arrow from the bow, Tyr sped from Asgard to the cave
+of the dwarfs, the skilful workers in gold and gems, and gladly they lent
+their aid to Father Odin. Three nights they toiled in the darkness, and
+then they brought to Tyr a delicate chain which might have been spun from
+a cobweb. “Here is thy chain, O Tyr,” they said. “Fierce Fenris cannot
+escape from its bands.”
+
+When Tyr came back to Asgard, Fenris was called once more to test his
+strength. He looked on the delicate thread, and he trembled; yet he would
+not seem to be afraid. “If one of you will place his hand in my mouth,
+so that there may be fair play, I will let you bind me,” he replied. The
+gods looked in one another’s faces. Who would dare the power of the wolf?
+
+Brave Tyr stepped forward and put his arm between the wolf’s jaws. The
+tiny chain was wound round Fenris. He rose to stretch himself and shake
+it off, but it held him fast. With a wild howl he gnashed his teeth
+together, and Tyr stood before the gods without his strong right arm.
+Then a great shout arose in Asgard, “Hail to Tyr! he has given his right
+hand to save the world from evil.” It was echoed from the hills, and rang
+through the caves of the dwarfs. “The chain of the dwarfs is mighty,”
+they said, “but stronger is the brave heart of Tyr.” So wisdom and
+goodness together were more than a match for strength and evil.
+
+Baldur was the god of light. He was the fairest of all that dwelt in
+Asgard, the best beloved of gods and men. Wherever he went he carried
+with him that kindness and love which is to the heart of man what light
+is to the sky. Every one loved him but Loki; the spirit of evil hated the
+goodness that was in Baldur. Baldur’s palace was the home of all that
+was bright and pure. It was built of the blue of the sky and the clear
+crystal of running water. Here he lived in peace, for no evil thing
+could enter. But Baldur became sad and troubled, for he dreamed that his
+life was in danger.
+
+Then his mother went abroad over the whole world, and made everything
+promise not to hurt Baldur. Who would harm the beautiful god? Earth, air,
+and water, beasts and birds, and plants and flowers—all things promised
+never to hurt him. So his mother returned to Asgard with joy, but still
+Baldur was sad. Then the gods invented a kind of game to cheer his heart.
+They made him stand in the midst while they threw at him weapons and all
+hurtful things, to show that nothing could do him harm; and thus they
+amused themselves many days.
+
+In the meantime Loki disguised himself as an old woman, and went to
+Baldur’s mother. He said he marvelled that Baldur was not hurt, and then
+the mother told him of the promise which all things had made never to
+harm her son.
+
+“What! have all things promised this?” asked Loki.
+
+“Yes,” was the reply; “all things have promised except one weak little
+plant, the mistletoe, which grows far away, and which I did not think it
+worth while to ask.”
+
+Loki rejoiced in his evil heart when he heard this. He hurried to the
+place where the mistletoe grew, and plucked a twig of it, which by his
+magic he made into a spear. Then he came back to Asgard, where the gods
+were playing their game of throwing spears at Baldur.
+
+“Why do you not join in the game?” he asked one of the gods.
+
+“Because I am blind,” he replied.
+
+“For the honour of Baldur you should throw a spear at him,” Loki went on.
+
+“I have no spear to throw,” answered the blind god.
+
+Then Loki put into his hand the mistletoe spear, and helped him to aim
+it. The spear pierced Baldur through the heart, and he fell dead. Then
+there were grief and anger in Asgard; weeping and mourning were heard for
+the first time among the gods.
+
+Odin sent a message to the daughter of Loki, who ruled over the world of
+the dead, and asked her to set Baldur free. She replied that he would
+be set free if every living thing would weep for him; but if a single
+creature refused to weep, he could not return.
+
+Then the gods went through all the earth, and prayed all things living to
+weep for Baldur. One old woman alone refused, and so Baldur could not be
+set free. The old woman was no other than Loki, who had taken this form
+in order to hide himself.
+
+After the death of Baldur came a gloomy time in Asgard. The gods had
+fierce wars with the frost-giants, and were defeated. This time is called
+“the twilight of the gods.” But even then they looked forward to a better
+time which was to come, when Baldur should return, and all should be
+light and joy and peace.
+
+Thus the old Norsemen gave us the beautiful tale of Baldur, the sun-god.
+When the days are short in winter, the time of the mistletoe, Baldur is
+dead; but when spring returns, the war with the frost-giants is over, and
+Baldur returns with light and joy to the northern lands.
+
+
+
+
+A VANISHING ISLAND.
+
+
+Eynhallow—the “holy island”—lies in the middle of the fierce tideway that
+separates the Orcadian mainland from Rousay, the Hrolfsey of the Sagas.
+
+    “Eynhallow frank, Eynhallow free,
+    Eynhallow stands in the middle of the sea;
+    With a roaring roost on every side,
+    Eynhallow stands in the middle of the tide.”
+
+So runs an old island rhyme, and surely never was there an island so
+beaten upon and shouted round by the angry tides. It sets a black front
+of jagged rocks to the Atlantic on the west, and the great billows,
+rushing on the rocks, send spouts of spray high in the air, to whirl
+eastward over the gradual slope of the isle. All day long the tide sweeps
+past on either side, boiling and eddying like a swift and deep river.
+When the wind is in the north-west and a strong ebb-tide is running, then
+is the time to see the roosts in all their glory; for the inrolling ocean
+swell meets the outrushing tide in the narrow channels, and the white
+waves leap and roar as if some
+
+      “wallowing monster spouted
+    His foam fountains in the sea.”
+
+To see this mad turmoil of the roost on a wild winter day is strange
+and terrible; but when the white breakers shout and toss themselves in
+the sunlight of a still June morning there is a paradoxical charm in
+the sudden outburst of leaping, sparkling foam amid the blue waters,
+unruffled of any wind, that the wildest storm of winter can never claim.
+
+There is an even stronger fascination in the swift, dark, silent rush of
+the tides, ceaseless along the shores, sweeping in with the flood and
+whirling out again with the ebb, and with the little green isle in their
+midst setting its steep front to the angry ocean, but sheltering with its
+two long eastward points a quiet sandy bay where no current ever comes.
+
+All along the coast, on either side of Eynhallow Sound, are low green
+mounds, marking the places where once were the homes of the prehistoric
+Orcadians, that Celtic or Pictish race which the conquering Norsemen
+destroyed so completely that there is not in all the place-names of the
+isles any trace of their forgotten tongue. Amidst such surroundings, one
+has only to look at Eynhallow to know that it must have gathered legend
+and tradition in the long years.
+
+In Rousay there still lingers a tale of the breaking of the spell that
+held Eynhallow sea-bound; for “once upon a time” the isle was enchanted,
+and visible to human eyes only at rare intervals. It would rise suddenly
+out of the sea, and vanish as suddenly before any mortal could reach it.
+And if any one should feel inclined to doubt this tale, can we not point
+him to the isle of Heather-Bleather, which is still held by the spell of
+the sea-folk, and appears and disappears even unto this day?
+
+When Eynhallow was still a vanishing island, it became known in Rousay
+that if any man, seeing the isle, should hold steel in his hand and,
+taking boat, go out through the tides, never looking at aught but the
+island, nor ever letting go the steel till he leaped on to its virgin
+shore, that man should break the spell and win the isle from the sea-folk
+for his own people. After many failures—and who can tell how many a brave
+heart went down the tide to the sea-trows in that perilous venture?—there
+came at last the hour and the man; the vanishing isle was won from the
+waters, and left standing “in the middle of the tide.”
+
+If there be yet any man brave enough to try the adventure of the
+vanishing island, Heather-Bleather awaits his coming. I have never met
+any person who would confess to having seen that mysterious isle, but
+many of the dwellers by the roosts have spoken to those who saw it rise
+green out of the waters. This island is the home of the Fin-men or
+Sea-men (not to be too rashly identified with the sea-trows), a race of
+beings who play a prominent part in Orcadian folk-lore.
+
+In Rousay they tell of a maiden mysteriously rapt from the hillside over
+the sea, and sought in vain by her kindred. Long years after, “when grief
+was calm and hope was dead,” the lost girl’s father and brothers were at
+sea in their fishing-boat, when there rolled down upon them one of those
+dense banks of sea-fog so common in the North in summer. The fishermen
+knew not where they were, but sailed on until their boat grounded on
+an island which at first they took to be Eynhallow. They soon found,
+however, that they were on an island they had never seen before, and on
+going up to a “white house” they found in the “guid-wife” who admitted
+them their long lost daughter and sister. She welcomed them, and in a
+little time her husband and his brother came in from the sea in “wisps”
+(the local name for great rolls of heather “simmons,” or ropes, used
+in thatching houses). Others say that they came in the guise of seals,
+and cast off their skins. Be that as it may, they treated their human
+connections well and hospitably. When the time came for the men to leave
+for home, the woman refused to accompany them, but she gave her father
+a knife, and told him that so long as he kept it he could come to the
+isle of the waters whenever he pleased. Just as the boat put to sea the
+knife slipped from the old man’s hand into the water; in a moment the fog
+swallowed the island, and no man has set foot on it since.
+
+In summer and autumn evenings, when the sea-fog comes rolling up in great
+banks from the Atlantic, and the westering sun fills the hollows between
+with fantastic lights and shadows—when the islands seem all to shift and
+change, appearing and disappearing among the huge masses of white vapour,
+it requires no very strong imagination to see once more the green isle
+of Heather-Bleather riding the waters, real and solid as its sister of
+Eynhallow, won so long since from the sea-folk.
+
+Of its old enchantment the isles-folk say that Eynhallow still retains
+some small part. No steel or iron stake, such as are used for tethering
+cattle, will remain in its soil after sunset. Of their own motion they
+leap from the ground at the moment when the sea swallows the sun. Then,
+again, no rat or mouse can live upon the island, and it is not long since
+it was usual to bring boatloads of earth from Eynhallow to lay under the
+foundations of new houses, and under the corn-stacks in the farmyard. It
+was firmly believed that through the charmed earth no mouse or rat could
+pass.
+
+                                      DUNCAN J. ROBERTSON
+                                    _(The Scots Magazine). By Permission._
+
+[Since the preceding article first appeared, a very interesting discovery
+has been made on Eynhallow, which may help to explain both the name of
+the island—the “Holy Isle”—and the existence of so many supernatural
+legends regarding it. References are made in the Sagas to a monastery
+in Orkney in Norse times, and it is recorded that an abbot from this
+monastery was appointed to that of Melrose in 1175. Many probable
+sites were suggested as having been occupied by this monastery, but no
+remains could be found, and some doubt was felt as to whether it ever
+really existed in Orkney at all. In the year 1900, however, Professor
+Dietrichson, a Norwegian, examined the ruins on Eynhallow, and was able
+to show that they are the long-sought remains of the lost monastery—small
+in size, but complete in all the details of a Cistercian monastery of the
+period referred to in the Sagas.]
+
+
+
+
+HELEN WATERS: A LEGEND OF SULE SKERRY.
+
+
+The mountains of Hoy, the highest of the Orkney Islands, rise abruptly
+out of the ocean to an elevation of fifteen hundred feet, and terminate
+on one side in a cliff, sheer and stupendous as if the mountain had been
+cut down through the middle and the severed portion of it buried in the
+sea. Immediately on the landward side of this precipice lies a soft green
+valley, embosomed among huge black cliffs, where the sound of the human
+voice or the report of a gun is reverberated among the rocks till it
+gradually dies away into soft and softer echoes.
+
+The hills are intersected by deep and dreary glens, where the hum of the
+world is never heard, and the only voices of life are the bleat of the
+lamb and the shriek of the eagle. The breeze wafts not on its wings the
+whisper of the woodland, for there are no trees on the island; the roar
+of the torrent stream and the sea’s eternal moan for ever sadden those
+solitudes of the world.
+
+The ascent of the mountain is in some parts almost perpendicular, and in
+all exceedingly steep; but the admirer of Nature in her grandest and most
+striking aspects will be amply compensated for his toil, upon reaching
+their summits, by the magnificent prospect which they afford. Towards
+the north and east, the vast expanse of the ocean, and the islands, with
+their dark heath-clad hills, their green vales, and gigantic cliffs,
+expand below as far as the eye can reach. The view towards the south is
+bounded by the lofty mountains of Scaraben and Morven, and by the wild
+hills of Strathnaver and Cape Wrath, stretching towards the west. In the
+direction of the latter, and far away in mid-ocean, may be seen, during
+clear weather, a barren rock called Sule Skerry, which superstition in
+former days had peopled with mermaids and monsters of the deep. This
+solitary spot had long been known to the Orcadians as the haunt of
+sea-fowl and seals, and was the scene of frequent shooting excursions,
+though such perilous adventures have been long since abandoned. It is
+associated in my mind with a wild tale, which I have heard in my youth,
+though I am uncertain whether or not the circumstances which it narrates
+are yet in the memory of living men.
+
+On the opposite side of the mountainous island of which I speak, and
+divided from it by a frith of several miles in breadth, lie the flat
+serpentine shores of the principal island or Mainland, where, upon a
+gentle slope, at a short distance from the sea-beach, may still be traced
+the site of a cottage, once the dwelling of a humble couple of the name
+of Waters, belonging to the class of small proprietors.
+
+Their only child Helen, at the time to which my narration refers, was
+just budding into womanhood; and though uninitiated into what would now
+be considered the indispensable requisites of female education, was yet
+not altogether unaccomplished for the simple times in which she lived,
+and, though a child of nature, had a grace beyond the reach of art.
+
+Henry Graham, the accepted lover of Helen Waters, was the son of a small
+proprietor in the neighbourhood; and being of the same humble rank with
+herself, and, though not rich, removed from poverty, their views were
+undisturbed by the dotage of avarice or the fears of want, and the smiles
+of approving friends seemed to await their approaching union.
+
+In the Orkneys it was customary for the bridegroom to invite the wedding
+guests in person; for which purpose, a few days previous to the marriage,
+young Graham, accompanied by a friend, took a boat and proceeded to the
+island of Hoy in order to request the attendance of a family residing
+there; which done, on the following day they joined a party of young men
+upon a shooting excursion to Rackwick, a village romantically situated
+on the opposite side of the island. They left the house of their friends
+on a bright, calm autumnal morning, and began to traverse the wild and
+savage glens which intersect the hills, where their progress might be
+guessed at by the reports of their guns, which gradually became fainter
+and fainter among the mountains, and at last died away altogether in the
+distance.
+
+That night and the following day passed, and they did not return to the
+house of their friends; but the weather being extremely fine, it was
+supposed they had extended their excursion to the opposite coast of
+Caithness, or to some of the neighbouring islands, so that their absence
+created no alarm whatever.
+
+The same conjectures also quieted the anxieties of the bride, until the
+morning previous to that of the marriage, when her alarm could no longer
+be suppressed. A boat was manned in all haste, and dispatched to Hoy in
+quest of them, but did not return that day nor the succeeding night.
+
+The morning of the wedding day dawned at last bright and beautiful,
+but still no intelligence arrived of the bridegroom and his party; and
+the hope which lingered to the last, that they would still make their
+appearance in time, had prevented the invitations from being postponed,
+so that the marriage party began to assemble about midday.
+
+While the friends were all in amazement, and the bride in a most pitiable
+state, a boat was seen crossing from Hoy, and hope once more began to
+revive; but, when her passengers landed, they turned out to be the
+members of the family invited from that island, whose surprise at finding
+how matters stood was equal to that of the other friends.
+
+Meantime all parties united in their endeavours to cheer the poor bride,
+for which purpose it was agreed that the company should remain, and that
+the festivities should go on—an arrangement to which the guests the more
+willingly consented, from a lingering hope that the absentees would still
+make their appearance, and partly with a view to divert in some measure
+the painful suspense of the bride; while she, on the other hand, from
+feelings of hospitality, exerted herself, though with a heavy heart, to
+make her guests as comfortable as possible, and by the very endeavour to
+put on an appearance of tranquillity acquired so much of the reality as
+to prevent her from sinking altogether under the weight of her fears.
+
+Meantime the day advanced, the festivities went on, and the glass began
+to circulate freely. The absence of the principal actor of the scene
+was so far forgotten that at length the music struck up, and dancing
+commenced with all the animation which that exercise inspires.
+
+Things were going on in this way when, towards night, and during one of
+the pauses of the dance, a loud rap was heard at the door, and a gleam
+of hope was seen to lighten every face, when there entered, not the
+bridegroom and his party, but a wandering lunatic named Annie Fae, well
+known and not a little feared in all that countryside. Her garments were
+little else than a collection of fantastic and parti-coloured rags, bound
+close around her waist with a girdle of straw, and her head had no other
+covering than the dark tangled locks that hung, snake-like, over her wild
+and weather-beaten face, from which peered forth her small, deep, sunk
+eyes, gleaming with the light of insanity.
+
+Before the surprise and dismay excited by her sudden and unwelcome
+appearance had subsided, she addressed the company in the following wild
+and incoherent manner,—
+
+“Hech, sirs, but here’s a merry meeting indeed. Plenty o’ gude meat and
+drink here, and nae expense spared! Aweel, it’s no a’ lost neither; this
+blithe bridal will mak’ a braw burial, and the same feast will do for
+baith. But I’ll no detain you langer, but jog on upon my journey; only I
+wad juist hint that, for decency sake, ye suld stop that fine fiddling
+and dancing.”
+
+Having thus spoken, she made a low curtsy, and hurried out of the house,
+leaving the company in that state of painful excitement which, in such
+circumstances, even the ravings of a poor deranged wanderer could not
+fail to produce.
+
+In this state we too may leave them for the present, and proceed with the
+party who had set off on the preceding day in search of the bridegroom
+and his friends. The latter were traced to Rackwick; but there no
+intelligence could be gained, except that some days previous a boat,
+having on board several sportsmen, had been seen putting off from the
+shore, and sailing away in the direction of Sule Skerry.
+
+The weather continuing fine, the searching party hired a large boat,
+and proceeded to that remote and solitary rock, upon which, as they
+neared it, they could discover nothing, except swarms of seals, which
+immediately began to flounder towards the water’s edge. A large flock
+of sea-fowl arose from the centre of the rock with a deafening scream;
+and upon approaching the spot, they beheld, with dumb amazement and
+horror, the dead bodies of the party of whom they had come in search,
+but so mangled and disfigured by the sea-fowl that they could barely be
+recognized.
+
+It appeared that these unfortunates upon landing had forgotten their guns
+in the boat, which had slipped from her fastenings, and left them upon
+the rock, where they had at last perished of cold and hunger.
+
+Fancy can but feebly conceive, and still less can words describe, the
+feelings with which the lost men must have beheld their bark drifting
+away over the face of the waters, and found themselves abandoned in the
+vast solitude of the ocean.
+
+With what agony must they have gazed upon the distant sails, gliding over
+the deep, but keeping far aloof from the rock of desolation. How must
+their horrors have been aggravated by the far-off view of their native
+hills, lifting their lonely peaks above the wave, and awakening the
+dreadful consciousness that they were still within the grasp of humanity,
+and yet no arm was stretched forth to save them; while the sun was riding
+high in the heavens, and the sea basking in his beams below, and Nature
+looking with reckless smiles upon their dying agonies!
+
+As soon as the stupor of horror and amazement had subsided, the party
+placed the dead bodies in their boat, and, crowding all sail, stood for
+the Orkneys. They landed at night upon the beach, immediately below the
+house where the wedding guests were assembled; and there, while debating
+in what manner to proceed, they were overheard by the insane wanderer,
+the result of whose visit has already been recorded.
+
+She had scarcely left the house, when a low sound of voices was heard
+approaching. An exclamation of joy broke from the bride. She rushed out
+of the house with outstretched arms to embrace her lover, and the next
+moment, with a fearful shriek, fell upon his corpse! With that shriek
+reason and memory passed away for ever. She was carried back delirious,
+and died towards morning. The bridal was changed into a burial, and Helen
+Waters and her lover slept in the same grave!
+
+                                      JOHN MALCOLM. (_Adapted._)
+                                     (Native of Firth, Orkney; 1795-1845.)
+
+
+
+
+A LEGEND OF BORAY ISLAND.[1]
+
+
+    In the far-off Northern Islands,
+      Where the wild waves ever flow,
+    I have heard a wondrous legend
+      Of the days of long ago.
+
+    There, amid the circling waters,
+      Boray Isle lies all alone,
+    Silent ever, save at nightfall
+      On the eve of good St. John.[2]
+
+    Those who in the faith of Odin
+      ’Neath the waves have sunk for aye,
+    Are as sea-beasts doomed to wander
+      Till the dawn of Judgment Day.
+
+    Once a year on Boray Island
+      They revisit scenes of earth,
+    And, their ancient forms resuming,
+      Hold their wild unhallowed mirth.
+
+    On the shore their sealskins leaving,
+      They in revels pass the time,
+    Till the midnight hour resoundeth
+      From St. Magnus’ distant chime.
+
+    At the solemn knell the dancers
+      In wild haste their guise regain,
+    And as seals once more appearing
+      Plunge below the waves again.
+
+    Long ago a Northern fisher
+      In a storm was left alone,
+    And to Boray Isle was driven
+      On the eve of good St. John.
+
+    There saw the ghostly revels—
+      Music wild fell on his ear;
+    And he snatched a cast-off sealskin,
+      And he hid in mortal fear.
+
+    All the evening long he watched them,
+      Till he heard St. Magnus’ chime—
+    Twelve deep tones proclaimed the hour
+      When was o’er the fated time.
+
+    At the solemn knell the dancers
+      In wild haste their guise regain—
+    All save one; a fair sea-maiden,
+      Seeking for her robe in vain.
+
+    All the others plunged and left her,
+      And no more could Eric bide,
+    But his friendly shelter leaving,
+      Hurried to the maiden’s side.
+
+    Flung his fisher mantle round her;
+      With the Cross he signed her o’er;
+    And with loving words addressed her,
+      Bidding her to fear no more.
+
+    “Fairest one! no longer fated
+      As a wild sea-beast to roam,
+    Come and be my bride, my treasure,
+      Mistress of my hearth and home.
+
+    “Thou shalt be a christened woman
+      By the help of good St. John,
+    And at blessed Magnus’ altar
+      Holy Church shall make us one.”
+
+    So he spake, and so he won her,
+      And he took her to his home;
+    ‘Margaret’ was the name they gave her,
+      ‘Pearl’ cast up from Ocean’s foam.
+
+    Three bright years they dwelt together,
+      Love and joy around her grew;
+    Every day he blessed the tempest
+      That his bark on Boray threw.
+
+    But when spring three times had circled,
+      Margaret’s cheek was thin and white;
+    Day by day her strength departed,
+      And she faded in his sight.
+
+    Then she spoke, and thus she bade him:
+      “Death’s cold touch is on my heart,
+    But in peace from this dear homestead
+      Soul and body cannot part
+
+    “Till I know my fate for certain—
+      If the holy water shed
+    On my christened brow will save me
+      From the doom of Odin’s dead.
+
+    “Row me in your skiff, my husband,
+      On the eve of good St. John;
+    Take me back to Boray Island,
+      Lay me on the sands adown.
+
+    “Clasping fast the Cross of Jesus,
+      I must meet the dead alone;
+    If they still have power o’er me,
+      Ere day breaks I shall be gone.
+
+    “All alone you needs must leave me;
+      Pass in fast and prayer the time;
+    And return when o’er the waters
+      Peals St. Magnus’ midnight chime.
+
+    “And if Cross and Chrism guard me
+      From the sway of spirits foul,
+    Then, my husband, know for certain
+      Christ will save my ransomed soul.”
+
+    All her bidding he accomplished,
+      Though his heart was sad and sore:
+    On the fated eve he took her,
+      Laid her down on Boray shore;
+
+    Went where he no more could see her,
+      To the islet’s farthest bound.
+    Soon he heard the ghostly dancers
+      With wild cries his wife surround.
+
+    All the evening long they tried her,
+      Tempting her to turn again,
+    With weird strains of love or threatening,
+      To her life below the main.
+
+    Sadly Eric watched and waited,
+      Passed in fast and prayer the time,
+    Till at last, o’er rippling water,
+      Pealed St. Magnus’ midnight chime.
+
+    Then he rose, and hastened to her;
+      Found her on the lonely sands,
+    Lying with the Cross of Jesus
+      Claspèd in her folded hands.
+
+    To the Islands of the Blessed
+      Margaret’s ransomed soul had fled,
+    And a smile of victory lingered
+      On her lips, though cold and dead.
+
+                                         ALICE L. DUNDAS
+                                        (The Honourable Mrs. John Dundas).
+
+[1] Boray Island, or Holm of Boray, off Millburn Bay in Gairsay.
+
+[2] Midsummer Eve.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+SONGS OF THE GODS.
+
+
+The Challenge of Thor.
+
+    I am the God Thor,
+    I am the War God,
+    I am the Thunderer!
+    Here in my Northland,
+    My fastness and fortress,
+    Reign I for ever!
+
+    Here amid icebergs
+    Rule I the nations.
+    This is my hammer,
+    Miölner the mighty;
+    Giants and sorcerers
+    Cannot withstand it!
+
+    These are the gauntlets
+    Wherewith I wield it
+    And hurl it afar off.
+    This is my girdle;
+    Whenever I brace it
+    Strength is redoubled!
+
+    The light thou beholdest
+    Stream through the heavens
+    In flashes of crimson
+    Is but my red beard
+    Blown by the night-wind,
+    Affrighting the nations!
+
+    Jove is my brother;
+    Mine eyes are the lightning;
+    The wheels of my chariot
+    Roll in the thunder,
+    The blows of my hammer
+    Ring in the earthquake!
+
+    Force rules the world still,
+    Has ruled it, shall rule it;
+    Meekness is weakness,
+    Strength is triumphant,
+    Over the whole earth
+    Still is it Thor’s Day!
+
+    Thou art a God too.
+    O Galilean!
+    And thus single-handed
+    Unto the combat,
+    Gauntlet or Gospel,
+    Here I defy Thee!
+
+                                                               LONGFELLOW.
+
+
+Tegner’s Drapa.[3]
+
+    I heard a voice that cried,
+    “Balder the Beautiful
+    Is dead, is dead!”
+    And through the misty air
+    Passed like the mournful cry
+    Of sunward sailing cranes.
+
+    I saw the pallid corpse
+    Of the dead sun
+    Borne through the Northern sky.
+    Blasts from Niffelheim
+    Lifted the sheeted mists
+    Around him as he passed.
+
+    And the voice for ever cried,
+    “Balder the Beautiful
+    Is dead, is dead!”
+    And died away
+    Through the dreary night,
+    In accents of despair.
+
+    Balder the Beautiful,
+    God of the summer sun,
+    Fairest of all the Gods!
+    Light from his forehead beamed,
+    Runes were upon his tongue,
+    As on the warrior’s sword.
+
+    All things in earth and air
+    Bound were by magic spell
+    Never to do him harm;
+    Even the plants and stones—
+    All save the mistletoe,
+    The sacred mistletoe!
+
+    Hœder, the blind old God,
+    Whose feet are shod with silence,
+    Pierced through that gentle breast
+    With his sharp spear, by fraud
+    Made of the mistletoe,
+    The accursed mistletoe!
+
+    They laid him in his ship,
+    With horse and harness,
+    As on a funeral pyre.
+    Odin placed
+    A ring upon his finger,
+    And whispered in his ear.
+
+    They launched the burning ship!
+    It floated far away
+    Over the misty sea,
+    Till like the sun it seemed,
+    Sinking beneath the waves.
+    Balder returned no more!
+
+    So perish the old Gods!
+    But out of the sea of Time
+    Rises a new land of song,
+    Fairer than the old.
+    Over its meadows green
+    Walk the young bards and sing.
+
+    Build it again,
+    O ye bards,
+    Fairer than before!
+    Ye fathers of the new race,
+    Feed upon morning dew,
+    Sing the new Song of Love!
+
+    The law of force is dead!
+    The law of love prevails!
+    Thor, the Thunderer,
+    Shall rule the earth no more,
+    No more, with threats,
+    Challenge the meek Christ.
+
+    Sing no more,
+    O ye bards of the North,
+    Of Vikings and of Jarls!
+    Of the days of Eld
+    Preserve the freedom only,
+    Not the deeds of blood.
+
+                                                               LONGFELLOW.
+
+[3] The Song of Tegner, a Swedish poet.
+
+
+
+
+THE SONG OF HAROLD HARFAGER.
+
+
+    The sun is rising dimly red,
+    The wind is wailing low and dread;
+    From his cliff the eagle sallies,
+    Leaves the wolf his darksome valleys;
+    In the mist the ravens hover,
+    Peep the wild-dogs from the cover—
+    Screaming, croaking, baying, yelling,
+    Each in his wild accents telling,
+    “Soon we feast on dead and dying,
+    Fair-haired Harold’s flag is flying.”
+
+    Many a crest in air is streaming,
+    Many a helmet darkly gleaming,
+    Many an arm the axe uprears,
+    Doomed to hew the wood of spears.
+    All along the crowded ranks,
+    Horses neigh and armour clanks,
+    Chiefs are shouting, clarions ringing,
+    Louder still the bard is singing,
+    “Gather, footmen—gather, horsemen,
+    To the field, ye valiant Norsemen!
+
+    “Halt ye not for food or slumber,
+    View not vantage, count not number;
+    Jolly reapers, forward still;
+    Grow the crop on vale or hill,
+    Thick or scattered, stiff or lithe,
+    It shall down before the scythe.
+    Forward with your sickles bright,
+    Reap the harvest of the fight—
+    Onward, footmen—onward, horsemen,
+    To the charge, ye gallant Norsemen!
+
+    “Fatal choosers of the slaughter,
+    O’er you hovers Odin’s daughter;
+    Hear the choice she spreads before ye—
+    Victory, and wealth, and glory;
+    Or old Valhalla’s roaring Hail,
+    Her ever-circling mead and ale,
+    Where for eternity unite
+    The joys of wassail and of fight.
+    Headlong forward, foot and horsemen,
+    Charge and fight, and die like Norsemen!”
+
+                                                         SIR WALTER SCOTT.
+
+[Illustration: _A woodland path, Binscarth._]
+
+
+
+
+KING HACON’S LAST BATTLE.
+
+
+    All was over; day was ending
+      As the foemen turned and fled.
+      Gloomy red
+    Glowed the angry sun descending;
+      While round Hacon’s dying bed
+    Tears and songs of triumph blending
+      Told how fast the conqueror bled.
+
+    “Raise me,” said the king. We raised him—
+      Not to ease his desperate pain;
+      That were vain!
+    “Strong our foe was—but we faced him:
+      Show me that red field again.”
+    Then with reverent hands we placed him
+      High above the battle plain.
+
+    Sudden on our startled hearing
+      Came the low-breathed, stern command,—
+      “Lo! ye stand?
+    Linger not—the night is nearing;
+      Bear me downwards to the strand,
+    Where my ships are idly steering
+      Off and on, in sight of land.”
+
+    Every whispered word obeying,
+      Swift we bore him down the steep,
+      O’er the deep,
+    Up the tall ship’s side, low swaying
+      To the storm-wind’s powerful sweep,
+    And his dead companions laying
+      Round him—we had time to weep.
+
+    But the king said, “Peace! bring hither
+      Spoils and weapons, battle-strown—
+      Make no moan;
+    Leave me and my dead together;
+      Light my torch, and then—begone.”
+    But we murmured, each to other,
+      “Can we leave him thus alone?”
+
+    Angrily the king replieth;
+      Flashed the awful eye again
+      With disdain:
+    “Call him not _alone_ who lieth
+      Low among such noble slain;
+    Call him not _alone_ who dieth
+      Side by side with gallant men.”
+
+    Slowly, sadly we departed;
+      Reached again that desolate shore,
+      Never more
+    Trod by him, the brave, true-hearted,
+      Dying in that dark ship’s core!
+    Sadder keel from land ne’er parted,
+      Nobler freight none ever bore!
+
+    There we lingered, seaward gazing,
+      Watching o’er that living tomb,
+      Through the gloom—
+    Gloom which awful light is chasing—
+      Blood-red flames the surge illume!
+    Lo! King Hacon’s ship is blazing;
+      ’Tis the hero’s self-sought doom.
+
+    Right before the wild wind driving,
+      Madly plunging—stung by fire—
+      No help nigh her—
+    Lo! the ship has ceased her striving!
+      Mount the red flames higher, higher,
+    Till, on ocean’s verge arriving,
+      Sudden sinks the Viking’s pyre—
+          Hacon’s gone!
+
+                                                            LORD DUFFERIN.
+
+
+
+
+THE DEATH OF HACO.
+
+
+    The summer is gone, Haco, Haco;
+      The yellow year is fled;
+    And the winter is come, Haco,
+      That numbers thee with the dead!
+
+    When the year was young, Haco, Haco,
+      And the skies were blue and bright,
+    Thou didst sweep the seas, Haco,
+      Like a bird with wings of might.
+
+    With thine oaken galley, proudly,
+      And thy gilded dragon-prow,
+    O’er the bounding billows, Haco,
+      Like a sea-god thou didst go.
+
+    With thy barons gaily, gaily,
+      All in proof of burnished mail,
+    In the voes of Orkney, Haco,
+      Thou didst spread thy prideful sail;
+
+    And the sturdy men of Caithness,
+      And the land of the Mackay,
+    And the men of Stony Parf, Haco,
+      Knew that Norway’s king was nigh.
+
+    And the men of utmost Lewis, Haco,
+      And Skye, with winding kyles,
+    And Macdougall’s country, Haco,
+      Knew the monarch of the isles.
+
+    And the granite peaks of Arran,
+      And the rocks that fence the Clyde,
+    Saw thy daring Norsemen, Haco,
+      Ramping o’er the Scottish tide.
+
+    But scaith befell thee, Haco, Haco!
+      Thou wert faithful, thou wert brave;
+    But not truth might shield thee, Haco,
+      From a false and shuffling knave.
+
+    The crafty King of Scots, Haco,
+      Who might not bar thy way,
+    Beguiled thee, honest Haco,
+      With lies that bred delay.
+
+    And hasty winter, Haco, Haco,
+      Came and tripped the summer’s heels,
+    And rent the sails of Haco
+      And swamped his conquering keels.
+
+    Woe is me for Haco, Haco!
+      On Lorn and Mull and Skye
+    The hundred ships of Haco
+      In a thousand fragments lie!
+
+    And thine oaken galley, Haco,
+      That sailed with kingly pride,
+    Came shorn and shattered, Haco,
+      Through the foaming Pentland tide.
+
+    And thy heart sunk, Haco, Haco,
+      And thou felt that thou must die,
+    When the bay of Kirkwall, Haco,
+      Thou beheld with drooping eye.
+
+    And they led thee, Haco, Haco,
+      To the bishop’s lordly hall,
+    Where thy woe-struck barons, Haco,
+      Stood to see the mighty fall.
+
+    And the purple churchmen, Haco,
+      Stood to hold thy royal head,
+    And good words of hope to Haco
+      From the Holy Book they read.
+
+    Then out spake the dying Haco,
+      “Dear are God’s dear words to me,
+    But read the book to Haco
+      Of the kings that ruled the sea.”
+
+    Then they read to dying Haco
+      From the ancient saga hoar,
+    Of Holden and of Harold,
+      When his fathers worshipped Thor,
+
+    And they shrove the dying Haco,
+      And they prayed his bed beside;
+    And with holy unction Haco
+      Drooped his kingly head and died.
+
+    And in parade of death, Haco,
+      They stretched thee on thy bed,
+    With a purple vest for Haco,
+      And a garland on his head.
+
+    And around thee, Haco, Haco,
+      Were tapers burning bright,
+    And masses were sung for Haco
+      By day and eke by night.
+
+    And they bore thee, Haco, Haco,
+      To holy Magnus’ shrine,
+    And beside his sainted bones, Haco,
+      They chastely coffined thine.
+
+    And above thee, Haco, Haco,
+      To deck thy dreamless bed,
+    All crisp with gold for Haco,
+      A purple pall they spread.
+
+    And around thee, Haco, Haco,
+      Where the iron sleep thou slept,
+    Through the long, dark winter, Haco,
+      A solemn watch they kept.
+
+    And at early burst of springtime,
+      When the birds sang out with glee,
+    They took the body of Haco
+      In a ship across the sea—
+
+    Across the sea to Norway,
+      Where thy sires make moan for thee,
+    That the last of his race was Haco,
+      Who ruled the Western Sea.
+
+    And they laid thee, Haco, Haco,
+      With thy sires on the Norway shore,
+    And far from the isles of the sea, Haco,
+      That know thy name no more.
+
+                   JOHN STUART BLACKIE.
+                 (_From “Lays of the Highlands and Islands.” By permission
+                   of the Walter Scott Publishing Company._)
+
+[Illustration: _A modern war-fleet in Kirkwall Bay._]
+
+
+
+
+THE OLD MAN OF HOY.
+
+
+            The Old Man of Hoy
+            Looks out on the sea,
+    Where the tide runs strong and the wave rides free;
+    He looks on the broad Atlantic sea,
+            And the Old Man of Hoy
+            Hath this great joy,
+    To hear the deep roar of the wide blue ocean,
+    And to stand unmoved ’mid the sleepless motion,
+            And to feel o’er his head
+            The white foam spread
+      From the wild wave proudly swelling;
+            And to care no whit
+            For the storm’s rude fit,
+      Where he stands on his old rock-dwelling—
+            This rare Old Man of Hoy.
+
+            The Old Man of Hoy
+            Looks out on the sea,
+    Where the tide runs strong and the wave rides free;
+    He looks on the broad Atlantic sea,
+            And the Old Man of Hoy
+            Hath this great joy,
+    To look on the flight of the wild seamew,
+    With their hoar nests hung o’er the waters blue;
+            To see them swing
+            On plunging wing,
+      And to hear their shrill notes swelling,
+            And with them to reply
+            To the storm’s war-cry,
+      As he stands on his old rock-dwelling—
+            This rare Old Man of Hoy....
+
+            The Old Man of Hoy
+            Looks out on the sea,
+    Where the tide runs strong and the wave rides free;
+    He looks on the broad Atlantic sea,
+            And the Old Man of Hoy
+            Hath this great joy,
+    To think on the pride of the sea-kings old—
+    Harolds and Ronalds and Sigurds bold—
+            Whose might was felt
+            By the cowering Celt
+      When he heard their war-cry yelling.
+            But the sea-kings are gone,
+            And he stands alone,
+      Firm on his old rock-dwelling—
+            This stout Old Man of Hoy.
+
+            But listen to me,
+            Old Man of the Sea,
+    List to the Skulda that speaketh by me:
+    The Nornies are weaving a web for thee,
+            Thou Old Man of Hoy,
+            To ruin thy joy,
+    And to make thee shrink from the lash of the ocean,
+    And teach thee to quake with a strange commotion,
+            When over thy head
+            And under thy bed
+      The rampant wave is swelling;
+            And thou shalt die
+            ’Neath a pitiless sky,
+      And reel from thy old rock-dwelling—
+            Thou stout Old Man of Hoy!
+
+                   JOHN STUART BLACKIE.
+                 (_From “Lays of the Highlands and Islands.” By permission
+                   of the Walter Scott Publishing Company._)
+
+
+
+
+ORKNEY.
+
+
+    The parting beam of autumn smiles
+    A farewell o’er these lonely isles;
+    Capped with its fire, the mountains soar
+    Like lighted beacons on the shore,
+    While far beneath, in depth profound,
+    The tides roll through each darksome sound—
+    Those passes where the troubled sea
+    Hurries with roar and revelry;
+    Where waves dash on in headlong haste,
+    By a wide world of waters prest.
+    Here ruined hall and nodding tower
+    Hint darkly at departed power,
+    Their domeless walls, time-worn and gray,
+    Give dimly back the evening ray,
+    Like gleams from days long past away.
+
+      Saint Magnus! pile of ages fled,
+    Thou temple of the quick and dead!
+    While they who raised thy form sublime
+    Have faded from the things of time;
+    While hands that reared, and heads that planned,
+    Have passed into the silent land,
+    Still hath thy mighty fabric stood
+    ’Mid sweeping blast and sheeted flood.
+    Above thy tower and turrets tall
+    The thunder-cloud hath spread its pall, ...
+    And muttered o’er thine airy height
+    Its bursting accents to the night:
+    Though oft the wild and wintry storm
+    Hath reeled around thy towering form,
+    The mighty pile still proudly rears
+    Its head above the wreck of years.
+
+      As through thy pillared aisles I tread,
+    Where rest the gone forgotten dead,
+    Each step a mournful echo calls
+    To wander through the dreary walls;
+    The sullen sounds they backward throw,
+    Which falter into whispers low.
+    Each tombstone’s frail and crumbling frame
+    Preserves not e’en an airy name;
+    The lines by Friendship’s fingers traced,
+    Now touched by Time’s, are half effaced;
+    The few faint letters lingering still
+    Are all the dead man’s chronicle.
+
+      How often have the guests who ranged
+    Thy sacred labyrinths been changed!
+    Of crowds, who sang their anthems here,
+    How still each tongue—how deaf each ear!...
+
+      But thou like them must pass away
+    Beneath the hand of pale decay;
+    Even now thy towering turrets feel
+    The weight of ages o’er them steal;
+    Thy summit in its airy waste
+    Rocks to the rude and rushing blast;
+    When years that wander o’er thee call
+    Thy time-struck fabric to its fall,
+    Thy mouldering columns lone and gray
+    Shall shelter then the bird of prey;
+    Each worshipless recess shall be
+    Place for their frightful revelry;
+    The raven’s hoarse and funeral note
+    Shall o’er sepulchral ruins float....
+
+      Still doth the ruined palace stand,
+    A crumbling relic in the land—Tenantless
+    fabric, huge and high,
+    And proud in ruined majesty;
+    The verdant ivy robes thy wall,
+    Weeds are the dwellers in thy hall,
+    And in the wind the tufted grass
+    Waves o’er thy dim and mouldering mass,
+    And freshly each returning spring
+    Blooms o’er thy mortal withering.
+    On darkening piles, and waning wrecks,
+      A gay green garment oft is spread;
+    For ruin, as in mockery, decks
+      The faded victims she hath made.
+
+      With time and tempest thou art bent,
+    A drear, neglected monument,
+    Lorn as some frail and aged one
+    Who lives when all his friends are gone!—
+    Where is thy voice of music?—where
+    The strains that hushed the midnight air,
+    When Beauty woke her witching song,
+    And spellbound held the festive throng?—
+    A narrow and a nameless grave
+    Hath closed upon the fair and brave,
+    And all around is deadly still,
+    Save when, from some high pinnacle,
+    The raven’s croak, or owlet’s wail,
+    Blends with the sighing of the gale....
+
+      The hoary rocks, of giant size,
+    That o’er the land in circles rise,
+    Of which tradition may not tell,
+    Fit circles for the wizard’s spell,
+    Seen far amidst the scowling storm,
+    Seem each a tall and phantom form,
+    As hurrying vapours o’er them flee,
+    Frowning in grim society,
+    While like a dread voice from the past
+    Around them mourns the autumnal blast....
+
+      Yet not the works of man alone,
+    Though hallowed by long ages gone,
+    Charm us away in musing mood;
+    Bear witness each grim solitude,
+    ’Mid Hoy’s high shadowy mountain walls
+    Where mournfully the twilight falls:
+    There bosomed in a deep recess
+    Sleeps a dim vale of loneliness,
+    The circling hills, all bleak and wild,
+    Are o’er its slumbers darkly piled,
+    Save on one side, where far below
+    The everlasting waters flow,
+    And round the precipices vast
+    Dance to the music of the blast....
+
+      There rocks of ages sternly throw
+    Their shadows o’er a world below,
+    And fierce and fast each dark-brown flood
+    Careering comes in maddening mood:
+    O’er the sheer cliffs the waters flash,
+    And down in whitest columns dash,
+    Till, far away, we scarce can hear
+    Their dying falls and murmurs drear,
+    As, bursting o’er the dizzy verge,
+    They melt into the boiling surge.
+
+      Here, when, perchance, the voice of men
+    Is heard within the fairy glen,
+    Deep muttering echoes start around,
+    And rocks of gloom fling back the sound,
+    While from their fragments, rent and riven,
+    A thousand airy dwellers driven,
+    Send forth a wild and dreary scream.
+    Like such as breaks a fearful dream
+    When Conscience to the sleeper’s gaze
+    Holds up the view of other days....
+
+      When, by Night’s mantle hooded o’er,
+    The heaving hills are seen no more,
+    Oft blended with the torrent’s dash
+    Are heard the thunder’s startling crash,
+    And burst of billows on the shore,
+    Like cannon’s deep and distant roar,
+    By echoes answered loud and fast,
+    That gallop on the midnight blast,
+    As if the Spirit of the vale
+    Heard in his cave the stormy wail,
+    And to the tempest rolling by
+    Shrieked loud his frightful mockery....
+
+      Where cairns of slumbering chiefs are piled,
+    And frown above the waters wild,
+    Rear their hoar heads, forlorn and dim,
+    Upon the ocean’s lonely brim,
+    There the fierce storm and maddening surge
+    Howl loud and long the warrior’s dirge,
+    And blended there together rave
+    Through many a deep and dreary cave,
+    And waken from their sullen lair
+    Sea-monsters, darkly slumbering there.
+
+      Seen from those death-towers of the flood,
+    The ocean’s mighty solitude
+    Widens through boundless space around,
+    Vast, melancholy, lone, profound;
+    So vast that thought with weary wing
+    Droops o’er its distant wandering,
+    And, left behind, again returns
+    To muse upon the mouldering urns....
+
+      As the rude brush of evening’s wind
+    Leaves not a lingering trace behind
+    Of landscapes living in the stream,
+    Like the dim scenery of a dream
+    Called up by Fancy’s wizard wand,
+    When Sense is sealed by Slumber’s hand;
+    So Time’s drear blast hath swept along
+    Alike from record and from song
+    Their very names, who now lie hid
+    Beneath each dusky pyramid;
+    And all that hint of them are graves
+    Where the green flag of ruin waves,
+    Or crumbling remnant of the past
+    That ivy shelters from the blast,
+    And clings to still when others flee,
+    Like true love in adversity.
+
+    On Noltland’s solitary pile
+      The last blush of the dying day
+    Plays like a melancholy smile
+      And hectic glow on pale decay ...
+    The moss of years is on the wall,
+      And fitfully the night-winds start
+    Through Bothwell’s roofless ruined hall,
+      Like sobs of sorrow from the heart;
+    Upon each floor of cold, damp sod
+    The clustering weeds like hearse-plumes nod;
+    Through chambers desolate and green
+      Hoots the gray owl at evening’s close.
+    Meant for far other guests, I ween—
+      Where wave-worn Beauty might repose,
+    And find that bliss in Love’s caress
+    Which hallows scenes of loneliness.
+
+      See Hoy’s Old Man, whose summit bare
+    Pierces the dark-blue fields of air,
+    Based in the sea, his fearful form
+    Glooms like the spirit of the storm,
+    An ocean Babel, rent and worn
+    By time and tide—all wild and lorn—
+    A giant that hath warred with heaven,
+    Whose ruined scalp seems thunder-riven,
+    Whose form the misty spray doth shroud,
+    Whose head the dark and hovering cloud,
+    Around his dread and lowering mass,
+    In sailing swarms the sea-fowl pass,
+    But when the night-cloud o’er the sea
+    Hangs like a sable canopy,
+    And when the flying storm doth scourge
+    Around his base the rushing surge,
+    Swift to his airy clefts they soar,
+    And sleep amidst the tempest’s roar,
+    Or with its howling round his peak
+    Mingle their drear and dreamy shriek.
+
+      The dying day has had its rest
+    Upon the mountain’s lofty crest;
+    Now, o’er the ocean it has fled,
+    And to the past is gathered;
+    From stunted shrubs of foliage bared
+    The farewell melodies are heard;
+    The twilight spreads a duskier veil
+    Upon the deep and lonely dale,
+    And, moaning to the evening star,
+    The mountain stream is heard afar.
+    The twilight fades and night again
+    Claims from our time her portioned reign;
+    Earth sets, and leaves us to admire
+    Yon vaulted canopy of fire,
+    Those burning glories of the sky,
+    Those “sparks of immortality,”
+    Which shed from high their living light,
+    And blaze through the blue depths of night....
+
+      At such an hour, should music stray
+    Soft from some isle, far, far away,
+    It seems to charm to silent sleep
+    The murmurs of the mighty deep;
+    The torrent, as it speeds along,
+    Stills its dark waters to the song,
+    And the full bosom feels relief,
+    Soothed by the mystic “joy of grief;”
+    Upon the heart-chords stealing slow,
+    It hallows every cherished woe,
+    And wakes sensations in the mind,
+    Wild, beautiful, and undefined,
+    As tones that harp-strings give the wind.
+
+      Oh! at such soul-inspiring strain
+    The wondrous links of memory’s chain,
+    Though scattered far, unite again,
+    And Time and Distance strive in vain.
+    Again Youth’s fairy visions pass
+    In morning glow o’er Memory’s glass,
+    At every magic melting fall
+    They come like echoes to their call,
+    And with the dreams of vanished years
+    Steal forth again our smiles and tears.
+
+                                                             JOHN MALCOLM.
+
+
+
+
+SCENES FROM “THE BUCCANEER.”
+
+
+Night.
+
+      Night walked in beauty o’er the peaceful sea,
+    Whose gentle waters spake tranquillity;
+    With dreamy lull the rolling billow broke
+    In hollow murmurs on the distant rock;
+    The sea-bird wailed along the airy steep;
+    The creak of distant oar was on the deep.
+    So still the scene, the boatman’s voice was heard;
+    The listening ear could almost catch each word;
+    From isles remote the house-dog’s fitful bay
+    Came floating o’er the waters far away;
+    And homeward wending o’er the silent hill,
+    The lonely shepherd’s song and whistle shrill;
+    The lulling murmur of the mountain flood,
+    That sung its night-hymn to the solitude;
+    The curlew’s wild and desolate farewell,
+    As slow she sailed adown the darksome dell;
+    The heathcock whirring o’er the heathy vale;
+    The mateless plover’s far-forsaken wail;
+    The rush of tides that round the islands ran,
+    And danced like maniacs in the moonlight wan,—
+    All formed a scene so wild, and yet so fair,
+    As might have wooed the heart from dreams of care,
+    If aught had charms to soothe, or balm to heal,
+    The pangs that guilt is ever doomed to feel....
+
+
+Morning.
+
+      Day dawns, and from the main the mist is furled,
+    The night-cloak of a solitary world;
+    And slow emerging from the fleecy cloud
+    The mountains soar like giants from the shroud.
+    High o’er the rest, and towering to the storm,
+    Glooms o’er the ocean Hoy’s majestic form;
+    From his lone head, as roll the clouds away,
+    Behold Creation bursting into day,
+    As first it broke from night and nothingness,
+    When the Great Spirit brooded o’er the abyss.
+    How calm and clear the boundless waters seem,
+    As if awakening from a heavenly dream;
+    The little isles within their bosom lie,
+    Like dwellers in a bright infinity;
+    The crag terrific beetling o’er the west
+    Beholds the heaven reflected in their breast.
+    The dark-brown hills embrace each silent bay
+    That loves amid their solitude to stray;
+    And far beneath, with low sepulchral sound,
+    Moans the dark torrent through the dell profound;
+    And from the thunder-throne, the mountain cairn,
+    Shrieks to the waste the solitary erne....
+      Scenes of my song, of earliest smiles and tears,
+    Ye wake the memories of departed years!
+    The distant murmur of your mountain streams
+    Steals o’er my spirit with departed dreams,
+    With many a tale and recollected lay,
+    Which, like the twilight of an autumn day,
+    Faint on your shores, of wonderful and wild,
+    Meet for the musing moods of Fancy’s child.
+    There have I roamed o’er many a soaring steep
+    When the last day-gleam died along the deep,
+    And o’er the still and solitary land,
+    The distant music of the reaper band
+    Came soft and mournful on the pensive soul,
+    As mermaid’s siren song o’er ocean’s roll.
+    There have I gazed upon the pathless seas,
+    As on the gates of two eternities—
+    Far east, where future days shall gild the wave,
+    And west, where all the past hath found a grave.
+
+                                                             JOHN MALCOLM.
+
+
+
+
+TO ORKNEY.
+
+
+    Land of the whirlpool, torrent, foam,
+      Where oceans meet in maddening shock;
+    The beetling cliff, the shelving holm,
+      The dark, insidious rock;
+    Land of the bleak, the treeless moor,
+      The sterile mountain, seared and riven;
+    The shapeless cairn, the ruined tower,
+      Scathed by the bolts of heaven;
+    The yawning gulf, the treacherous sand;—
+    I love thee still, my native land!
+
+    Land of the dark, the Runic rhyme,
+      The mystic ring, the cavern hoar,
+    The Scandinavian seer, sublime
+      In legendary lore;
+    Land of a thousand sea-kings’ graves—
+      Those tameless spirits of the past,
+    Fierce as their subject Arctic waves,
+      Or hyperborean blast;
+    Though polar billows round thee foam,
+    I love thee!—thou wert once my home.
+
+    With glowing heart and island lyre,
+      Ah! would some native bard arise
+    To sing, with all a poet’s fire,
+      Thy stern sublimities—
+    The roaring flood, the rushing stream,
+      The promontory wild and bare,
+    The pyramid where sea-birds scream
+      Aloft in middle air,
+    The Druid temple on the heath,
+    Old even beyond tradition’s breath.
+
+    Though I have roamed through verdant glades,
+      In cloudless climes, ’neath azure skies;
+    Or plucked from beauteous Orient meads
+      Flowers of celestial dyes;
+    Though I have laved in limpid streams
+      That murmur over golden sands,
+    Or basked amid the fulgent beams
+      That flame o’er fairer lands;
+    Or stretched me in the sparry grot,—
+    My country! thou wert ne’er forgot.
+
+                                           DAVID VEDDER.
+                                          (Native of Deerness; 1790-1854.)
+
+
+
+
+THE TEMPLE OF NATURE.
+
+
+    Talk not of temples; there is _one_,
+      Built without hands, to mankind given.
+    Its lamps are the meridian sun
+      And all the stars of heaven;
+    Its walls are the cerulean sky;
+      Its floor the earth so green and fair;
+    The dome is vast immensity,—
+      All nature worships there!
+
+    The Alps, arrayed in stainless snow,
+      The Andean ranges yet untrod,
+    At sunrise and at sunset glow
+      Like altar-fires to God!
+    A thousand fierce volcanoes blaze,
+      As if with hallowed victims rare;
+    And thunder lifts its voice in praise,—
+      All nature worships there!
+
+    The ocean heaves resistlessly,
+      And pours his glittering treasures forth;
+    His waves, the priesthood of the sea,
+      Kneel on the shell-gemmed earth,
+    And there emit a hollow sound,
+      As if they murmured praise and prayer;
+    On every side ’tis hallowed ground,—
+      All nature worships there!
+
+    The grateful earth her odours yield
+      In homage, Mighty One, to Thee,
+    From herbs and flowers in every field,
+      From fruit on every tree;
+    The balmy dew, at morn and even,
+      Seems like the penitential tear,
+    Shed only in the sight of Heaven,—
+      All nature worships there!
+
+    The cedar and the mountain pine,
+      The willow on the fountain’s brim,
+    The tulip and the eglantine,
+      In reverence bend to Him;
+    The song-birds pour their sweetest lays
+      From tower, and tree, and middle air;
+    The rushing river murmurs praise,—
+      All nature worships there!
+
+    Then talk not of a fane, save _one_,
+      Built without hands, to mankind given.
+    Its lamps are the meridian sun
+      And all the stars of heaven;
+    Its walls are the cerulean sky;
+      Its floor the earth so green and fair;
+    The dome is vast immensity,—
+      All nature worships there!
+
+                                                             DAVID VEDDER.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX I.
+
+CHRONOLOGY OF ORCADIAN HISTORY TO THE END OF THE EARLDOM, WITH RELATED
+CONTEMPORARY EVENTS.
+
+
+Certain historians assign earlier dates than those given below to the
+events before 933. The chronology adopted here is that which harmonizes
+best with the dates of events in other lands during that period.
+Approximate dates are marked “c” (circa); events not directly connected
+with the Earldom are in square brackets, and their dates in lighter type.
+
+    A.D.
+    =78= (c.)  Agricola’s visit to Orkney.
+    563.      [Columba in Scotland.]
+   =580= (c.)  Cormac’s missionary journey to Orkney.
+    597.      [Augustine in England.]
+    787.      [First recorded appearance of Vikings in England.]
+    800 (c.)  [First period of Norse colonization begins.]
+    841.      [Rouen taken by the Norsemen.]
+    852.      [Norse kingdom established in Dublin.]
+    862.      [Rurik founds the Norse line in Russia.]
+    871.      [Alfred the Great King of England.]
+    885.      [Siege of Paris by the Norsemen.]
+   =900.=      Battle of Harfursfirth—Second period of Norse colonization
+                   begins.
+     —        [Iceland colonized by Norsemen.]
+   =901= (c.)  Harald Fairhair in Orkney—Earldom established.
+     —         Sigurd I. earl.
+   =905= (c.)  Battle with Maelbrigda of Ross—Sigurd’s death.
+     —         Guttorm, Sigurd’s son, earl.
+   =907= (c.)  Hallad, son of Rognvald, Earl of Moeri, earl.
+   =910.=      Einar I. (Torf Einar), Rognvald’s son, earl.
+    912.      [Rolf or Rollo, Rognvald’s son, Duke of Normandy.]
+   =933.=      Arnkell, Erlend I., and Thorfinn I., Einar’s sons,
+                   joint-earls.
+    950.      [King Eric (Bloody axe) expelled from Norway.]
+   =954.=      Eric and Earls Arnkell and Erlend fall at battle of
+                   Stainsmoor.
+   =963.=      Arnfinn, Havard, Ljot, and Hlodve, Thorfinn’s sons,
+                   joint-earls.
+   =980.=      Sigurd II. (the Stout), Hlodve’s son, earl.
+    980.      [Discovery of Greenland by the Norsemen.]
+    986.      [Discovery of America (Vinland) by the Norsemen.]
+   =995.=      Conversion of Sigurd to Christianity by Olaf Tryggvason.
+    998.      [Olaf Tryggvason, King of Norway.]
+  =1014.=      Battle of Clontarf—Death of Earl Sigurd.
+     —         Sumarlid, Einar II., Brusi, and (later) Thorfinn II.,
+                   Sigurd’s sons, joint-earls.
+   1015.      [Olaf the Saint King of Norway.]
+  =1015.=      Death of Earl Sumarlid.
+   1017.      [Knut (Canute) King of England.]
+  =1020.=      Murder of Einar II.
+   1027.      [Norse kingdom established in Southern Italy.]
+   1030.      [Battle of Sticklestad—Death of St. Olaf.]
+  =1031.=      Death of Earl Brusi—Thorfinn II. sole earl.
+     —         Rognvald, Brusi’s son, claims a share of the earldom.
+  =1045.=      Battle in the Pentland Firth between Rognvald and Thorfinn.
+  =1046.=      Murder of Rognvald in Papa Stronsay.
+   1056.      [Malcolm Canmore King of Scotland.]
+  =1057.=      Christ’s Kirk in Birsay founded.
+  =1064.=      Death of Thorfinn; his sons Paul I. and Erlend II.
+                   joint-earls.
+  =1066.=      Harald Hardradi visits Orkney.
+     —         Harold, Godwin’s son, King of England.
+     —         Battle of Stamford Bridge.
+     —         Invasion of Duke William of Normandy—Battle of Hastings.
+   1087.      [Moorish Empire established in Spain.]
+   1096.      [First Crusade.]
+  =1098.=      Magnus (Barefoot), King of Norway, sends the Orkney earls
+                   to Norway, and makes his son Sigurd “King” of Orkney.
+   1103.      [Death of Magnus—Sigurd King of Norway.]
+  =1103.=      Hakon, Paul’s son, and Magnus, Erlend’s son, joint-earls.
+  =1115.=      Murder of Earl Magnus (St. Magnus) in Egilsay.
+  =1122.=      Death of Earl Hakon; his sons Harald I. and Paul II.
+                   joint-earls.
+  =1127.=      Death of Harald—Paul sole earl.
+  =1129.=      Rognvald II. (Kali) appointed joint-earl by King Sigurd.
+  =1135.=      Rognvald’s first expedition to claim the earldom.
+     —         St. Magnus Church, Egilsay, founded.
+  =1136.=      Rognvald’s second expedition—Earl Paul kidnapped by Sweyn
+                   Asleifson.
+  =1137.=      St. Magnus Cathedral founded.
+  =1139.=      Harald II. (Maddadson) joint-earl.
+  =1151.=      Crusaders winter in Orkney.
+  =1152.=      Earl Rognvald’s Crusade to Jerusalem.
+  =1154.=      Erlend III. joint-earl.
+  =1156.=      Death of Erlend III.
+  =1158.=      Earl Rognvald killed.
+  =1171.=      Sweyn Asleifson’s last cruise and death at Dublin.
+   1171.      [English invasion of Ireland.]
+  =1175.=      Abbot Laurentius transferred from Orkney (Eynhallow) to
+                   Melrose.
+   1194.      [Battle of Floravoe, near Bergen; defeat of the
+                   “Island-beardies.”]
+  =1196.=      Shetland separated from the Orkney earldom.
+  =1197.=      Harald III. (the Young), grandson of Rognvald, joint-earl.
+  =1198.=      Death of Harald the Young.
+  =1206.=      Death of Earl Harald II. (Maddadson); his sons David and
+                   John joint-earls.
+  =1214.=      Death of Earl David.
+   1214.      [Alexander II. King of Scotland.]
+   1215.      [Magna Charta granted in England.]
+  =1222.=      Burning of Bishop Adam in Caithness.
+     —         Death of Bjarne, the poet-bishop of Orkney.
+  =1231.=      Death of John, the last earl of the Norse line.
+  =1232.=      Magnus II., the first of the Angus line, earl.
+     —         Loss of ship carrying the chief men of the Isles from
+                   Norway.
+  =1239.=      Gilbride I. earl.
+     ?         Gilbride II. earl.
+   1249.      [Alexander III. King of Scotland.]
+  =1256.=      Magnus III. earl.
+  =1263.=      King Hakon’s expedition—Battle of Largs—Death of Hakon at
+                   Kirkwall.
+  =1266.=      Treaty of Perth—“Annual of Norway” established.
+  =1276.=      Magnus IV. earl.
+  =1284.=      John II. earl.
+   1286.      [Death of Alexander III. of Scotland—Margaret of Norway
+                   heiress to the crown.]
+   1292.      [Death of Margaret the “Maid of Norway.”]
+   1306.      [Robert Bruce King of Scotland. According to a tradition,
+                   the credibility of which is supported by various lines
+                   of evidence, Bruce passed the winter of 1306-7 in
+                   Orkney, not in the island of Rathlin.]
+  =1310.=      Magnus V. earl.
+   1312.      [Treaty of Perth confirmed at Inverness.]
+   1314.      [Battle of Bannockburn.]
+  =1325.=      Death of Earl Magnus V.; end of the Angus line.
+     —         Malise of Stratherne earl.
+  =1353.=      Erngisl earl.
+  =1379.=      Death of Earl Erngisl; end of the Stratherne line.
+     —         Henry I. (St. Clair) earl—Shetland restored to the earldom.
+     —         Union of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark (Union of Calmar).
+  =1400.=      Henry II. (St. Clair) earl.
+   1406.      [Prince James of Scotland captured by the English when on
+                   his way to France.]
+  =1420.=      Bishop William Tulloch, commissioner in Orkney for the
+                   Crown of Norway.
+  =1423.=      David Menzies of Wemyss commissioner.
+  =1434.=      William St. Clair earl, the last earl under Norse rule.
+   1453.      [Constantinople taken by the Turks.]
+  =1468.=      Orkney and Shetland pledged to the Scottish Crown.
+     —         Marriage of James III. of Scotland to Margaret of Denmark.
+  =1471.=      Lands and revenues of Earl William purchased by the
+                   Scottish Crown.
+  =1472.=      Bishop William Tulloch appointed to collect Crown revenues.
+  =1485.=      Henry St. Clair representative of the Crown.
+   1492.      [First voyage of Columbus.]
+   1497.      [Voyage of Cabot to Labrador.]
+  =1513.=      Battle of Flodden—Death of Henry St. Clair.
+   1524.      [Union of Calmar dissolved.]
+  =1529.=      Battle of Summerdale.
+  =1540.=      James V. of Scotland visits Orkney.
+   1542.      [Mary Queen of Scots born.]
+  =1565.=      Lord Robert Stewart obtains a feu charter of Orkney and
+                   Shetland.
+   1567.      [Mary Queen of Scots deposed—James VI. proclaimed—Flight
+                   of Bothwell to Orkney and Shetland.]
+  =1568.=      The Islands resumed by the Crown of Scotland.
+  =1581.=      Lord Robert Stewart earl.
+   1588.      [The Armada.]
+  =1592.=      Earl Patrick Stewart obtains the Islands.
+   1603.      [Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England.]
+  =1614.=      Execution of Earl Patrick.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX II.
+
+NORSE WORDS IN ORKNEY PLACE-NAMES.
+
+
+The following is a list of the Norse words most commonly found in
+place-names in Orkney, with their meaning. The forms in which they now
+appear, as names or parts of names, are given in italic, except where the
+old form is preserved with little change.
+
+1. LAND FEATURES.
+
+    =Ass=, ridge; _-house_.
+    =Bjarg=, rocky hill; _-berry_, _-ber_.
+    =Bratt=, steep; _brett-_.
+    =Brekka=, slope; _-breck_.
+    =Dal=, valley; _-dale_, _-dall_.
+    =Fjall=, hill; _-fell_, _-fea_, _-fiold_.
+    =Gil=, narrow glen; _-gill_.
+    =Grjot=, gravel; _grut-_.
+    =Hals=, neck, col; _hass_.
+    =Hammar=, crag.
+    =Haug=, mound; _howe_, _hox-_.
+    =Hlith=, slope; _-lee_.
+    =Hvāll=, =hōll=, hill; _hol-_, _hool-_.
+    =Hvamm=, small valley, grassy slope; _quholm_.
+    =Kamb=, ridge or crest; _kame_.
+    =Knapp=, hilltop, knob.
+    _Kuml_, burial mound; _cumla-_.
+    =Leir=, clay; _ler-_.
+    =Mel=, sandbank, sandy downs.
+    =Mor=, pl. mos, moor; _mous-_, _-mo_.
+    =Myri=, wet meadow; _-mire_.
+    =Skal=, soft rock, shale; _skel-_.
+    =Thufa=, mound; _-too_.
+    =Varthi=, watch-tower; _ward_, _wart_.
+    =Voll=, valley; _vel-_, _-wall_.
+
+2. FRESH WATER.
+
+    =A=, =o=, =or=, burn.
+    =Brun=, well; _-burn_.
+    =Fors=, waterfall; _furs-_.
+    =Kelda=, spring.
+    =Oss=, burn-mouth; _oyce_.
+    =Tjörn=, small lake; _-shun_.
+    =Vatn=, water; _watten_.
+
+3. SHORE FEATURES.
+
+    =Bakki=, banks; _-back_.
+    =Barth=, projecting headland (edge of a hill, beak of a ship, etc.).
+    =Berg=, mass of rock; _-ber_, _-berry_.
+    =Bringa=, breast; _bring_.
+    =Eith=, isthmus; _aith_, _-ay_, _-a_.
+    =Ey=, island; _-ey_, _-ay_, _-a_.
+    =Eyrr=, gravel beach; _ayre_.
+    =Fles=, flat skerry; _flashes_.
+    =Gnüp=, peak; _noup_.
+    =Hella=, flat rock; _-hellya_.
+    =Hellir=, cave; _-hellya_.
+    =Hōlm=, small island.
+    =Klett=, low rock; _-clett_.
+    =Muli=, muzzle, lip; _mout_.
+    =Nef=, növ, nose; _nevi_.
+    =Nes=, nose; _-ness_.
+    =Oddi=, sharp point; _od_.
+    =Sker=, skerry.
+    =Stakk=, pillar rock; _stack_.
+    =Tangl=, tongue; _-taing_.
+
+4. SEA FEATURES.
+
+    =Brim=, surf.
+    =Efja=, backwater, eddy; _evie_.
+    =Fjörth=, firth; _firth_, _-ford_.
+    =Gja=, chasm, creek; _geo_.
+    =Glup=, throat; _gloup_.
+    =Hafn=, harbour; _ham_, _hamn-_.
+    =Hōp=, shallow bay.
+    =Straum=, tide-stream; _strom-_.
+    =Vag=, narrow bay; _voe_, _-wall_.
+    =Vath=, wading-place, ford; _waith_.
+    =Vik=, bay; _-wick_.
+
+5. FARMS AND HOUSES.
+
+    =Bolstadr=, dwelling; _-buster_, _-bister_, _-bist_.
+    =Brū=, bridge; _bro-_.
+    =Bu=, =bær=, farm; _bu_, _-by_.
+    =Bygging=, building, from byggja, to settle, to build; _-biggin_.
+    =Garth=, enclosure, dyke; _-garth_, _-ger_.
+    =Grind=, gate.
+    =Hagi=, enclosed pasture; _hack-_.
+    =Hus=, house.
+    =Krō=, sheepfold; _-croo_.
+    =Kvī=, cattle pen; _-quoy_.
+    =Rett=, sheepfold; _-ret_.
+    =Sel=, “saeter” hut; _selli-_.
+    =Setr=, =saetr=, out-pasture; _seatter_, _-setter_, _-ster_.
+    =Skali=, hall, house; _-skaill_.
+    =Skipti=, dividing, boundary; _skippi-_.
+    =Stadr=, homestead; _-ster_, _-sta_.
+    =Stofa=, room, house; _stove_.
+    =Thopt=, plot, site of a house; _-toft_, _-taft_.
+    =Tūn=, enclosure, hedge; _-ton_, _-town_.
+
+6. MISCELLANEOUS.
+
+    =Djup=, deep; _deep-_, _jub-_.
+    =Faer=, sheep; _far-_.
+    =Flat=, flat; _flot-_.
+    =Gra=, gray.
+    =Graenn=, green.
+    =Ha=, high; _ho-_.
+    =Helgr=, holy; _hellya_.
+    =Hest=, horse.
+    =Hrafn=, raven; _ram-_, _ramn-_.
+    =Hross=, horse; _russ-_.
+    =Hund=, dog.
+    =Hvit=, white; _wheetha-_.
+    =Ling=, heather.
+    =Mykill=, great; _muckle_.
+    =Raud=, red; _ro-_.
+    =Skalp=, ship; _scap-_.
+    =Skip=, ship.
+    =Svart=, black; _swart-_.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX III.
+
+LIST OF BIRDS FOUND IN ORKNEY.
+
+
+Local names are given in brackets. An asterisk (*) indicates that the
+bird is not known to breed in the islands. When any bird not in this list
+is found, it will usually be worth while to put the fact on record.
+
+    *=Auk, Little= (Rotchie).
+
+    =Blackbird= (Blackie).
+    =Bunting, Corn= (Chirlie Buntling).
+    *=Bunting, Snow= (Snowflake).
+
+    =Chaffinch=—_rare_.
+    =Coot= (Snaith).
+    =Cormorant= (Palmer, Scarf).
+    Crow, Hooded (Craa, Hoodie Craa, Grayback).
+    =Cuckoo=—_rare_.
+    =Curlew= (Whaup).
+
+    *=Diver, Black-throated=—_rare_.
+    *=Diver, Great Northern= (Immer Goose).
+    =Diver, Red-throated.=
+    *=Dotterel=—_rare_.
+    =Dove, Ring= (Wood-pigeon)—_rare_.
+    =Dove, Rock.=
+    =Dove, Stock.=
+    =Duck, Eider= (Dunter).
+    *=Duck, Golden-eye=—_rare_.
+    =Duck, Long-tailed= (Calloo)—_rare_.
+    *=Duck, Scaup=—_rare_.
+    =Duck, Sheld= (Sly-goose).
+    =Duck, Teal.=
+    =Duck, Tufted.=
+    =Duck, Wild= (Stock Duck).
+    =Dunlin= (Plover-page, Plover-pagick).
+
+    =Falcon, Peregrine.=
+    *=Fieldfare.=
+
+    =Gannet= or =Solan Goose=.
+    *=Goose, Bernacle=—_rare_.
+    *=Goose, Brent.=
+    *=Goose, Graylag=—_rare_.
+    =Grebe, Little.=
+    =Greenfinch= (Green Lintie).
+    =Grouse, Red= (Muirhen).
+    =Guillemot, Black= (Tyste).
+    =Guillemot, Common= (Aak).
+    =Gull, Black-headed.=
+    =Gull, Common= (White-maa).
+    =Gull, Greater Black-backed= (Baakie).
+    =Gull, Herring= (White-maa).
+    =Gull, Lesser Black-backed.=
+
+    =Hen Harrier= (Goose-haak).
+    =Heron, Common.=
+
+    =Jackdaw= (Jackie, Kae).
+
+    =Kestrel= (Moosie Haak).
+    =Kittiwake= (Kittie, Kittick, Kittiwaako).
+
+    =Lapwing= (Teeack, Teewhup).
+    =Linnet= (Lintie, Lintick).
+
+    =Merganser, Red-breasted= (Sawbill, Harl, Rantick).
+    =Merlin.=
+    =Moorhen= (Waterhen).
+
+    =Owl, Long-eared=—_rare_.
+    =Owl, Short-eared= (Cattie-face).
+    =Oyster Catcher= (Skeldro).
+
+    =Petrel, Fulmar.=
+    =Petrel, Stormy= (Sea-swallow).
+    =Phalarope, Red-necked.=
+    =Pipit, Meadow= (Teeting).
+    =Pipit, Rock= (Tang Sparrow, Tang Teeting).
+    =Plover, Golden.=
+    =Plover, Ringed= (Sandlark, Sinlack).
+    =Pochard.=
+    =Puffin= (Tammie-norrie).
+
+    =Quail=—_rare_.
+
+    =Rail, Land= (Corncrake).
+    =Rail, Water=—_rare_.
+    =Raven= (Corbie).
+    =Razor-bill= (Cooter-neb).
+    =Redbreast= (Robin Redbreast).
+    =Redshank.=
+    *=Redwing.=
+    =Rook.=
+
+    *=Sanderling=—_rare_.
+    =Sandpiper, Common.=
+    *=Scoter, Common.=
+    *=Scoter, Surf=—_rare_.
+    *=Scoter, Velvet.=
+    =Shag= (Scarf).
+    =Shearwater, Manx= (Lyrie).
+    =Shoveller=—_rare_.
+    =Skua, Richardson’s= (Scootie-allan).
+    =Skylark= (Laverock, Lavro).
+    *=Smew=—_rare_.
+    =Snipe= (Snippick, Horse-gowk).
+    =Sparrow, Hedge.=
+    =Sparrow, House= (Sprug).
+    =Starling= (Stirling, Strill).
+    *=Stint, Little=—_rare_.
+    =Stonechat=—_rare_.
+    *=Swan, Hooper=—_rare_.
+
+    =Tern, Arctic= (Pickie-terno, Rit-tick).
+    =Tern, Common= (Pickie-terno, Rit-tick).
+    =Tern, Sandwich=—_rare_.
+    =Thrush= (Mavis).
+    *=Turnstone=—_rare_.
+    =Twite= (Heather Lintie).
+
+    =Wagtail, Pied= (Willie-wagtail).
+    =Warbler, Sedge=—_rare_.
+    =Wheatear= (Chackie, Stonechat).
+    =Whimbrel= (Little Whaup, Summer Whaup)—_rare_.
+    =Whinchat=—_rare_.
+    =Widgeon.=
+    =Woodcock=—_rare_.
+    =Wren= (Wirenn, Jenny Wren).
+    =Wren, Gold-crested=—_rare_.
+
+    =Yellowhammer= (Yallow Yarling).
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX IV.
+
+BOOKS FOR FURTHER STUDY.
+
+
+The subjoined list of books is given as a guide to further study by those
+who may wish to extend their knowledge of Orkney in any of the aspects
+suggested in this book. It is not in any sense a complete list of works
+relating to the Islands, nor does it, on the other hand, confine itself
+to such works in subjects where general study is the best foundation for
+local research. The books marked * are now out of print, and can only be
+obtained from libraries, or bought, when occasion offers, from dealers
+in second-hand books. As regards books still current, the list may be
+helpful to those who are building up school or parish libraries in the
+Islands. The most complete bibliography of Orkney and Shetland is the
+=List of Books and Pamphlets relating to Orkney and Shetland=, by James
+W. Cursiter, F.S.A.Scot. (Wm. Peace and Son, Kirkwall, 1894.)
+
+
+Archæology and Early History.
+
+*=Orkneyinga Saga.= Translated by Hjaltalin and Goudie. Edited, with
+Notes, by Anderson. (Edinburgh, 1873.) The historical introduction by Dr.
+Joseph Anderson is of special value.
+
+=The Orkneyingers’ Saga.= Translated by Sir G. W. Dasent. (London, 1894;
+Rolls Edition.) A very fine spirited rendering into English, as may be
+seen from the extracts given in the first part of this book.
+
+=The Saga of Hacon, and a fragment of the Saga of Magnus.= Translated by
+Sir G. W. Dasent. (London, 1894; Rolls Edition.) This gives the Norse
+account of the battle of Largs, and events leading up to it.
+
+The Icelandic text of the two preceding books is published in separate
+volumes in the same series.
+
+=The Story of Burnt Njal.= By Sir G. W. Dasent. (Edinburgh, 1861; also a
+later and cheaper edition.) This is the finest of the Icelandic sagas.
+It deals mainly with life in Iceland, but contains several references
+to Orkney under Earl Sigurd the Stout, and the fine description of the
+battle of Clontarf quoted in this book.
+
+=The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill; or, The Invasion of Ireland
+by the Danes and other Norsemen.= Irish text, with translation and
+introduction by Jas. H. Todd. (London, 1867; Rolls Edition.) This gives
+an account from the Irish point of view of the Norse invasions of Ireland
+up to and including the battle of Clontarf.
+
+=The Heimskringla; or, Chronicles of the Kings of Norway.= Translated by
+Samuel Laing. (3 vols., London, 1844; new edition, edited by Dr. R. B.
+Anderson, 4 vols., London, 1889.)
+
+=Heimskringla Saga.= The Saga Library Edition. Translated by Wm. Morris
+and Eirikr Magnusson. (4 vols., London, 1893-1905.) The sagas included in
+the Heimskringla form a history of the early kings of Norway, and contain
+frequent references to Orkney. Snorri Sturlason, the author, ranks among
+the greatest of historians.
+
+=Corpus Poeticum Boreale.= By Gudbrand Vigfusson and F. York Powell.
+(2 vols., Oxford, 1883.) This is an almost complete collection of old
+Norse Eddic and Court poetry, including poems by Torf Einar, Arnor the
+Earl’s poet, Earl Rognvald, and Bishop Bjarni. In a valuable introduction
+Vigfusson shows that many of the Eddic lays were written in the western
+Norse colonies in the British Isles, and some of them presumably in the
+Orkney earldom.
+
+=Icelandic Primer.= By Henry Sweet. (Oxford, 1886.)
+
+=Icelandic Prose Reader.= By G. Vigfusson and F. York Powell. (Oxford,
+1879.)
+
+=Icelandic-English Dictionary.= By R. Cleasby. Edited by G. Vigfusson,
+with appendix by W. W. Skeat. (London, 1874.)
+
+The preceding three books form the best equipment for studying the
+language of the Norse period.
+
+=The Dialect and Place-Names of Shetland.= By J. Jakobsen. (Lerwick,
+1897.) Many of the place-names explained occur in Orkney.
+
+=The Vikings in Western Christendom=, by C. F. Keary (London, 1891),
+gives an interesting account of the early Viking age, from 789 to 888 A.D.
+
+=Saga Time=, by J. Fulford Vicary (London, 1887), gives a popular
+description of society from the ninth to the eleventh century.
+
+=Orcades, seu Rerum Orcadensium Historia.= By Thormodus Torfaeus,
+Icelandic historian (1697). Translated by Alexander Pope, minister of
+Reay. (Wick, 1866.) Only a partial translation.
+
+*=Account of the Danes and Norwegians in England, Scotland, and Ireland.=
+By J. J. A. Worsaae; translation. (London, 1852.) A standard work.
+
+=Monumenta Orcadica: the Norsemen in the Orkneys and the Monuments
+they have left, with a Survey of the Celtic Pre-Norwegian and
+Scottish Post-Norwegian Monuments in the Islands.= By L. Dietrichson.
+(Christiania, 1906.) The most recent and most scientific account of
+the Norse remains in Orkney, written in Norwegian, but with a very
+full summary—almost equivalent to a translation—in English. Of special
+interest is the account of the newly-discovered monastery in Eynhallow.
+
+=The Viking Age.= By Paul du Chaillu. (2 vols., London, 1889.) An account
+of the manners and customs, as well as the history, of the Viking period;
+well illustrated, but not accurate or authoritative.
+
+=The Early Kings of Norway.= By Thomas Carlyle. (London, 1875.) A short
+account of the period from 860 to 1397; of no great historical value.
+
+
+Norse Mythology.
+
+*=Northern Mythology.= By Benjamin Thorpe. (3 vols., London, 1851.) The
+best and most complete work on the subject.
+
+=Northern Antiquities.= By P. Mallet; translation. (London, 1770; edition
+in Bohn’s Series.)
+
+=The Mythology of the Eddas.= By C. F. Keary. (London, 1882.)
+
+=Norse Mythology: the Religion of our Forefathers.= By R. B. Anderson.
+(Chicago, 1875.)
+
+=Asgard and the Gods: a Manual of Norse Mythology.= By Dr. W. Wägner.
+(London, 1880.) The best popular book on the subject.
+
+=The Tragedy of the Norse Gods.= By R. J. Pitt.
+
+=Heroes and Hero-Worship.= By Thomas Carlyle. (London, 1841.)
+
+=The Earthly Paradise.= By William Morris. (London, 1868-70.)
+
+=Sigurd the Volsung.= By William Morris. (London, 1877.)
+
+=Epic and Romance.= Essays on Mediæval Literature by W. P. Ker. (London,
+1908.) An authoritative and very readable account of the old Icelandic
+literary art.
+
+
+Later History.
+
+*=History of the Orkney Islands.= By the Rev. George Barry. (Edinburgh,
+1805; reprinted, with prefatory account of the Islands, Kirkwall, 1867.)
+One of the standard works dealing with the history of the Islands.
+
+*=Odal Rights and Feudal Wrongs.= By David Balfour of Balfour.
+(Edinburgh, 1860).
+
+*=Oppressions of the Sixteenth Century in the Islands of Orkney and
+Zetland.= (Edinburgh, 1859; Abbotsford and Maitland Clubs publications.)
+
+The above two books give an account of Orkney under Scottish rule.
+
+*=Monteith’s Description of the Islands of Orkney and Zetland.=
+(Edinburgh, 1711; reprinted 1845.)
+
+*=General View of the Agriculture of the Orkney Islands.= By John
+Shirreff. (Edinburgh, 1814.) An exceedingly interesting account of the
+state of the Islands in the early nineteenth century.
+
+=Description of the Isles of Orkney.= By the Rev. James Wallace (minister
+of Kirkwall). Published by his son. (Edinburgh, 1693; reprinted, with
+notes by John Small, M.A., Edinburgh, 1883.)
+
+=The Present State of the Orkney Islands Considered.= By James Fea
+(Surgeon). (Edinburgh, 1775; reprinted, Edinburgh, 1884.)
+
+=Orkney and Shetland Old-Lore Series.= A miscellany issued quarterly
+by the Viking Club, London; contains numerous articles of historical
+interest.
+
+
+Descriptive.
+
+*=The Orkneys and Shetland.= By John R. Tudor. (London, 1883.) The best
+descriptive work on the county; at once popular and systematic.
+
+=Kirkwall in the Orkneys.= By B. H. Hossack. (Kirkwall, 1900.) An
+extremely full and detailed descriptive and historical account of the
+town of Kirkwall.
+
+*=History of the Orkney Islands=, by the Rev. George Barry (Kirkwall
+edition, 1867), contains a well-written description of the Islands.
+
+*=Summers and Winters In the Orkneys.= By Daniel Gorrie. (Kirkwall, N.D.)
+A valuable series of sketches of Orcadian scenery and the conditions of
+life about the middle of last century.
+
+=Rambles In the Far North.= By R. M. Fergusson. (Paisley, 1884.)
+
+=Our Trip North.= By R. M. Fergusson. (London, 1892.)
+
+=Handbook to the Orkney Islands.= (W. Peace and Son, Kirkwall.) Full of
+interest.
+
+=Orkney and Shetland.= By M. J. B. Baddeley, B.A. Thorough Guide Series.
+(Thomas Nelson and Sons, London.) The best tourist guide to the Islands.
+
+=Orkney and Shetland Almanac and County Directory= (W. Peace and Son,
+Kirkwall; issued annually) contains statistical and other material of
+value.
+
+=The North Sea Pilot. Part I.= (London, 1894.) A Government publication
+for the use of mariners. Of much value to Orcadians interested in boating
+or in navigation.
+
+=Tour through the Islands of Orkney and Shetland.= By the Rev. George
+Low, with introduction by Dr. Joseph Anderson. (Kirkwall, 1879.) An
+interesting account of the appearance of the Islands at the end of the
+eighteenth century.
+
+
+Geology.
+
+There is no book dealing specifically with the geology of Orkney.
+Recourse must be had either to books dealing with the science generally,
+or to those dealing with the Islands in which their geology is included.
+
+=The Orkneys and Shetland= (Tudor) contains an account of the geology of
+the islands, written by Drs. Peach and Horne, with a useful geological
+map.
+
+The most recent and complete geological survey of Orkney is that by
+Dr. J. S. Flett, an account of which is contained in two papers in the
+=Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh=.
+
+Some of Hugh Miller’s works, such as =The Testimony of the Rocks=, =The
+Old Red Sandstone=, =Rambles of a Geologist=, and =Footprints of the
+Creator=, contain numerous references to the geology of Orkney.
+
+=Robert Dick=, by Dr. Samuel Smiles, is an interesting account of a
+Thurso baker who devoted his life to the study of geology in Caithness,
+where the rook formation is the same as that of Orkney.
+
+Among general works in geology suitable for beginners may be mentioned
+Huxley’s =Physiography= and Sir Archibald Geikie’s =Outlines of Field
+Geology=, his =Class-book of Geology=, and his =Scenery of Scotland=.
+
+
+Botany.
+
+=The Orkneys and Shetland= (Tudor) contains a list of the rarer British
+plants found in Orkney, compiled by W. I. Fortescue.
+
+Volume xviii. of the =Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh=
+contains a complete list of Orkney plants by Prof. J. W. H. Traill.
+Another list is in preparation by Mr. Magnus Spence.
+
+=The Marine Algæ of the Orkney Islands=, by G. W. Traill (Edinburgh,
+1890), contains a list of the seaweeds of Orkney.
+
+The following are some general works on botany which may be of service
+to the beginner:—=Open-air Studies in Botany=, by R. L. Praeger (London,
+1897), a study of wild flowers in their homes, with illustrations;
+=Flowering Plants, their Structure and Habitat=, by C. L. Laurie,
+illustrated (London, 1903); =Nature Studies=, by G. F. Scott-Elliot
+(London, 1903); =A Plant Book for Schools=, by O. V. Darbyshire,
+illustrated (London, 1908); =Flowers of the Field=, by C. A. Johns
+(London, 1894).
+
+=Common Objects of the Seashore=, by the Rev. J. G. Wood (London, 1866),
+contains good descriptions and illustrations of the seaweeds.
+
+For identification of plants perhaps the best books are the =British
+Flora=, by Bentham and Hooker (London, 1904), and =Illustrations to
+Bentham and Hooker’s British Flora=, by Fitch and Smith (London, 1905).
+
+For mosses, the best book is Dixon and Jameson’s =Student’s Handbook of
+British Mosses=.
+
+
+Zoology.
+
+For a general introduction to natural history the best books are—=Life
+and her Children= (London, 1880), and =Winners in Life’s Race= (London,
+1882), by Miss A. B. Buckley (Mrs. Fisher), and Professor Arthur J.
+Thomson’s fascinating =Study of Animal Life=, which gives a list of other
+books on zoology.
+
+The animals of the seashore are dealt with in Rev. J. G. Wood’s =Common
+Objects of the Seashore= and =Fresh and Salt Water Aquarium=; =Seaside
+Studies=, by G. H. Lewes; =The Aquarium=, by P. H. Gosse; and =The
+Aquarium, its Inhabitants, Structure, and Management=, by J. E. Taylor.
+
+Gosse’s =Manual of Marine Zoology for the British Isles= (2 vols.,
+London, 1856) still remains the best book for the identification of
+marine animals.
+
+For the study of birds the best works are the following:—=The Birds of
+Shetland=, by H. L. Saxby (Edinburgh, 1884); =The Birds of the West of
+Scotland=, by Robert Gray; =Bird-Watching= and =The Bird-Watcher in the
+Shetlands=, by Edmund Selous.
+
+Saunders’s =Manual of British Birds= (London, 1889) is the best single
+book for the identification of birds, each species being illustrated.
+
+=The Vertebrate Fauna of the Orkney Islands=, by J. A. Harvie Brown and
+T. E. Buckley (Edinburgh, 1891), is in greater part a list of the birds
+of Orkney, with a short account of each.
+
+=Orcadian Papers: being Selections from the Proceedings of the Orkney
+Natural History Society from 1887 to 1904.= Edited by M. M. Oharleson,
+F.S.A. Scot. (Stromness, 1905.) The selections are not confined to
+natural history, but include historical and other contributions.
+
+
+Fiction, Poetry, etc.
+
+=The Pirate.= By Sir Walter Scott.
+
+=Poems, etc.= By David Vedder. Edited by the Rev. G. Gilfillan.
+(Kirkwall, N.D.)
+
+=Poems, Tales, and Sketches.= By Lieutenant John Malcolm, with
+introduction by the Rev. G. Gilfillan. (Kirkwall, N.D.)
+
+*=The Orcadian Sketch-Book.= By Walter Traill Dennison. (Kirkwall, 1880.)
+A unique collection of stories and poems written in the “North Isles”
+dialect of the Orkney vernacular.
+
+=Orcadian Sketches.= By W. T. Dennison. With introduction by J. Storer
+Clouston. (Kirkwall, 1904.) A selection from the preceding.
+
+=The Pilots of Pomona.= By Robert Leighton. (London, 1892.)
+
+=Sons of the Vikings.= By Dr. J. Gunn, M.A. (Edinburgh, 1893. Cheaper
+edition, 1909.)
+
+=The Boys of Hamnavoe.= By Dr. J. Gunn, M.A. (Edinburgh, 1894.)
+
+=Vandrad the Viking.= By J. Storer Clouston. (Edinburgh, 1897.)
+
+=Garmiscath.= By J. Storer Clouston. (Cheaper edition, London, 1904.)
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In addition to the material available in book form, much excellent
+literature in prose and in verse, with more or less direct relation to
+Orkney, has appeared in various magazines above the names of Duncan
+J. Robertson, J. Storer Clouston, and others, specimens of which are
+included in the pages of this volume.
+
+                                 THE END.
+
+                         PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN.
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76756 ***
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+<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76756 ***</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">[1]</span></p>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="SONS_OF_THE_ISLES"><i>SONS OF THE ISLES.</i></h2>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0"><i>There is a spell woven by restless seas,</i></div>
+      <div class="verse indent0"><i>A secret charm that haunts our Island air,</i></div>
+      <div class="verse indent0"><i>Holding our hearts and following everywhere</i></div>
+      <div class="verse indent0"><i>The wandering children of the Orcades;</i></div>
+      <div class="verse indent0"><i>And still, when sleep the prisoned spirit frees,</i></div>
+      <div class="verse indent0"><i>What dim void wastes, what strange dark seas we dare,</i></div>
+      <div class="verse indent0"><i>Till where the dear green Isles shine low and fair</i></div>
+      <div class="verse indent0"><i>We moor in dreams beside familiar quays.</i></div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0"><i>Sons of the Isles! though ye may roam afar,</i></div>
+      <div class="verse indent0"><i>Still on your lips the salt sea spray is stinging,</i></div>
+      <div class="verse indent0"><i>Still in your hearts the winds of youth are singing;</i></div>
+      <div class="verse indent0"><i>Though in heavens grown familiar to your eyes</i></div>
+      <div class="verse indent0"><i>The Southern Cross is gleaming, for old skies</i></div>
+      <div class="verse indent0"><i>Your hearts are fain and for the Northern Star.</i></div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="attribution">
+      <div class="attr"><span class="smcap">Duncan J. Robertson</span></div>
+      <div class="attr">(<i>“Chambers’s Journal.” By permission.</i>)</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">[2]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus001" style="max-width: 43.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus001.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>“The wonder and the glory of all the North” (<a href="#Page_69">p. 69</a>).</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[3]</span></p>
+
+<p class="center larger"><span class="smaller">The</span><br>
+Orkney Book</p>
+
+<p class="center">Readings for Young Orcadians</p>
+
+<p class="titlepage"><span class="smaller">Compiled and Edited by</span><br>
+John Gunn, M.A., D.Sc.<br>
+<span class="smaller">Author of “Sons of the Vikings,” “The Boys of<br>
+Hamnavoe,” etc.</span></p>
+
+<p class="titlepage">Thomas Nelson &amp; Sons, Ltd.<br>
+<span class="smaller">London, Edinburgh, and<br>
+New York</span></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[4]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="titlepage" style="max-width: 29.6875em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/titlepage.jpg" alt="Image of the book's illustrated title page">
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[5]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE.</h2>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>This is a book about Orkney, for use in Orkney, designed and
+for the most part written by natives of Orkney. It owes its
+origin to the Edinburgh University Orcadian Association, the
+members of which realized the desirability of preparing for
+use in the schools of Orkney a book adapted to the special
+conditions of the Islands.</p>
+
+<p>Educationists now recognize that Knowledge ought, like Charity,
+to “begin at home:” this is true of every branch of knowledge—history,
+geography, literature, and the rest. They might even
+adopt with an educational reference the saying of the wise man,
+“Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of
+a fool are in the ends of the earth.” An attempt has accordingly
+been made in this book to present to the young folks of Orkney
+a general view of their homeland, some description of its past
+and its present, and some knowledge of its naturalistic and its
+humanistic aspects, with the object of awakening their interest
+in their own Islands, in order that from this centre their knowledge
+may advance the more surely to the sweep of a wider
+horizon. For, like Charity again, while Knowledge must begin at
+home, it must not remain at home.</p>
+
+<p>While the scope of the book is wide, the treatment of each
+class of subjects is necessarily suggestive rather than exhaustive.
+All that is possible within the limits of a single small volume is
+to present illustrative specimens rather than a complete collection
+of studies. Hence there is abundant opportunity for the
+teacher to supplement the book by specializing in one direction
+or in another according to individual preference. The aim has
+been rather to supply the irreducible minimum, suitable to all,
+in the hope that the book may find its way into every school in
+the county, and be read by every Orkney boy and girl before
+their schooldays are over.</p>
+
+<p>The Committee of the Edinburgh University Orcadian Association
+who have superintended the issue of the book acknowledge
+gratefully the courtesy with which copyright material has been
+placed at their disposal. They wish to record their obligations to
+the Controller of His Majesty’s Stationery Office, to Messrs. J. M.
+Dent and Co., Messrs. Longmans, Green, and Co., Messrs. Macmillan
+and Co., Messrs. W. and R. Chambers, and the Walter
+Scott Publishing Company, for the use of the extracts to which
+their names are respectively appended, and to Messrs. Thomas
+Nelson and Sons for much copyright material, including numerous
+illustrations. They also desire to express their thanks to the
+Honourable Mrs. John Dundas of Papdale, and to Messrs.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[6]</span>Duncan J. Robertson, J. Storer Clouston, and Edmund Selous
+for literary contributions which are in themselves sufficient to
+give a high value to the collection, as well as to place on record
+their indebtedness to the late Mr. James Tomison for the article
+on “The Birds of Sule Skerry.”</p>
+
+<p>The matter contained in the unsigned articles has been contributed
+by many Orcadians, specialists in their several departments,
+whose names are sufficient guarantee for accuracy—Messrs.
+James W. Cursiter, F.S.A.Scot., for Archæology, including
+illustrations; James Drever, M.A., for Norse history and
+language; John Tait, M.D., D.Sc., for Zoology; John S. Flett,
+M.A., D.Sc., for Geology; Magnus Spence, F.E.I.S., for Meteorology
+and Botany; John Garrioch, M.A., for Seaweeds; John W.
+Bews, M.A., B.Sc., and George W. Scarth, M.A., for botanical
+and descriptive material; Robert C. Wallace, M.A., B.Sc., for
+descriptive material; and John Gunn (Kirkwall) for the list of
+Orkney birds in the Appendix.</p>
+
+<p>As regards the artistic features of the book, special acknowledgment
+is due to Messrs. Thomas Kent, for his generosity
+in placing at the disposal of the Editor the whole of his unique
+collection of Orkney views, all the photographs reproduced being
+from his studio, with three or four exceptions; T. Marjoribanks
+Hay, R.S.W., for his drawing of St. Magnus Church, Egilsay;
+Stanley Cursiter, for the decorative initial letters, the title-page,
+and the cover design; and Miss Rose Leith, for the border designs
+of the grouped photographs; and to J. G. Bartholomew, LL.D.,
+for the two-page map of the county.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, the thanks of the Committee are due to the generous
+and patriotic friends, among whom special mention ought to be
+made of the Glasgow Orkney and Shetland Literary and Scientific
+Association, whose donations of money have enabled them to produce
+this book, for a volume whose circulation must necessarily be
+limited to a small area could be issued at so low a price only on
+condition of the initial cost of manufacture being met by those
+interested in its production.</p>
+
+<p>The Editor, who must accept responsibility for the general
+scope and plan of the book, as well as for the actual form and part of
+the contents of the unsigned articles, desires personally to acknowledge
+the valuable assistance he has received from the members
+of the Committee, especially Dr. John Tait and Mr. James Drever,
+and from the other friends who have helped by their sympathetic
+criticism and advice, to all of whom, as well as to himself, the
+work has been in every sense a labour of love; and he ventures
+to express the hope that the results of that work, as here visible,
+may find favour in the sight of all young Orcadians, and of many
+who are no longer young.</p>
+
+<p class="right">J. GUNN.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Edinburgh, 1909.</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[7]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+</div>
+
+<table>
+  <tr>
+    <td></td>
+    <td class="tdpg smaller">Page</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2" class="tdc">Part I.—The Story of the Past.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Prehistoric Orkney,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PREHISTORIC_ORKNEY">9</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Beginnings of our History,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_BEGINNINGS_OF_OUR_HISTORY">18</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Norsemen and their Sagas,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_NORSEMEN_AND_THEIR_SAGAS">23</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Beginning of the Earldom,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_BEGINNING_OF_THE_EARLDOM">32</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Dark Century,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_DARK_CENTURY">40</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Earl Thorfinn and Earl Rognvald,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#EARL_THORFINN_AND_EARL_ROGNVALD">54</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Slaying of Earl Magnus,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_SLAYING_OF_EARL_MAGNUS">59</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Founding of St. Magnus Cathedral,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_FOUNDING_OF_ST_MAGNUS_CATHEDRAL">67</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Jorsalafarers,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_JORSALAFARERS">74</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Sweyn Asleifson, the Last of the Vikings,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#SWEYN_ASLEIFSON_THE_LAST_OF_THE_VIKINGS">90</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Decay of the Earldom and the End of the Western Kingdom,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_DECAY_OF_THE_EARLDOM">97</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Annexation to Scotland,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_ANNEXATION_TO_SCOTLAND">105</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Udal and Feudal,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#UDAL_AND_FEUDAL">110</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Stewart Earls,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_STEWART_EARLS">115</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_EIGHTEENTH_AND_NINETEENTH_CENTURIES">120</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2" class="tdc">Part II.—The Isles and the Folk.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>A Survey of the Islands:</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">On Wideford Hill,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#On_Wideford_Hill">129</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">Among the North Isles,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#Among_the_North_Isles">134</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">Among the South Isles,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#Among_the_South_Isles">146</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Round the Mainland:</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">First Day,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#First_Day">154</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">Second Day,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#Second_Day">158</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">Third Day,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#Third_Day">166</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">Fourth Day,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#Fourth_Day">172</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Sketches by Hugh Miller:</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">The Dwarfie Stone,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#The_Dwarfie_Stone">179</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">The Standing Stones,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#The_Standing_Stones">184</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Cathedral of St. Magnus,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_CATHEDRAL_OF_ST_MAGNUS">190</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>A Road in Orcady,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#A_ROAD_IN_ORCADY">206</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>A Loch in Orcady,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#A_LOCH_IN_ORCADY">219</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Among the Kelpers,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#AMONG_THE_KELPERS">227</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>A Whale-hunt in Orkney,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#A_WHALE-HUNT_IN_ORKNEY">242</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Articles made of Straw,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#ARTICLES_MADE_OF_STRAW">248</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Weather of Orkney,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_WEATHER_OF_ORKNEY">255</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Place-Names of Orkney,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_PLACE-NAMES_OF_ORKNEY">263</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[8]</span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2" class="tdc">Part III.—Nature Lore.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Story of the Rocks:</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">“Sermons in Stones,”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#Sermons_in_Stones">271</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">“Books in the Running Brooks,”</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#Books_in_the_Running_Brooks">276</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">Cliffs and Beaches,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#Cliffs_and_Beaches">284</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">The Age of Ice,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#The_Age_of_Ice">289</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">Orkney Fossils,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#Orkney_Fossils">292</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>A Peat-Moss,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#A_PEAT-MOSS">296</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Some Common Weeds,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#SOME_COMMON_WEEDS">305</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Home Life on the Rocks:</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">Guillemots,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#Guillemots">312</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">Seals,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#Seals">317</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">Shags,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#Shags">320</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Birds of Sule Skerry,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_BIRDS_OF_SULE_SKERRY">328</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">The Residenters,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#The_Residenters">330</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">The Regular Visitors,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#The_Regular_Visitors">334</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">Occasional Visitors,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#Occasional_Visitors">346</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Common Seaweeds,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#COMMON_SEAWEEDS">352</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Crabs,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CRABS">361</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Hoppers and Sholties,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#HOPPERS_AND_SHOLTIES">372</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Sea-Anemones,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#SEA-ANEMONES">378</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2" class="tdc">Part IV.—Legend and Lay.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Old Gods,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_OLD_GODS">383</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>A Vanishing Island,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#A_VANISHING_ISLAND">391</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Helen Waters: a Legend of Sule Skerry,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#HELEN_WATERS">396</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>A Legend of Boray Island,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#A_LEGEND_OF_BORAY_ISLAND">403</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Songs of the Gods:</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">The Challenge of Thor,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#The_Challenge_of_Thor">408</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">Tegner’s Drapa,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#Tegners_Drapa">409</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Song of Harold Harfager,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_SONG_OF_HAROLD_HARFAGER">412</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>King Hacon’s Last Battle,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#KING_HACONS_LAST_BATTLE">414</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Death of Haco,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_DEATH_OF_HACO">416</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Old Man of Hoy,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_OLD_MAN_OF_HOY">420</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Orkney,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#ORKNEY">422</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Scenes from “The Buccaneer”:</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="sub">Night; Morning,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#SCENES_FROM_THE_BUCCANEER">430</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>To Orkney,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#TO_ORKNEY">432</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>The Temple of Nature,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#THE_TEMPLE_OF_NATURE">433</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td colspan="2" class="tdc">Appendices.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Appendix I.—Chronology of Orcadian History to the End of the
+    Earldom, with Related Contemporary Events,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#APPENDIX_I">435</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Appendix II.—Norse Words in Orkney Place-Names,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#APPENDIX_II">439</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Appendix III.—List of Birds found in Orkney,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#APPENDIX_III">441</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>Appendix IV.—Books for Further Study,</td>
+    <td class="tdpg"><a href="#APPENDIX_IV">443</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[9]</span></p>
+
+<h1>THE ORKNEY BOOK.</h1>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="Part_I-The_Story_of_the_Past">Part I.—The Story of the Past.</h2>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="PREHISTORIC_ORKNEY">PREHISTORIC ORKNEY.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-a1.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">At what period of the world’s history
+were our islands first inhabited,
+and who were their first inhabitants?
+These are questions
+which we cannot now answer.
+History is always made before it
+is written, and long ages must
+have passed in the history of these
+islands before any written records
+began to be kept.</p>
+
+<p>Yet there are some records of that dim, forgotten
+past, which patient research has gathered together,
+and which can be made to tell us a few fragments
+of our Island story. If we look into one of the
+museums where relics of the past are preserved, we
+may find such things as flint arrow-heads and knives,
+stone axes and hammers, bronze spear-heads, and other
+tools and weapons of the early inhabitants of our
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[10]</span>islands. These silent witnesses tell us a little about
+what manner of men they were, and how they lived
+their long-forgotten lives.</p>
+
+<p>The use of stone implements marks a very primitive
+stage of life, yet one which may not be entirely savage.
+There are tribes now living which are still in their
+Stone Age. A recent traveller tells of having seen an
+inhabitant of the South American Andes skin a hare
+very neatly with a small flint knife. This knife is
+now in Kirkwall, and is precisely similar to many
+which have been dug up in Orkney.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus002" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus002.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Flint Arrow-heads and Knives.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Flint is not a common stone in the Orkney Islands.
+It is found in occasional lumps and pebbles among
+the clay which has been carried from other places
+by the glaciers and icebergs of the Ice Age. Flint
+is common in the southern parts of Great Britain,
+however, and the arrows and knives found in our
+islands may have been brought from the south, or
+the art of making them may have been learned
+from tribes among whom flint was a more common
+material. This kind of stone, the fine steel of the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[11]</span>Stone Age, was used for small implements over a
+wide area of the world.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus003" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus003.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Stone Hammers and Axes.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Orkney must have had a large population in
+those early days. The number of ancient graves
+which have been found seems to indicate this, especially
+if we suppose that most of those graves with
+their heaped-up mounds are the resting-places of
+chiefs and great men rather than of the common
+people. The graves which remain are of varied
+types, from the simple cist of upright stones roofed
+with horizontal slabs and covered with earth, to the
+large mound with its carefully built chambers.</p>
+
+<p>The variety of the objects found in those graves, from
+the rudest flint and bone implements to those which
+are carefully finished, and finally to objects made of
+metal, shows that the burials belong to different periods.
+They tell us of long ages of increasing though now
+forgotten civilization. Some of the mounds, indeed,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[12]</span>show by their contents that they cover the remains,
+not of the original and unknown inhabitants, but
+of the Norse conquerors, and thus really belong to
+the period whose history has come down to us
+in writing. But in the very mound where the
+Norse warrior was laid to rest, there are sometimes
+also found the relics of burials of a much ruder
+age. Such mingling of the materials of our unwritten
+history makes the story which they tell a
+very difficult one to read.</p>
+
+<p>There are few remains in our islands more striking
+than the chambered mounds, or Picts’ houses, as they
+are called. The most complete and probably the
+most recent of them is that known as Maeshowe.
+They consist of a mound of earth heaped over a
+rude building, sometimes of one apartment, but frequently
+of several, the entrance being a long, low,
+narrow passage, through which it is necessary to
+stoop or crawl in order to gain an entrance.</p>
+
+<p>Possibly those Picts’ houses were built at first as
+houses to dwell in, though later used as tombs. It is
+not uncommon to-day to find buildings used for burial
+which were designed for other purposes. If ever our
+race and all its records were to vanish as completely
+as the primitive inhabitants of the Orkney Islands
+have done, we can imagine some future explorer of
+the ruins of St. Magnus Cathedral writing a learned
+treatise to prove that the largest building in our
+islands was erected as a burial-place for our dead.</p>
+
+<p>Those mound dwellings, or Picts’ houses, may seem
+to us a very strange form of house to live in. Where
+can we find to-day houses of such a type, and with
+so very inconvenient a form of entrance? The
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[13]</span>Eskimos, as travellers tell us, are in the habit of
+building just such houses with blocks of snow, and
+they find this the best type in the extreme cold
+of their Arctic climate. Possibly the Picts’ house
+type of dwelling was used in Orkney and in other
+places for similar reasons.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus004" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus004.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Polished Stone Celts.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The brochs, or Pictish towers, as they are also
+called, are buildings of a different kind, which are
+also fairly common in Orkney. They are probably
+of later date than the Picts’ houses. Considerable
+skill, as well as co-operation in labour, must have
+been required for their erection.</p>
+
+<p>The most complete broch in existence is that of
+Mousa in Shetland. Of those which are found in
+Orkney, only the lower portions now remain. Over
+seventy such ruins have been examined, the best
+specimens being in Evie (Burgar), Birsay (Oxtro),
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[14]</span>Harray, Firth (Ingashowe and Stirlinghowe), St. Ola
+(Birstane and Lingro), St. Andrews (Dingishowe and
+Langskaill), Burray (East and West Brough), South
+Ronaldsay (Hoxa), Shapinsay (Borrowston), and
+Stronsay (Lamb Head).</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp85" id="illus005" style="max-width: 25.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus005.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Plan of Chambered Mound, Wideford Hill.</i></p>
+      <p><i>b</i>, Entrance. <i>c</i>, Blind Passage.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus006" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus006.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Chambered Mound, Wideford Hill.</i></p>
+      <p>Section on line <i>a, a</i> of plan.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The typical broch is a
+large round tower, fifty or
+sixty feet in diameter, and
+probably as much in height.
+The wall is about fifteen
+feet thick, and solid at the
+base, except for some vaulted
+chambers which are made in
+it. Higher, the wall is hollow,
+or rather consists of an
+outer and an inner wall,
+with a space of four or five feet between them. This
+space is divided into a number of stories or galleries by
+horizontal courses of long slabs of stone, which form
+the roof of one story and the floor of that above it,
+and at the same time bind the two walls firmly together.
+A stairway gives access to the various stories, and light
+is admitted by small windows opening into the interior
+space of the tower, no windows being made in the outer
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[15]</span>wall. A single door in the lower wall forms the only
+entrance to the inner court of the broch.</p>
+
+<p>These towers were probably constructed for the
+purpose of defence, and against a primitive enemy
+they would serve as well as did the castles of a
+later age before the invention of gunpowder. Indeed,
+we read of the broch of Mousa being actually used as
+a fort in the time of the Norsemen.</p>
+
+<p>Who the builders of these towers were we cannot
+discover. They are undoubtedly very ancient; yet
+their builders and occupiers were by no means savages.
+From the remains which have been found in them we
+learn that they were used by a people who kept
+domestic animals, who cultivated the ground, and who
+could spin and weave the wool of their flocks into cloth.
+No weapons of the Stone Age are found in the brochs.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus007" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus007.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Broch of Mousa, Shetland.</i></p>
+      <p>1. Exterior. 2. Section. 3. Section with inner wall removed.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>It is certain that they were built, and that most
+of them may have fallen into ruins, long before the
+Norsemen came. Many of the places where they
+stand were named by those settlers from the broch
+which was found standing there. The words <i>borg</i>,
+as in Burgar, and <i>howe</i> (haug), as in Hoxa (Haug’s
+aith, or isthmus), are found in many place-names.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span>It is certain, too, that the brochs were not then
+occupied, or we should have found some account of
+their siege and capture in the Sagas which tell of
+Norse prowess by land and sea.</p>
+
+<p>Another type of ancient remains which is common
+in our islands is the standing stones. These are
+found in many places, either singly or in groups or
+circles. Regarding these relics of a distant past
+much has been written, but little is known.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus008" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus008.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>The Stone Circle of Stenness as now Restored.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>An upright stone is the simplest and most effective
+form of monument, and is that which we most commonly
+use to this day to mark the resting-places of
+our dead. To the ancient Orcadian it was a matter
+of more difficulty to quarry and to transport and erect
+such monuments, and doubtless they would be set up
+only in memory of some great event, such as a notable
+victory, or the fall of a great chieftain.</p>
+
+<p>The great stone circles, such as those of Stenness
+and of Brogar, are supposed to have served a different
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[17]</span>purpose. They are believed by many to have been
+the temples of some primitive people, who met there
+to worship their gods. It has also been supposed
+that the people who erected those circles were sun-worshippers,
+as the situation of certain prominent
+stones seems to have been determined by the position
+of the rising sun at midsummer.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus009" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus009.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Fallen Cromlech or Table Stone, Sandwick.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>But in these matters we cannot be certain of our
+conclusions. Most of our great churches and cathedrals
+are placed east and west, with the high altar
+towards the east, and even the graves in our churchyards
+are usually similarly oriented; but this does not
+prove that we are sun-worshippers, whatever our forefathers
+may have been before they accepted Christianity.
+We may indulge in much speculation about them,
+and form our own opinions as to what they originally
+meant, but those hoary monoliths remain a mystery,
+and the purpose of their erection we can only guess.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[18]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_BEGINNINGS_OF_OUR_HISTORY">THE BEGINNINGS OF OUR HISTORY.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-i1.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">In the history of the ancient world some vague
+and fragmentary references are made to our
+islands, but from these little real knowledge
+of them can be gathered. As early as the
+time of Alexander the Great we come upon
+some notices of certain northern islands,
+which must be either Orkney, or the
+Hebrides, or Shetland, or the Faroes, but we cannot
+determine which. The Phœnicians, who were the
+great sea-traders and explorers of the early world,
+seem to have had a little knowledge of these northern
+archipelagoes.</p>
+
+<p>In the time of the Roman occupation of Britain
+we have definite mention of the Orcades, but nothing
+which shows any real knowledge of them. They
+were visited by the fleet of Agricola after his invasion
+of Scotland, as recorded by Tacitus. About three
+centuries later, the poet Claudian sings of a victory
+by the Emperor Theodosius, who, we are told, sprinkled
+Orcadian soil with Saxon blood. We are not told,
+however, who the people called Saxons really were,
+or whether they were the inhabitants of the islands
+or not. They may have been early Viking raiders
+who had fled hither and been brought to bay among
+the group.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[19]</span></p>
+
+<p>Early Church history has also some references to
+Orkney. After St. Columba had left the shores of
+Ireland to carry the message of Christianity to the
+Picts and Scots in Scotland, another Irish missionary,
+Cormac, went on a similar voyage among the Orkney
+Isles. Him, therefore, we may regard as the apostle to
+the northern heathen. St. Adamnan, the biographer
+of St. Columba, tells the story, and the name of
+Adamnan himself is still commemorated in the name
+of the Isle of Damsay.</p>
+
+<p>After the visit of Cormac, the Culdee missionaries
+established themselves in various parts of Orkney, as
+the place-names given by the Norsemen show. In
+several of these names we find the word <i>pápa</i>, a form
+of <i>pope</i>, which was the name applied to the monks
+or clergy of the Culdee Church. Like Columba
+himself, who made the little island of Iona his headquarters,
+his followers seem to have preferred the
+seclusion of the smaller islands. To this habit are
+due such names as <i>Papa Westray</i> and <i>Papa Stronsay</i>.
+Other Church settlements have left their traces in
+names such as <i>Paplay</i> and <i>Papdale</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Another place-name which records an old-world
+mission station is that of <i>Deerness</i>. At first sight
+this name seems rather to indicate that abundance
+of deer were found there; and some writers tell us,
+by way of proving this, that deer’s horns have been
+found in that parish. But as deer’s horns have also
+been found in many other places in the county, the
+proof is not convincing. We must remember that the
+Norse invaders were likely to name the place on
+account of its appearance from the sea. They may,
+of course, have noticed a chance herd of deer near
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[20]</span>the cliffs; but one thing is certain to have caught
+their eye—the unusual sight of a building of stone on
+the Brough of Deerness. Some remains of this building,
+and of a later one on the same site, still exist;
+and it was long regarded as in some way a sacred
+place, to which pilgrimages were made. This building
+was in fact one of those outposts of early
+Christianity—a Culdee monastery. When the Norse
+invaders came, they doubtless found it occupied by
+some of the Culdee clergy—<i>diar</i>, as they would be
+called by the strangers—and so the headland was
+named the Priests’ Cape, or Deerness.</p>
+
+<p>It is quite possible that deer existed in Orkney
+down to the Norse period, but they were much more
+likely to be found in the hilly regions of the west
+Mainland, which was the earls’ hunting-ground. We
+read of an Earl of Orkney going over to Caithness
+for the chase of the deer, which seems to suggest that
+they were then scarce, if not extinct, in Orkney.</p>
+
+<p>Among the remains of the Culdee settlements
+which are still found are monumental stones with
+Christian emblems inscribed on them, or with Irish
+Ogham writing, and ancient bells, probably used in
+the churches. The curious round tower which forms
+part of the old church of St. Magnus in Egilsay
+is of a type common only in Ireland. The name
+of that island is probably derived from an earlier
+church which the Norsemen found there, and heard
+called by its Celtic name, <i>ecclais</i>. It has been supposed
+by some that the name <i>Egilsay</i> means Egil’s
+Island, so called after some man named Egil; but the
+probability is that it meant the Church Island.</p>
+
+<p>All that we can learn, then, from the ancient relics
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[21]</span>of its first inhabitants, and from the brief references
+to the islands by old historians, amounts to very
+little. We know that Orkney was thickly inhabited
+by some ancient people, living at first the primitive
+life which is indicated by the use of stone implements.
+We may suppose that they had at one time a religion
+in some way connected with sun-worship. We know
+that they built earth-houses somewhat like the snow-houses
+of the Eskimos, many of which still remain,
+and that, in some cases at least, these have been
+used as places of burial by later inhabitants. We
+know that at one period strong circular towers were
+built, probably as fortresses, by a people of some
+degree of civilization. We know that in the time of
+St. Columba Christian missionaries or monks visited
+the islands, whose inhabitants were then probably of
+the race known as Picts, and whose chiefs are said
+to have been subject to the Pictish king of Northern
+Scotland. Some at least of those Culdees we may
+suppose to have been hermits rather than missionaries,
+although they may have combined the two characters.
+How many centuries of time are covered by these
+facts and suppositions we do not know, but they sum
+up all that can be said with certainty regarding
+Orkney before the coming of the Norsemen.</p>
+
+<p>There is one very curious fact about the beginnings
+of the Norse records: they make no mention whatever
+of any inhabitants being found in the islands.
+The place-names afford evidence, as we have seen, of
+the presence of Culdee monks, but of other population
+there is no trace. The new-comers seem to have
+settled as in an uninhabited land, each Viking selecting
+and occupying his land without let or hindrance.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[22]</span></p>
+
+<p>If there had been a native population, and if these
+had been either expelled or exterminated by the
+invaders, we should surely have been told of it by
+the Saga writers, who would have delighted in telling
+such a tale. It has accordingly been supposed that
+at the time of the Norse settlement the islands were
+uninhabited save by the hermits of the Culdee Church.
+When or how the former Pictish inhabitants disappeared
+it is impossible to say. Possibly some early
+Viking raids, of which no history remains, had resulted
+in the slaughter of many and the flight of the
+rest to the less exposed lands south of the Pictland
+or Pentland Firth. Whatever the reason may be,
+the chapter of our Island history which opens with
+the Norse settlement is in no way a continuation of
+anything which goes before, but begins a new story.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus010" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus010.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Carved Stone Balls.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[23]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_NORSEMEN_AND_THEIR_SAGAS">THE NORSEMEN AND THEIR SAGAS.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-i2.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">It is late in the eighth century before the
+Northman or Norseman appears on the stage
+of history. From the day when Cæsar’s victorious
+legions brought the Gauls, the Germans,
+and the Britons under the sway of
+the imperial city, these nations of Western
+Europe are never again entirely lost to
+history. But Scandinavia and the countries round the
+Baltic remained unknown to Rome and to the world
+for long centuries afterwards. “There nature ends,”
+one of the Roman writers has said, when speaking of
+these northern lands. This brief yet expressive sentence
+well indicates how completely outside the Roman world
+lay the countries which were the cradle of our race.</p>
+
+<p>There is another side to all this, which we find
+it difficult to picture clearly in our minds. To the
+inhabitants of Scandinavia and the lands round the
+Baltic, the southern parts of Europe were equally
+unknown. We find in a Scandinavian writer of the
+ninth century a description of an expedition which
+was made by one of the Viking chiefs to this unknown
+world. In the course of his travels he came
+upon a city which to the Norseman seemed mysterious
+and dread—a city of Niflheim, the under-world.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[24]</span>This city, as we learn from contemporary Western
+writers, must have been Paris. Paris, now the
+gay capital of Europe, and even then a city of importance
+and of fame, was so unknown to the Norsemen
+of the early ninth century that it was deemed
+a part of Niflheim, the under-world!</p>
+
+<p>During the period when the northern nations were
+hidden from the eye of history, many changes must
+have been going on among them. The building and
+management of ships could not have been learned
+in a day, and even when we first catch sight of the
+Norsemen they were the finest and most daring seamen
+in the world, and their ships probably the most
+perfect hitherto seen. Many voyages among their
+own islands and in the Baltic must have preceded the
+longer voyages to Britain, to Iceland, to Greenland,
+and to America. Numerous wars there must have
+been, quite unknown to history, before the northern
+warrior became the terrible fighter of the Viking Age.</p>
+
+<p>We can imagine the delighted wonder with which
+the northern warriors first gazed upon the rich
+and fertile shores of South-Western Europe. We
+can imagine how they contrasted the fair fields
+and great cities of the south with the bleak and
+sterile shores of the north from which they came.
+What motives first led to their leaving their native
+shores it is difficult to say. Thirst for adventure,
+the pinch of poverty at home, the desire of possessing
+gold and treasure, all conspired to make them seek
+their fortunes in the wide and unknown lands which
+lay beyond the sea. When the first adventurers
+brought home accounts of the lands which they had
+seen—the fruitful fields, the great cities, the rich
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[25]</span>merchandise, and the yellow gold—great numbers of
+their fellow-countrymen would be seized with a longing
+to visit those wonderful shores where wealth was
+to be had for the taking. The roving spirit once
+roused spread rapidly over the northern lands. The
+storm of Viking fury burst on the lands of Western
+Europe almost without warning.</p>
+
+<p>In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, under the date
+<span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 787, we read: “In this year King Beorhtric
+took Eadburh, King Offa’s daughter, to wife. And in
+his days first came three ships of Northmen from
+Haerethaland, and the reeve rode down to them
+and would drive them to the king’s <i>vill</i>, for he
+knew not what men they were, and they there slew
+him. These were the first ships of Danish men that
+sought the land of the English.” Thus we read of
+the first mutterings of the storm which was so soon
+to burst on the coasts of Western Europe. During
+the succeeding two centuries and a half the English
+learned to know well what men these were who
+came out of the wild north-east. The monks’ litany,
+“From the fury of the Northmen deliver us, O
+Lord!” tells us what <i>they</i> thought of them.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[26]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus011" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus011.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>EXPEDITIONS AND SETTLEMENTS OF THE NORSEMEN</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>We can trace two distinct roads which the Viking
+raids followed. One, traversed chiefly by the Danes,
+led along the shores of Northern Europe to England,
+the English Channel, France, Spain, and the Mediterranean;
+the other, traversed chiefly by the Norsemen,
+led straight across the North Sea to the Orkneys,
+thence along the west coast of Scotland, to Ireland and
+the west of England. The islands lying off the coasts
+of Scotland, England, Ireland, and France were seized
+by the invaders, and from these as bases their raids
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[27]</span>extended far and wide. Monasteries felt the utmost
+fury of their attacks, for there they knew they would
+find abundance of spoil. At first the invaders confined
+themselves to plundering expeditions. The
+Norsemen early turned their attention to settlement
+and commerce; the Danes, on the other hand, remained
+for a longer period intent on plunder alone.</p>
+
+<p>Civil wars in Western Europe had rendered the
+nations there incapable of effective resistance to the
+ruthless invaders. The Vikings descended now at one
+point, now at another. When they met with a more
+stubborn resistance than usual, they merely retired
+to their ships with whatever plunder they had
+seized, and sailed away to make an attack somewhere
+else. They wintered on the islands which they had
+seized, and as soon as spring was come they
+descended once more on the devoted lands. Ireland
+suffered severely at their hands. The Orkneys and
+the Hebrides became nests of Vikings; in fact,
+colonies of them must have been established there
+at a very early date. In these islands they were
+safe from all interference—a law to themselves; for
+as yet there was no arm in Europe long enough
+and strong enough to reach them. Nowhere could
+a more convenient base have been found for Viking
+raids on the British and Irish shores.</p>
+
+<p>The first half-century of the Viking Age saw the
+Danes settled merely in outlying parts of the east
+coast of England. The Norsemen, on the other hand,
+had already seized on Orkney, Shetland, the Hebrides,
+and large tracts of Eastern Ireland. The first fifty
+years of the Viking Age may be called the first
+period of Norse colonization in the west.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[28]</span></p>
+
+<p>It would be a great mistake, however, to suppose
+that the Norsemen were merely turbulent sea-robbers,
+or that the only result of their migrations was to
+hinder the progress of civilization in Western Europe.
+As settlers in other countries, they brought new
+strength and vitality to the land of their adoption;
+but instead of remaining separate colonies, they were
+soon absorbed into the native population, and had no
+further history of their own.</p>
+
+<p>Yet there were two great settlements abroad which
+left a deep mark on European history. The one was
+the colonization of the north of France, afterwards
+called Normandy. There the Norsemen soon adopted
+the language and the religion of the country, but
+retained so much of their native characteristics that
+the subsequent Norman Conquest of England may be
+regarded as really a Norse inroad of a specially successful
+type. The other settlement was that in the
+south of Italy and Sicily, later known as the kingdom
+of the Two Sicilies, which occupied an important
+place in history during the Middle Ages.</p>
+
+<p>Even the British settlements for the most part
+had only a brief period of separate history, and soon
+became merged into the general stream of national
+life. In Orkney and Shetland, however, where there
+was probably no native population at the time of the
+Norse invasion, the colony developed along its own
+special lines, and has left behind it a history which
+for centuries remained distinct from that of the rest
+of Great Britain.</p>
+
+<p>The history of the Orkney Islands during the period
+of the Norse occupation is preserved for us in the
+Icelandic <i>Sagas</i>. Iceland was one of the earliest and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[29]</span>most important Norse colonies, and there the old
+Northern language was preserved better than anywhere
+else. The Sagas are stories which, in the times
+of long ago, were told around the fires in Iceland and
+other Norse colonies to while away the long winter
+evenings. At festivals and merry-makings, during
+long voyages, or by the winter fireside, the Norseman
+listened eagerly to the recital of deeds done by his
+kinsmen in other times and in other lands. Storytelling
+was a popular pastime, and the man who
+knew many Sagas was ever a welcome guest.</p>
+
+<p>Many of the Sagas have now been translated into
+English, and all of these are well worth reading. The
+greatest of all the Sagas is generally thought to be
+the Saga of Burnt Njal. It is one of the noblest
+stories to be found in any language, and it is besides
+nobly told. In this Saga we find the best account
+of the great battle of Clontarf. Among the other
+great Sagas are the Saga of the Settlers on the Ayre,
+the Saga of Laxdale, the Saga of Egil the son of
+Skallagrim, the Saga of Grettir the Strong, and the
+Saga of the Volsungs. The two last are mythical
+Sagas; they do not tell of real historical personages,
+but are paraphrases of old songs and legends which
+have come down from a more distant past. The
+Anglo-Saxon Saga of Beowulf tells some of the same
+stories, and is not a real Saga in the sense of a true
+story told by the fireside.</p>
+
+<p>The stories of the earls and chiefs of Orkney form
+part of the great store of Saga literature, and these
+have come down to us in the form of the “Orkneyinga
+Saga.” It must be remembered, however, that this is
+merely the summary of a great number of stories
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[30]</span>which had been told long before by men who had no
+doubt taken part in the events related. It was a
+Saga-man’s pride to tell the truth—at least as it was
+told to him—and so we may in the main rely on the
+Orkney Saga as a true account of events which happened,
+although sometimes it may be exceedingly
+difficult to assign the correct dates. The Orkney
+Saga is not usually reckoned among the great Sagas.
+It partakes more of the nature of a general history
+than of a single and complete story. This Saga is
+the chief source of our knowledge of the history of
+our islands during Norse times.</p>
+
+<p>The Orkney Saga consists of several parts, each of
+which might be called a separate Saga—the Earls’
+Saga, Magnus’s Saga, and Rognvald’s Saga. The first
+relates the history of Orkney from its conquest by
+King Harald Fairhair of Norway down to the death
+of Earl Thorfinn, about the time of the Norman Conquest
+of England. The second relates the lives of
+Thorfinn’s sons, Paul and Erlend, but more especially
+of the holy Earl Magnus, of his murder, and of the
+wonderful things that happened afterwards through
+his holiness. The third part tells of the earls after
+St. Magnus, chiefly Earl Rognvald the Second, and the
+great Viking, Sweyn Asleifson of Gairsay, generally
+known as “the last of the Vikings.” The whole
+history given in the Orkney Saga includes the events
+of the three centuries from 900 to 1200.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to what we learn from the Orkney
+Saga, we glean a few facts about the history of our
+islands from other Sagas, such as the Sagas of the
+Kings of Norway, usually called the “Heimskringla.”
+There are also many Norse poems which scholars say
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[31]</span>must have been written in Orkney, or in some other
+of the western Norse colonies, and from these we can
+learn much about the life of the people, their thoughts,
+and their beliefs, though very little about the actual
+history of the islands. We do not know who were
+the authors of these poems, but some of them were
+really great poets, greater, perhaps, than any then
+living in any other part of Europe.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, there are occasional glimpses of our Norse
+ancestors to be caught in the pages of the chronicles
+and histories of the nations. Unfortunately, these
+references are so often distorted by fear or hatred, or
+so confused through scanty and imperfect knowledge,
+that they add very little to what we already know
+from Norse records. One good purpose, indeed, they
+serve: they show that the Saga-men were in the main
+truth-tellers, so that we can place reliance on their
+stories, even where these are not found in the records
+of other nations. The Saga-men also fill up many
+gaps in the history of those countries which the
+Norsemen visited, and thus they render our knowledge
+of the Viking Age more complete, more detailed, and
+more accurate, even as regards countries which were
+to them foreign lands.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus012" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus012.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Ancient Bronze Spear-head; Horn Mounting still preserved.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[32]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_BEGINNING_OF_THE_EARLDOM">THE BEGINNING OF THE EARLDOM.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-b.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">Before our story begins, Norway was
+divided into a number of small kingdoms.
+About the year 890 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>
+a king called Harald, who ruled
+over one of these small kingdoms,
+resolved to make himself master
+of all Norway. He made a vow
+that he would not cut his hair until he was acknowledged
+king throughout the whole country. This
+ambitious aim took some time to accomplish, and as
+the years passed his thick locks grew long and shaggy.
+Thus he got the name of Harald Shockhead.</p>
+
+<p>One after another, however, he subdued the smaller
+kingdoms, compelling the earls and chiefs to acknowledge
+him as their king, or to leave the country.
+Then began what may be called the second period
+of Norse colonization in the west. Many of the
+proudest and boldest of the Norsemen, deeming it a
+disgrace to serve a king who was at best only their
+equal, preferred to trust themselves and all their
+belongings to the ocean, and take whatever fortune
+might await them.</p>
+
+<p>Those nobles who fled from Norway, regarding
+Harald as their enemy, soon began to spread terror
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[33]</span>along the shores of Norway itself, returning to
+plunder, and slay, and burn, as their fellow-countrymen
+had so often done in the west. Their chief
+haunts were among the Orkneys and the Hebrides.
+Thither they betook themselves with their booty
+when winter came on. There they lived and feasted
+all through the winter, and when spring came
+they descended once more on the coasts of Norway.
+Ireland and the west coast of England also suffered
+from these raiders, and in France a determined effort
+to conquer the country was at this time made by the
+Norsemen. Hrolf or Rollo, the Norseman, became
+master of the north of France, and gave to it a
+new name—Normandy, the land of the Normans or
+Norsemen.</p>
+
+<p>The last great effort made by these Norse nobles
+to break the power of King Harald was foiled by
+their defeat at Hafursfrith. A great league had been
+formed against Harald. Vikings from over the sea
+crowded back to Norway to avenge their own injuries
+and to help their kinsmen. The two fleets met at
+Hafursfrith in the south of Norway, and a long and
+stubborn battle ended in victory for Harald. This
+battle had far-reaching results. It was the end of
+the struggle for independence in Norway. Harald
+was then left free to turn his attention to the chastisement
+of the Vikings in the west. The result was
+the foundation of the Norse Empire in the west, and
+the colonization of Iceland and Greenland by those
+Norsemen who still scorned to own the sway of the
+Norwegian king.</p>
+
+<p>With a large and splendidly equipped fleet, Harald
+swooped down on the Vikings in Orkney and the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[34]</span>Hebrides. Their resistance was feeble enough. Some
+yielded themselves to the king; others fled before him.
+Nowhere was there anything like a pitched battle.
+As far south as the Isle of Man, Harald pursued his
+career of conquest. Turning north once more, he
+established Norse jarldoms or earldoms in Orkney
+and the Hebrides, to be subject henceforth to the
+Norwegian crown. Then, considering that his vow
+was fulfilled, Harald at last had his long hair cut, and
+was afterwards known as Harald Fairhair.</p>
+
+<p>One of Harald’s chief friends and supporters was
+Rognvald, Earl of Moeri and Romsdal, who was
+called by the men of his time, “The mighty and wise
+in council.” This Rognvald was the father of Rollo
+of Normandy. He had other sons named Ivar,
+Thorir, Rollaug, Hallad, and Einar, and he had a
+brother called Sigurd. The family makes a very
+large figure in the history of those times. In one of
+Harald’s battles in the west fell Ivar, Rognvald’s son.
+Harald assigned to Rognvald the newly created Jarldom
+of Orkney in order to compensate him in some
+measure for the loss of his son. But Rognvald had
+already large estates in Norway. He thought that
+these were quite enough for one man to govern.
+Accordingly he handed over the Orkneys to his
+brother Sigurd, who thus became the first Jarl or
+Earl.</p>
+
+<p>Sigurd, the first Earl of Orkney, sometimes called
+Sigurd the Mighty, was a strong and energetic ruler.
+When King Harald departed for Norway, the earl
+at once began to strengthen himself in his new
+dominions. He first allied himself with Thorstein
+the Red, son of the Norse king of Dublin, and with
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[35]</span>the Norsemen in the Hebrides, and then invaded Scotland
+in an attempt to add to his earldom Caithness
+and Sutherland. The Scots naturally offered a determined
+resistance. Their leader was Maelbride or
+Melbrigda—called Melbrigda Tusk because he had a
+large projecting tooth—Earl or Maormor of Ross.</p>
+
+<p>After the war had lasted for some time, the two
+earls agreed to meet and settle their quarrel, each
+taking forty men with him. On the day fixed for the
+meeting, Sigurd, suspecting, as he said, the good faith
+of the Scots, mounted two men on each of his forty
+horses, and came thus to the place appointed. As
+soon as the Norsemen appeared in sight, Melbrigda
+saw that he had been trapped, and turning to his
+men, said, “We have been betrayed by Sigurd, for I
+see two feet on each horse’s side. The men must
+therefore be twice as numerous as the horses that
+bear them. Nevertheless let us harden our hearts
+and sell our lives as dearly as we can.”</p>
+
+<p>Seeing the Scots prepared to die hard in the place
+where they were, Sigurd divided his force and attacked
+them at once in front and in flank. The battle was
+fierce and bloody, but it ended in the total extermination
+of the small band of Scots. Sigurd, exulting
+over his fallen foe, cut off Melbrigda’s head and fixed
+it to his saddle. On his way home, in spurring his
+horse his leg struck against the great projecting tooth
+which had given Melbrigda his nickname, and the
+tooth pierced his leg. Blood-poisoning followed, and
+a few days later Earl Sigurd died in great pain on
+the banks of the Dornoch Firth. He was buried at
+a place now called Cyder Hall (Sigurd’s Howe), near
+Skibo Castle.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[36]</span></p>
+
+<p>Sigurd was succeeded in the earldom by his son
+Guttorm. Guttorm ruled the islands for one short
+and uneventful winter, and then died childless. For
+some time the earldom was without a ruler. Vikings
+once more began to make the Orkneys their headquarters,
+and to harass the more peaceful inhabitants
+of the islands. When King Harald heard that the
+Orkneys were without a ruler, he asked Earl Rognvald
+to make haste to send them another earl. Rognvald
+then had the title of Earl of Orkney conferred on
+his son Hallad, who sailed for the west as the third
+earl. But Hallad was weak and indolent. The
+western earldom was too turbulent and difficult to
+govern. He soon wearied of his dignity, and at
+last, deserting his earldom, went back to Norway.
+After his ignominious withdrawal from the earldom,
+the islands came under the rule of two Danish Vikings.</p>
+
+<p>Although Hallad preferred a simple farmer’s life to
+an earl’s dignity, there were others of Rognvald’s sons
+who were more ambitious. Einar especially was eager
+to redeem the family honour by the expulsion of the
+Vikings from the islands. Accordingly Einar was
+chosen as Earl of Orkney, and after King Harald had
+conferred on him the title, he set out for his earldom.
+The old Earl of Moeri had never regarded his youngest
+son with much favour, and, to tell the truth, neither
+desired to see the other’s face again.</p>
+
+<p>Einar was the best and greatest of the early Norse
+earls. In appearance he was tall and manly; his
+face was somewhat disfigured by the loss of an eye,
+but in spite of this he was reputed to be very sharp-sighted.
+His father had prophesied that Einar would
+never become a great chief; yet he became the most
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[37]</span>famous of all Earl Rognvald’s sons, with the exception
+of Rollo of Normandy.</p>
+
+<p>The earldom was in a state of great disorder when
+Einar arrived. The Vikings had to be expelled, the
+government had to be settled and established, and the
+people had to learn to trust and obey their new earl.
+All these things were accomplished in a marvellously
+short space of time. The new earl also taught his
+people many useful arts. Wood was scarce: Einar
+knew that the people of Scotland used peat for fuel,
+and he taught the Norsemen in the islands to do the
+same. From this he got the name of Torf-Einar.</p>
+
+<p>Soon a serious trouble arose. King Harald’s sons
+had now grown up to be very turbulent and overbearing
+men. They quarrelled with their father’s
+chiefs and earls. Two of them, Halfdan Highleg
+and Gudrod Bright, attacked and slew Rognvald, Earl
+of Moeri. Harald was enraged that his sons should
+thus murder his best and most faithful counsellor and
+friend. He marched against them with an army,
+and ordered them to be seized and brought before
+him. Gudrod gave himself up to his father, but
+Halfdan seized a ship and sailed west to the
+Orkneys.</p>
+
+<p>Halfdan’s sudden arrival in the earldom caused
+panic for a time. Einar was quite unprepared for
+an invasion. He accordingly thought it wiser to
+escape to Caithness until he had time to collect his
+forces. In the meantime Halfdan seized the government
+of the isles, taking the title of King of Orkney
+and Shetland. The same summer saw Einar back in
+the Orkneys with a fleet and an army to regain his
+earldom. The two fleets met somewhere off the island
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[38]</span>of Sanday. A fierce battle took place, and Halfdan’s
+force was practically annihilated. In the dusk of the
+evening he himself leaped overboard and escaped.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning the shores were searched for fugitives.
+All who were found were slain, but Halfdan
+himself had disappeared. While the search was still
+proceeding, Einar was observed to stop suddenly and
+gaze across the sea towards the island of North
+Ronaldsay, or Rinansey, as it was then called.</p>
+
+<p>“What see’st thou, jarl?” asked one of his companions.
+“I know not what it is,” was the reply.
+“Sometimes it appears to rise up, and sometimes to
+lie down. It is either a bird in the air or a man on
+the rocks, and I will find out.”</p>
+
+<p>This object which the earl saw was Halfdan, who
+had probably just dragged his weary limbs from the
+water, and was now struggling up over the rocks to
+the land. The earl’s men pursued and captured him.
+He was at once brought before the earl, who ordered
+him to be slain, to avenge his father’s murder, and as
+a sacrifice to Odin for the victory.</p>
+
+<p>Angry as King Harald had been because of the
+murder of Earl Rognvald, the death of his son at the
+hands of Rognvald’s son was not likely to be very
+agreeable to him. Harald therefore determined to
+make a second expedition to the west.</p>
+
+<p>When Einar heard of Harald’s intended visit to the
+Orkneys, he thought that he would be safer out of
+the king’s way, and accordingly he crossed the Pentland
+Firth. Messengers went backwards and forwards
+between the king and the earl for a while, arranging
+terms of settlement. At length the king demanded
+that the earldom should pay a fine of sixty marks.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[39]</span>To that Einar agreed, and King Harald Fairhair bade
+farewell to his western dominions for ever.</p>
+
+<p>It was no easy matter for the Orkneymen to raise
+the sixty marks, and the earl called a Thing or council
+to discuss the matter. At length the earl offered to
+pay the whole fine himself, on condition that all the
+freehold or udal lands of the Orkneymen were handed
+over to him in pledge for the amount that each had
+to pay, and to this the islanders agreed.</p>
+
+<p>In this way the earl came into possession of all the
+udal lands in the Orkneys; and it was not till the time
+of Earl Sigurd the Stout, a century later, that the udal
+rights were restored to the Orkneymen. Earl Einar spent
+the rest of his days in peace. The earldom was well
+ruled. Vikings were afraid to plunder the dominions
+of so powerful a chief; and after a long and honourable
+reign the good earl died on a sickbed—what the Vikings
+called a “straw death”—about the year 933.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus013" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus013.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Remains of a Viking Ship found in Sweden.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[40]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_DARK_CENTURY">THE DARK CENTURY.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-t1.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">The tenth century may fittingly
+be called the dark century of
+Orcadian history. We know
+very little of it except occasional
+glimpses afforded by obscure
+references in the Sagas;
+and the little that we do know
+tells of treachery and bloodshed and murder to an
+extent unusual even in the troubled annals of Orkney.</p>
+
+<p>After the death of Torf-Einar the earldom came
+into the hands of his three sons, Thorfinn—usually
+called Thorfinn Skull-splitter—Arnkell, and Erlend.
+The disturbed state of Norway, consequent on the
+death of Harald Fairhair about the year 945, caused
+turmoil and confusion throughout all those lands
+which had been conquered and settled by the Norsemen.
+Harald left behind him a brood of wild,
+reckless sons, each of whom thought he had a right
+to a share of his father’s dominions. They filled the
+whole land with turbulence and bloodshed.</p>
+
+<p>Eric Bloody-axe had been Harald’s favourite son,
+and he at first took over the chief rule in Norway.
+He was a brave and skilful warrior, but passionate,
+avaricious, and treacherous in his disposition. The
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[41]</span>same qualities were possessed in an even greater
+degree by his queen, Gunnhilda. Their deeds of
+violence soon estranged the hearts of their subjects.</p>
+
+<p>Hakon, Harald’s youngest son, who had been
+brought up in England under the care of King
+Athelstan, came to Norway to claim his share of
+his father’s dominions. Hakon was at this time
+only in his fifteenth year, but he was daring and ambitious,
+and was the darling of the Norsemen both at
+home and abroad. Eric Bloody-axe and Gunnhilda
+were, on the other hand, regarded everywhere with
+hatred and detestation. When, therefore, Hakon
+invaded Norway and attempted to wrest the sovereignty
+from the hands of his elder brother, the latter
+was deserted by his people and was forced to flee
+from the country.</p>
+
+<p>Eric crossed first to Orkney, where he gathered
+a band of followers as reckless as himself, and then
+held on to England and began to ravage the land
+in the usual Viking fashion. Close friendship had
+long existed between Athelstan and Harald Fairhair.
+Athelstan professed similar friendship for Harald’s
+sons, and now offered Eric the lordship of Northumbria.
+Eric was not so foolish as to reject this offer.
+Gunnhilda and he with their family abode in peace
+in Northumbria for about a year.</p>
+
+<p>With the death of Athelstan fortune began once
+more to frown upon the exiled king. King Edmund
+thought it by no means desirable that the Norsemen
+should hold so large a portion of his kingdom.
+Knowing the insecurity of his tenure, Eric’s reckless
+spirit flashed at once into open rebellion. He left
+Northumbria, sailed to Orkney, seized the Earls
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[42]</span>Arnkell and Erlend, forced many other Orcadian
+chiefs to join him, and made a Viking raid on the
+west coast of England. The raiders met with
+resistance and a battle was fought; in this battle
+fell Eric himself, both the Orkney earls, and most
+of the other leaders.</p>
+
+<p>When news of this disastrous expedition reached
+Gunnhilda, who had remained with her family in
+Northumbria, she in turn embarked for Orkney.
+She and her sons claimed the earldom, seized the taxes,
+and spread wrong and oppression over all the western
+colonies. For a short time the islands suffered the
+same misgovernment as Norway had already suffered
+at her hands. But war now broke out between
+Norway and Denmark. This seemed to afford her
+a chance of regaining the Norwegian crown, and
+Gunnhilda and her family sailed eastwards once more.
+Ragnhilda, her daughter, was left behind in Orkney
+to continue for a time her mother’s acts of treachery
+and bloodshed.</p>
+
+<p>There are few worse characters in history than
+Ragnhilda as depicted by the Saga. She seemed to
+have a mania for plots and murders. Married first
+to Arnfinn, one of the sons of Earl Thorfinn, she
+caused him to be murdered at Murkle in Caithness,
+for no reason that we can find out, and then married
+his brother Havard. On the death of his father
+Thorfinn, shortly afterwards, Havard became earl. He
+is known in history as Havard the Harvest-happy,
+because during his time the islands were blessed with
+good harvests. Havard also met his death at the
+instigation of his wife. Ragnhilda persuaded Einar
+Oily-tongue, his nephew, to murder the earl, promising
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[43]</span>to marry him and secure for him the earldom
+when the deed was done. Einar set on Havard in
+Stenness, and slew him after a hard struggle. But it
+was apparently no part of Ragnhilda’s plan to marry
+Einar Oily-tongue. She now professed the greatest
+indignation and grief at the murder of Earl Havard,
+and called for vengeance on his murderer. Einar
+Oily-tongue had a cousin, also called Einar. He in
+turn fell a victim to the wiles of Ragnhilda. By
+promising or at least hinting that she would marry
+the man who avenged the murder of Earl Havard,
+she succeeded in getting the second Einar to murder
+the first, and ended by marrying Ljot, the third
+son of Earl Thorfinn, who was the real heir to the
+earldom.</p>
+
+<p>This was by no means the end of Ragnhilda’s
+wickedness. Ljot had a brother, Skuli, who was not
+at all satisfied that the former should have the whole
+earldom. It was an easy matter to make trouble
+between the two brothers. In the end Skuli left the
+islands for Scotland, and became Earl of Caithness
+and a vassal of the Scottish king. Bad feeling
+continued between the brothers, and was carefully
+fostered by Ragnhilda. Ultimately they met in arms
+in Caithness, Skuli with a Scottish army, and Ljot
+with the forces of the earldom. The Scots were
+defeated and Skuli slain.</p>
+
+<p>Ljot now added Caithness to his earldom, but the
+Scots again and again strove to reconquer it. Finally
+a great battle was fought at Skidmire in Caithness.
+The Norsemen gained the day, but the earl was
+fatally wounded. There remained one son of Thorfinn
+Skull-splitter, named Hlodver, who now became
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[44]</span>earl over an earldom exhausted and impoverished by
+twenty years of misgovernment and bloodshed, and
+embroiled in an arduous struggle with Scotland for
+the possession of Caithness.</p>
+
+<p>The Orkney earldom, however, was now on the eve
+of a great expansion. Under the son and grandson of
+Hlodver, Sigurd the Stout and Thorfinn the Mighty,
+the Norse dominion in the west attained its widest
+bounds, and the earldom of Orkney its greatest importance.
+For more than half a century, with little
+or no interference from Norway, the Orkney earls
+helped to mould the history of Ireland and of Scotland;
+and until the union of England and Denmark
+took place under Canute, the Norse Earls of Orkney
+were probably the most powerful chieftains in the
+British Isles.</p>
+
+<p>It was in the time of Earl Sigurd that Christianity
+was first introduced among the Norse inhabitants of
+Orkney. Olaf, Tryggvi’s son, King of Norway, had
+embraced the new faith, and his methods of promoting
+the religion which he professed were characteristic of
+his time and race. The story of the conversion of
+Earl Sigurd and his followers is thus given in the
+Saga:—</p>
+
+<p>“Olaf, Tryggvi’s son, sailed from the west to the
+Orkneys; but because the Pentland Firth was not
+passable, he laid his ship up under the lee in Osmund’s
+Voe, off Rognvald’s Isle. But there in the voe lay
+already Earl Sigurd, Hlodver’s son, with three ships,
+and then meant to go a-roving. But as soon as King
+Olaf knew that the earl was there, he made them call
+him to come and speak with him. But when the
+earl came on board the king’s ship, King Olaf began
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[45]</span>his speech.” (We pass over his long historical review
+of the establishment of the Orkney earldom and its
+dependence upon the kings of Norway, and give only
+his closing sentences.)</p>
+
+<p>“‘Now, as so it is, Earl Sigurd, that thou hast come
+into my power, now thou hast two choices before
+thee, very uneven. One is that thou shalt take the
+right faith and become my man, and allow thyself to
+be baptized and all thy undermen; then shalt thou
+have a sure hope of honour from me, and to have and
+to hold as my underman this realm, with earl’s title
+and full freedom as thou hast erewhile had it; and
+this over and above, which is much more worth, to
+rule in everlasting bliss with all-ruling God—that is
+sure to thee if thou keepest all His commandments.
+This is the other choice, which is very doleful and
+unlike the first—that now on the spot thou shalt die,
+and after thy death I shall let fire and sword ruthlessly
+rage over all the Orkneys, burn and brand
+homesteads and men, unless this folk will have
+salvation and believe on the true God....’</p>
+
+<p>“But when Earl Sigurd had heard so long and
+clever a speech of King Olaf, he hardened his heart
+against him, and spoke thus: ‘It must be told thee,
+King Olaf, that I have firmly made up my mind that
+I will not and may not and shall not forego that faith
+which my kinsmen and forefathers had before me:
+for I know no better counsel than they, and I know
+not that that faith is better which thou preachest than
+this which we have now had and held all our lives.’</p>
+
+<p>“And with that the king saw the earl so stiffnecked
+in his error, he seized his young son, whom the earl
+had with him, and who had grown up there in the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[46]</span>isles. This son of the earl the king bore forward on
+the prow and drew his sword, and made ready to cut
+off the lad’s head, with these words, ‘Now mayst thou
+see, Earl Sigurd, that I will spare no man who will
+not serve Almighty God, or listen to my exhortations
+and hearken to this blessed message; and for that
+I will now on this very spot slay this thy son before
+thine eyes, with this same sword which I grasp, unless
+thou and thy men serve my God; for hence out of
+the isles will I not go before I have forwarded and
+fulfilled this His glorious errand, and thou and thy
+son, whom I now hold, have taken on you baptism.’</p>
+
+<p>“And in the strait to which the earl was now come,
+he chose the choice which the king would have, and
+which was better for him, to take the right faith.
+Then the earl was baptized, and all the folk in the
+Orkneys. After that Earl Sigurd was made after
+this world’s honour King Olaf’s earl, and held under
+him lands and fiefs, and gave him for an hostage that
+same son of his of whom it was spoken before; he
+was called Whelp or Hound. Olaf made them
+christen the lad by the name of Hlodver, and carried
+him away with him to Norway. Earl Sigurd bound
+with oaths all their agreement, and next after that
+Olaf sailed away from the Orkneys, but set up there
+behind him priests to mend the folk’s ways and teach
+them holy wisdom; so they, King Olaf and Sigurd,
+parted with friendship. Hlodver lived but a scanty
+time; but after that he was dead Earl Sigurd showed
+King Olaf no service. He took to wife then the
+daughter of Malcolm the Scot King, and Thorfinn was
+their son.”</p>
+
+<p>So does the Saga tell this dramatic tale; and we
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[47]</span>may notice that the earl’s allegiance to the new faith
+was as fickle as his fidelity to the king, for a few
+years later we find him fighting in the ranks of the
+heathen against the Christian king, Brian of Ireland,
+under the shadow of his raven banner, a flag endowed
+by his mother’s spells with the twofold magical power
+of ensuring victory to those who followed it, but
+death to him who bore it.</p>
+
+<p>The story of “King Brian’s battle,” or the battle of
+Clontarf, is one of the most stirring in the old records,
+and we give it here as told by the Saga-man:—</p>
+
+<p>“Then King Sigtrygg [of Ireland] stirred in his
+business with Earl Sigurd, and egged him on to go to
+the war with King Brian. The earl was long steadfast,
+but the end of it was that he said it might come
+about. He said he must have his mother’s hand for
+his help, and be king in Ireland if they slew Brian.
+But all his men besought Earl Sigurd not to go into
+the war, but it was all no good. So they parted on
+the understanding that Earl Sigurd gave his word to
+go; but King Sigtrygg promised him his mother and
+the kingdom. It was so settled that Earl Sigurd was
+to come with all his host to Dublin by Palm Sunday.</p>
+
+<p>“Then King Sigtrygg fared south to Ireland, and
+told his mother, Kormlada, that the earl had undertaken
+to come, and also what he had pledged himself
+to grant him. She showed herself well pleased
+at that, but said they must gather greater force
+still. Sigtrygg asked whence this was to be looked
+for. She said that there were two Vikings lying
+off the west of Man; and they had thirty ships,
+and ‘they are men of such hardihood that nothing
+can withstand them. The one’s name is Ospak, and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[48]</span>the other’s Brodir. Thou shalt fare to find them,
+and spare nothing to get them into thy quarrel,
+whatever price they ask.’</p>
+
+<p>“Now King Sigtrygg fares and seeks the Vikings,
+and found them lying outside off Man. King Sigtrygg
+brings forward his errand at once; but Brodir shrank
+from helping him until he, King Sigtrygg, promised
+him the kingdom and his mother, and they were
+to keep this such a secret that Earl Sigurd should
+know nothing about it. Brodir, too, was to come to
+Dublin on Palm Sunday. King Sigtrygg fared home
+to his mother and told her how things stood. After
+that those brothers, Ospak and Brodir, talked together;
+and then Brodir told Ospak all that he and Sigtrygg
+had spoken of, and bade him fare to battle with him
+against King Brian, and said he set much store on
+his going. Ospak said he would not fight against
+so good a king. Then they were both wrath, and
+sundered their band at once. Ospak had ten ships
+and Brodir twenty. Ospak was a heathen, and the
+wisest of all men. He laid his ships inside in a
+sound, but Brodir lay outside him. Brodir had been
+a Christian man and a mass-deacon by consecration;
+but he had thrown off his faith and become God’s
+dastard, and now worshipped heathen fiends, and he
+was of all men most skilled in sorcery. He had that
+coat of mail on which no steel would bite. He was
+both tall and strong, and had such long locks that
+he tucked them under his belt. His hair was black.</p>
+
+<p>“It so happened one night that a great din passed
+over Brodir and his men, so that they all woke, and
+sprang up and put on their clothes. Along with
+that came a shower of boiling blood. Then they
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[49]</span>covered themselves with their shields, but for all
+that many were scalded. This wonder lasted all
+till day, and a man had died on board every ship.
+Then they slept during the day. The second night
+there was again a din, and again they all sprang up.
+Then swords leapt out of their sheaths, and axes
+and spears flew about in the air and fought. The
+weapons pressed them so hard that they had to shield
+themselves; but still many were wounded, and again
+a man died out of every ship. This wonder lasted
+all till day. Then they slept again the day after.
+The third night there was a din of the same kind.
+Then ravens flew at them, and it seemed to them
+as though their beaks and claws were of iron. The
+ravens pressed them so hard that they had to keep
+them off with their swords, and covered themselves
+with their shields. This went on again till day, and
+then another man had died in every ship.</p>
+
+<p>“Then they went to sleep first of all; but when
+Brodir woke up, he drew his breath painfully, and
+bade them put off the boat, ‘For,’ said he, ‘I will
+go to see Ospak.’ Then he got into the boat and
+some men with him. But when he found Ospak he
+told him of the wonders which had befallen them,
+and bade him say what he thought they boded.
+Ospak would not tell him before he pledged him
+peace, and Brodir promised him peace; but Ospak
+still shrank from telling him till night fell, for
+Brodir never slew a man by night.</p>
+
+<p>“Then Ospak spoke, and said, ‘When blood rained
+on you, therefore shall ye shed many men’s blood,
+both of your own and others. But when ye heard
+a great din, then ye must have been shown the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[50]</span>crack of doom, and ye shall all die speedily. But
+when weapons fought against you, that must forebode
+a battle. But when ravens pressed you, that marks
+the devils which ye put faith in, and who will drag
+you all down to the pains of hell.’</p>
+
+<p>“Then Brodir was so wrath that he could answer
+never a word. But he went at once to his men,
+and made them lay his ships in a line across the
+sound, and moor them by bearing cables on shore,
+and meant to slay them all next morning. Ospak
+saw all their plan. Then he vowed to take the
+true faith, and to go to King Brian and follow him
+till his death-day. Then he took that counsel to
+lay his ships in a line, and punt them along the
+shore with poles, and cut the cables of Brodir’s ships.
+Then the ships of Brodir’s men began to fall aboard
+of one another. But they were all fast asleep; and
+then Ospak and his men got out of the firth, and
+so west to Ireland, and came to Kincora. Then
+Ospak told King Brian all that he had learnt, and
+took baptism, and gave himself over into the king’s
+hand. After that King Brian made them gather
+force over all his realm, and the whole host was
+to come to Dublin in the week before Palm Sunday.</p>
+
+<p>“Earl Sigurd, Hlodver’s son, busked him from the
+Orkneys, and Flosi offered to go with him. The
+earl would not have that, since he had his pilgrimage
+to fulfil. Flosi offered fifteen men of his band to go
+on the voyage, and the earl accepted them; but Flosi
+fared with Earl Gilli to the Southern Isles. Thorstein,
+the son of Hall of the Side, went along with
+Earl Sigurd, and Hrafn the Red, and Erling of
+Straumey. He would not that Hareck should go, but
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[51]</span>said he would be sure to tell him first the tidings of
+his voyage. The earl came with all his host on Palm
+Sunday to Dublin, and there, too, was come Brodir
+with all his host. Brodir tried by sorcery how the
+fight would go. But the answer ran thus, that if the
+fight were on Good Friday, King Brian would fall but
+win the day; but if they fought before, they would
+all fall who were against him. Then Brodir said that
+they must not fight before the Friday....</p>
+
+<p>“King Brian came with all his host to the burg;
+and on the Friday the host fared out of the burg,
+and both armies were drawn up in array. Brodir
+was on one wing of the battle, but King Sigtrygg
+on the other. Earl Sigurd was in the mid-battle.
+Now, it must be told of King Brian that he would
+not fight on the fast-day, and so a shieldburg was
+thrown round him, and his host was drawn up in
+array in front of it. Wolf the Quarrelsome was on
+that wing of the battle against which Brodir stood.
+But on the other wing, where Sigtrygg stood against
+them, were Ospak and his sons. But in mid-battle
+was Kerthialfad, and before him the banners were
+borne. Now the wings fall on one another, and
+there was a very hard fight. Brodir went through
+the host of the foe, and felled all the foremost that
+stood there, but no steel would bite on him. Wolf
+the Quarrelsome turned then to meet him, and thrust
+at him twice so hard that Brodir fell before him at
+each thrust, and was well-nigh not getting on his
+feet again. But as soon as ever he found his feet,
+he fled away into the wood at once.</p>
+
+<p>“Earl Sigurd had a hard battle against Kerthialfad,
+and Kerthialfad came on so fast that he laid low
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[52]</span>all who were in the front rank, and he broke the
+array of Earl Sigurd right up to his banner, and
+slew the banner-bearer. Then he got another man
+to bear the banner, and there was again a hard fight.
+Kerthialfad smote this man too his death-blow at
+once, and so on one after the other all who stood near
+him. Then Earl Sigurd called on Thorstein, the son
+of Hall of the Side, to bear the banner, and Thorstein
+was just about to lift the banner. But then Amundi
+the White said, ‘Don’t bear the banner! for all they
+who bear it get their death.’ ‘Hrafn the Red!’
+called out Earl Sigurd, ‘bear thou the banner.’
+‘Bear thine own devil thyself,’ answered Hrafn.
+Then the earl said, ‘’Tis fittest that the beggar
+should bear the bag;’ and with that he took the
+banner from the staff and put it under his cloak.
+A little after, Amundi the White was slain, and then
+the earl was pierced through with a spear. Ospak
+had gone through all the battle on his wing. He had
+been sore wounded, and lost both his sons ere King
+Sigtrygg fled before him. Then flight broke out
+throughout all the host. Thorstein, Hall of the Side’s
+son, stood still while all the others fled, and tied his
+shoestring. Then Kerthialfad asked why he ran not
+as the others. ‘Because,’ said Thorstein, ‘I can’t
+get home to-night, since I am at home out in Iceland.’
+Kerthialfad gave him peace....</p>
+
+<p>“Now Brodir saw that King Brian’s men were
+chasing the fleers, and that there were few men
+by the shieldburg. Then he rushed out of the wood,
+and broke through the shieldburg, and hewed at the
+king. The lad Takt threw his arm in the way, and
+the stroke took it off and the king’s head too; but
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[53]</span>the king’s blood came on the lad’s stump, and the
+stump was healed by it on the spot. Then Brodir
+called out with a loud voice, ‘Now man can tell that
+Brodir felled Brian.’ Then men ran after those who
+were chasing the fleers, and they were told that King
+Brian had fallen; and then they turned back straightway,
+both Wolf the Quarrelsome and Kerthialfad.
+Then they threw a ring round Brodir and his men,
+and threw branches of trees upon them, and so
+Brodir was taken alive.... After that they took King
+Brian’s body and laid it out. The king’s head had
+grown to the trunk....</p>
+
+<p>“This event happened in the Orkneys, that Hareck
+thought he saw Earl Sigurd, and some men with
+him. Then Hareck took his horse and rode to meet
+the earl. Men say that they met and rode under a
+brae; but they were never seen again, and not a scrap
+was ever found of Hareck.”</p>
+
+<p class="right"><i>From the “Njala Saga,” translated by Sir G. W. Dasent, D.C.L.<br>
+(By permission of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office.)</i></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus014" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus014.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Ancient Bronze Weapons and Ornaments.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[54]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="EARL_THORFINN_AND_EARL_ROGNVALD">EARL THORFINN AND EARL ROGNVALD.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-e.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">Earl Sigurd, as has been mentioned,
+took as his second wife the daughter
+of Malcolm the Second, King of Scots.
+They had but one son, Thorfinn,
+called the Mighty, the greatest of his
+race, who became the most powerful
+of all the Orkney earls. When he
+was but five winters old Thorfinn was sent to his
+grandfather Malcolm to be brought up at the Scottish
+Court, and on his father’s death he was made Earl
+of Caithness and Sutherland.</p>
+
+<p>Einar and Brusi, sons of Sigurd by his first wife,
+then ruled over the islands. Einar was ambitious
+and warlike, Brusi mild and peaceful. When they
+shared the earldom between them, Brusi was content
+with a third part, while Einar took over the remainder;
+and so matters stood for a time.</p>
+
+<p>When Thorfinn grew up to manhood, he was not
+content with his large domains in Scotland. He put
+forward a claim to one-third of the Orkneys as his
+rightful share. Einar would have disputed the claim;
+but Brusi resigned his share to Thorfinn, and an
+agreement was made that when Einar died his share
+should be handed over to Brusi. So peace was kept
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[55]</span>for the time. But when Einar died, Thorfinn seized
+half of the whole earldom.</p>
+
+<p>Brusi was unable to resist the great power of
+Thorfinn, so he resolved to go east to Norway, and
+ask Olaf the king to do justice between him and
+his brother. Thorfinn also went to Norway to plead
+his own cause. King Olaf, unwilling to increase the
+power of a subject already too powerful, decided in
+favour of Brusi. But when the two earls returned
+to the islands, Brusi found the task of ruling his
+dominions and defending them against the Vikings
+too heavy for him, and Thorfinn no doubt took care
+that there should always be plenty of trouble for him
+to face.</p>
+
+<p>At last Brusi was glad to hand over two-thirds
+of the earldom to Thorfinn, on condition of his undertaking
+to defend the islands; and this arrangement
+lasted till Brusi’s death.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime, Rognvald, Brusi’s son, had been
+growing up at the Court of Olaf, King of Norway,
+and he was a close friend of Magnus, Olaf’s son, who
+afterwards became king. When Rognvald heard
+that Brusi, his father, was dead, and that Earl Thorfinn
+had seized the whole earldom, he prepared to fare
+westward and claim his share of the land. Thorfinn
+was now the most powerful ruler in all the western
+lands. He had defeated the Scots in a great sea-fight
+off Deerness; he had subdued the Western Isles;
+he had conquered great realms in Scotland; and he
+had made himself master of the half of Ireland.</p>
+
+<p>At the time when Rognvald came to the Orkneys,
+however, Thorfinn had wars on his hands in the
+Western Isles and in Ireland, and he was glad to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[56]</span>offer Rognvald two-thirds of the islands in return
+for his friendship and his help. So for a time the
+two earls lived in friendship with each other.</p>
+
+<p>Then evil men made mischief between them, and
+Thorfinn demanded back the third of the land which
+had belonged to Earl Einar. Rognvald refused, and
+sailed away to Norway to ask help from King
+Magnus. With a fleet of Norwegian ships he came
+back to Orkney, and was met in the Pentland Firth
+by the ships of Earl Thorfinn. Earl Rognvald’s
+ships were fewer in number, but their larger size
+at first gave him the advantage. Earl Thorfinn was
+hard pressed; but at last he persuaded his brother-in-law,
+Kalf Arnesson, whose ships were lying by
+watching the fight, to come to his aid and row against
+Rognvald. Then the tide of battle turned against
+Earl Rognvald, and only by the darkness of the
+night was he enabled to escape, and once more to find
+his way to Norway.</p>
+
+<p>Again King Magnus came to his help; but this
+time Earl Rognvald tried to take Thorfinn by surprise,
+so he sailed away to Orkney in the dead of
+winter with only one ship. Before there was any
+news of his coming, he surrounded the house where
+Earl Thorfinn was feasting, and set it on fire. Only
+the women and children were allowed to go free;
+but while the warriors were in confusion, seeking
+some way of escape, the great earl broke a hole
+through the side of the house where the smoke was
+thickest, and, carrying his wife, Ingibiorg, in his arms,
+he escaped in the darkness to the seashore, took a
+boat, and rowed across to Caithness.</p>
+
+<p>Now it seemed that Rognvald’s success was complete,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[57]</span>for he thought that Earl Thorfinn was surely
+dead. When Christmas-time was at hand, he prepared
+to hold a great feast at Kirkwall, and with
+some of his men he took a ship to Papa Stronsay
+to bring over a cargo of malt for the brewing. They
+stayed there for the night, and sat long over the fire
+telling of all their adventures. Meanwhile, however,
+Earl Thorfinn had come back from Caithness to seek
+revenge. In the darkness he and his men surrounded
+the house where Earl Rognvald sat, and set it on fire.
+All except the earl’s men were allowed to come out,
+being drawn over the pile of wood which Thorfinn’s
+men had placed before the door.</p>
+
+<p>While this was being done, a man suddenly leaped
+over the pile, and over the armed men beside it, and
+disappeared in the darkness.</p>
+
+<p>“That must be Earl Rognvald,” cried Thorfinn,
+“for no one else could do such a feat.” Then they
+all ran to search for Earl Rognvald in the darkness.
+The barking of his dog betrayed the earl’s hiding-place
+to his enemies, and soon he was found and slain
+among the rocks upon the shore.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning Thorfinn and his men took Earl
+Rognvald’s ship and sailed to Kirkwall. And when
+Rognvald’s men who were in the town came, unarmed,
+expecting to meet the earl, they were set upon by
+Earl Thorfinn’s men, and thirty of them were slain.
+These men were of the bodyguard of King Magnus,
+and only one of them was allowed to go back to
+Norway to tell the tidings to the king.</p>
+
+<p>Then for eighteen years Thorfinn ruled the earldom,
+till the day of his death. He was by far the greatest
+of the Orkney earls. He built Christ’s Kirk in
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[58]</span>Birsay, and in his time the Bishopric of Orkney was
+founded. During his later years the islands enjoyed
+peace, and many wise laws were made; and when the
+great earl died there was much sorrow in the Orkneys.
+So the poet sings in his honour:—</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">“Swarthy shall become the bright sun,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">In the dark sea shall the earth sink,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Finished shall be Austri’s labour,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And the wild sea hide the mountains,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Ere there be in these fair islands</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Born a chief to rule the people—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">May our God both keep and help them—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Greater than the lost Earl Thorfinn.”</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Paul and Erlend, the two sons of Thorfinn, succeeded
+to the earldom, and for some time they ruled
+in harmony together. They fought for King Harald
+Hardradi against Harold, Godwin’s son, at the battle
+of Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire in 1066, but were
+allowed to return in peace to their earldom. Trouble
+arose between the brothers when their sons grew to
+manhood, and Magnus Barefoot, King of Norway,
+made a descent upon the islands. He carried the
+two brothers into exile, appointing his own son
+Sigurd as “King” of Orkney, which post he held
+until his father’s death made him King of Norway.
+Hakon, Paul’s son, and Magnus, Erlend’s son, afterwards
+called St. Magnus, then became joint earls.</p>
+
+<p>Their joint rule had the usual result, quarrels and
+misunderstandings, and was brought to an end by
+the murder of Earl Magnus in Egilsay in 1115.
+The story is told in the Saga of Earl Magnus, from
+which the next chapter is taken.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[59]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_SLAYING_OF_EARL_MAGNUS">THE SLAYING OF EARL MAGNUS.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-s.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">“St. Magnus, the isle earl, was the most
+peerless of men, tall of growth, manly,
+and lively of look, virtuous in his
+ways, fortunate in fight, a sage in
+wit, ready-tongued and lordly-minded,
+lavish of money and high-spirited,
+quick of counsel, and more beloved
+of his friends than any man. Blithe and of kind
+speech to wise and good men, but hard and unsparing
+against robbers and sea-rovers, he let many men
+be slain who harried the freemen and landfolk.
+He made murderers and thieves be taken, and visited
+as well on the powerful as on the weak robberies
+and thieveries and all ill deeds. He was no favourer
+of his friends in his judgments, for he valued more
+godly justice than the distinctions of rank. He was
+open-handed to chiefs and powerful men, but still he
+ever showed most care for poor men....</p>
+
+<p>“Those kinsmen, Magnus and Hakon, held the
+wardship of the land for some while, so that they
+were well agreed.... But when those kinsmen had
+ruled the land some time, then again happened, what
+often and always can happen, that many ill-willing
+men set about spoiling their kinship. Then unlucky
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[60]</span>men gathered more about Hakon, for that he was
+very envious of the friendships and lordliness of his
+kinsman Magnus.</p>
+
+<p>“Two men are they who are named, who were with
+Earl Hakon, and who were the worst of all the tale-bearers
+between those kinsmen, Sigurd and Sighvat
+Sock. This slander came so far with the gossip of
+wicked men, that those kinsmen again gathered forces
+together, and each earl faced against the other with
+a great company. Then both of them held on to
+Hrossey [the Mainland], where the place of meeting
+of those Orkneyingers was. But when they came
+there, then each drew up his men in array, and they
+made them ready to battle. There were then the
+earls and all the great men, and there, too, were
+many friends of both who did all they could to
+set them at one again. Many then came between
+them with manliness and good-will. This meeting
+was in Lent, a little before Palm Sunday. But
+because many men of their well-wishers took a
+share in clearing up these difficulties between them,
+but would stand by neither to do harm to the
+other, then they bound their agreement with oaths
+and handsels. And when some time had gone by
+after that, then Earl Hakon, with falsehood and
+fair words, settled with the blessed Earl Magnus
+to meet him on a certain day, so that their kinship
+and steadfast new-made peace should not be turned
+aside or set at naught. This meeting for a steadfast
+peace and a thorough atonement between them
+was to be in Easter week that spring on Egil’s Isle
+[Egilsay]. This pleased Earl Magnus well, being,
+as he was, a thoroughly whole-hearted man, far
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[61]</span>from all doubt, guile, or greed; and each of them
+was to have two ships, and each just as many men:
+this both swore, to hold and keep those terms of
+peace which the wisest men made up their minds
+to declare between them.</p>
+
+<p>“But when Eastertide was gone by, each made him
+ready for this meeting. Earl Magnus summoned to
+him all those men whom he knew to be kindest-hearted
+and likeliest to do a good turn to both
+those kinsmen. He had two long-ships and just
+as many men as was said. And when he was ready
+he held on his course to Egil’s Isle. And as they
+were rowing in calm over the smooth sea, there rose
+a billow against the ship which the earl steered,
+and fell on the ship just where the earl sat. The
+earl’s men wondered much at this token, that the
+billow fell on them in a calm where no man had
+ever known it to fall before, and where the water
+under was deep. Then the earl said, ‘It is not
+strange that ye wonder at this; but my thought
+is, that this is a foreboding of my life’s end, may
+be that may happen which was before spoken about
+Earl Hakon. We should so make up our minds
+about our undertaking, that I guess my kinsman
+Hakon must not mean to deal fairly by us at this
+meeting.’ The earl’s men were afraid at these words,
+when he said he had so short hope as to his life’s
+end, and bade him take heed for his life, and not
+fare further trusting in Earl Hakon. Earl Magnus
+answers, ‘We shall fare on still, and may all God’s
+will be done as to our voyage.’</p>
+
+<p>“Now it must be told about Earl Hakon, that he
+summoned to him a great company, and had many
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[62]</span>war-ships, and all manned and trimmed as though
+they were to run out to battle. And when the force
+came together, the earl makes it clear to the men
+that he meant at that meeting so to settle matters
+between himself and Earl Magnus that they should
+not both of them be over the Orkneys. Many of
+his men showed themselves well pleased at this purpose,
+and added many fearful words; and they,
+Sigurd and Sighvat Sock, were among the worst in
+their utterance. Then men began to row hard, and
+they fared furiously. Havard, Gunni’s son, was on
+board the earl’s ship, a friend and counsellor of the
+earl’s, and a fast friend to both alike. Hakon had
+hidden from him this bad counsel, which Havard
+would surely not join in. And when he knew the
+earl was so steadfast in this bad counsel, then he
+jumped from the earl’s ship and took to swimming,
+and swam to an isle where no man dwelt.</p>
+
+<p>“Earl Magnus came first to Egil’s Isle with his
+company, and when they saw Hakon coming they
+saw that he had eight war-ships; he thought he
+knew then that treachery must be meant. Earl
+Magnus then betook himself up on the isle with
+his men, and went to the church to pray, and was
+there that night; but his men offered to defend
+him. The earl answers, ‘I will not lay your life
+in risk for me, and if peace is not to be made
+between us two kinsmen, then be it as God wills.’
+Then his men thought that what he had said when
+the billow fell on them was coming true. Now for
+that he felt sure as to the hours of his life beforehand,
+whether it was rather from his shrewdness or
+of godly foreshowing, then he would not fly nor
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[63]</span>fare far from the meeting of his foes. He prayed
+earnestly, and let a mass be sung to him.</p>
+
+<p>“Hakon and his men jumped up in the morning,
+and ran first to the church and ransacked it, and did
+not find the earl. He had gone another way on the
+isle with two men into a certain hiding-place. And
+when the saint Earl Magnus saw that they sought for
+him, then he calls out to them and says where he was;
+he bade them look nowhere else for him. And when
+Hakon saw him, they ran thither with shouts and
+crash of arms. Earl Magnus was then at his prayers
+when they came to him, and when he had ended his
+prayers then he signed himself [with the cross], and
+said to Earl Hakon, with steadfast heart, ‘Thou didst
+not well, kinsman, when thou wentest back on thy
+oaths, and it is much to be hoped that thou doest
+this more from others’ badness than thine own. Now
+will I offer thee three choices, that thou do one of
+these rather than break thine oaths and let me be
+slain guiltless.’</p>
+
+<p>“Hakon’s men asked what offer he made. ‘That is
+the first, that I will go south to Rome, or out as far as
+Jerusalem, and visit holy places, and have two ships
+with me out of the land with what we need to have,
+and so make atonement for both of our souls. This
+I will swear, never to come back to the Orkneys.’
+To this they said ‘Nay’ at once. Then Earl Magnus
+spoke: ‘Now seeing that my life is in your power,
+and that I have in many things made myself an
+outlaw before Almighty God, then send thou me up
+into Scotland to some of both our friends, and let
+me be there kept in ward, and two men with me
+as a pastime. Take thou care then that I may
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[64]</span>never be able to get out of that wardship.’ To this
+they said ‘Nay’ at once. Magnus spoke: ‘One
+choice is still behind which I will offer thee, and God
+knows that I look more to your soul than to my
+life; but still it better beseems thee than to take my
+life away. Let me be maimed in my limbs as thou
+pleasest, or pluck out my eyes, and set me in a dark
+dungeon.’ Then Earl Hakon spoke: ‘This settlement
+I am ready to take, nor do I ask anything further.’
+Then the chiefs sprang up and said to Earl Hakon,
+‘We will slay now either of you twain, and ye two
+shall not both from this day forth rule the lands.’
+Then answers Earl Hakon: ‘Slay ye him rather, for
+I will rather rule the realm and lands than die so
+suddenly.’ So says Holdbodi, a truthful freeman from
+the Southern Isles, of the parley they had. He was
+then with Magnus, and another man with him, when
+they took him captive.</p>
+
+<p>“So glad was the worthy Earl Magnus as though
+he were bidden to a feast; he neither spoke with
+hate nor words of wrath. And after this talk he
+fell to prayer, and hid his face in the palms of his
+hands, and shed out many tears before God’s eyesight.
+When Earl Magnus, the saint, was done to
+death, Hakon bade Ofeig his banner-bearer to slay
+the earl, but he said ‘Nay’ with the greatest
+wrath. Then he forced Lifolf his cook to kill
+Earl Magnus, but he began to weep aloud. ‘Thou
+shalt not weep for this,’ said the earl, ‘for that
+there is fame in doing such deeds. Be steadfast in
+thine heart, for thou shalt have my clothes, as is
+the wont and law of men of old, and thou shalt
+not be afraid, for thou doest this against thy will,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[66]</span>and he who forces thee misdoes more than thou.’
+But when the earl had said this he threw off his kirtle
+and gave it to Lifolf. After that he begged leave to
+say his prayers, and that was granted him.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[65]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus015" style="max-width: 43.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus015.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Church of St. Magnus, Egilsay.</i></p>
+      <p><i>(From a painting by T. Marjoribanks Hay, R.S.W.)</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>“He fell to earth, and gave himself over to God, and
+brought himself as an offering to Him. He not only
+prayed for himself or his friends, but rather there and
+then for his foes and banemen, and forgave them with
+all his heart what they had misdone towards him, and
+confessed his own misdeeds to God, and prayed that
+they might be washed off him by the outshedding of
+his blood, and commended his soul into God’s hand,
+and prayed that God’s angels would come to meet
+his soul and bear it into the rest of Paradise. When
+the friend of God was led out to slaughter he spoke
+to Lifolf: ‘Stand thou before me, and hew me on
+my head a great wound, for it beseems not to chop
+off chiefs’ heads like thieves’. Strengthen thyself,
+wretched man, for I have prayed to God that he
+may have mercy upon thee.’ After that he signed
+himself [with the cross], and bowed himself to the
+stroke. And his spirit passed to heaven.</p>
+
+<p>“That spot was before mossy and stony. But a
+little after, the worthiness of Earl Magnus before
+God was so bright that there sprung up a green
+sward where he was slain, and God showed that,
+that he was slain for righteousness’ sake, and inherited
+the fairness and greenness of Paradise, which
+is called the earth of living men.... There had then
+passed since the birth of Christ one thousand and
+ninety and one winters.”</p>
+
+<p class="right"><i>From the “Orkneyinga Saga,” translated by Sir G. W. Dasent, D.C.L.<br>
+(By permission of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office.)</i></p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[67]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_FOUNDING_OF_ST_MAGNUS_CATHEDRAL">THE FOUNDING OF ST. MAGNUS CATHEDRAL.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-a2.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">After the death of Hakon, the slayer
+of Earl Magnus, the earldom was
+divided between his two sons,
+Harald the Smooth-talker, and
+Paul the Speechless. There were
+many bitter quarrels between the
+brothers, until the death of the
+former left Paul as sole ruler. That happened in
+this wise.</p>
+
+<p>When they had been reconciled after one of their
+quarrels, Harald invited Paul to a feast in his house
+at Orphir. On the morning before the feast, Earl
+Harald found his mother and his aunt working at a
+very beautiful shirt, which, they said, was a present
+for his brother Paul.</p>
+
+<p>“Why should such a splendid garment be given to
+Paul and not to me?” asked the earl, taking it up in
+his hand to look at it. Then before the women could
+prevent him, he threw off the light cloak he was
+wearing and put on the gorgeous shirt. No sooner
+had it touched his skin than he was seized with
+violent pains, and with a sickness of which he died
+a few days later. The shirt had been poisoned in
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[68]</span>order to cause Earl Paul’s death, but it was Earl
+Harald who fell a victim to his mother’s cunning and
+treacherous design.</p>
+
+<p>Earl Paul did not long reign in peace. A new
+claimant soon appeared for part of the lands. This
+was Kali, the son of Kol and of Gunhild, the sister of
+the murdered St. Magnus, who had been brought up
+at the court of King Harald of Norway. He was
+a man of noble appearance, bold and skilful in war,
+and a born leader of men. He was in addition a
+noted skald or poet, and many of the songs which he
+made have come down to us in the Sagas.</p>
+
+<p>He now changed his name to Rognvald, which had
+been a popular name in the isles since the days of
+Rognvald, Brusi’s son, and he is known in history as
+Rognvald Kali, or Rognvald the Second.</p>
+
+<p>Having the promise of help from Harald, the
+Norwegian king, Rognvald sent a message to Earl
+Paul, demanding that share of the islands which Earl
+Magnus had held. Earl Paul, who was a good ruler,
+and had many friends among the Orkneymen, replied
+that he would guard his inheritance while God gave
+him life. Rognvald then gathered ships and set sail
+for Shetland, but his fleet was destroyed in Yell
+Sound by the ships of Earl Paul, and he had to
+escape to Norway in a merchant vessel.</p>
+
+<p>Earl Paul thereupon placed beacons on some of the
+highest hills in the islands, in order that he might
+have warning of any attempt by Rognvald to make
+a descent by way of Shetland, and the most important
+of these beacons was on the Fair Isle.</p>
+
+<p>When Rognvald, angry and disappointed, arrived
+in Norway, he took counsel with his father Kol and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[69]</span>with an old man named Uni, who was reckoned a
+very wise man; and as he had many friends among
+the men of Shetland, it was decided to make a new
+attempt in the spring. By the aid of King Harald
+and of his friends a new fleet was then got ready.</p>
+
+<p>When the ships were assembled, Rognvald stood
+up on the deck of his war-dragon to address his men.
+“Earl Paul and the Orkneyingers,” he said, “have
+taken my inheritance, and refuse to give it up. My
+grandfather, the holy Earl Magnus, was treacherously
+slain by Paul’s father Hakon, and instead of giving
+compensation for the wicked deed, Earl Paul would
+wrong me still more in the matter of my inheritance.
+However, if it be the will of God, I intend to fare to
+the Orkneys, and there win what is mine by right, or
+die with honour.”</p>
+
+<p>All the men cheered this speech, and when they
+were silent Kol rose to speak. He advised his son
+not to trust in his own strength for success. “I
+advise thee, Rognvald,” he said, “to make a vow that
+if St. Magnus secures to thee thine inheritance, thou
+wilt build and dedicate to him in Kirkwall a minster
+of such size and splendour that it shall be the wonder
+and the glory of all the North.”</p>
+
+<p>Rognvald thought this the best of advice. Rising
+once more, he vowed to build in Kirkwall a splendid
+cathedral in honour of St. Magnus, and to remove
+thither with all reverence the remains of the sainted
+earl. No sooner had this solemn vow been taken
+than the wind became fair for sailing. The fleet at
+once put to sea, and reached Shetland in a few days.</p>
+
+<p>Now Rognvald’s real difficulties began. How could
+he take Earl Paul by surprise, as he wished to do,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[70]</span>with the beacon on the Fair Isle ready to give the
+alarm as soon as his ships came in sight? The
+wisdom of Kol and of Uni came to his aid. The
+former had a plan to cause the beacon to be lit on
+a false alarm, and the latter to prevent its being lit
+when it was needed.</p>
+
+<p>Kol set sail from Shetland towards evening with a
+fleet of small boats. When they came in sight of the
+Fair Isle, they hoisted their sails half way up the
+masts, and with the oars the men kept back the
+boats so as to make them sail very slowly. At the
+same time they gradually hoisted their sails higher
+and higher, so that to those in charge of the beacon
+it might seem that a fleet was rapidly approaching
+When it was dark the boats returned to the land.</p>
+
+<p>The trick was successful. The Fair Isle beacon
+flared up to the sky, those on North Ronaldsay and on
+Westray followed, and soon every hilltop in the islands
+showed its warning light. The Orkneymen took their
+weapons and hurried to Kirkwall, where Earl Paul
+had appointed them to gather in such a case, and all
+was ready to meet the enemy; but no enemy appeared.
+Those who had charge of the beacons came with the
+news of a fleet approaching; and after long waiting
+other men were sent to look for its coming, but they
+looked in vain. Quarrels soon began to arise as to
+who was to blame for the false alarm, for the men
+were angry at having been taken from their farm
+work to no purpose; so the earl had to make peace
+among them, and set other men to build up the
+beacons again and to watch them.</p>
+
+<p>Now came Uni’s turn. He sailed to the Fair Isle
+with three companions, and pretended to be an enemy
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[71]</span>of Rognvald, saying many hard things against him
+and his men. His three companions went out every
+day to fish, but Uni himself stayed on shore. He
+gradually made friends with the people of the isle,
+and especially with those who had charge of the
+beacon. At last he offered to watch it for them,
+saying that he had nothing else to do, and his offer
+was accepted. Uni then poured water on the beacon,
+and kept it in such a state of dampness that it should
+be impossible to light it when it was needed.</p>
+
+<p>Thus by the time that Rognvald was to set out
+from Shetland, Uni had everything prepared. As
+soon as his ships were seen from the Fair Isle, the
+men who had charge of the beacon tried to light it,
+but in vain. There was no time to warn Earl Paul,
+and Rognvald landed in Westray without any alarm
+being given. The bishop now interfered between the
+rivals, and a truce was agreed to in order that terms
+of peace might be arranged.</p>
+
+<p>And now things took a strange and unexpected
+turn, so that Rognvald won the islands without any
+fighting. While Earl Paul was on a visit to his
+friend Sigurd of Westness, in Rousay, he went out
+before breakfast one morning and mysteriously disappeared.
+Sigurd sought him everywhere in vain.
+At last they discovered that he had been seized and
+carried off to Scotland by Sweyn Asleifson, and he
+never returned. Earl Paul’s men gradually came over
+to Earl Rognvald, and he became ruler over the whole
+earldom.</p>
+
+<p>Earl Rognvald now set about fulfilling his vow
+and raising a great cathedral in Kirkwall in honour
+of St. Magnus. In 1137 the work was begun under
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[72]</span>the superintendence of Kol, but many a long year
+was to pass ere it should be finished. As the work
+went on it soon became very costly to the earl. In
+his difficulty he once more went to his father Kol
+for advice. Kol said that Rognvald should declare
+himself the heir of all landholders who died, and that
+their sons should have to redeem their lands from
+him. A Thing was called, and this law was passed;
+but the freemen also had the choice given them of
+buying their lands outright, so that the earl might
+not inherit them in the future. Most of the landholders
+took that plan, and now there was once more
+plenty of money for the cathedral.</p>
+
+<p>When the work was so far advanced that part of
+the cathedral could be roofed in, the remains of St.
+Magnus, which had already been removed from Christ
+Church in Birsay, were laid to rest in the new minster.
+Many great men have been laid in the same place
+since then. Earl Rognvald himself was buried there,
+and there too the remains of King Hakon rested for
+a time before their removal to Bergen.</p>
+
+<p>While on a visit to Norway, Earl Rognvald made
+the acquaintance of a Crusader who had returned from
+the Holy Land, and he determined that he also would
+become a “Jorsalafarer,” or pilgrim to Jerusalem. The
+story of this strange voyage, in company with the
+Bishop of Orkney and many of his countrymen—half
+Vikings, half Crusaders—is well told in the
+“Saga of Earl Rognvald,” and in our next chapter
+we give part of the narrative.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[73]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="illus016" style="max-width: 29.6875em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus016.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>On the “Viking Path.”</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[74]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_JORSALAFARERS">THE JORSALAFARERS.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-e.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">“Earl Rongvald busked him that
+summer to leave the Orkneys,
+and he was rather late boun; for
+they had a long while to wait
+for Eindrid, as his ship did not
+come from Norway which he had
+let be made there the winter
+before. But when they were boun, they held on
+their course away from the Orkneys in fifteen big
+ships.</p>
+
+<p>“They sailed away from the Orkneys and south to
+Scotland, and so on to England, and as they sailed
+by Northumberland, off Humbermouth, Armod sang
+a song,—</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">‘The sea was high off Humbermouth</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">When our ships were beating out,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Bends the mast and sinks the land</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">’Neath our lee off Vesla-sand;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Wave with veil of foam that rises</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Drives not in the eyes of him</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Who now sits at home; the stripling</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">From the meeting rideth dry.’</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>“They sailed thence south round England and to
+France. Nothing is said of their voyage before that
+they came to that seaburg which is named Nerbon
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[75]</span>There these tidings had happened, that the earl who
+before had ruled the town was dead. His name was
+Germanus; he left behind him a daughter young and
+fair, whose name was Ermingerd. She kept watch and
+ward over her father’s inheritance, with the counsel
+of the most noble men of her kinsfolk. They gave
+that counsel to the queen that she should bid the earl
+to a worthy feast, and said that by that she would be
+famous if she welcomed heartily such men of rank
+who had come so far to see her, and who would bear
+her fame still further. The queen bade them see to
+that. And when this counsel had been agreed on by
+them, men were sent to the earl, and he was told that
+the queen bade him to a feast with as many of his
+men as he chose to bring with him. The earl took
+this bidding with thanks; he chose out all his best
+men for this journey with him. And when they came
+to the feast, there was the best cheer, and nothing was
+spared which could do the earl more honour than he
+had ever met before.</p>
+
+<p>“One day it happened as the earl sat at the feast
+that the queen came into the hall and many women
+with her; she held a beaker of gold in her hand.
+She was dressed in the best clothes, had her hair loose
+as maidens wont to have, and had put a golden band
+round her brow. She poured the wine into the earl’s
+cup, but her maidens danced before them. The earl
+took her hand and the beaker too and set her on his
+knee, and they talked much that day.</p>
+
+<p>“The earl stayed there very long in the best of cheer.
+The townsmen pressed the earl to settle down there,
+and spoke out loudly about how they would give him
+the lady to wife. The earl said he would fare on that
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[76]</span>voyage which he had purposed, but said that he would
+come thither as he fared back, and then they could
+carry out their plan or not as they pleased. After
+that the earl busked him away thence with his fellow
+voyagers. And as they sailed west of Thrasness they
+had a good wind; then they sat and drank and were
+very merry.</p>
+
+<p>“They fared till they came to Galicialand in the
+winter before Yule, and meant to sit there Yule over.
+They dealt with the landsmen, and begged them to set
+them a market to buy food; for the land was barren
+and bad for food, and the landsmen thought it hard
+to feed that host of men. Now these tidings had
+happened there, that in that land sat a chief who was
+a stranger, in a castle, and he had laid on the landsmen
+very heavy burdens. He harried them on the
+spot if they did not agree at once to all that he asked,
+and he offered them the greatest tyranny and oppression.
+And when the earl spoke to the landsmen about
+bringing him food to buy, they made him that offer,
+that they would set them up a market thenceforth on
+till Lent, but they must rid them in some way or
+other of the men in the castle; but Earl Rognvald
+was to bear the brunt in return for the right of having
+all the goods that were gotten from them.</p>
+
+<p>“The earl laid this bare before his men, and sought
+counsel from them as to which choice he should take;
+but most of them were eager to fall on the castlemen,
+and thought it bid fair for spoil. And so Earl
+Rognvald and his host went into that agreement with
+the landsmen. But when it drew near to Yule, Earl
+Rognvald called his men to a talk, and said,—</p>
+
+<p>“‘Now have we sat here awhile, and yet we have
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[77]</span>had nothing to do with the castlemen, but the landsmen
+are getting rather slack in their dealings with us.
+Methinks they think that what we promised them will
+have no fulfilment; but still that is not manly not to
+turn our hands to what we have promised. Now,
+kinsman Erling, will I take counsel from you in what
+way we shall win the castle, for I know that ye are
+here some of you the greatest men for good counsel;
+but still I will beg all those men who are here that
+each will throw in what he thinks is likeliest to be
+worth trying.’</p>
+
+<p>“Erling answered the earl’s speech: ‘I will not be
+silent at your bidding. But I am not a man for
+counsel, and it would be better rather to call on those
+men for that who have seen more, and are more wont
+to such exploits, as is Eindrid the Young. But here it
+will be as the saying goes, “You must shoot at a bird
+before you get him.” And so we will try to give some
+counsel, whatever comes of it. We shall to-day, if it
+seems to you not bad counsel or to the other shipmasters,
+go all of us to the wood, and bear each of us
+three shoulder-bundles of fagots on our backs under
+the castle; for it seems to me as though the lime will
+not be trusty if a great fire is brought to it. We
+shall let this go on for the three next days and see
+what turn things take.’</p>
+
+<p>“They did as Erling bade; and when that toil was
+over, it was come right on to Yule. The bishop would
+not let them make their onslaught while the Yule high
+feast stood over them.</p>
+
+<p>“That chief’s name was Godfrey who dwelt in the
+castle; he was a wise man, and somewhat stricken in
+years. He was a good clerk, and had fared far and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[78]</span>wide, and knew many tongues. He was a grasping
+man and a very unfair man. He called together his
+men when he saw Rognvald’s undertakings, and said
+to them,—</p>
+
+<p>“‘This scheme seems to me clever and harmful to
+us which the Northmen have taken in hand. It will
+befall us thus if fire is borne against us, that the
+stone wall round the castle will be untrustworthy.
+But the Northmen are strong and brave; we shall
+have to look for a sharp fight from them if they get
+a chance. I will now take counsel with you what
+shall be done in this strait which has befallen us.’
+But his men all bade him see to that for them.
+Then he began to speak, and said, ‘My first counsel
+is that ye shall bind a cord round me and let me
+slide down from the castle wall to-night. I shall
+have on bad clothes, and fare into the camp of the
+Northmen, and know what I can find out.’</p>
+
+<p>“This counsel was taken as he had laid it down.
+And when Godfrey came to Earl Rognvald he said
+he was an old beggar carle, and spoke in Spanish;
+they understood that tongue best. He fared about
+among all the booths and begged for food. He found
+out that there was great envy and splitting into
+parties amongst the Northmen. Eindrid was the
+head of one side, but the earl of the other. Godfrey
+came to Eindrid and got to talk with him, and
+brought that before him that the chief who held
+the castle had sent him thither. ‘He will have
+fellowship with thee, and he hopes that thou wilt
+give him peace if the castle be won. He would
+rather that thou shouldst have his treasures, if thou
+wilt do so much in return for them, than those
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[79]</span>who would rather see him a dead man.’ Of such
+things they talked and much besides. But the earl
+was kept in the dark; all this went on by stealth
+at first. And when Godfrey had stayed a while
+with the earl’s men, then he turned back to his men.
+But this was why they did not flit what they
+owned out of the castle, because they did not know
+whether the storm would take place at all; besides
+they could not trust the landfolk.</p>
+
+<p>“It was the tenth day of Yule that Earl Rognvald
+rose up. The weather was good. Then he bade his
+men put on their arms, and let the host be called up
+to the castle with the trumpet. Then they drew the
+wood towards it, and piled a bale round about the
+wall. The earl drew up his men for the onslaught
+where each of them should go. The earl goes against
+it from the south with the Orkneyingers, Erling and
+Aslag from the west, John and Gudorm from the east,
+Eindrid the Young from the north with his followers.
+And when they were boun for the storm they cast fire
+into the bale.</p>
+
+<p>“Now they began to press on fast both with fire
+and weapons. Then they shot hard into the work
+for they could not reach them by any other attack.
+The castlemen stood loosely here and there on the
+wall, for they had to guard themselves against the
+shots. They poured out too burning pitch and brimstone,
+and the earl’s men took little harm by that.
+Now it turned out as Erling had guessed, that the
+castle wall crumbled before the fire when the lime
+would not stand it, and there were great breaches in it.</p>
+
+<p>“Sigmund Angle was the name of a man in the
+earl’s bodyguard; he was Sweyn Asliefson’s step-son.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[80]</span>He pressed on faster than any man to the
+castle, and ever went on before the earl; he was
+then scarcely grown up. And when the storm had
+lasted awhile, then all men fled from the castle
+wall. The wind was on from the south, and the
+reek of the smoke lay towards Eindrid and his men.
+And when the fire began to spread very fast, then
+the earl made them bring water and cool the rubble
+that was burned. And then there was a lull in the
+assault.</p>
+
+<p>“After that the earl made ready to storm, and
+Sigmund Angle with him. There was then but a
+little struggle, and they got into the castle. There
+many men were slain, but those who would take
+life gave themselves up to the earl’s power. There
+they took much goods, but they did not find the
+chief, and scarcely any precious things. Then there
+was forthwith much talk how Godfrey could have
+got away; and then at once they had the greatest
+doubt of Eindrid the Young, that he must have passed
+him away somehow, and that he (Godfrey) must
+have gone away under the smoke to the wood.</p>
+
+<p>“After that Earl Rognvald and his host stayed
+there a short time in Galicialand, and held on west
+off Spain. They harried wide in that part of Spain
+which belonged to the heathen, and got there much
+goods. After that they sailed west off Spain, and got
+there a great storm, and lay three days at anchor, so
+that they shipped very much water, and it lay near
+that they had lost their ships. After that they
+hoisted their sails and beat out to Njorfa Sound [the
+Strait of Gibraltar] with a very cross wind. They
+sailed through Njorfa Sound, and then the weather
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[81]</span>began to get better. And then, as they bore out of
+the sound, Eindrid the Young parted company from
+the earl with six ships. He sailed over the sea to
+Marseilles, but Rognvald and his ships lay behind
+at the sound; and men talked much about it, how
+Eindrid had now himself given proof whether or not
+he had helped Godfrey away.</p>
+
+<p>“Nothing is told of the voyage of the earl and his
+men before they came south off Sarkland, and lay in
+the neighbourhood of Sardinia, and knew not what
+land they were near. The weather had turned out
+in this wise, that a great calm set in and mists and
+smooth seas—though the nights were light—and they
+saw scarcely at all from their ships, and so they made
+little way. One morning it happened that the mist
+lifted. Men stood up and looked about them. Then
+the earl asked if men saw anything new. They said
+they saw nought but two islets, little and steep, and
+when they looked for the islets the second time, then
+one of the islets was gone. They told this to the
+earl. He began to say, ‘That can have been no islets.
+That must be ships which men have out here in this
+part of the world, which they call dromonds; those
+are ships big as holms to look on. But there, where
+the other dromond lay, a breeze must have come down
+on the sea, and they must have sailed away; but these
+must be wayfaring men, either chapmen or faring in
+some other way on their business.’</p>
+
+<p>“After that the earl lets them call to him the
+bishop and all the shipmasters; then he began to say:
+‘I call you together for this, lord bishop and Erling,
+my kinsman: see ye any scheme or chance of ours
+that we may win victory in some way over those who
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[82]</span>are on the dromond.’ The bishop answers: ‘Hard, I
+guess, will it be for you to run your long-ships under
+the dromond, for ye will have no better way of
+boarding than by grappling the bulwarks with a
+broad-axe; but they will have brimstone and boiling
+pitch to throw under your feet and over your heads.
+Ye may see, earl, so wise as you are, that it is the
+greatest rashness to lay one’s self and one’s men in
+such risk.’</p>
+
+<p>“Then Erling began to speak: ‘Lord bishop,’ he
+says, ‘likely it is that ye are best able to see this,
+that there will be little hope of victory in rowing
+against them. But somehow it seems to me that
+though we try to run under the dromond, so methinks
+it will be that the greatest weight of weapons will
+fall beyond our ships, if we hug her close, broadside
+to broadside. But if it be not so, then we can put
+off from them quickly, for they will not chase us
+in the dromond.’</p>
+
+<p>“The earl began to say: ‘That is spoken like a
+man and quite to my mind. I will now make that
+clear to the shipmasters and all the crews, that each
+man shall busk him in his room, and arm himself as
+he best can. After that we will row up to them.
+But if they are Christian chapmen, then it will be in
+our power to make peace with them; but if they are
+heathen, as I feel sure they are, then Almighty God
+will yield us that mercy that we shall win the
+victory over them. But of the war spoil which we
+get there, we shall give the fiftieth penny to poor
+men.’ After that, men got out their arms and
+heightened the bulwarks of their ships, and made
+themselves ready according to the means which they
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[83]</span>had at hand. The earl settles where each of his ships
+should run in. Then they made an onslaught on her
+by rowing, and pulled up to her as briskly as they
+could.</p>
+
+<p>“But when those who were aboard the dromond
+saw that ships were rowing up to them, they took
+silken stuffs and costly goods and hung them out
+on the bulwarks, and then made great shoutings and
+hailings; and it seemed to the earl’s men as though
+they dared the Northmen to come on against them.
+Earl Rognvald laid his ship aft alongside the dromond
+on the starboard, but Erling, too, aft on the larboard.
+John and Aslak, they laid their ships forward each
+on his own board, but the others amidships on both
+boards; and all the ships hugged her close, broadside
+to broadside. And when they came under the
+dromond, her sides were so high out of the water
+that they could not reach up with their weapons.
+But the foe poured down blazing brimstone and
+flaming pitch over them. And it was as Erling
+guessed it would be, that the greatest weight of
+weapons fell out beyond the ships, and they had
+no need to shield themselves on that side which was
+next to the dromond, but those who were on the
+other side held their shields over their heads and
+sheltered themselves in that way.</p>
+
+<p>“And when they made no way with their onslaught,
+the bishop shoved his ship off and two others, and
+they picked out and sent thither their bowmen, and
+they lay within shot, and shot thence at the dromond,
+and then that onslaught was the hardest that was
+made. Then those on board the dromond got under
+cover, but thought little about what those were doing
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[84]</span>who had laid their ships under the dromond. Earl
+Rognvald called out then to his men, that they
+should take their axes and hew asunder the broadside
+of the dromond in the parts where she was least
+iron-bound. But when the men in the other ships
+saw what the earl’s men were about, they also took
+the like counsel.</p>
+
+<p>“Now, where Erling and his men had laid their
+ship a great anchor hung on the dromond, and the
+fluke was hung by the crook over the bulwark, but
+the stock pointed down to Erling’s ship. Audun the
+Red was the name of Erling’s bowman; he was lifted
+up on the anchor-stock. But after that he hauled up
+to him more men, so that they stood as thick as ever
+they could on the stock, and thence hewed at the
+sides as they best could, and that hewing was by far
+the highest up. And when they had hewn such
+large doors that they could go into the dromond,
+they made ready to board, and the earl and his men
+got into the lower hold, but Erling and his men into
+the upper. And when both their bands had come up
+on the ship there was a fight both great and hard.
+On board the dromond were Saracens, what we call
+Mahomet’s unbelievers. There were many blackamoors,
+and they made the hardest struggle. Erling
+got there a great wound on his neck near his shoulders
+as he sprang up into the dromond. That healed so
+ill that he bore his head on one side ever after. That
+was why he was called Wryneck.</p>
+
+<p>“And when they met Earl Rognvald and Erling,
+the Saracens gave way before them to the fore-part
+of the ship, but the earl’s men then boarded her one
+after another. Then they were more numerous, and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[85]</span>they pressed the enemy hard. They saw that on
+board the dromond was one man who was both taller
+and fairer than the others; the Northmen held it to
+be the truth that that man must be their chief.
+Earl Rognvald said that they should not turn their
+weapons against him, if they could take him in any
+other way. Then they hemmed him in and bore him
+down with their shields, and so he was taken and
+afterwards carried to the bishop’s ship, and few men
+with him. They slew there much folk, and got much
+goods and many costly things. When they had ended
+the greatest part of their toil, they sat down and
+rested themselves.</p>
+
+<p>“Men spoke of these tidings which had happened
+there. Then each spoke of what he thought he had
+seen; and men talked about who had been the first
+to board the dromond, and could not agree about it.
+Then some said that it was foolish that they should
+not all have one story about these great things; and
+the end of it was that they agreed that Earl Rognvald
+should settle the dispute, and afterwards they should
+all back what he said.</p>
+
+<p>“When they had stripped the dromond they put
+fire into her and burnt her. And when that tall man
+whom they had made captive saw that, he was much
+stirred, and changed colour, and could not hold himself
+still. But though they tried to make him speak, he
+never said a word and made no manner of sign, nor
+did he pay any heed to them whether they promised
+him good or ill. But when the dromond began to
+blaze, they saw as though blazing molten ore ran
+down into the sea. That moved the captive man
+much. They were quite sure then that they had
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[86]</span>looked for goods carelessly, and now the metal had
+melted in the heat of the fire, whether it had been
+gold or silver.</p>
+
+<p>“Earl Rognvald and his men sailed thence south
+under Sarkland, and lay under a seaburg, and made
+a seven nights’ truce with the townsmen, and had
+dealings with them, and sold them the men whom
+they had taken. No man would buy the tall man.
+And after that the earl gave him leave to go away
+and four men with him. He came down the next
+morning with a train of men and told them that
+he was a prince of Sarkland, and had sailed thence
+with the dromond and all the goods that were aboard
+her. He said, too, he thought that worst of all that
+they burnt the dromond, and made such waste of that
+great wealth that it was of no use to any one. ‘But
+now I have great power over your affairs. Now you
+shall have the greatest good from me for having
+spared my life and treated me with such honour
+as ye could; but I would be very willing that we
+saw each other never again. And so now live safe
+and sound and well.’ After that he rode up the
+country, but Earl Rognvald sailed thence south to
+Crete, and they lay there in very foul weather.</p>
+
+<p>“The earl and his men lay under Crete till they
+got a fair wind for Jewry-land, and came to Acreburg
+early on a Friday morning, and landed then with such
+great pomp and state as was seldom seen there. The
+earl and his men stayed in Acreburg a while. There
+sickness came into their ranks, and many famous men
+breathed their last. There Thorbjorn the Swarthy,
+a liegeman, breathed his last.</p>
+
+<p>“Earl Rognvald and his men then fared from
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[87]</span>Acreburg, and sought all the holiest places in the
+land of Jewry. They all fared to Jordan and bathed
+there. Earl Rognvald and Sigmund Angle swam
+across the river and went up on the bank there, and
+thither where was a thicket of brushwood, and there
+they twisted great knots. After that they fared back
+to Jerusalem.</p>
+
+<p>“Earl Rognvald and his men fared that summer
+from the land of Jewry, and meant to go north to
+Micklegarth [Constantinople], and came about autumn
+to that town which is called Imbolar. They stayed
+there a very long time in the town. They had that
+watchword in the town, if men met one another
+walking where it was throng and narrow, and the
+one thought it needful that the other who met him
+should yield him the path, then he says thus, ‘Out
+of the way; out of the way.’ One evening as the
+earl and his men were coming out of the town, and
+Erling Wryneck went out along the wharf to his
+ship, some of the townsmen met him and called out,
+‘Out of the way; out of the way.’ Erling was very
+drunk, and made as though he heard them not, and
+when they ran against one another, Erling fell off the
+wharf and down into the mud which was below; and
+his men ran down to pick him up, and had to strip
+off every stitch of his clothes and wash him. Next
+morning when he and the earl met, and he was told
+what had happened, he smiled at it.</p>
+
+<p>“After that they fared away thence. And nothing
+is told of their voyage before they come north to
+Engilsness [Cape St. Angelo]. There they lay some
+nights and waited for a wind which would seem fair
+to them to sail north along the sea to Micklegarth.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[88]</span>They took great pains then with their sailing, and so
+sailed with great pomp, just as they had heard that
+Sigurd Jewry-farer had done.</p>
+
+<p>“When Earl Rognvald and his men came to Micklegarth
+they had a hearty welcome from the emperor
+and the Varangians. Menelaus was then emperor
+over Micklegarth, whom we call Manuel. He gave
+the earl much goods, and offered them bounty-money
+if they would stay there. They stayed there awhile
+that winter in very good cheer. There was Eindrid
+the Young, and he had very great honour from the
+emperor. He had little to do with Earl Rognvald
+and his men, and rather tried to set other men
+against them.</p>
+
+<p>“Earl Rognvald set out on his voyage home that
+winter from Micklegarth, and fared first west to
+Bulgarialand, to Dyrrachburg. Thence he sailed
+west across the sea to Poule. There Earl Rognvald
+and Bishop William and Erling, and all the nobler
+men of their band, landed from their ships, and got
+them horses and rode thence first to Rome, and so
+homewards on the way from Rome until they come to
+Denmark, and thence they fared north to Norway.
+There men were glad to see them, and this voyage
+was most famous, and they who had gone on it were
+thought to be men of much more worth after than
+before.”</p>
+
+<p class="right"><i>From the “Orkneyinga Saga,” translated by Sir G. W. Dasent, D.C.L.<br>
+(By permission of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office.)</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="illus017" style="max-width: 29.6875em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus017.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>A Great Viking.</i></p>
+      <p><i>(From the picture by H. W. Koekkoek.)</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[90]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="SWEYN_ASLEIFSON_THE_LAST_OF_THE_VIKINGS">SWEYN ASLEIFSON, THE LAST OF THE VIKINGS.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-t2.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">The sudden disappearance of Earl
+Paul, by which Earl Rognvald
+had been left in sole possession
+of the Orkneys, was, as we have
+said, due to a certain Viking,
+Sweyn Asleifson of Gairsay. This
+Sweyn is one of the most remarkable
+men in all Orcadian history. Among the Vikings
+of old he was the greatest, and he was the last. Of
+him the Saga says: “He was the greatest man in the
+western lands, either in old time or at the present day.”</p>
+
+<p>For the slaying of one of Earl Paul’s men Sweyn
+had had to escape out of the isles. He abode for a time
+in the Hebrides, and afterwards sought refuge in the
+dales of Scotland, where Margaret, the daughter of
+Earl Hakon, was married to Maddad, Earl of Athole.
+He had promised to help Harald, their son, to become
+Earl of the Orkneys, and it was with a view to this
+that he kidnapped Earl Paul.</p>
+
+<p>On that morning Earl Paul had gone out early
+from Westness to hunt the otter near Scabro Head.
+Sweyn had sailed over from Thurso, keeping to
+the west of Hoy and the Mainland, and was now
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[91]</span>rowing into Evie Sound, for he had heard that Earl
+Paul was staying with Sigurd of Westness. As they
+rowed near the land, Sweyn ordered all his men to
+lie hid except those at the oars, that the ship might
+look like a peaceful merchant-vessel.</p>
+
+<p>When the earl saw the ship rowing near the rocks,
+he called out to the men that they should go on to
+Westness with their wares for Earl Paul. Then
+Sweyn, who was lying hid, bade his men ask where
+the earl was.</p>
+
+<p>“The earl is here on the rocks,” was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>“Row quickly to land at a place where they will
+not see us,” said Sweyn to his men; “and let us arm
+ourselves, for we have work to do.”</p>
+
+<p>The ship was rowed to the shore, as he had said,
+and Sweyn and his men armed themselves and fell
+upon Earl Paul and his company. These, being unarmed,
+were soon disposed of. The earl was seized
+and taken aboard the ship, and Sweyn immediately
+set sail for Scotland by the way he had come.</p>
+
+<p>Sigurd marvelled when the earl did not return
+from his hunting, and men were sent out to look for
+him. They came upon the bodies of the slain—nineteen
+of the earl’s men and six strangers—but the earl
+himself had disappeared. It was at first thought that
+Earl Rognvald had had something to do with his disappearance,
+and it was many days before men knew
+what had become of the vanished earl.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime Sweyn had carried Paul to Athole,
+and placed him in the keeping of Maddad and
+Margaret. His after fate is unknown. The story
+which Sweyn afterwards told is that Paul did not
+wish to return to Orkney, so shameful had been the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[92]</span>manner of his leaving it; and that he wished it to
+be reported that he had been blinded or maimed, in
+order that men should not seek to bring him back.
+Sweyn himself came back to Orkney with this story;
+and he acknowledged Earl Rognvald, and became very
+friendly with him.</p>
+
+<p>As the great Earl of Warwick has been called
+“the king-maker” in England, so Sweyn may be
+called the “earl-maker” in Orkney. He it was who
+caused Harald, the son of Maddad, to be made earl,
+and he also supported Earl Erlend in his claims
+while Earl Rognvald was in the Holy Land. He
+gained the friendship of David, King of Scots, Viking
+though he was, and the terror of the Scottish and
+Irish seas. Many of Sweyn’s Viking raids are told
+in the Orkney Saga, one of the most famous being
+that known as Sweyn’s “Broadcloth Cruise.” The
+following account is given of this cruise, and of the
+death of Sweyn:—</p>
+
+<p>“These tidings happened once on a time, that Sweyn
+Asleifson fared away on his spring-cruise, and Hakon,
+Earl Harald’s son, fared with him; and they had five
+ships with oars, and all of them large. They harried
+about among the Southern Isles. Then the folk were
+so scared at him in the Southern Isles that men hid
+all their goods and chattels in the earth or in piles
+of rocks. Sweyn sailed as far south as Man, and
+got ill off for spoil. Thence they sailed out under
+Ireland and harried there. But when they came
+about south under Dublin, then two keels sailed there
+from off the main, which had come from England, and
+meant to steer for Dublin; they were laden with English
+cloths, and great store of goods was aboard them.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[93]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Sweyn and his men pulled up to the keels and
+offered them battle. Little came of the defence of
+the Englishmen before Sweyn gave the word to
+board. Then the Englishmen were made prisoners.
+And there they robbed them of every penny which
+was aboard the keels, save that the Englishmen kept
+the clothes they stood in and some food, and went on
+their way afterwards with the keels; but Sweyn and
+his men fared to the Southern Isles and shared their
+war-spoil.</p>
+
+<p>“They sailed from the west with great pomp. They
+did this as a glory for themselves when they lay in
+harbours, that they threw awnings of English cloth
+over their ships. But when they sailed into the
+Orkneys, they sewed the cloth on the fore-part of
+the sails, so that it looked in that wise as though
+the sails were made altogether of broadcloth. This
+they called the Broadcloth Cruise.</p>
+
+<p>“Sweyn fared home to his house in Gairsay. He
+had taken from the keels much wine and English
+mead. Now when Sweyn had been at home a short
+while, he bade to him Earl Harald, and made a
+worthy feast against his coming. When Earl Harald
+was at the feast, there was much talk amongst them
+of Sweyn’s good cheer. The earl spoke and said:
+‘This I would now, Sweyn, that thou wouldst lay
+aside thy sea-rovings; ’tis good now to drive home
+with a whole wain. But thou knowest this, that
+thou hast long maintained thyself and thy men by
+sea-roving; but so it fares with most men who live
+by unfair means, that they lose their lives in strife,
+if they do not break themselves from it.’</p>
+
+<p>“Then Sweyn answered, and looked to the earl, and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[94]</span>spoke with a smile, and said thus: ‘Well spoken is
+this, lord, and friendly spoken, and it will be good to
+take a bit of good counsel from you; but some men
+lay that to your door, that ye too are men of little
+fairness.’ The earl answered: ‘I shall have to answer
+for my share, but a gossiping tongue drives me to say
+what I do.’</p>
+
+<p>“Sweyn said: ‘Good, no doubt, drives you to it,
+lord. And so it shall be, that I will leave off sea-roving,
+for I find that I am growing old, and strength
+lessens much in hardships and warfare. Now I will
+go out on my autumn-cruise, and I would that it
+might be with no less glory than the spring-cruise
+was; but after that my wayfaring shall be over.’
+The earl answers: ‘’Tis hard to see, messmate,
+whether death or lasting luck will come first.’ After
+that they dropped talking about it. Earl Harald
+fared away from the feast, and was led out with fitting
+gifts. So he and Sweyn parted with great love-tokens.</p>
+
+<p>“A little while after, Sweyn busks him for his
+roving cruise; he had seven long-ships, and all great.
+Hakon, Earl Harald’s son, went along with Sweyn on
+his voyage. They held on their course first to the
+Southern Isles, and got there little war-spoil; thence
+they fared out under Ireland, and harried there far
+and wide. They fared so far south as Dublin, and
+came upon them there very suddenly, so that the
+townsmen were not ware of them before they had
+got into the town. They took there much goods.
+They made prisoners there those men who were rulers
+there in the town. The upshot of their business was
+that they gave the town up into Sweyn’s power, and
+agreed to pay as great a ransom as he chose to lay
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[95]</span>upon them. Sweyn was also to hold the town with
+his men and to have rule over it. The Dublin men
+sware an oath to do this. Next morning Sweyn was
+to come into the town and take the ransom.</p>
+
+<p>“Now it must be told of what happened in the
+town during the night. The men of good counsel
+who were in the town held a meeting among themselves,
+and talked over the straits which had befallen
+them; it seemed to them hard to let their town come
+into the power of the Orkneyingers, and worst of all
+of that man whom they knew to be the most unjust
+man in the western lands. So they agreed amongst
+themselves that they would cheat Sweyn if they might.
+They took that counsel, that they dug great trenches
+before the burg-gate on the inside, and in many other
+places between the houses where it was meant that
+Sweyn and his men should pass; but men lay in
+wait there in the houses hard by with weapons.
+They laid planks over the trenches, so that they
+should fall down as soon as ever a man’s weight
+comes on them. After that they strewed straw on
+the planks so that the trenches might not be seen,
+and so bided the morrow.</p>
+
+<p>“On the morning after, Sweyn and his men arose
+and put on their arms; after that they went to the
+town. And when they came inside beyond the burg-gate,
+the Dublin men made a lane from the burg-gate
+right to the trenches. Sweyn and his men saw not
+what they were doing, and ran into the trenches.
+The townsmen then ran straightway to hold the
+burg-gate, but some to the trenches, and brought
+their arms to bear on Sweyn and his men. It was
+unhandy for them to make any defence, and Sweyn
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[96]</span>lost his life there in the trenches, and all those who
+had gone into the town. So it was said that Sweyn
+was the last to die of all his messmates, and spoke
+these words ere he died: ‘Know this, all men, whether
+I lose my life to-day or not, that I am one of the
+Saint Earl Rognvald’s bodyguard, and I now mean to
+put my trust in being there where he is with God.’
+Sweyn’s men fared at once to their ships and pulled
+away, and nothing is told about their voyage before
+they come into the Orkneys.”</p>
+
+<p class="right"><i>From the “Orkneyinga Saga,” translated by Sir G. W. Dasent, D.C.I.<br>
+(By permission of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office.)</i></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp71" id="illus018" style="max-width: 28.125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus018.jpg" alt="">
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[97]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_DECAY_OF_THE_EARLDOM">THE DECAY OF THE EARLDOM AND THE END OF THE WESTERN KINGDOM.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-a1.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">After the death of Earl Rognvald,
+the islands were ruled for almost
+fifty years by Harald Maddadson.
+Harald’s later days were full of
+troubles. With the decay of his
+powers the glory of the earldom
+also faded away. In 1194, when
+Sverrir was King of Norway, a rebellion
+took place, with the object of
+placing Sigurd Erlingson on the throne. Sigurd’s
+party, known as the “Eyjarskeggjar” or “Island-beardies,”
+had their headquarters in the Orkneys.
+There they collected their forces, and there the rebellion
+was organized. The rebels were completely
+overthrown in a great battle fought near Bergen.
+Sverrir summoned Earl Harald before him in 1196
+to answer for his share in the matter. As a punishment
+for permitting plots against him to be hatched
+in Orkney—plots which the gray-haired old earl had
+been powerless to prevent—the king compelled him
+to surrender the government of Shetland. For nearly
+two centuries thereafter Orkney and Shetland were
+separate, the former ruled by the earl, the latter by
+a governor appointed by the Norwegian crown.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[98]</span></p>
+
+<p>The result of this was twofold. In the first place
+it weakened the power of the Orkney earldom; in
+the second place it caused the earldom to draw nearer
+to Scotland, and to come more and more under
+Scottish influence. But the aged earl’s cup of sorrow
+was not yet full. He quarrelled also with the
+Scottish king. As a consequence of this quarrel he
+was stripped of his Scottish possessions, and his son
+Thorfinn perished miserably, a prisoner in Roxburgh
+Castle. When Earl Harald died in 1206, full of
+years and of sorrows, the earldom was but the shadow
+of its former self.</p>
+
+<p>After Harald’s death, his two sons, John and David,
+succeeded to the earldom. David did not live long,
+and John was then left sole earl. This earl, the
+last of the old Norse jarls, was Earl of Orkney
+excluding Shetland, holding that earldom from the
+Norwegian king, and Earl of Caithness, including
+Sutherland, holding that from the King of Scotland.
+Matters continued in this state generally till the
+pledging of the islands in 1468, the only change
+being that Shetland was again added to the Orkney
+earldom in 1379, when Henry, the first of the St.
+Clairs, became earl.</p>
+
+<p>The days of Earl John, like those of his father,
+were stormy, and disaster after disaster fell upon the
+isles. The burning of Bishop Adam at Halkirk in
+Caithness brought down on the earl the vengeance of
+King Alexander the Second of Scotland. The earl
+had no hand in the murder, but he was near by, and,
+in the opinion of King Alexander, might have prevented
+the tragedy. Then a feud arose between the
+earl and some of the leaders of a Norse expedition to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[99]</span>the Western Isles. The earl was attacked suddenly
+in Thurso, and there murdered. This took place in
+the year 1231. The murderers took refuge in the
+Castle of Weir, where they were besieged by the
+earl’s friends and adherents. Ultimately both parties
+agreed that the case should be submitted to the
+Norwegian king.</p>
+
+<p>The chief men of the islands embarked for Norway
+to be present at the trial of the murderers, which
+ended in their conviction and punishment. But a
+terrible disaster for the Orkney earldom followed.
+All the leading men of the islands left Norway in
+one ship, and set sail for Orkney late in autumn.
+Stormy weather set in shortly after their departure.
+Fears which were entertained for the safety of the
+ship proved to be only too well founded: the ship
+was never heard of again. With her went down
+nearly all the nobility of the earldom. This disaster,
+which happened in 1232, was irremediable. Well
+does the Saga of Hakon Hakonson say, “Many
+men have had to suffer for this later.” The earldom
+never recovered from the loss of its best blood, and
+but for this loss the after course of events might
+have been very different. Henceforth the Orkney
+earldom plays but a subordinate part in the history
+of the North.</p>
+
+<p>In 1232 King Alexander of Scotland granted the
+Earldom of Caithness to Magnus, son of Gilbride,
+Earl of Angus. Magnus was at the same time confirmed
+in the Earldom of Orkney by the King of
+Norway. But King Alexander made Sutherland a
+separate earldom, William Friskyn being created first
+earl. Thus within a period of forty years the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[100]</span>earldom, which had at one time rivalled the power of
+Scotland itself, and had been at once the centre and
+the defence of the Norse Empire in the west, was
+stripped of more than half its territories.</p>
+
+<p>The Scottish king had a deep purpose to serve
+in thus weakening the northern earldom. He was
+already casting covetous eyes on the Hebrides, and
+every blow struck at the power of the Orkney earl
+was a step towards the conquest of the Western Isles.
+In the heyday of Norse ascendency there was danger
+of the western Norse colonies swallowing up Scotland
+rather than of Scotland swallowing up these
+colonies. But Hakon of Norway was now too busy
+at home repressing internal disorders to give much
+thought to the ambitions of the Scottish king, and
+the Orkney earl was too weak to form a serious
+obstacle, besides which he was more than half Scottish
+himself.</p>
+
+<p>For many years the chiefs of the Hebrides and the
+Western Isles had been wavering in their allegiance
+to the Norwegian crown. King Alexander was also
+doing his utmost to undermine Norse influence in
+the west. While he was carrying on intrigues with
+the western chiefs, he at the same time kept sending
+embassies to Norway to treat with Hakon for the
+purchase of these islands. Hakon’s answer was brief
+and decided: He was not yet so much in want of
+money that he needed to sell his lands for it.</p>
+
+<p>The next King of Scotland, Alexander the Third,
+had the same ambitions as his father, and as resolutely
+pursued his schemes for the subjugation of the
+Hebrides. He was, moreover, a young, energetic, and
+warlike king. He found the island chiefs very
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[101]</span>troublesome neighbours. His father’s policy of intrigue
+was too slow for him, and he determined to
+take by force what he could not obtain by treaty.</p>
+
+<p>In 1262 the Scots invaded the Norse dominions
+in the west. Hakon, who had now pacified his own
+kingdom, was at last roused to make a serious effort
+to preserve his over-sea dominions. In the summer of
+1263 he “let letters of summons be sent round all
+Norway, and called out the levies both of men and
+stores as he thought the land could bear it. He summoned
+all the host to meet him early in the summer
+at Bergen.”</p>
+
+<p>A mighty fleet assembled in obedience to the
+king’s command, and, under the leadership of Hakon
+himself, set sail from Norway in the end of July 1263.
+After delaying through the summer in Shetland and
+Orkney, this ill-fated expedition reached the Firth
+of Clyde in late autumn. Alexander the Third,
+knowing well that he could not hope to meet the
+Norsemen at sea, prepared to give them as warm a
+reception as possible wherever they might land. In
+the meantime he pretended to be anxious for peace.
+Negotiations were opened between the two kings.
+Alexander temporized: winter was approaching.</p>
+
+<p>Hakon’s patience at last gave way, and breaking
+off negotiations, the Norsemen began to harry the
+country, receiving willing aid from the various half-Celtic
+chieftains, who enjoyed nothing so much as an
+opportunity of ravaging the fertile Lowlands. But
+that ally whose coming Alexander had been awaiting
+came at length; on the first of October a great storm
+from the south-west arose suddenly during the night.
+Hakon’s ships began to drag their anchors. They
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[102]</span>fouled each other in the darkness, and several were
+driven ashore on the Ayrshire coast. When morning
+dawned, Hakon found his own ship within bowshot
+of the shore, while the Scots were already plundering
+one which had stranded near by.</p>
+
+<p>During a lull in the storm Hakon managed to
+land a detachment of his men to protect the stranded
+galley. But the storm increased in fury once more.
+The Norsemen on shore were outnumbered probably
+by ten to one, and no help could be sent from the
+ships. The Vikings threw themselves into a circle
+bristling with spear-points. Onset after onset of the
+Scots forced the ring of spears slowly back towards
+the shore, but they could not break it. All day long
+the battle raged—the Norsemen with the angry sea
+behind them, and no hope of succour from their fleet;
+the Scots determined to drive the invaders into the
+sea, or slay them where they stood.</p>
+
+<p>As evening began to fall the storm moderated, and
+Hakon was able to send reinforcements on shore.
+The Scots were borne backwards by the onset of
+the fresh warriors. But night was falling, and the
+Norsemen were anxious to get back to their ships,
+for the storm was not yet over. They accordingly
+hastened to take advantage of the breathing-space
+which they had won, and retired to their ships.</p>
+
+<p>Such was the famous battle of Largs, which both
+Scots and Norsemen claim as a victory. In itself it
+was little more than a skirmish; but the events of
+that night and day, the storm and the battle together,
+gave the death-blow to Norse dominion in the west.
+The heart of King Hakon failed him. His men
+also were discouraged. The shattered remains of the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[103]</span>once splendid fleet set sail for Orkney, and the great
+invasion of Scotland was over.</p>
+
+<p>Broken in spirit and shattered in health, Hakon
+reached Orkney only to die. Part of his fleet was
+ordered to proceed to Norway, and part was laid up
+for the winter in Scapa Bay and Houton Cove.
+Scarcely had these matters been attended to when
+his fatal sickness seized the king. In the Bishop’s
+Palace in Kirkwall he spent his last hours. Here at
+midnight, on Saturday, December 15, 1263, in the
+sixtieth year of his eventful life, died Hakon Hakonson,
+the last of the great sea-kings of Norway.</p>
+
+<p>The remains of the king were carried to the
+cathedral, where they lay in state, and were afterwards
+temporarily interred in the choir near the
+shrine of St. Magnus. When spring came, Hakon’s
+body was exhumed and taken to Bergen in Norway,
+where it was finally laid to rest in the choir of
+Christ Church.</p>
+
+<p>After the death of Hakon, his son Magnus, now
+King of Norway, sent ambassadors to the Scottish
+king to treat for peace, and a treaty was signed at
+Perth in 1266. By this treaty Norway resigned
+her rights in the Hebrides, in consideration of
+Scotland’s paying down four thousand marks, besides
+a tribute of one hundred marks to be paid
+annually in St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall. This
+tribute, called the Annual of Norway, was the direct
+cause of the troubles which preceded the marriage of
+James the Third of Scotland and Princess Margaret
+of Denmark.</p>
+
+<p>A large proportion of King Hakon’s forces had
+to be maintained in Orkney during the winter succeeding
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[104]</span>Largs. To provide for this, the lands of the
+earldom were divided into sections, and charged with
+the maintenance of the soldiers in proportion to the
+amount of “skatt” each section owed the king. The
+Skatt Book of the earldom was prepared—a list of
+the lands therein, and the amount of skatt which
+they paid. It was the Domesday Book of the
+Orkneys. On this Skatt Book were based the
+Scottish Rentals, which came into such prominence
+in the history of the Scottish oppressions during the
+sixteenth century.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp71" id="illus019" style="max-width: 28.125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus019.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Ruins of the Bishop’s Palace, Kirkwall.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[105]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_ANNEXATION_TO_SCOTLAND">THE ANNEXATION TO SCOTLAND.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-t3.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">The history of Orkney during the
+two centuries which intervened
+between the battle of Largs
+and the annexation to Scotland
+contains little of interest. The
+earldom was held by Scottish
+families, first the Strathernes,
+and then the St. Clairs. The sympathies of the earls
+were with the Scots, the people were mainly Norse,
+and as a natural consequence quarrels frequently
+arose between the earls and their subjects. Another
+source of trouble was the fact that the earls generally
+held possessions in Scotland, and were thus subjects
+of Scotland as well as of Norway. The islands were
+neglected by both countries, being of little importance
+to Norway as governed by foreigners, and of little
+interest to Scotland as owned by a foreign country.</p>
+
+<p>Several of the earls took a prominent part in the
+affairs of Scotland, and were men of mark and highly
+esteemed by the Scottish sovereigns. Thus Magnus,
+the last of the Angus line, was one of the eight
+Scottish noblemen who, in 1320, subscribed the
+famous letter to the Pope asserting the independence
+of Scotland; and Henry, the second of the St. Clairs,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[106]</span>was entrusted by King Robert the Third with the
+task of conveying the young Prince James to a
+safe asylum in France, when that prince was made
+prisoner by the English.</p>
+
+<p>In the history of Orkney itself the only man of
+note among the Scottish earls was Henry, the first
+of the St. Clairs, the builder of Kirkwall Castle.
+Henry became earl in 1379. Under his rule Orkney
+and Shetland were once more united. He is the
+only one of the Scottish earls who can be at all
+compared with the old Norse jarls of Orkney. In
+everything except name he was king of his island
+dominions, ruling them as he pleased without much
+thought of either Norway or Scotland.</p>
+
+<p>It was in the time of William, the third of the
+St. Clair earls, that the transference of Orkney and
+Shetland to Scotland took place. The circumstances
+which led to this important event must now be
+related.</p>
+
+<p>After the battle of Largs a treaty of peace between
+Norway and Scotland had been signed at Perth in
+1266, Norway resigning the Hebrides in return for
+an immediate payment by Scotland of four thousand
+marks, and in addition a tribute of one hundred
+marks to be paid annually in St. Magnus Cathedral,
+Kirkwall. For every failure to pay this tribute—known
+in history as the Annual of Norway—Scotland
+was liable to a penalty of ten thousand marks.
+This treaty was afterwards confirmed by Hakon the
+Fifth and Robert the Bruce at Inverness in 1312.</p>
+
+<p>In 1397 Norway, Sweden, and Denmark were
+united under one sovereign. When, in 1448, Christian
+the First became king of the united realms, payment
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[107]</span>by Scotland of the Annual of Norway had been
+neglected for some forty years. According to the
+Treaty of Perth, Scotland was therefore liable to a
+penalty of over four hundred thousand marks.
+Christian’s exchequer was empty; here was an opportunity
+of replenishing it. About 1460 Christian
+made a threatening demand for payment of the
+whole sum due.</p>
+
+<p>The sum demanded was so large that it would
+have been no easy matter for Scotland to pay it,
+however willing she might be. Christian had concluded
+an alliance with France, and France had
+always been the firm friend of Scotland. When a
+rupture between Denmark and Scotland seemed inevitable,
+the French king employed all his influence to
+secure a compromise. He suggested that a marriage
+should be arranged between Prince James of Scotland,
+afterwards James the Third, and Margaret, Christian’s
+daughter, trusting that the negotiations in connection
+with the marriage would lead to the friendly settlement
+of the matters in dispute.</p>
+
+<p>Prolonged negotiations took place between the two
+countries. Scotland at first demanded the remission
+of the Annual of Norway with arrears, the cession
+of Orkney and Shetland, and a dowry of a hundred
+thousand crowns. To these terms Christian refused
+to listen. The death of James the Second at the
+siege of Roxburgh Castle suspended negotiations for
+a time. Some years after the accession of James
+the Third they were resumed. The final result
+was the Marriage Treaty of 1468, which brought
+about the transference of Orkney and Shetland to
+Scotland.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[108]</span></p>
+
+<p>The main provisions of the Marriage Treaty were
+these:—(1.) That the Princess Margaret’s dowry
+should amount to fifty thousand florins; ten thousand
+to be paid within the year, and the islands of Orkney
+to be pledged for the remaining forty thousand.—Only
+two thousand florins were paid, Shetland being
+pledged in the following year for the remaining eight
+thousand. (2.) That the rights of Christian as King
+of Norway should be exercised in the islands by the
+Scottish king until the forty thousand florins were
+paid. (3.) That the islanders should enjoy their own
+customs and laws while under Scottish rule.</p>
+
+<p>Christian would not consent to the permanent
+cession of the islands to Scotland under any conditions.
+In fact nothing but the direst financial straits
+can account for his even pledging them. But he had
+just finished a costly war in Sweden, his exchequer
+was empty, and the Scottish marriage seemed to him
+very desirable.</p>
+
+<p>On this Marriage Treaty of 1468, and on the
+agreement afterwards made with Earl William, Scotland
+bases her claim to the islands of Orkney and
+Shetland. It is certain that Christian intended to
+redeem the islands, and even as late as 1668 the
+plenipotentiaries of Europe assembled at Breda declared
+that Denmark—it ought to be Norway—still
+retained the right to redeem them.</p>
+
+<p>Scottish influence in Orkney had been increasing
+for many years previous to the annexation. The
+needy dependants of the various Scottish noblemen
+who held the earldom found the islands a happy
+hunting-ground for their avarice or for their need.
+There was thus a strong party in Orkney in favour
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[109]</span>of the annexation to Scotland. But the large
+majority of the inhabitants could not but regard the
+change of masters with dismay. Scotland was an
+alien power, and had usually been a hostile one.
+Her laws and institutions had little in common with
+those of the northern earldom. Besides this, her
+tenure being only temporary, she had no inducement
+to promote the welfare of the islands, but on the
+contrary her obvious interest was to make as much
+profit as possible from her opportunity.</p>
+
+<p>From 1468 onwards, till long after the termination
+of Scottish and the beginning of British rule, the lot
+of the islanders was far from enviable. The transformation
+of the leading Norse earldom into a minor
+Scottish county was the work of those years. The
+process by which this was accomplished was a long-continued
+series of injuries and oppressions, the story
+of which forms too long a tale to be fully told here.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus020" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus020.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Knocking Stone and Mell.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[110]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="UDAL_AND_FEUDAL">UDAL AND FEUDAL.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-o.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">Orkney and Shetland were handed
+over to Scotland, but care was
+taken to secure the rights of the
+inhabitants of the islands by the
+provision in the treaty of 1468
+that they should be governed according
+to their own laws and
+usages. These were different from those of Scotland
+in several important particulars. Unfortunately, the
+new Scottish rulers did not know the laws of the
+earldom, and did not care to learn them.</p>
+
+<p>With regard to the holding of land, the laws of
+Scotland were entirely different from those of Orkney.
+In Scotland land was held according to the feudal
+system, in Orkney according to the udal system.
+Under the feudal system the king was nominally
+the owner of all the lands in the kingdom. The
+various landlords held their lands from him as their
+superior, in exchange for certain services to be rendered
+or payments to be made, and by a written title, without
+which they had no legal claim to the land.</p>
+
+<p>The udal system has been described as “the direct
+negation of every feudal principle.” The udaller
+held his land without any written title, subject to no
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[111]</span>service or payment to a superior, and with full possession
+and every conceivable right of ownership.
+The udaller was a peasant noble; he was the king’s
+equal and not his vassal. He owed king or jarl no
+services, duties, or payment for his udal lands, which
+he held as an absolute possession, inalienable from him
+and his race.</p>
+
+<p>It must not be supposed that all the land in
+Orkney was held udally, or that all the inhabitants
+were udallers. There were some udallers who held
+part of their land as tenants, and many of the
+islanders held no udal land at all. All landholders,
+whether udallers or tenants, had to pay a tax, called
+“skatt.” This was a tax levied to meet the expenses
+of government and defence. Skatt was paid sometimes
+to the King of Norway, sometimes to the Earl of
+Orkney, but it was legally the property of the crown.
+Hakon, when he lay dying in Kirkwall, levied skatt
+on the landholders of Orkney for the support of his
+troops during the winter. In this he was only exercising
+the undoubted right of the crown of Norway.
+But the skatt was never a rent, and never carried
+with it the acknowledgment of king or jarl as the
+real landowner.</p>
+
+<p>When Orkney came under Scottish rule, the King
+of Scotland became entitled to the skatt. Some Scottish
+nobleman or churchman was usually appointed to
+collect the revenues of the crown in the earldom. This
+nobleman or churchman was paid a commission on
+what he collected, together with any trifles he might
+extort “in ony manner of way.” Sometimes the
+revenues of the earldom were farmed out to the collector,
+an annual sum being paid by him into the royal
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[112]</span>treasury as rent. This arrangement afforded much
+room for extortion, and all the more so because the
+crown collector was ignorant, or could pretend to be
+ignorant, of Orkney law and of the udal system.</p>
+
+<p>In 1471 the Scottish crown purchased from Earl
+William all the lands and revenues which he held as
+Earl of Orkney. In 1472 Bishop William Tulloch
+was appointed to collect the revenues of the crown in
+Orkney. The period of Scottish oppression at once
+began. The bishop was deeply imbued with feudal
+prejudices. He had a rental drawn up, in which he
+registered the lands of udaller and tenant indiscriminately,
+with a studied confusion of their different
+rights. Both udal and feudal payments were exacted
+as rents from all holders of land.</p>
+
+<p>The udaller had no one to whom he could appeal
+to right his wrongs and protect him against oppression.
+He had no written titles. The bishop ruled
+the bishopric as bishop, and he ruled the earldom as
+representative of the crown. The churches were filled
+with Scottish priests subservient to his will. The
+struggle was hopeless from the beginning, but it took
+a century to reduce the peasant nobles of Orkney to
+the position and rank of tenant farmers, and in the
+meantime the various rulers of the islands reaped
+a rich harvest.</p>
+
+<p>Bishop Tulloch’s rule lasted for seven years, and
+was followed by six years under Bishop Andrew.
+Then in 1485 Henry St. Clair was appointed representative
+of the crown in Orkney. The St. Clairs
+had always been popular in the islands, and the
+islanders rejoiced at the appointment of Lord Henry.
+He redressed a number of grievances, but the fundamental
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[113]</span>change of udal into feudal which had begun
+went on unchecked. It was too profitable a confusion
+to be put right.</p>
+
+<p>After the death of Lord Henry St. Clair at Flodden,
+turmoil and confusion reigned in the earldom. His
+widow, Lady Margaret Hepburn, held the crown lands
+in Orkney for nearly thirty years, but she was quite
+unable to rule the islands. A report got abroad that
+the king intended to give Orkney a feudal lord. In
+1529 the trouble came to a head. James St. Clair,
+the most popular of that popular family, was made
+Governor of Kirkwall Castle, and put himself at the
+head of the discontented faction. Open rebellion followed.
+Lord William St. Clair, son of Lady Margaret
+remained loyal, and had to escape to Caithness.</p>
+
+<p>Allied with the Earl of Caithness, Lord William
+invaded the islands with a considerable force. The
+invaders were met at Summerdale in Stenness by the
+rebels under James St. Clair, and were defeated with
+great slaughter. Many old stories about this battle still
+exist. The Caithness force landed in Orphir, and on
+their march they are said to have encountered a witch,
+whom they consulted as to the omens of success. She
+walked before them, unwinding together two balls
+of thread, one blue and the other red. She asked
+them to choose one of the balls as the symbol of
+their fortune, and they chose the red. The red
+thread was the first to come to an end.</p>
+
+<p>Unwilling to accept this omen, they demanded that
+the witch should give them yet another sign. She
+thereupon informed the Earl of Caithness that whichever
+side lost the first man in the fight would lose
+the day. Soon afterwards a boy was met herding
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[114]</span>cattle, and by order of the earl he was slain. Only
+after the deed was done did they discover that the
+boy was not an Orcadian but a native of Caithness.</p>
+
+<p>Already prepared for defeat by these bad omens, the
+invaders came upon the Orcadian force at Summerdale.
+The Orcadians assailed them with showers of
+stones, and the Caithness force was quickly destroyed.
+Only one Orcadian is said to have fallen. He, having
+dressed himself in the clothes of one of the fallen
+enemy, was slain in the dusk of the evening as he
+returned home. His mother mistook him for one of
+the invading force, and felled him by a blow with a
+stone in the foot of a stocking.</p>
+
+<p>Such are some of the tales tradition has woven
+round this fight. It was the last stand of the udallers,
+and the last pitched battle fought on Orcadian soil,
+if we except the siege of Kirkwall Castle during the
+rebellion of the Stewarts.</p>
+
+<p>After the battle of Summerdale the islands still
+remained in a very unsettled condition, until in 1540
+James the Fifth thought his presence necessary to
+restore tranquillity. The king stayed with the bishop
+in Kirkwall, though not in the ancient Bishop’s Palace,
+which had witnessed the death of King Hakon. The
+visit of the king led to the removal of many abuses.
+But his death in 1542, and the long minority of his
+daughter, Mary Queen of Scots, brought back the
+former evils in an aggravated form. For twenty years
+the records of the islands are records of murder,
+violence, and oppression. The udallers were now a
+comparatively feeble folk, but their worst period of
+oppression was still to come.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[115]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_STEWART_EARLS">THE STEWART EARLS.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-i3.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">In 1565 began the most cruel oppression
+which the islands suffered under Scottish
+rule. Lord Robert Stewart, a son of
+James the Fifth and half-brother of the
+Earl of Moray, obtained a feu charter of
+Orkney and Shetland. This grant was
+illegal in every way. It was not sanctioned
+by Parliament, and it disposed not only of the
+actual property which the crown of Scotland had
+acquired in the islands, but of the lands and services
+of the udallers or free landowners, which had never
+belonged to Norway or Denmark, and could not therefore
+have been acquired by Scotland. In exchange
+for the revenues of the Abbey of Holyrood, the new
+earl also obtained possession of the lands and revenues
+of the Bishopric of Orkney.</p>
+
+<p>To oppress the udallers so as to compel them to
+accept feus from him was the unvarying object of
+Earl Robert’s policy. He aggravated the burdens
+of the islanders by making them use weights and
+measures of his own devising, and increased their
+liabilities to him by a coinage of his own valuation.
+He raised the rents of the tenants to the limits of
+endurance, made every occasional or special payment
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[116]</span>an annual burden, imposed parish taxes as household
+taxes, and by pretended decrees of the Thing, or
+council, evicted many udallers without a show of
+justice. Heavy tolls and duties were laid on all
+fishermen and traders who came to the islands, and
+secret encouragement was given to pirates, whose
+booty was shared by the earl.</p>
+
+<p>The more bitter the complaints of the islanders,
+the more grievous became their oppression. To
+prevent these complaints reaching the ears of the
+authorities in Edinburgh, the earl forbade any one
+to cross the firths or ferries without his permission.
+It began also to be whispered that Earl Robert was
+plotting to sever once more the connection between
+Orkney and the Scottish crown. He had made
+additions to the old palace at Birsay, and on a stone
+over the principal gate he had caused to be inscribed:
+<span class="allsmcap">DOMINUS ROBERTUS STEWARTUS FILIUS JACOBI QUINTI
+REX SCOTORUM HOC OPUS INSTRUXIT</span>—that is, “Earl
+Robert Stewart, son of James the Fifth, King of the
+Scots, erected this building.” Those who know a little
+Latin will observe that by his using the nominative
+case <i>rex</i>, it is Earl Robert himself and not James the
+Fifth whom he describes as “King of the Scots.”
+This was probably a mere mistake in the earl’s
+Latin, but a much graver meaning was attached to
+it by the Scottish King and Parliament when the
+whisper of treason somehow reached their ears.</p>
+
+<p>The complaints of the udallers might be unheeded,
+but the accusation of treason was a much more
+serious matter. The earl was summoned to Edinburgh
+to answer the charges against him. He was
+kept for some time a prisoner in Linlithgow Castle,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[117]</span>but the storm quickly blew over. No trial ever took
+place. That ordeal Earl Robert escaped by the help
+of his powerful friends and relatives; and not only so,
+but in 1581 he was once more granted the Earldom
+of Orkney and Shetland, with extended powers.</p>
+
+<p>When Robert Stewart died, the islands were granted
+to his son, Patrick Stewart, the most cruel oppressor
+of all. Skilful in tyranny and extortion as Earl
+Robert had been, his son showed still more ability and
+ingenuity in his evil courses. The multiplication of
+enactments and penalties for the most trivial offences,
+confiscation, torture, and judicial murder—these were
+the additions Earl Patrick made to the machinery of
+oppression used by his father. He had palaces built
+for him at Scalloway and at Kirkwall by the same
+forced labour that had already reared Earl Robert’s
+palace in Birsay. But Earl Patrick’s career is best
+described in the words of Mackenzie:—</p>
+
+<p>“Earl Patrick—still remembered in Orkney tradition
+as ‘Black Pate’—was a man of kingly ideas, and
+had his lot been cast in Egypt instead of in Orkney,
+would have done very well as one of the Pharaohs.
+‘Heaven is high and the Czar is far away,’ says a
+Russian proverb. Orkney is far from Holyrood and
+farther from London, and the earl did his own pleasure
+in his domain, without having the fear of the distant
+king before his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>“Most astounding and extraordinary was the system
+of tyranny and extortion which he carried on. He
+accused one and another of the gentry of the islands
+of high treason, and tried them in his own court.
+But it was not his object to punish these gentlemen
+as traitors against the king. In that case their forfeited
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[118]</span>estates would go to the king, which would be
+no profit to the earl. The earl was not so simple.
+The frightened udallers were glad enough to compound
+with the formidable earl by making over to
+him a portion of their lands to save the remainder
+and their own necks.</p>
+
+<p>“The Orkney potentate dealt in exactions of every
+description. He extorted taxes and duties. He created
+ferries and levied exorbitant tolls on them. He compelled
+the people to work for him all manner of work.
+He forced them to row his boats and man his ships,
+to toil in his quarries, to convey stones and lime for
+the building of his palace and park walls, and to
+perform whatever other kinds of slave-labour he chose
+to demand, ‘without either meat or drink or hire.’</p>
+
+<p>“The Czar though far away sometimes hears at
+last. The doings of this tyrant of the isles attracted
+the attention of the law. He was seized and put in
+ward in Dumbarton Castle. What schemes were in
+his proud, fierce head it is difficult to guess. This is
+known, that, under his instructions, his son Robert
+occupied the castle of Kirkwall with armed men, fortified
+the cathedral, and stood ready to hold his own.</p>
+
+<p>“As soon as it became known in Edinburgh that
+Orkney was in rebellion, the king’s Secret Council
+dispatched the Earl of Caithness to bring it under.
+Two great cannons were wheeled down from Edinburgh
+Castle and shipped at Leith along with a strong
+military force. The expedition landed safely within
+a mile and a half of Kirkwall. The great cannons
+were pointed against the castle. They shot and got
+their answer in shot. The siege continued about a
+month, when the rebels gave in. Caithness returned
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[119]</span>to Edinburgh with Robert Stewart and other prisoners,
+and the two great cannons passed up the High Street
+in triumph, to the sound of drum and trumpet, with
+the keys of Kirkwall Castle hanging at their muzzles.</p>
+
+<p>“Robert Stewart was condemned to death and
+hanged at the Market Cross along with five of his
+accomplices. The people pitied him greatly, for it
+was his father’s scheming that had led him to destruction.
+His father’s execution soon followed. The
+ministers who tried to prepare him for death, finding
+him so ignorant that he could not say the Lord’s
+Prayer, asked the Council to delay his execution for
+a few days, till he could be better informed. The
+request was granted, and then he went his way into
+the great darkness.”</p>
+
+<p>The rebellion of Earl Patrick led to the abolition
+of the Thing and the ancient laws of Orkney and
+Shetland, but there was little change for the better in
+the government of the islands. They were assigned
+to one nobleman after another, no one having any
+interest in their improvement. It was, indeed, not
+till the eighteenth century that any very great effort
+was made to give them the benefits of good government
+and a chance to regain somewhat of their ancient
+prosperity.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus021" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus021.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Pot Querns and Saddle Quern.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[120]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_EIGHTEENTH_AND_NINETEENTH_CENTURIES">THE EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-d.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">During the long period of oppression by
+the Scottish earls, the state of our
+islands had been indeed deplorable,
+and recovery was slow. The spirit
+was crushed out of the people.
+Industry was vain when plunder
+was sure to follow. Agriculture
+could not advance when the alien landlord claimed
+all the profit. An Orkney writer of the eighteenth
+century gives a sad picture of the condition of the
+country in his day:—</p>
+
+<p>“The inhabitants, in general, are very polite,
+hospitable, and kind to strangers; but I am sorry to
+say that so little is industry encouraged in our country
+that no means can be assigned by which the lower
+class of people can get their bread. By reason of
+having no employment they must live very wretchedly;
+they become indolent and lazy to the last degree,
+insomuch that rather than raise cabbage for their own
+use they will steal from others; and instead of being
+at pains to prepare the turf, which they have for the
+mere trouble of cutting up and drying, yet, rather
+than do so, they will steal it from those who are
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[121]</span>richer or more industrious than themselves....
+Every Saturday, which day they are privileged to
+beg, a troop of miserable, ragged creatures are seen
+going from door to door, almost numerous enough to
+plunder the whole town were they to exert themselves
+against it in an hostile manner—at least, if
+their valour was in proportion to their distress.”</p>
+
+<p>The dawn of a brighter day came slowly, and it is
+difficult now to trace the steps by which the prosperity
+of the islands was restored. Agriculture remained in
+a very primitive state till the nineteenth century had
+well begun. An Orkney “township” had a very
+different appearance in those days from what we now
+see. The farms were not divided from one another;
+each patch of cultivated ground belonged to all the
+farmers in the township, who shared it on the “run-rig”
+system, each “rig” being worked by a different
+owner.</p>
+
+<p>The only pasture was the natural grass of meadow
+and hill, and this also was common property. A
+“hill-dyke,” usually of turf, surrounded the corn-land,
+and formed a somewhat indifferent protection against
+the flocks of sheep, cattle, horses, and pigs which
+found their summer food on the “hill.” The names
+“Slap” and “Grind,” borne by farmhouses in many
+districts, remind us of the gateways in these old hill
+dykes.</p>
+
+<p>With the corn-land subdivided in this way, and
+the pasture-land undivided, there was no inducement
+for any farmer to improve his methods of agriculture.
+Farm implements were of the rudest kind. The soil
+was scratched rather than tilled by means of wooden
+ploughs with only one stilt or handle, a model of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[122]</span>which may be seen in the museum in Stromness.
+There were no carts; loads were carried pannier-fashion
+on the backs of horses, along the rough tracks
+or bridle-paths which served for roads.</p>
+
+<p>Of the old style of farmhouse scarcely a relic now
+remains. One entrance usually served the farmer
+and his cattle, who lived under the same roof, though
+in separate apartments. In the kitchen, or “but-end,”
+the fireplace was simply a raised hearth in the centre
+of the room, with a low wall or “back” against which
+the peat-fire was built. There was no chimney, but
+a large opening in the roof allowed the smoke to
+escape in a leisurely fashion. Behind the “back”
+there was often accommodation for poultry, calves,
+and other domestic animals. The better class of
+houses had beyond the kitchen a parlour, or “ben-end,”
+which was used only on great occasions.</p>
+
+<p>Rough and primitive as was their manner of life,
+yet at the beginning of last century the Orcadians
+had already made a very considerable advance in
+prosperity. A writer of the time tells us that the
+small farmers had more money among them than
+could be found among people of similar station in any
+other part of the British Isles.</p>
+
+<p>It was not till the second quarter of the century
+that the land was divided up into separate farms, and
+modern methods of agriculture began to be employed,
+with rotation of crops and improved implements. A
+little later the beginning was made of the system
+of roads which now spreads in a network over the
+islands.</p>
+
+<p>While agriculture was yet in its infancy, the islands
+were much benefited by various forms of industry
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[123]</span>and occupation which have now mostly fallen into
+disuse, as the need for their help has passed away.
+One of these industries, introduced towards the end
+of the eighteenth century, was the spinning of flax
+and the weaving of linen. Flax was largely grown
+in the islands at one time, and the dressing, spinning,
+and weaving of it was a common occupation.</p>
+
+<p>About the beginning of the nineteenth century
+the manufacture of straw-plait was introduced, and
+soon took the place of the linen industry. It is said
+that over six thousand women and girls were at one
+time employed in straw-plaiting. Though the workers
+were paid but little, and that usually not in money
+but in goods, the straw-plaiting increased considerably
+the wealth and the trade of the county.</p>
+
+<p>The manufacture of kelp was introduced early in
+the eighteenth century, and gave occupation to many
+of the inhabitants. Large profits were made in this
+business, not so much, of course, by the actual workers
+as by the landlords and other agents who exported
+the kelp. At one time, indeed, it seemed as if the
+attention given to this industry was to prove a
+hindrance to the advance of agriculture, which is the
+only foundation of true prosperity in these islands;
+and when other substances began to take the place
+of kelp, the decline of this trade was really a benefit
+to the islands.</p>
+
+<p>Fishing has always been an important industry in
+Orkney, but it was not till near the middle of the
+nineteenth century that the improvements in boats
+and in gear made the fisheries a really valuable asset
+to the islanders. Fishing, however, cannot be called
+one of those temporary industries which we mentioned.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[124]</span>The herring fishery and the white fishing,
+as well as other branches of this industry, have
+continued to increase, and next to agriculture, fishing
+is the great natural source of wealth for the
+people.</p>
+
+<p>During the centuries now under our notice, Orkney
+had a closer connection with the seafaring life than
+it has to-day. When all trade was carried on by
+sailing ships, and when westerly winds were quite as
+common as they now are, vessels passing through
+the Pentland Firth for America or elsewhere found
+Stromness a convenient port of call, and its harbour
+was often crowded with shipping. This was especially
+the case during the French wars of the eighteenth
+century, when the English Channel was avoided by
+shipping as being too near the enemy’s shores. Fleets
+of trading ships used to gather at Stromness while
+waiting a convoy of men-of-war to accompany them
+across the Atlantic.</p>
+
+<p>An interesting relic of those busy times in Stromness
+is the old Warehouse and Warehouse Pier at
+the north end of that town. This store was built
+about the middle of the eighteenth century for the
+convenience of the rice ships from America, as being
+the safest place for them to discharge their cargoes.
+Before the end of the century, however, the Stromness
+Warehouse was deserted in favour of Cowes in
+the Isle of Wight. A writer of the time makes out
+a strong case in favour of Stromness and against the
+English Channel, but the fact that Cowes is nearer to
+London seems to have settled the matter in favour of
+that port.</p>
+
+<p>During these prolonged naval wars, it is said that
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[125]</span>as many as twelve thousand Orkneymen served in
+the navy. Many of them went as volunteers, but
+probably most of them served against their will, as the
+pressgang was very active among the islands. Many
+a young sailor who began his voyage on a peaceful
+trader was soon transferred to one of His Majesty’s
+ships. Traditions of those troublous times are still
+preserved among many families in the islands. Hundreds
+of these men were never heard of again, for
+those were not the days of telegraphs and war correspondents.
+The years passed, and the son or the
+brother did not return, but when or how he fell his
+friends never knew. It was a heavy war-tax the
+islands paid; the full extent of it has never been
+disclosed.</p>
+
+<p>About 1740 the ships of the Hudson’s Bay Company
+began to visit the islands, not only to wait for
+a wind to start them on their annual voyage, but to
+engage labourers and tradesmen to carry on the fur
+trade among the Indians of the west and north of
+Canada. The connection thus begun is not yet quite
+extinct, but in the earlier part of the nineteenth century
+there was a constant stream of young men
+flowing to the Far West. At one time from fifty
+to a hundred men left Stromness for Hudson Bay
+every summer. Some remained as pioneers and colonists;
+some returned after a sojourn of five years
+or more, with a tidy sum of money to start them
+as farmers or tradesmen at home. Many of them
+who settled in the Great Lone Land rose to high
+positions in the Company’s service. The most famous
+of this band of empire-builders was Dr. John Rae,
+the discoverer of the fate of the ill-starred Franklin
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[126]</span>Expedition, and a noted Arctic explorer, whose
+monument may be seen in the nave of St. Magnus
+Cathedral.</p>
+
+<p>The Company then ruled over the greater portion
+of what is now the Dominion of Canada. The names
+of Fort York, Moose Factory, and Red River were as
+familiar to the Orkney boys of those days as Edinburgh,
+Glasgow, and Aberdeen are to us to-day. But
+Canada changed even more than Orkney during the
+latter part of the nineteenth century, and the great
+Hudson’s Bay Company have now handed over their
+vast territories to the rule of the Dominion. The
+fur trade still exists in the North-West, and there are
+Orkneymen still in the employment of the Company;
+but the days have gone by when this was one of
+the chief industries of the wander-loving sons of our
+islands.</p>
+
+<p>After the “Nor’-Wast,” as the Hudson Bay service
+was called, the “Straits” had the next claim on our
+youth. The Davis Strait whale-fishing fleet made
+an annual visit to our islands to complete their
+crews. This was in the spring or “vore,” when
+the crops were in the ground, and many men, both
+young and middle-aged, looked to the annual whaling
+trip to the north as a means of gain, just as their
+Norse ancestors did to the annual “vore-viking” raid
+on the richer shores of the South. This also has
+passed away; the harpoon and whale-lance are rarely
+seen in the islands; whales and whaling fleet alike
+have almost become extinct. But while agriculture
+was still in its infancy in Orkney, the “Straits” gave
+much-needed employment and modest gains to many
+of our hardy forefathers.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[127]</span></p>
+
+<p>The general tendency of life in Orkney has been
+away from dependence upon the sea for a living,
+and towards agriculture and the trade and commerce
+which it brings with it. In its methods of farming
+and in its general prosperity the county now compares
+well with any other part of the kingdom. But
+most of this progress has been made during the last
+half century or so.</p>
+
+<p>It was in 1833 that the Aberdeen, Leith, and
+Clyde Shipping Company, now the North of Scotland
+and Orkney and Shetland Navigation Company, first
+decided to send one of their steamers—the <i>Velocity</i>—to
+call at Kirkwall. The call was made once a
+fortnight, and only during the months of June, July,
+and August. The mails were then carried across the
+Pentland Firth in a small boat. The growth in traffic
+since that time is indicated by the fact that the trade
+and commerce of the islands now requires the weekly
+call of two steamers at Kirkwall and three at Stromness,
+with a daily mail steamer to both towns, in addition
+to numerous occasional trips of other steamers
+and sailing vessels, especially during the fishing season,
+while four smaller steamers maintain communication
+between the various islands.</p>
+
+<p>The Orkney farmer still has a somewhat niggardly
+soil and a stormy climate to contend with. His acres
+are few, and his boys will often turn to richer lands
+to seek their fortune. But life in these islands to-day
+is easy and comfortable compared with what it was
+during any of the ten centuries whose history we
+have passed in brief review.</p>
+
+<p>The boys and girls who aim at seeking wealth and
+fame in other lands, though by other means than
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[128]</span>those of their Viking ancestors, may now set forth
+on their voyage as well equipped by education and
+otherwise as the youth of any country in the world.
+Those who remain at home will still find a worthy
+task in carrying on the improvement of the homeland,
+as their fathers have done; for whatever stage
+of progress we may attain, it is never merely an end
+but also a beginning.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp56" id="illus022" style="max-width: 28.125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus022.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Old-fashioned Fireplace</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[129]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="Part_II-The_Isles_and_the_Folk">Part II.—The Isles and the Folk.</h2>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="A_SURVEY_OF_THE_ISLANDS">A SURVEY OF THE ISLANDS.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<h4 id="On_Wideford_Hill">On Wideford Hill.</h4>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-t1.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">There is no better view-point
+from which to make a general
+survey of the Orcadian Archipelago
+than Wideford Hill. It is
+less than half the height of the
+Ward Hill of Hoy, but it is at
+once more central and more easily
+accessible. The Ward Hill of Orphir exceeds it in
+height by nearly one hundred and fifty feet, and
+affords a much finer view to the westward; but
+Wideford Hill is more isolated from other hills, and
+from its summit we can obtain a better general outlook
+over the islands.</p>
+
+<p>Wideford Hill rises to a height of seven hundred
+and forty feet, and, standing within two miles of Kirkwall,
+it may be easily approached either from the
+main Stromness road over the Ayre, or from the old
+road above the site of the Lammas market. If we
+choose the right kind of day, when a cool northerly
+breeze gives us a horizon free from haze, and when
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[130]</span>thin gray clouds veil the sun only at intervals, we
+shall see from Wideford a panorama which surpasses
+in loveliness and in human interest that seen from
+many a mountain top.</p>
+
+<p>The charm of Orkney scenery lies in its colour
+rather than its form, in its luminous distances rather
+than its immediate foreground, in its restfulness
+rather than its grandeur. The landscape does not
+overwhelm the beholder with a sense of his puny
+insignificance, as great mountains are apt to do; it
+wins his love by suggestions of peace and of home.</p>
+
+<p>But let us look around and note what we see.
+Far to the southward lies the silvery streak of the
+Pentland Firth, very innocent now in its summer
+calm. Beyond it stretch the low shores of Caithness;
+and in the blue distance we see Morven and the
+mountains of Sutherland, the “southern land” of the
+Norsemen. Nearer is the green expanse of South
+Ronaldsay, much foreshortened to the view, with the
+lighthouse towers of the Pentland Skerries showing
+beyond, and the island of Burray at its nearer end.
+To the right, over Scapa Flow, rises the long brown
+ridge of Hoy, separated by streaks of shimmering
+sea from Flotta, Fara, Cava, and its other neighbours.
+Very stern and solemn look its heath-clad heights as
+the passing shadows fall across them.</p>
+
+<p>The whole of the East Mainland lies at our feet—Deerness,
+bright and sunny, with the Moul Head
+stretching boldly out to sea; nearer is St. Andrews,
+and Holm, half hidden by the ridge of high ground in
+the north of that parish; and, nearer still, St. Ola,
+deeply cut into by the Bays of Kirkwall and Scapa,
+which look as if they only awaited the next spring
+tide to join hands across the narrow isthmus, the
+Peerie Sea lying ready to do its part.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[131]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp48" id="illus023" style="max-width: 34.375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus023.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Round about Kirkwall.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[132]</span></p>
+
+<p>Kirkwall, the “Kirk Voe” of the Norsemen, is more
+worthy of its name to-day than when the little church
+of St. Olaf was the chief object in the landscape.
+Approach it how we may, the great Cathedral of St.
+Magnus arrests our attention. Seen from Wideford
+Hill the tower does not break the skyline, as it does
+from the sea; yet the mass of sombre reddish masonry
+asserts itself, and dominates the pearl-gray cluster of
+walls and roofs that spreads around, as it has done for
+nearly eight hundred years.</p>
+
+<p>“Tame” and “uninteresting” are the words often
+used to describe the appearance of our island capital.
+It does not seem so to-day. As the eye sweeps down
+over the purple shoulder of the hill to the green
+fields below, and passes over the silver gleam of the
+water with broken reflections of tower and gable
+beyond, it rests upon a picture filled with many
+charms of line, mass, and colour, from which the deep
+cool green of tree and shrub is not wholly wanting.
+Open to the north and the south by the “Viking
+path” of the sea, and joined to the east and the west
+by more modern paths, the thin white lines of
+curving roadway, Kirkwall shows itself the natural
+focus of our island commerce and social life, and
+the centre of a wide and fair landscape.</p>
+
+<p>Northward and westward next we turn our view.
+Kirkwall Bay opens out into the “Wide Fiord,” which
+doubtless gave our hill its name, and westward into
+the “Aurrida Fiord,” or Sea-trout Firth, which first
+gave its name to the parish of Firth, and then received
+in exchange its present name, the Bay of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[133]</span>Firth. Its shores are low and well cultivated, but
+to the north rises the dark brown ridge formed by
+the hills of Firth and of Rendall, which hide from
+our view most of the parish of Evie and parts of
+Harray and Birsay.</p>
+
+<p>To the left of this ridge, through the central valley
+of Firth and Stenness, a charming vista opens out.
+A rich and fertile sweep of low ground forms the
+basin of the great lochs, and on the long peninsula
+between them we can distinguish the Standing Stones
+rising as needle points against the blue expanse of the
+Loch of Stenness. The green mound of Maeshowe,
+too, is clearly visible. Far away, over the cultivated
+slopes of Sandwick, we see the soft shimmer of the
+Atlantic, and to the northward the undulating skyline
+of the Birsay Hills.</p>
+
+<p>Due west from where we stand the view is shut
+in by the long ridge of the Keelylang Hills and the
+bold outline of the Ward Hill of Orphir, and the
+fairest part of the West Mainland, Stromness, with
+its bays and islets, is beyond our ken. To enjoy
+a view of these we must take our stand upon the
+Ward Hill itself, but this will come into the programme
+of another day.</p>
+
+<p>Of the island-studded sea to the north and east
+we have not yet spoken. We can hardly disentangle
+the maze of sounds and bays, of holms and promontories,
+except by the aid of a map, and if we
+are wise we shall have one in our pocket. With
+this before us the maze becomes clear. The bold
+hills of Rousay stand clear of the Mainland to the
+north, with the lower islands of Gairsay, Wyre or Veira,
+and Egilsay near at hand. Westray is all but hidden,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[134]</span>but the blue ridge of Eday stands boldly forth, shutting
+out from view the greater portion of Sanday
+and North Ronaldsay. The tall lighthouse pillar on
+the Start, however, is clearly seen.</p>
+
+<p>Close to Kirkwall Bay, and protecting it from the
+eastern sea, lies the fertile island of Shapinsay, with
+Balfour Castle standing in clear view among its
+gardens. Beyond we see the bold outline of Stronsay,
+and to the south of it Auskerry and its lighthouse.</p>
+
+<p>Now we let our eye rest on the horizon, a sharp
+and clear line where we can trace the smoke of
+trawlers and other craft which are themselves hidden
+by the great curve of the ocean plain. There, right
+over Balfour Castle, something catches our eye. It
+might be the smoke of a passing steamer, but it does
+not change its form as we look; it stands clear and
+sharp, a tiny blue pyramid showing over the horizon.
+There is only one thing it can be—the Fair Isle,
+distant some sixty miles from where we stand! Only
+on rare occasions is this lonely sea-girt rock so free
+from cloud and mist that its top is thus to be distinguished.
+Yet if we know where to look for it,
+we may occasionally see it as we do to-day; and it
+is useful to remember that from Wideford Hill its
+bearing is directly over Balfour Castle.</p>
+
+<h4 id="Among_the_North_Isles">Among the North Isles.</h4>
+
+<p>A glance at the map of Orkney will show that
+most of the important islands lie north of the Mainland.
+The term “North Isles,” however, is generally
+used to mean only the more distant of these—Stronsay,
+Eday, Sanday, North Ronaldsay, and Westray,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[135]</span>with the smaller islands adjacent to them. These
+can be visited by steamer from Kirkwall in one
+day, with the exception of North Ronaldsay; and
+at the same time a good view can be obtained of
+the nearer islands—Shapinsay and Rousay, with the
+smaller group of Egilsay, Wyre, and Gairsay. North
+Ronaldsay may also be seen on the far north-eastern
+horizon.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Kirkwall pier in the early morning, we
+sail northwards out of the bay, when the String
+opens on our right, and Shapinsay is close at hand.
+There, sheltered by Helliar Holm, we notice the bay
+of Ellwick, where, in 1263, King Haco moored his
+hundred ships when on that ill-starred expedition
+which ended at Largs. West of the bay stands
+Balfour Castle, the finest specimen of modern domestic
+architecture in the islands, surrounded by its noted
+gardens.</p>
+
+<p>The sea to the west of Shapinsay is dotted with
+shoals and skerries; but as we pass Gairsay on the
+left and sail round Galt Ness, the north-western
+point of Shapinsay, we find open water before us,
+and steer north-east towards Eday, passing the Green
+Holms on our way.</p>
+
+<p>Eday, the first island at which we call, is hilly
+and heath-clad, with abundance of peat. Ever since
+the days of Torf Einar, no doubt, it has yielded
+a supply of peat for such unprovided islands as
+Sanday, up to modern times when coal has come
+into more general use. Even yet the peat industry
+is considerable, and Eday peats have been recently
+seen in use for drying malt in a distillery near
+Edinburgh. The most interesting part of Eday,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[138]</span>however, is the north end of the island, where our
+steamer will call later in the day.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[136]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp56" id="illus024" style="max-width: 75.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus024.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>ORKNEY ISLANDS</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[137]</span></p>
+
+<p>From Eday we cross to Stronsay, keeping to the
+north of that island, and then turning southwards
+to the village of Whitehall in Papa Sound, protected
+on the north-east by the small island of Papa Stronsay.
+This sheltered roadstead so near the open
+eastern sea has long been an important centre of
+the herring fishery. About the middle of last century
+as many as four hundred Orkney boats and many
+from the Scottish mainland found anchorage in Papa
+Sound. In modern times Stronsay has again risen
+in importance as a fishing station.</p>
+
+<p>Stronsay is one of the best agricultural districts
+in Orkney, and is noted for the size and the excellence
+of its farms. Near Lamb Head, in the
+extreme south-east of Stronsay, are the remains of
+a very extensive pier, erected before the time of the
+Norsemen.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Whitehall pier, we next sail due north
+across Sanday Sound to Kettletoft Bay in Sanday.
+This bay and that of Otterswick in the north afford
+safe anchorage; but the low, flat island, with its
+numerous projecting points and skerries, presents
+many dangers to navigation. As early as 1529 a
+lighthouse was erected on the extreme eastern point
+of the island, and was called the Star, from which,
+it is said, the headland derived its name, Start Point.
+Long after that time, however, the island was noted for
+the number of shipwrecks which occurred on its shores.</p>
+
+<p>Sanday is emphatically the “Sand Island.” Its
+soil is sandy and generally fertile, and its surface
+is low and flat. Only in the south-west is there
+any rising ground, where the highest point in the island
+reaches a height of a little over two hundred feet.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[139]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp48" id="illus025" style="max-width: 34.375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus025.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Orkney Villages.—I.</i></p>
+      <p>1. St. Margaret’s Hope, South Ronaldsay. 2. Pierowall, Westray.
+    3. Whitehall, Stronsay. 4. Finstown, Firth.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[140]</span></p>
+
+<p>From Kettletoft pier our course is now south-west,
+until we double Spur Ness, the most southerly point
+of Sanday; then turning northwards, we make for
+Calf Sound, at the north end of Eday. This sheltered
+channel, between Eday and the Calf of Eday, is
+memorable as the scene of the capture of the pirate
+Gow in 1725.</p>
+
+<p>Gow, or Smith, was a native of Stromness, where
+“Gow’s Garden,” a name given to a patch of ground
+on the east side of the harbour, afterwards occupied
+by a shipbuilding yard, seems to mark the site of his
+father’s house. The name Gow, however, which is
+the Gaelic equivalent of Smith, indicates a Scottish
+rather than an Orcadian descent. In 1724 Gow was
+sailing as second mate on board the <i>George</i>, an English
+vessel of two hundred tons, mounting eighteen
+guns, and trading on the Barbary coast. He and
+several others of the crew mutinied, murdered the
+captain, and started on what proved to be a very
+brief career of piracy.</p>
+
+<p>After a few months’ cruising, Gow carried his
+ship, now named the <i>Revenge</i>, into Stromness to
+refit; but as he soon made the place too hot for
+safety, he put to sea in February 1725. Having
+sailed north round Westray, he turned south towards
+Eday, and in beating through Calf Sound ran his
+ship aground on the Calf, opposite Carrick House,
+then occupied by Mr. James Fea of Clestran. To
+him Gow applied for help to get his ship off the
+rocks; but the opportunity was too good to be missed,
+and Fea by various stratagems succeeded in making
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[141]</span>prisoners of Gow and his crew. They were handed
+over to the authorities, and afterwards suffered the
+penalty of their crimes in London.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly a century later, in 1814, Sir Walter Scott
+made his memorable visit to Orkney and Shetland,
+and the legends which he collected regarding Gow
+formed a centre round which he wove his well-known
+story, “The Pirate.”</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus026" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus026.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Noltland Castle.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Carrick was at one time the site of a thriving manufacture
+of salt, but that too is now a tale of the past.</p>
+
+<p>On leaving Carrick our steamer passes out of
+Calf Sound between the Red Head on the west and
+the Grey Head on the east, so named from the colour
+of their sandstone cliffs. The stone of the former
+has been much in favour for building purposes, as
+St. Magnus Cathedral can testify, and has on occasion
+found its way as far south as London.</p>
+
+<p>A north-westerly course now brings us to Pierowall
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[142]</span>in Westray, our last port of call. The long, low island
+guarding it on the north-east, fertile and well cultivated,
+is Papa
+Westray.
+Towards its
+south end is
+a small lake,
+on a holm in
+which are the
+ruins of a
+chapel dedicated
+to St.
+Tredwall, a
+place of great
+sanctity in
+former days,
+and a special
+shrine for
+such pilgrims
+as suffered
+from sore
+eyes. Long
+after the Reformation, indeed, we are told that the
+minister of the island had much difficulty in preventing
+his flock from resorting thither to pay their
+devotions to the saint before assembling in the church.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp63" id="illus027" style="max-width: 25.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus027.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Noup Head Lighthouse.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The chief point of interest in Westray is Noltland
+Castle, now roofless indeed, but scarcely yet a ruin.
+It was built early in the fifteenth century by Bishop
+Tulloch, and afterwards passed into the hands of
+Sir Gilbert Balfour, Master of the Household to
+Mary Queen of Scots. After the escape of the
+unfortunate queen from Lochleven Castle, he was
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[143]</span>ordered to prepare Noltland for her reception. Had
+the ill-fated Mary turned northwards instead of
+southwards
+when the day
+went against
+her at Langside,
+and had
+she sought
+shelter among
+these northern
+islands instead
+of trusting to
+the tender
+mercies of her
+cousin and
+rival, Queen
+Elizabeth, what
+a romantic
+chapter might have been added to the history of
+Orkney!</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp75" id="illus028" style="max-width: 25.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus028.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>North Ronaldsay Lighthouse.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Westray contains much good arable land, and
+supports a large population. On the west side
+the scenery is bold and romantic; and from Fitty
+Hill, which is over five hundred and fifty feet in
+height, the view extends to Foula in Shetland and
+the Fair Isle. The cliffs facing the Atlantic are lofty
+and picturesque. About a mile south of Noup Head,
+the western extremity of the island, is the Gentlemen’s
+Cave, where five Orcadian adherents of “Prince
+Charlie” are said to have found shelter for several
+months after the “’Forty-five.”</p>
+
+<p>From Fitty Hill we may obtain a distant view of
+North Ronaldsay, the most northerly and perhaps the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[144]</span>most verdant island of the group. Separated from
+its nearest neighbour, Sanday, by the wild and stormy
+North Ronaldsay Firth, the crossing of which in
+the usual open boat is often dangerous, even when
+possible, this island impresses the visitor as being
+very much cut off from the world. But in such
+matters all depends upon comparison, and doubtless
+there are many who regard the whole of our islands
+as similarly remote and inaccessible.</p>
+
+<p>A stone dyke surrounds the island of North Ronaldsay,
+outside which a number of native sheep pick up
+a living on the “banks” and even in the “ebb.” On
+the most northerly point, near Dennis Head, stands
+one of the finest of our lighthouses; for North
+Ronaldsay, like Sanday, has been the scene of many
+a shipwreck.</p>
+
+<p>Our return from Westray to Kirkwall is made
+direct, and we now keep to the west of Eday, passing
+Faray and its Holm, and having the heath-clad hills
+of Rousay clear in view to the westward. Rousay
+far surpasses the other islands of the northern group
+in its hill and cliff scenery, its highest elevation
+reaching eight hundred and twenty feet, and its
+western shore presenting many romantic effects in
+stack and cave. Among its other attractive features
+are the Loch of Wasbister, in the north; the Burn
+of Westness and Westness House, overlooking the
+sacred isle of Eynhallow and the tumultuous Roost
+of Burgar; and the modern mansion of Trumbland,
+looking out on the calm sound and the green island
+of Veira or Wyre.</p>
+
+<p>Nearer our course, however, lies the long, low
+stretch of Egilsay, the “Church Island” of the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[145]</span>Norsemen, where the saintly Earl Magnus was done
+to death. The present ruined church, with its far-seen
+round tower, though of later date, doubtless
+occupies the site of that earlier church which was
+the scene of his murder.</p>
+
+<p>Wyre, too, soon opens out to view, with its ruined
+chapel, and the mound which marks the traditional site
+of “Cubbie Roo’s Castle,” the home of the once formidable
+Kolbein Hruga, whose name is even yet used to
+terrify into good behaviour some obstreperous youngster,
+in the awful threat, “Cubbie Roo’ll get thee!”</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus029" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus029.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Westness, Eynhallow, and Costa Head.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Gairsay, with its rounded hill over three hundred
+feet high, next claims our attention, and the name of
+Sweyn Holm, lying off its eastern shore, recalls to us
+Sweyn Asleifson and the great drinking-hall which he
+built on the island when he made it his winter home:
+the summer home of the stout old Viking was on
+board his long-ship. But now the tower of St. Magnus
+rising ahead reminds us that our day’s sail is at an end,
+and we are shortly alongside Kirkwall pier once more.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[146]</span></p>
+
+<h4 id="Among_the_South_Isles">Among the South Isles.</h4>
+
+<p>For a visit to the South Isles of Orkney, Stromness
+is our best starting-point. It is the natural centre
+of communication for this group—or rather for the
+western division of the group, for South Ronaldsay
+and Burray may be visited equally well from Kirkwall
+by way of Scapa Bay. The small steamer
+which makes the regular round of the islands will
+serve us for the beginning of our tour, but we
+must soon branch off from the ordinary route if we
+are to see much of interest.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus030" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus030.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Stromness Harbour.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The green island of Graemsay, with its beach of
+gleaming white sand, looks very attractive as we
+sail out of Stromness harbour. Its chief attraction
+to visitors is the lofty tower of the East Lighthouse,
+which serves, along with the lower West Lighthouse,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[147]</span>to guide ships through the swift tideway of Hoy
+Sound. The official name, indeed, for these lights
+is not Graemsay, but Hoy.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus031" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus031.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Graemsay East Lighthouse.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Graemsay is separated from Hoy by Burra Sound,
+and here we shall leave our steamer, landing at
+Linksness, the best starting-point for the long walk
+and climb which we have before us. Hoy is next
+to the Mainland in size, but little of its surface is
+cultivated, and roads are few and far between. So
+we strike westward, and, leaving cultivation behind,
+make for the Meadow of the Kame, keeping the Ward
+Hill and its neighbour the Cuilags on our left. There
+is a famous echo here, which we may stop to test
+before beginning the climb to the Kame itself—a long
+ridge some twelve hundred feet high, which runs from
+the Cuilags to the sheer precipice on the north.</p>
+
+<p>The coast-line we now reach is one of the loftiest
+in the British Isles, rising at St. John’s Head to a
+perpendicular height of 1,140 feet. With due care
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[148]</span>we may approach the edge and look down this fearful
+and giddy height, but it is not a place for foolhardy
+daring. The view of this stupendous cliff, with the
+white surges breaking a thousand feet below in a
+slow and strangely noiseless movement, and the seagulls
+flitting like midges in their mazy dance midway
+between us and the blue water, is something
+which cannot be described and cannot be forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>Beyond St. John’s Head the ground falls to half
+the height or less, and a couple of miles brings us
+to the far-famed Old Man of Hoy. This wonderful
+pillar stands well out from the cliff, on a ledge
+of rock which connects with the land near sea-level.
+The height of the pillar is four hundred and fifty
+feet; that of the cliff on which we stand is about
+fifty feet less. Tradition tells us that the Old Man
+of Hoy has suffered considerably from the battering
+of wind and wave even within recent times. It
+is said that he formerly stood on two legs, but
+that many years ago part of the divided base fell
+before the Atlantic breakers, and left him standing
+on one leg, as we now see him. Doubtless time and
+the weather will one day lay him low, but in the
+meantime he looks fairly solid and durable.</p>
+
+<p>Another mile or more and we reach Rora Head,
+the most westerly point of Orkney, and turn southeastward
+towards Rackwick Bay, and now one of
+the finest views in all the islands meets our gaze.
+Beyond the deep glen at our feet stretches the great
+western sea-wall, gleaming red in the sunshine. In
+the bay below us the rollers are breaking in ceaseless
+foam over a strip of shining sand and gravel.
+The little township of Rackwick is a patchwork of
+green and gold, contrasting strangely with the dark
+glen and the towering hills behind.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[149]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus032" style="max-width: 43.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus032.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>The Old Man of Hoy.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[150]</span></p>
+
+<p>The glen itself, we find as we make the descent
+into it, is a bit of true highland scenery—the only
+bit, indeed, which Orkney has to show. Its rugged,
+lonely grandeur is unique in these islands. Heather
+and bracken, wild rose and honeysuckle, juniper,
+dwarf birch, and willow mingle in such luxuriance
+as to suggest a more favoured latitude. The glen of
+Berriedale, which opens out of the main valley to the
+west, is sometimes called the “Garden of Orkney,” but
+it is a garden of nature’s own.</p>
+
+<p>Hoy is for the most part of a sterner aspect,
+as we shall quickly find if we cross the valley
+and dare to attack the Ward Hill. The only risk
+we shall run in doing so will be that of stiff limbs
+for several days to come, unless, indeed, a sudden
+descent of cloud or mist should find us unprovided
+with a guide who knows the “lay of the land.”
+The sturdy luxuriance of the heather is likely to be
+our chief difficulty in the climb.</p>
+
+<p>Standing at last on the summit of the Ward Hill,
+we find ourselves at a height of 1,564 feet above the
+sea, on a somewhat bare and stony plateau, and not
+far from the highest point there is, curiously enough,
+an excellent spring of water. A very clear day is
+necessary if we are to enjoy the sight of all that this
+elevation commands. We shall then see the whole
+archipelago spread out before us as on a map—a
+marvellous panorama of sea and land. Even the
+Fair Isle shows its conical head above the north-eastern
+horizon. The north coast of Scotland stretches
+out westward to Cape Wrath, and in the blue distance
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[151]</span>to the southwards many a peak of the Northern Highlands
+can be distinguished.</p>
+
+<p>If we descend the hill on its southern slope, we shall
+find a short though a steep way to the next point
+of interest in Hoy—the Dwarfie Stone. The description
+of this curious relic of the industry of some unknown
+workman has been well given by Hugh Miller,
+whose name may still be read carved on its bare interior,
+while the legendary interest may best be gathered
+from Sir Walter Scott in his notes to “The Pirate.”</p>
+
+<p>South of the valley in which the Dwarfie Stone
+lies, the ground rises to a long stretch of moorland,
+broken only by burns and lochs, till it dips down
+to the fringe of low, cultivated ground round Longhope,
+in the parish of Walls. This part of the
+island, however, is too distant to be included in our
+day’s excursion, and may be visited direct by steamer
+from Stromness some other day.</p>
+
+<p>Longhope, as we shall then see, is a sheltered bay
+nearly four miles long and about one mile in average
+width, and forms a magnificent natural harbour.
+Before the days of steam as many as a hundred and
+fifty vessels might be seen at anchor here, sheltered
+from the westerly gales which barred their passage
+through the Pentland Firth. The martello towers
+on either side of the entrance remind us of a time
+when storms were not the only danger to our shipping.
+Protection of a kind more necessary to-day
+is afforded by the strong revolving light on Cantick
+Head, and on occasion by the Longhope lifeboat, the
+heroism of whose hardy crew has often shown itself in
+deeds of noble daring such as no sea-roving Viking
+of the ancient days could have surpassed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[152]</span></p>
+
+<p>At the western extremity of Longhope stands the
+mansion house of Melsetter, with its extensive gardens.
+On the farther side of the bay is South Walls,
+a peninsula which is literally “almost an island,” as
+the waters of Aith Hope almost meet those of Longhope
+across a narrow “aith” or isthmus.</p>
+
+<p>Opposite the entrance to Longhope, whence we start
+on our return journey to Stromness, we pass the island
+of Flotta, the “flat island” of the Norsemen, thriving
+and well cultivated, especially towards the east, where
+it curves round Pan Hope. To the south of it lies
+the green island of Switha, to the north-east the tiny
+Calf of Flotta, and to the north-west, off Mill Bay,
+the island of Faray. Farther north, and close to the
+shore of Hoy, lies Risa, or Risa Little, a favourite
+nesting-place of many of our sea-birds. The last
+island we notice on our homeward sail is Cava,
+a couple of miles eastward of which we see the
+beacon which marks a skerry known as the Barrel
+of Butter.</p>
+
+<p>The eastern group of the South Isles is more
+closely connected with the East Mainland, being
+divided from Holm by Holm Sound, where lie the
+two green islets of Lamb Holm and Glims Holm.
+Immediately to the south is Burray, the <i>Borgarey</i>
+of the Norsemen, so called, doubtless, from the two
+brochs or <i>borgs</i> whose ruins still exist in the north
+of the island. To the west of Burray lies the peat-covered
+islet of Hunda.</p>
+
+<p>South of Burray, across the narrow channel of
+Water Sound, lies the large and populous island of
+South Ronaldsay. At the head of the little bay of
+the same name stands the neat and thriving village—almost
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[153]</span>a town—of St. Margaret’s Hope, pleasantly
+situated among its fertile gardens and fields, and
+with a substantial pier to accommodate its increasing
+traffic.</p>
+
+<p>Westward from “The Hope” lies Hoxa, a peninsula
+cut off by Widewall Bay on the south. On
+the narrow isthmus or “aith” stands a green mound,
+the “haug,” or howe, from which the name of <i>Haugseith</i>
+or Hoxa is derived. On the shores of Widewall
+Bay at low water we may see the submerged
+peat-moss and decaying remains of large trees which
+mark a bygone stage in the climate of the islands,
+and likewise tell of gradual subsidence of the land.</p>
+
+<p>From south to north, South Ronaldsay measures
+about seven miles. The surface is well cultivated, and
+the highest point, the Ward Hill, is only some three
+hundred and sixty feet high. The bay of Burwick,
+in the south-west corner of the island, was formerly
+the landing-place for the south mails, which were
+carried across the Pentland Firth in an open boat.
+Some of the rock scenery in the southern part is
+very fine, especially “The Gloup,” near Halcro Head,
+an open pit near the shore into which the sea enters
+by a subterranean channel.</p>
+
+<p>To the south-west we see the lonely, storm-swept
+island of Swona with its half-dozen or so of houses,
+and to the south rise the twin lighthouse towers on
+the Pentland Skerries, only one of which is now used
+as a light. Here we reach the southern extremity
+of the county, some forty miles in a straight line
+from North Ronaldsay, the extreme northern point.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[154]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="ROUND_THE_MAINLAND">ROUND THE MAINLAND.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<h4 id="First_Day">First Day.</h4>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-t2.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">The best way to see the Mainland,
+and the only way to appreciate
+its extent and the variety of its
+scenery, is to make use of the
+excellent roads by which it is
+now traversed and encircled. On
+this tour the bicycle will be our
+best conveyance; and if we can secure the company
+of a congenial friend, we may spend a few days very
+pleasantly and profitably on a ride round the Mainland.</p>
+
+<p>We shall begin with the East Mainland. Leaving
+Kirkwall by the Deerness road, we shortly afterwards
+find ourselves skimming down the long brae of Wideford—not
+Wideford Hill, but the farm of Wideford,
+about two miles south-east of the town. On our left
+is the wide expanse of Inganess Bay, with its beach
+of sand and shingle, where we can recall seeing on
+one memorable occasion a school of whales stranded
+after a great whale hunt: that was in our early
+school days, now rapidly becoming a part of the
+time known as “long ago.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[155]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="illus033" style="max-width: 35.9375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus033.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Orkney Villages.—II.</i></p>
+      <p>1. St. Mary’s, Holm. 2. Orphir. 3. Kettletoft, Sanday. 4. Finstown.
+    5. Balfour Village, Shapinsay. 6. Evie.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>We next pass the long, low peninsula of Tankerness,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[156]</span>which lies between Inganess Bay and Deer
+Sound. On its south side, between the loch and
+the shore, stands the Hall of Tankerness, its position
+marked out by one of those rare patches of
+dark green which indicate that trees may still be
+made to grow in Orkney under intelligent fostering
+care. The cliffs near Rerwick Head are worth a
+visit. There are several caves, one of which, tradition
+affirms, gave refuge for weeks to one of the Covenanters
+who were shipwrecked at Deerness in 1679.</p>
+
+<p>After passing through the parish of St. Andrews,
+we reach that of Deerness. Deerness is literally a peninsula—very
+nearly an island indeed. The isthmus
+which joins it to the Mainland is not only narrow
+but low and sandy, and in former days mariners
+approaching from the south sometimes overlooked its
+existence when making for shelter, and came to grief
+accordingly. On this narrow neck of land is found
+an ancient mound or <i>haug</i>, which bears the name of
+Dingishowe.</p>
+
+<p>Deerness is on the whole flat, the highest point
+in the peninsula, the Ward, being only 285 feet above
+the sea. Yet the view from the road, which crosses
+the centre of the parish, is very extensive. To the
+south we notice the island of Copinsay, formerly
+much frequented for gathering sea-birds’ eggs, and
+its “Horse,” a steep black rock rising high out of
+the water.</p>
+
+<p>If time permits, it will be worth our while to
+cycle to Sandside, and thence walk along the cliffs to
+the Moul Head. The scenery here is fine, and we
+shall find the Broch, with its ancient ruined chapel,
+specially interesting. A church existed here before
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[157]</span>the Norse period, and was doubtless the cause of the
+name <i>Deir-ness</i>, or the ness of the Culdee priests, being
+given to the district. Not far distant we see another
+object which recalls priestly memories—a gray stone
+pillar erected to commemorate the shipwreck by
+which two hundred Covenanters lost their lives when
+on their way to be sold as slaves in the American
+Colonies or “Plantations.”</p>
+
+<p>The story is a dark and tragic one. There is some
+reason to believe that the shipwreck was not entirely
+an accident; it is said that the ship was not even
+provisioned for so long a voyage, and that the fate
+designed for the unhappy prisoners was not slavery
+but death by shipwreck whenever circumstances
+favourable for such an “accident” should arise.</p>
+
+<p>On returning to the St. Andrews road we may
+strike off towards the south and make our way
+homewards through the parish of Holm. The most
+fertile part of this parish lies in a broad valley sloping
+towards the south, where the crops ripen early. As
+we descend into this valley, the mellow light of an
+autumn afternoon reveals to us a view of rare
+sweetness and charm.</p>
+
+<p>Amid the river-like tidal stream of Holm Sound
+lie the green islets of Glims Holm and Lamb Holm
+or Laman, with Burray and the darker Hunda, and
+the imposing stretch of South Ronaldsay beyond.
+To the westward, Hoy rises in deep-blue shadow,
+reflected in the still surface of Scapa Flow. Over
+the gleam of the Pentland Firth we see the flat shores
+of Caithness, while the more distant peaks of the
+Sutherland mountains rise sharp and clear above the
+horizon.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[158]</span></p>
+
+<p>But there are a few miles of road yet to cover,
+so we hold on our way towards the seashore, where
+the steep-gabled mansion of Graemeshall stands
+beside its pretty reed-fringed loch. A mile beyond
+lies the village of St. Mary’s, with its pier and its
+line of cottages stretching along the beach; and after
+taking a passing glance at this well-known fishing-station,
+we turn our faces northwards. We have a
+long hilly ride in front of us here, and by the time we
+reach the end of it our interest in the charming views
+is not so keen as it was. Then comes the welcome
+change of gradient; we spin down the “Distillery
+Brae,” and soon our circuit of the East Mainland is
+completed.</p>
+
+<h4 id="Second_Day">Second Day.</h4>
+
+<p>Our second day’s circuit will take us round the
+central part of the Mainland, which is divided from
+the East Mainland by the isthmus of Scapa, and from
+the larger mass of the West Mainland by the lochs of
+Stenness and Harray and the wide isthmus between
+the latter and the Bay of Firth.</p>
+
+<p>We leave Kirkwall by the “Head of the Town”
+and keep to the old Scapa road for about a mile,
+when we turn sharp to the right and soon begin
+the long ascent of nearly three hundred feet to
+Greenigo. This is followed by a corresponding dip
+down to the valley of Kirbuster, whose loch lies on
+our right; but as fishing is not our programme at
+present we keep to the road as it ascends once more,
+and soon find ourselves entering upon the broad
+fertile slope which forms the most thickly inhabited
+part of the parish of Orphir.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[159]</span></p>
+
+<p>Westward we see the road stretching across this
+well-cultivated district, dotted with houses large and
+small, which gather here and there in groups and
+clusters almost ranking as villages. Time does not press,
+and we are out for the purpose of seeing all we can,
+so we decide to leave the main road here and take a
+by-road to the right which skirts the east side of the
+Ward Hill. It is fairly steep, and the riding cannot
+be called good, but it has the advantage of bringing
+us within a mile of the Ward Hill itself, the top of
+which we shall find a pleasant halting-place.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus034" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus034.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Orphir.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Leaving our bicycles by the roadside, we face a
+pretty stiff climb through luxuriant heather and
+bracken, and soon find ourselves on the highest of
+a group of hilltops, 880 feet above the sea. If we
+are favoured with a clear atmosphere, the scene before
+us will amply repay the labour of our ascent.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[160]</span></p>
+
+<p>The view from the Ward Hill is supplementary
+to that from Wideford Hill. Parts of the landscape
+to the east and north are shut out by Wideford Hill
+itself, by the long Keelylang ridge, and by the broad-backed
+mass between Harray and Evie. To the
+south the scene is somewhat similar to that seen
+from Wideford Hill; to the westward, however, the
+panorama now before us is unique.</p>
+
+<p>Ireland, or <i>Ayre-land</i>, as it once was, sloping gently
+downwards to its bay, lies at our feet, a patchwork
+of farms and fields in varying tints of green and
+yellow and brown. Beyond it, the picturesque
+“western capital,” Stromness, fringes its landlocked
+harbour, secure in the shelter of the protecting hills
+behind. To the left lies Graemsay with its lighthouses,
+an “emerald set in a sapphire sea,” and
+beyond it the frowning cliffs and the purple ridge
+of Hoy dominate the scene.</p>
+
+<p>Away towards the west the horizon line, more
+than thirty miles distant as we now see it, cuts
+sharp and straight against the soft blue sky. If
+we have a good glass, we may make out on this
+line, just above the town of Stromness, the Stack of
+Suleskerry.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[161]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus035" style="max-width: 43.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus035.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Stromness from the east.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[162]</span></p>
+
+<p>But our day’s ride is yet mostly before us, so we
+descend from the Ward or “watch-tower,” mount our
+bicycles, regain the main road, and continue our way
+through the smiling landscape which lies in front of
+us. Orphir was an important district in the old
+Norse days, and a residence of the Orkney Earls
+stood on the seashore near the parish church; and
+adjoining that church may still be seen part of a much
+earlier church, one of the few circular temples in this
+country which were built in the time of the Crusades
+on the model of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at
+Jerusalem. In the little cove sheltered by the Head
+and the Holm of Houton, some of King Hakon’s ships
+found shelter during the winter after the battle of
+Largs, while the king himself lay dying in the ancient
+palace at Kirkwall.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus036" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus036.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Ruins of circular church, Orphir.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>After a particularly stiff ride over Scorriedale,
+we enter upon a long and somewhat uninteresting
+stretch of road through Clestran and Ireland, and
+at last reach the main road from Kirkwall to Stromness,
+close to the Bridge of Waith, which crosses the
+narrow strait between the Loch of Stenness and the sea.
+We can see just above this bridge the traces of a still
+older one, and the name Waith probably indicates that
+this was originally a “wading-place” or ford at low tide.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[163]</span></p>
+
+<p>But we are not to cross the bridge to-day; we turn
+back towards Kirkwall to complete our tour of the
+Central Mainland. The road runs along the side of
+the loch, through the pretty district of Clouston, and
+past the comfortable hotel which has been erected
+there for the convenience of such summer visitors
+as are attracted by the trout-fishing of the loch.
+The largest trout ever seen was caught in the Loch
+of Stenness, and if the proverb is true that “there
+are as good fish in the sea as ever came out of it,”
+the same may yet be proved true of this loch.</p>
+
+<p>We halt only long enough to obtain a welcome cup
+of tea, and then continue our ride. Less than a mile
+brings us to the road which leads over the Bridge
+of Brogar to the Standing Stones, and we decide on
+making a brief pilgrimage to this the most ancient
+shrine in the islands—if, indeed, it was a shrine.
+But as the afternoon is wearing towards evening,
+and we have been here several times before, we
+merely sit down on the short heather beside the
+circle long enough to let the mystery and “eeriness”
+of the scene sink into our minds and set us wondering
+silently what it all meant in the far-off days when it
+was new.</p>
+
+<p>We need not wait here in the hope of finding out,
+so we ride back past the tall “sentinel” stone and
+the smaller circle of Stenness to the main road.
+Another mile brings us abreast of Maeshowe, and
+with the spirit of the past upon us we stop once
+more. We obtain the key of this famous chambered
+mound from the farmhouse opposite, in order that
+we may spend a few minutes more in “wondering.”</p>
+
+<p>There is nothing about Maeshowe, or even about
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[164]</span>the Standing Stones, to attract the superficial mind,
+but to those who “wonder,” and who can see things
+which vanished from outward view many centuries
+ago, those places are almost holy ground. They embody
+and embalm some of the deepest thoughts of
+a long-vanished people; and though we can hardly
+guess what these thoughts were, the monuments are
+sacred relics to us. They are milestones, we may say,
+marking early stages in the long advance of our race.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus037" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus037.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>The Sentinel Stone, Stenness.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>After leaving Maeshowe we face an incline just
+heavy enough to recall our thoughts to the present,
+and soon we are passing through the pretty glen
+which opens on the Bay of Firth. The patches of
+shrubbery and trees round Binscarth on our left give
+a pleasing variety to the scenery, and show us once
+more the possibilities and the limitations of our
+islands as regards the cultivation of woods.</p>
+
+<p>The village of Finstown, the half-way house
+between Kirkwall and Stromness, has a beautiful
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[165]</span>situation, which can be better appreciated from the
+hillside above it than from the road, and it is well
+placed for attracting a share of the ordinary business
+of the districts around. It has a prosperous look,
+and its name reminds us that it claims to be more
+than a mere village.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus038" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus038.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Maeshowe.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Before us on our left lies the wide, shallow Bay
+of Firth, or “The Firth,” as it might more correctly
+be called, which gives its name to the surrounding
+district. To the Norsemen it was the “Sea-trout
+Firth,” and must have been important for its fishing.
+In more recent times it had a famous oyster-fishery;
+but that too has become a thing of the past, though
+by the exercise of a little foresight and public spirit
+it could easily be restored.</p>
+
+<p>In the bay lie the Holm of Grimbister and the
+island of Damsay, or “St. Adamnan’s Isle.” The
+latter, as its name indicates, was the site of a Culdee
+monastery, and is mentioned in the later Saga story.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[166]</span>Damsay has also its share of the legendary tales
+which are connected with many of the old ecclesiastical
+centres in the island.</p>
+
+<p>On our right the old Kirkwall road branches off,
+passing over the southern shoulder of Wideford Hill;
+and beside it, on a rising ground, we see the manse
+of Firth, the home of the soldier-poet Malcolm, whose
+father was minister of the parish. Soon our road
+bears to the left to avoid the steep, dark mass of
+Wideford Hill; we cross the broad stretch of Quanterness,
+and a bend to the right brings us once more in
+view of Kirkwall, lying beyond the Peerie Sea, whose
+still waters mirror the dark mass of St. Magnus, now
+gleaming with a dusky red in the glow of sunset.</p>
+
+<h4 id="Third_Day">Third Day.</h4>
+
+<p>Our third day’s tour is of a different character; we
+are to make our way through Rendall and Evie to
+Birsay. As we shall spend the night there, our
+bicycles must be loaded with a few necessary articles;
+but old campaigners always march light, and our
+baggage is reduced to its absolute minimum.</p>
+
+<p>The first stage of our journey takes us to Finstown,
+along the main Stromness road which we traversed
+yesterday. Then we turn sharp to the right, and cross
+the bridge over the mouth of the “Oyce,” which
+reminds us of the Peerie Sea and its Ayre. The
+district in front of us, the “North Side” of Firth,
+consists of a broad slope, almost a plain, fringing
+the bay, and the steep escarpment of a long range
+of hills on our left. Most of this range is 500 feet
+in height, and parts exceed 700 feet.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[167]</span></p>
+
+<p>There is a certain monotony about the road, due
+to its straightness; but there is really no reason why
+it should turn either to the right hand or to the left,
+so we pedal away, mile after mile. When opposite
+the Bay of Isbister we pass a very pleasing valley,
+that of Settascarth, through which a road crosses the
+long ridge into the parish of Harray. Then we
+reach the parish of Rendall, and find a long ascent
+in front of us, as the road runs straight up the
+“dale” whence the name of the parish arises. We
+pass between the high, steep ridge on the left and a
+group of hills on the right which lie between us
+and the sea, forming a broad peninsula between the
+Bay of Isbister and Woodwick.</p>
+
+<p>When we reach the summit of this rise, we are
+quite ready to halt for a while and enjoy the new
+panorama which opens out to the northward. The
+inner group of the North Isles—Rousay, Egilsay, Wyre,
+and Gairsay—lie at our feet, as it seems; and the more
+distant members of the group can be easily made out.
+Rousay is the dominant feature in the landscape, and its
+steep brown hills, descending in step-like “hammars,”
+make an impressive background to the green fringe of
+farmland and the liquid blue of the sea.</p>
+
+<p>As we resume our way along an undulating road,
+we pass through a district which, despite its northerly
+exposure, seems able to support a large population,
+and numerous tidy cottages cluster here and there along
+the roadside. By-and-by the cultivated strip becomes
+narrower, the sandy beach of Aikerness gives place
+to the rocky shores of Burgar, and the road turns
+inland with a steep incline to dip down on the other
+side of the ridge towards the Loch of Swannay.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[168]</span></p>
+
+<p>Here we shall find it well worth our while to
+make a somewhat longer halt than before, and,
+leaving our bicycles, we turn to climb Costa Hill,
+and to view the wild cliffs at Costa Head. From
+the hill we look down upon the mysterious green
+islet of Eynhallow, the “Holy Island,” where the
+ruins of an ancient monastery have been traced,
+and round which more than the usual crop of legends
+has sprung up. A fair contrast it offers to the bold,
+rocky cliffs of Rousay just beyond.</p>
+
+<p>If it happens to be the time of spring tides, and
+the ebb is running out, we shall see at this place
+one of the most impressive sights which our coasts
+present. However calm be the sea, as soon as the tide
+begins to gather strength, the channels on either side of
+Eynhallow for some distance out to sea become a mass
+of heaving, foaming billows, reminding one of the long
+stretch of boiling rapids below the Falls of Niagara.</p>
+
+<p>And that is just what this “roost” is—rapids on
+the course of the tidal river which is now sweeping
+westward through Eynhallow Sound. When we look
+at our pocket map, we see that on each side of
+the islet the depth of water is only about five
+fathoms. In about a quarter of a mile it becomes
+ten fathoms, and within a mile of the west end of
+the island twenty fathoms. Thus the tidal river first
+passes over a ridge on each side of Eynhallow, where
+it is less than thirty feet deep, and then plunges down
+a slope which dips nearly one hundred feet in a mile.</p>
+
+<p>If there is a long swell rolling in from the Atlantic,
+as there often is on our western shores, the turmoil
+is increased, and the boiling fury of Burgar Roost,
+as it is called, is a sight which it is worth going far
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[169]</span>to see. The roost which is formed in Hoy Sound
+with a strong ebb-tide is due to similar causes
+but there the dip in the sea-bottom is not so steep.
+When the tide turns, the change seems almost
+magical, and in a short time there may be not a
+ripple on the water to mark the scene of this mad
+dance of the billows.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus039" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus039.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Birsay, the Barony.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The cliffs at Costa Head are the highest on the
+Mainland, but we can only see them from above,
+and thus we lose much of their wild grandeur.
+We enjoy, however, an impressive view of the cave-pierced
+shores of Rousay, and of the stern ramparts of
+Noup Head, in Westray, with its sentinel lighthouse.</p>
+
+<p>Sooner or later we must return to our bicycles, and
+now we coast rapidly down to the Loch of Swannay,
+sweep round its northern shore, and, crossing the
+burn, climb the opposite slope towards the part of
+Birsay quaintly named, “Abune the Hill,” or “Above
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[170]</span>the Hill,” as the map-makers have it. Instead of
+following the road which strikes southward through
+the centre of the parish, we turn towards the west,
+and by means of an older road make our way to the
+Barony of Birsay, where we shall find accommodation
+for the night.</p>
+
+<p>But we have still a long evening before us, and
+after due rest and refreshment we shall find time
+to explore our surroundings. The place is full of
+historical interest. The old name of <i>Birgisharad</i>, in
+which we may trace the names of Birsay and Harray,
+indicates that here was the chief hunting-ground
+of the Norse Jarls. The mixture of hill and loch
+and stream, the valleys being then perhaps furnished
+with coverts of brushwood where now there is only
+pasture or crops, made this northern part of the
+Mainland the best hunting-ground in the county.</p>
+
+<p>Birsay may be said to have been the capital
+of the Earldom at one time. It was the favourite
+residence of the Earls, and it was also the ecclesiastical
+centre, and the residence of the first bishop of
+the islands. When the sainted Earl Magnus was
+slain, it was in Christ’s Kirk in Birsay that his body
+first found burial. On the Brough we may still see the
+ruins of a very ancient chapel dedicated to St. Peter.</p>
+
+<p>The Stewart Earls, of dishonoured memory, found
+Birsay an attractive locality. They raised on the
+site of its old Norse castle a palace built after the
+plan of Holyrood in Edinburgh, the ruins of which
+still form one of the chief features in the landscape.
+The whole district, in short, is full of those remains
+which we have called milestones of the past, marking
+stages in the history of our race.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[171]</span></p>
+
+<p>The shore near the Barony is interesting. We may
+walk to the Brough at low water, but we must take care
+not to be caught and imprisoned by the returning tide.
+The cliffs rise to the southward, and in Marwick
+Head reach a height of nearly three hundred feet.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus040" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus040.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>The Brough of Birsay.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The chief attraction for tourists is the Loch of
+Boardhouse and its trout fishing. This loch receives
+the drainage of a wide stretch of country, its chief
+feeder being the Hillside Burn, which rises in the hills
+between Rendall and Harray, flows north-west for
+some five miles to the Loch of Hundland, and under
+the name of the Burn of Kirbuster reaches the larger
+loch in about another mile. This drainage basin is
+next in importance and area to that of the “Great
+Lakes” of Orkney, the Lochs of Stenness and Harray.</p>
+
+<p>If we have time and energy left to climb Ravie
+Hill, on the south side of the loch, we shall get
+an excellent idea of the “lay of the land,” and the
+relation of these two loch basins. We may notice in
+particular that the Harray basin extends northward
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[172]</span>almost to the hill on which we stand, and includes a
+number of small lochs near it which look as if they
+ought to belong to the Boardhouse or Birsay system.</p>
+
+<p>If scenery rather than geography is our study, we
+shall be equally well repaid for this walk. From its
+isolated position, Ravie Hill commands a very extensive
+view, despite its moderate elevation. The panorama
+of hill and valley and plain, of land and lake and sea,
+which is spread out around us, is really one of the
+finest in Orkney, and we can quite understand how
+the picturesque Barony came to occupy so important
+a place in the past. Even at the present day its rich
+soil and pleasant situation give it some right to be
+called the “Garden of Orkney.” But meantime we must
+make our way back to our inn, for the sun is dipping
+in the western sea, and to-morrow will bring us fresh
+tasks to perform.</p>
+
+<h4 id="Fourth_Day">Fourth Day.</h4>
+
+<p>Our fourth and last day’s exploration will be confined
+to the western shore of the Mainland, between
+Birsay and Stromness. As we leave the Barony and
+ride along the south side of the loch we are tempted
+to stop and view once more the landscape from
+Ravie Hill, before we finally turn our back upon this
+romantic corner of the Mainland. While we watch
+the people at work in the fields, and listen to the
+restful sounds of country life, it is hard to picture the
+past whose relics stand yonder, plain in our view.</p>
+
+<p>If Birsay were to display before our eyes this
+morning a pageant of her past history, the procession
+would be a varied one. The hunting-parties of the
+Norse Earls, the coming of the first bishop to teach
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[173]</span>the new faith, the building of the first Norse church,
+the burial of Earl Magnus, the procession of pilgrims
+seeking miraculous healing at his tomb, the removal
+of the sacred relics to the church of St. Olaf at
+Kirkwall to await the building of a more magnificent
+shrine, the ruinous favour of the Scottish Earls, the
+raising of a second Holyrood in the old Barony whose
+stately splendour was the measure of the robbery
+and extortion suffered by the people, the passing of
+this incongruous pomp and the return of welcome
+obscurity and quiet—truly a long and picturesque
+procession!</p>
+
+<p>We resume our journey, however, and soon reach
+Twatt, where the road divides. The branch to the
+left leads to the important district of Dounby, on the
+borders of the three parishes of Birsay, Harray, and
+Sandwick, and then passes through the whole length
+of Harray to join the Kirkwall and Stromness road.</p>
+
+<p>Harray is an interesting parish. It is the only
+parish in Orkney which does not touch the sea. Its
+soil is on the whole fertile, the surface being diversified
+by moraines brought down by glaciers from the
+steep hills to the east. The farms are generally small,
+but the farmers are mostly in the happy position of
+being owners as well as occupiers, and the number
+of “lairds” in this parish has long been proverbial in
+Orkney.</p>
+
+<p>We decide, however, on taking the road to the
+right, as we wish to see something of the famous
+“west shore.” Three or four miles brings us to the
+head of the Harray Loch; but instead of descending
+to the mill of Rango we turn to the right at the
+cross-roads, and shortly reach the hamlet of Aith,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[174]</span>beside the Loch of Skaill, our charming “Loch in
+Orcady.” Here we turn once more to the right, following
+a road which skirts the loch and leads us almost to
+the shores of the Bay of Skaill, a fine sweep of sandy
+beach, but exposed to the full fury of the Atlantic.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus041" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus041.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Marwick Head, Birsay.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>At its southern corner we examine a large “Pict’s
+House,” now opened up—the “Weem of Scarabrae.”
+Then we decide to climb the slope beyond and visit
+the “Hole o’ Roo,” a famous cave piercing a bold
+headland, which from the horizontal lie of the rock
+strata looks as if it had been built of gigantic flagstones
+by a race of Titans.</p>
+
+<p>We are now entering on the finest stretch of cliff
+scenery in the islands, with the exception of Hoy,
+and from here to Stromness, a distance of some eight
+miles, the walk is one to remember and to repeat.
+But now for the first time we find our bicycles a
+hindrance instead of a help, and we are at a loss
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[175]</span>what to do with them. We may decide to turn back
+to the main road, ride to Stromness, and, leaving them
+there, explore the coast on foot, which is the most
+satisfactory plan. If we decide to take them on with
+us, we shall find that considerable stretches of the
+ground are level enough to permit of a rough ride on
+the turf, and for the last three miles of the distance
+there is a fair road.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus042" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus042.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>The Castle of Yesnaby.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The next point of interest after leaving Row Head
+is the Noust of Bigging, sheltered by its Brough,
+an excellent place from which to watch the Atlantic
+breakers when a heavy sea is running. A little way
+to the south is the Castle of Yesnaby, one of those
+isolated stacks of rock which have withstood the
+battering of the ocean while the cliffs around have
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[176]</span>crumbled and fallen. Its slender base, however,
+proclaims that its fate is only a matter of time.</p>
+
+<p>In another mile and a half, after passing Lyre Geo
+and Inganess Geo, two impressive examples of how
+rocks decay, we reach the Castle of North Gaulton,
+a singularly slender and graceful pillar of rock. Then
+we cross a stretch of low ground, after which there
+is a steep climb up to the summit of the Black Craig.
+The height of the hill is 360 feet, and that of the
+cliff little less, while its sheer plunge down into the
+waves makes it look higher than it really is.</p>
+
+<p>As we descend towards the south we pass over a district
+which is sacred in the eyes of geologists, for it was
+here that Hugh Miller discovered the fossil remains of
+the <i>Asterolepis</i> or “star-scale” fish, a monster of the
+ancient days when the rocks of this hill were being laid
+down as mud and sand on the bottom of a primeval lake.
+The great geologist describes this district as “the land
+of fish,” and the rock strata fairly swarm with fossils.</p>
+
+<p>The shore in front is now low and tame, but the
+whole district from hill to sea is fertile and well peopled.
+That it was so in the past also we see sufficient proof.
+For there, on the shore of Breckness, stand the ruins
+of a mansion built by Bishop Graeme, who knew well
+where to build; and a mile beyond it, in the lonely
+churchyard by the lonely sea, rises a fragment of an
+ancient church. There stood the church of Stromness
+in former days, and there also the manse; while
+the names of Innertown and Outertown doubtless refer
+to their relative nearness to this centre of parish life.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[177]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus043" style="max-width: 53.125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus043.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Round about Stromness.</i></p>
+      <p>1. Dundas Street. 2. Church Road. 3. Victoria Street. 4. From the South
+    End. 5. From the Harbour. 6. From the Hill.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[178]</span></p>
+
+<p>But times have changed, and it is no longer
+fertility of soil but convenience for trade which draws
+men together in close neighbourhood, and so the
+modern Stromness arose on the shore of that romantic
+little bay which spreads out beneath us as we cross the
+ridge to the left. That landlocked sea, and not the
+rocky hillside, was the source of its life and growth;
+and as we note the frequent steamships and the
+clustered fishing-fleet we realize that it is still the
+sea which brings prosperity to the little gray town.</p>
+
+<p>Here, then, our circuit of the Mainland fitly ends,
+for in the opinion of many the town of Stromness,
+the “ness of the tide-stream,” is the fairest spot in all
+the islands. However this may be, it is indeed fair,
+and the Stromness boy will wander far and sail over
+many seas ere he will find a fairer scene than his island
+home;—fair when it lies before him under the pearl-gray
+light of its northern sky; fairer still, perchance,
+when the golden haze of memory gilds the landscape,
+and the joyous vision of the outward eye has given
+place to the wistful retrospect of the imagination.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus044" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus044.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>The Black Craig.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[179]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="SKETCHES_BY_HUGH_MILLER">SKETCHES BY HUGH MILLER.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<h4 id="The_Dwarfie_Stone">The Dwarfie Stone.</h4>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-w1.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">We landed at Hoy, on a rocky
+stretch of shore composed
+of the gray flagstones of the
+district. They spread out
+here in front of the tall hills
+composed of the overlying
+sandstone, in a green, undulating
+platform, resembling a somewhat uneven esplanade
+spread out in front of a steep rampart. With
+the upper deposit a new style of scenery commences,
+unique in these islands. The hills, bold and abrupt,
+rise from fourteen to sixteen hundred feet over the
+sea-level; and the valleys by which they are traversed—no
+mere shallow inflections of the general
+surface, like most of the other valleys of Orkney—are
+of profound depth, precipitous, imposing, and
+solitary. The sudden change from the soft, low, and
+comparatively tame to the bold, stern, and high
+serves admirably to show how much the character of
+a landscape may depend upon the formation which
+composes it.</p>
+
+<p>A walk of somewhat less than two miles brought
+me into the depths of a brown, shaggy valley, so
+profoundly solitary that it does not contain a single
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[180]</span>human habitation, nor, with one interesting exception,
+a single trace of the hand of man. As the traveller
+approaches by a path somewhat elevated, in order to
+avoid the peaty bogs of the bottom, along the slopes
+of the northern side of the dell, he sees, amid the
+heath below, what at first seems to be a rhomboidal
+piece of pavement of pale Old Red Sandstone, bearing
+atop a few stunted tufts of vegetation. There are no
+neighbouring objects of a known character by which
+to estimate its size. The precipitous hill-front behind
+is more than a thousand feet in height; the greatly
+taller Ward Hill of Hoy, which frowns over it on the
+opposite side, is at least five hundred feet higher;
+and dwarfed by these giants it seems a mere pavier’s
+flag, mayhap some five or six feet square by some
+eighteen inches to two feet in depth. It is only on
+approaching it within a few yards that we find it to
+be an enormous stone, nearly thirty feet in length by
+almost fifteen feet in breadth, and in some places,
+though it thins wedgelike towards one of the edges,
+more than six feet in thickness—forming altogether
+such a mass as the quarrier would detach from the
+solid rock to form the architrave of some vast gateway
+or the pediment of some colossal statue. A cave-like
+excavation, nearly three feet square, and rather
+more than seven feet in depth, opens on its gray and
+lichened side. The excavation is widened within,
+along the opposite walls, into two uncomfortably
+short beds, very much resembling those of the cabin
+of a small coasting vessel. One of the two beds is
+furnished with a protecting ledge and a pillow of
+stone hewn out of the solid mass; while the other,
+which is some five or six inches shorter than its neighbour,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[181]</span>and presents altogether more the appearance of
+a place of penance than of repose, lacks both cushion
+and ledge. An aperture, which seems to have been
+originally of a circular form, and about two and a half
+feet in diameter, but which some unlucky herd-boy,
+apparently in the want of some better employment,
+has considerably mutilated and widened, opens at the
+inner extremity of the excavation to the roof, as the
+hatch of a vessel opens from the hold to the deck;
+for it is by far too wide in proportion to the size of
+the apartment to be regarded as a chimney. A gray,
+rudely-hewn block of sandstone, which, though greatly
+too ponderous to be moved by any man of ordinary
+strength, seems to have served the purpose of a door,
+lies prostrate beside the opening in front.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus045" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus045.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>The Dwarfie Stone.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>And such is the famous Dwarfie Stone of Hoy, as
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[182]</span>firmly fixed in our literature by the genius of Sir
+Walter Scott as in this wide valley by its ponderous
+weight and breadth of base, and regarding which—for
+it shares in the general obscurity of the other
+ancient remains of Orkney—the antiquary can do
+little more than repeat somewhat incredulously what
+tradition tells him—namely, that it was the work
+many ages ago of an ugly, malignant goblin, half
+earth, half air, the elfin Trolld—a personage, it is said,
+that even within the last century used occasionally
+to be seen flitting about in its neighbourhood.</p>
+
+<p>I was fortunate in a fine, breezy day, clear and
+sunshiny, save where the shadows of a few dense,
+piled-up clouds swept dark athwart the landscape. In
+the secluded recesses of the valley all was hot, heavy,
+and still; though now and then a fitful snatch of a
+breeze, the mere fragment of some broken gust that
+seemed to have lost its way, tossed for a moment the
+white cannach of the bogs, or raised spirally into the
+air, for a few yards, the light beards of some seeding
+thistle, and straightway let them down again. Suddenly,
+however, about noon a shower broke thick and
+heavy against the dark sides and gray scalp of the
+Ward Hill and came sweeping down the valley.
+I did what Norna of the Fitful Head had, according
+to the novelist, done before me in similar circumstances—crept
+for shelter into the larger bed of the
+cell, which, though rather scant, taken fairly lengthwise,
+for a man of five feet eleven, I found, by stretching
+myself diagonally from corner to corner, no very
+uncomfortable lounging-place in a thunder-shower.
+Some provident herd-boy had spread it over, apparently
+months before, with a littering of heath and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[183]</span>fern, which now formed a dry, springy couch; and as
+I lay wrapped up in my plaid, listening to the raindrops
+as they pattered thick and heavy atop or slanted
+through the broken hatchway to the vacant bed on
+the opposite side of the excavation, I called up the
+wild narrative of Norna and felt all its poetry.</p>
+
+<p>The Dwarfie Stone has been a good deal undervalued
+by some writers, such as the historian of
+Orkney, Mr. Barry; and, considered simply as a work
+of art or labour, it certainly does not stand high.
+When tracing, as I lay abed, the marks of the tool,
+which in the harder portions of the stone are still
+distinctly visible, I just thought how that, armed with
+pick and chisel, and working as I was once accustomed
+to work, I could complete such another excavation to
+order in some three weeks or a month. But then I
+could not make my excavation a thousand years old,
+nor envelop its origin in the sun-gilt vapours of a poetic
+obscurity, nor connect it with the supernatural through
+the influence of wild, ancient traditions, nor yet encircle
+it with a classic halo borrowed from the undying
+inventions of an exquisite literary genius.</p>
+
+<p>The pillow I found littered over with the names of
+visitors; but the stone—an exceedingly compact red
+sandstone—had resisted the imperfect tools at the
+command of the traveller, usually a nail or a knife,
+and so there were but two of the names decipherable—that
+of an “H. Ross, 1735,” and that of a “P. Folster,
+1830.” The rain still pattered heavily overhead,
+and with my geological chisel and hammer I did, to
+beguile the time, what I very rarely do—added my
+name to the others, in characters which, if both they
+and the Dwarfie Stone get but fair play, will be
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[184]</span>distinctly legible two centuries hence. In what state
+will the world then exist, or what sort of ideas will
+fill the head of the man who, when the rock has well-nigh
+yielded up its charge, will decipher the name for
+the last time, and inquire, mayhap, regarding the individual
+whom it now designates, as I did this morning
+when I asked, “Who was this H. Ross, and who this P.
+Folster?”? I remember when it would have saddened
+me to think that there would in all probability be as
+little response in the one case as in the other; but as
+men rise in years they become more indifferent than in
+early youth to “that life which wits inherit after death,”
+and are content to labour on and be obscure.</p>
+
+<p>The sun broke out in great beauty after the
+shower, glistening on a thousand minute runnels that
+came streaming down the precipices, and revealing
+through the thin, vapoury haze the horizontal lines of
+strata that bar the hillsides, like courses of ashlar in
+a building. I failed, however, to detect, amid the
+general many-pointed glitter by which the blue, gauze-like
+mist was bespangled, the light of the great carbuncle
+for which the Ward Hill has long been famous—that
+wondrous gem, according to Sir Walter, “that,
+though it gleams ruddy as a furnace to them that view
+it from beneath, ever becomes invisible to him whose
+daring foot scales the precipices whence it darts its
+splendour.”</p>
+
+<h4 id="The_Standing_Stones">The Standing Stones.</h4>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[185]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus046" style="max-width: 43.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus046.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>The Standing Stones—The Ring of Brogar.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[186]</span></p>
+
+<p>The Standing Stones—second in Britain, of their
+kind, only to those of Stonehenge—occur in two
+groups; the smaller group (composed, however, of
+the taller stones) on the southern promontory, the
+larger on the northern one. Rude and shapeless, and
+bearing no other impress of the designing faculty
+than that they are stuck endwise in the earth, and
+form, as a whole, regular figures on the sward, there
+is yet a sublime solemnity about them, unsurpassed
+in effect by any ruin I have yet seen, however grand
+in its design or imposing in its proportions. Their
+very rudeness, associated with their ponderous bulk
+and weight, adds to their impressiveness. When
+there is art and taste enough in a country to hew an
+ornate column, no one marvels that there should be
+also mechanical skill enough in it to set it up on end;
+but the men who tore from the quarry these vast
+slabs, some of them eighteen feet in height over the
+soil, and raised them where they now stand, must have
+been ignorant savages unacquainted with machinery,
+and unfurnished, apparently, with a single tool.</p>
+
+<p>The consideration, too, that these remains—eldest
+of the works of man in this country—should have so
+long survived all definite tradition of the purposes
+which they were raised to serve, so that we now
+merely know regarding them that they were religious
+in their uses—products of that ineradicable instinct of
+man’s nature which leads him in so many various
+ways to attempt conciliating the Powers of another
+world—serves greatly to heighten their effect.</p>
+
+<p>The appearance of the obelisks, too, harmonizes well
+with their great antiquity and the obscurity of their
+origin. For about a man’s height from the ground
+they are covered thick by the shorter lichens—chiefly
+the gray-stone <i>parmelia</i>—here and there embroidered
+by the golden-hued patches of the yellow <i>parmelia</i> of
+the wall; but their heads and shoulders, raised beyond
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[187]</span>the reach alike of the herd-boy and of his herd, are
+covered by an extraordinary profusion of a flowing
+beard-like lichen of unusual length—the lichen <i>calicarus</i>
+(or, according to modern botanists, <i>Ramalina
+scopulorum</i>), in which they look like an assemblage
+of ancient Druids, mysteriously stern and invincibly
+silent and shaggy as the Bard of Gray, when</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">“Loose his beard and hoary hair</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Streamed like a meteor on the troubled air.”</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The day was perhaps too sunny and clear for
+seeing the Standing Stones to the best possible
+advantage. They could not be better placed than
+on their flat promontories, surrounded by the broad
+plain of an extensive lake, in a waste, lonely, treeless
+country, that presents no bold competing features to
+divert attention from them as the great central
+objects of the landscape; but the gray of the morning
+or an atmosphere of fog and vapour would have
+associated better with the misty obscurity of their
+history, their shaggy forms, and their livid tints than
+the glare of a cloudless sun, that brought out in hard,
+clear relief their rude outlines, and gave to each its
+sharp, dark patch of shadow. Gray-coloured objects,
+when tall and imposing, but of irregular form, are
+seen always to most advantage in an uncertain light—in
+fog or frost-rime, or under a scowling sky, or,
+as Parnell well expresses it, “amid the livid gleams
+of night.” They appeal, if I may so express myself,
+to the sentiment of the ghostly and the spectral, and
+demand at least a partial envelopment of the obscure.
+Burns, with the true tact of the genuine poet, develops
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[188]</span>the sentiment almost instinctively in an exquisite
+stanza in one of his less-known songs. “The Posie,”—</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">“The hawthorn I will pu’, wi’ its locks o’ siller gray,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Where, like an aged man, it stands at break o’ day.”</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Scott, too, in describing these very stones, chooses
+the early morning as the time in which to exhibit
+them, when they “stood in the gray light of the
+dawning, like the phantom forms of antediluvian
+giants, who, shrouded in the habiliments of the dead,
+come to revisit, by the pale light, the earth which
+they had plagued with their oppression, and polluted
+by their sins, till they brought down upon it the
+vengeance of the long-suffering heaven.” On another
+occasion he introduces them as “glimmering, a grayish
+white, in the rising sun, and projecting far to the
+westward their long, gigantic shadows.” And Malcolm,
+in the exercise of a similar faculty with that of Burns
+and of Scott, surrounds them, in his description, with
+a somewhat similar atmosphere of partial dimness
+and obscurity:—</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">“The hoary rocks, of giant size,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">That o’er the land in circles rise,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Of which tradition may not tell.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Fit circles for the wizard’s spell,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Seen far amidst the scowling storm,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Seem each a tall and phantom form,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">As hurrying vapours o’er them flee,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Frowning in grim obscurity,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">While, like a dread voice from the past,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Around them moans the autumnal blast.”</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>There exist curious analogies between the earlier
+stages of society and the more immature periods
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[189]</span>of life—between the savage and the child; and
+the huge circle of Stennis seems suggestive of one
+of these. It is considerably more than four hundred
+feet in diameter; and the stones which compose it,
+varying from three to fourteen feet in height, must
+have been originally from thirty-five to forty in
+number, though only sixteen now remain erect. A
+mound and fosse, still distinctly traceable, run round
+the whole; and there are several mysterious-looking
+tumuli outside, bulky enough to remind one of the
+lesser moraines of the geologist. But the circle,
+notwithstanding its imposing magnitude, is but a
+huge child’s house after all—one of those circles of
+stones which children lay down on their village green,
+and then, in the exercise of that imaginative faculty
+which distinguishes between the young of the human
+animal and those of every other creature, convert,
+by a sort of conventionalism, into a church or
+dwelling-house, within which they seat themselves
+and enact their imitations of the employments of
+their seniors, whether domestic or ecclesiastical. The
+circle of Stennis was a circle, say the antiquaries,
+dedicated to the sun. The group of stones on the
+southern promontory of the lake formed but a half-circle,
+and it was a half-circle dedicated to the moon.
+To the circular sun the great rude children of an
+immature age of the world had laid down a circle
+of stones on the one promontory; to the moon, in her
+half-orbed state, they had laid down a half-circle on
+the other; and in propitiating these material deities
+they employed in their respective enclosures, in the
+exercise of a wild, unregulated fancy, uncouth, irrational
+rites.</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Hugh Miller</span> (<i>“Rambles of a Geologist.”</i>)</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[190]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_CATHEDRAL_OF_ST_MAGNUS">THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. MAGNUS.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-y.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">You would hardly expect to find
+an ancient cathedral up in those
+Orkney Islands that one usually
+sees huddled away in a spare
+corner of the map, and made to
+look even smaller than they are
+by the exigencies of space. It is
+curious to think of: once, long ago, strange ships
+with monstrous figure-heads and painted sides, full
+of the northern actors of history, crawled with
+their lines of oars into the sounds and bays of
+these islands, till for centuries they became the stage
+for dramatic events and stirring personages. Some of
+the players bore names that any history book tells
+of. Harald Hardrada, old King Haco, Bothwell, and
+Montrose have all played their parts. And there are
+others, earls and prelates, and northern kings, and
+old sea-rovers, who were really far better worth
+knowing than half the puppets with more familiar
+labels. Then, gradually the lights went out and the
+audience turned away to look at other things, and the
+Orkneymen were left to observe the Sabbath and
+elect a County Council. One by one the old buildings
+toppled down, and the old names changed, and
+the old customs faded, till the place of the islands in
+history became their place upon the map; but time
+and men have spared one thing—this old cathedral
+church of St. Magnus in Kirkwall.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[191]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="illus047" style="max-width: 35.9375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus047.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>In Kirkwall.</i></p>
+      <p>1. Earl’s Palace. 2. Bridge Street. 3. Albert Street. 4. Bishop’s Palace.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[192]</span></p>
+
+<p>On the ancient houses of the little borough and the
+winding slit of a street, the old red church still looks
+down benignly, and sometimes (of a Sunday, I think,
+especially) a little humorously. Over the gray roofs
+and the tree-tops in sheltered gardens, and the black
+mites of people passing on their business, its lustreless
+Gothic eyes see a wide expanse of land and a
+wider and brighter sweep of sea. The winding
+sounds and broadening bays join and divide and join
+again, through and through its island dominions.
+Backwards and forwards, twice a day, the flood tide
+pours from the open Atlantic, and each channel
+becomes an eastward flowing river; and then from
+the North Sea the ebb sets the races running to
+the west. Everywhere is the sight or the sound of
+the sea—rollers on the western cliffs, salt currents
+among the islands, quiet bays lapping the feet of
+heathery hills. Out of the two great oceans the
+wind blows like the blasts of an enormous bellows,
+and on the horizon the clouds are eternally gathering.</p>
+
+<p>It is over this land of moor and water and vapour
+that the cathedral watches the people; and though
+from the difficulty of passing through so narrow a street
+it has never moved from the spot where it first arose,
+and has never seen, one would suppose, the greater
+part of its territories, yet it knows—none better—the
+stories and the spirit of all the islands. Crows and
+gulls cruise round the tower familiarly, and perhaps
+bring gossip; but eyes so long and narrow, and of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[193]</span>so inhuman an anatomy, may very likely see through
+a hill or a heart for themselves.</p>
+
+<p>The country is like a fleet at sea, and the old spirit
+of the people came from the deep. At first that spirit
+was only restless and fierce and free; in time it began
+to think, and at odd moments to be troubled, and
+they called it pious. Then it looked for a fitting
+house where it might live when it could no longer
+find a home in the people. So it built the red
+cathedral, and there it silently dwells to-day.</p>
+
+<p>There is something in their church that none of the
+respectable townsfolk have the slightest suspicion of—something
+alive that vibrates to the cry of the wind
+and the breaking of the sea, and the little human
+events that happen in the crow-stepped houses.</p>
+
+<p>On the wild autumn afternoons when the hard
+north-east wind is driving rain and sleet through the
+town, the old church begins to remember. The wind
+and the sleet coming over the sea stir the quick spirit
+so sharply that every angle is full of sighing noises.
+As the shortened day draws to an end, and lights
+begin to twinkle in the town, and the showers
+become less frequent, and the clouds are rolled up
+and gathered off the sky, then the people come out
+into the streets and see the early stars above the
+gable-ends and high cathedral tower. They think
+it cold, and walk quickly, but a personage of sandstone
+takes little note of the temperature. The
+cathedral merely feels refreshed.</p>
+
+<p>When the clear, windy night draws in, the people go
+to rest, and one by one the lights are put out till
+only the stars and the lighthouses are left. Looking
+over a darkened town and an empty night, with the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[194]</span>air moving fresh from Norway, the memories come
+thick upon the old church which shelters so many
+bones. It is like digging up the soil of those lands
+from which the sea has for centuries receded, and
+where the ribs of ships and the skeletons of sailors
+lie deep beneath the furrows of the plough.</p>
+
+<p>Kirkwall must have been a strange little town before
+the cathedral’s memory begins, when there was no red
+tower above the narrow street and the little houses, in
+the days when Rognvald, the son of Kol, had vowed to
+dedicate a splendid minster to his uncle, St. Magnus,
+should he come by his own and call himself Earl of
+Orkney; and when the islanders waited to see what
+aid the blessed saint would furnish to this enterprise.</p>
+
+<p>It is one of the island tragedies—the saga of how
+the evil Earl Hakon slew his cousin, Earl Magnus,
+outside the old church of Egilsay with that high
+round tower that you can see over Kirkwall Bay
+from the cathedral parapet, and how the grass grew
+greener where he fell, and miracles multiplied, and
+they made him a saint in time.</p>
+
+<p>Though all these events happened before a stone
+of the cathedral was laid, they may help to give the
+meaning of its story, and on that account they are
+worth, perhaps, a rough telling here. Earl Hakon
+had died, and his son Paul ruled in his stead. He
+was a silent, brave, unlucky man, upright and honourable
+in his dealings, but the shadow of his father’s
+crime lay over the land. It brought old age and
+prosperity and repentance to the doer of the deed;
+and on his son the punishment fell.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[195]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="illus048" style="max-width: 35.9375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus048.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>St. Magnus Cathedral, interior.</i></p>
+      <p>1. South aisle. 2. North aisle. 3. Nave.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[196]</span></p>
+
+<p>Rognvald claimed the half of the earldom. Paul
+answered that there was no need for long words, “For
+I will guard the Orkneys while God grants me life
+so to do.” And then the contest began. Rognvald
+attacked from north and south. Paul vanquished the
+southern fleet, and hurrying north drove his rival
+back to Norway; and so the winter came on, and the
+peace that in those days men kept in winter.</p>
+
+<p>All had gone well with Paul, but his luck was
+to change with a little thing. He was keeping Yule
+with his friends and kinsmen, when upon a winter’s
+evening, a man, wet with the spray of the Pentland
+Firth, came out of the dusk and knocked upon the
+door. He was hardly the instrument, one would
+think, a departed saint would choose to build a
+cathedral with—a Viking with his sword ever loose in
+its sheath, and his lucky star obscured, coming here
+for refuge, from the ashes of his father and his home.
+He was known as Sweyn Asleifson (a name to be famous
+in the islands), and was welcomed for his family’s
+sake; they brought him in to the feast, and the drinking
+went on. In a little while there arose a quarrel
+over the cups; Sweyn killed his man, and fled into
+the night again. He was a landless outlaw this time,
+for the dead man had been high in favour, and the
+earl was stern. Meanwhile men went on drinking
+over the hall fires; but Paul’s luck had departed, and
+St. Magnus had a weapon in his hand. In the spring
+the war began again, and suddenly in the midst of
+it Earl Paul disappeared—his bodyguard cut down
+upon the beach, himself spirited clean away. Sweyn
+Asleifson had come for him, and carried him to a fate
+that was never more than rumoured. So Rognvald
+won the earldom, and the first stones of his church
+were laid. The saint had certainly struck for him.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[197]</span></p>
+
+<p>That is the true story of the vow and the building
+of the cathedral, a tale too old for even the venerable
+church to remember. But all the long history of the
+seven centuries since it knows; and indeed it has
+played such a part in scene after scene and act after
+act, that a memory would have to be of some poorer
+stuff than hewed sandstone to forget a past so
+stirring. And who can be so far behind every scene
+as the house which during men’s lives listens to their
+prayers, and at last upon a day takes them in for
+ever?</p>
+
+<p>When it first began to look down from its windows
+upon those men going about their business in the
+sunshine or the rain, it saw among the little creatures
+some that were well worth remembering, though there
+be few but the cathedral to remember them now.
+There was Rognvald himself, that cheerful, gallant
+earl who made poetry and war, and sailed to Jerusalem
+with all his chiefs and friends, fighting and rhyming
+all the way, and riding home across the length of
+Europe, and who, when he fell by an assassin’s hand,
+was laid at last beneath the pavement of this cathedral
+he had founded. And then, most memorable of all
+the great odallers who followed him in war and
+sat at his Yule feasts, there was the Viking, Sweyn
+Asleifson, he who kidnapped Paul, and afterwards became
+the lifelong and, on the whole, faithful friend
+of Rognvald, and the faithless enemy of almost every
+one else; the most daring, unscrupulous, famous, and—judging
+by the way he always obtained forgiveness
+when he needed it—the most fascinating man in all
+the northern countries. He was the luckiest, too, till
+the day he fell in an ambush in the streets of Dublin,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[198]</span>exclaiming with his last breath, in most remarkable
+contrast to the tenor of his life: “Know this, all men,
+that I am one of the Saint Earl Rognvald’s bodyguard,
+and I now mean to put my trust in being
+where he is, with God.” May he rest in peace wherever
+his bones lie, even though his reformation came
+something late, the turbulent, terrible old Viking, whom
+the Saga writers called the last of that profession.</p>
+
+<p>The generation who built it had passed away, when
+on a summer’s day, after it had weathered nearly a
+century of storm and shine, the cathedral saw the
+greatest sight it had yet beheld. Haco of Norway
+had come with his fleet to conquer the Western Isles
+of Scotland, the Norse kings’ old inheritance. The
+pointed windows watched ship after ship sail by with
+coloured sails and shining shields, bearing the Norsemen
+to their last battle in southern lands; and then
+the islands waited for the news that in those days
+was brought by the men who had made the story.</p>
+
+<p>Month upon month went by; men wondered and
+rumours flew; the days grew shorter, and the gales
+came out upon all the seas. At last, when winter
+was well upon the islands, what were left of the
+battered ships began to struggle home. They brought
+back stories that the cathedral remembers, though six
+centuries have rolled them out of the memories of
+the people—tales of lee-shores and westerly gales, of
+anchors dragging under the Cumbraes, and Scottish
+knights charging down upon the beach where the
+Norwegian spears were ranked on the edge of the
+tide; then of more gales and whirlpools in the
+Pentland, until at length they carried their old sick
+king ashore, to die in the bishop’s palace at Kirkwall.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[199]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="illus049" style="max-width: 35.9375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus049.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>St. Magnus Cathedral, exterior.</i></p>
+      <p>1. West doorway, nave. 2. East window. 3. Doorway, south transept.
+    4. Doorway, north aisle. 5. Doorway, south aisle.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[200]</span></p>
+
+<p>He lay for two months in that ancient building—now
+a roofless shell, standing just beyond the churchyard
+wall—his most faithful friends beside him, the
+restless Orkney wind without, and the voice of the
+Saga reader by the bed. First they read to him in
+Latin, till he grew too sick to follow the foreign words;
+and then in Norse, through the Sagas of the saints,
+and after of the kings. They had come down to his
+own father, Sverrir, and then, in the words of the old
+historian, “Near midnight Sverrir’s Saga was read
+through, and just as midnight was past Almighty
+God called King Hakon from this world’s life.” They
+buried him in the great red church that had stood
+sentinel over the sick-chamber; and as the race of
+Vikings died with Sweyn, so the roving, conquering
+kings of Norway passed away with Haco, and never
+again came south to trouble the seaboards.</p>
+
+<p>The Orkneys, however, were not yet out of the
+current of affairs. They cut, indeed, but a small
+figure compared with the Orkney of the great Earl
+Thorfinn in the century before Rognvald founded his
+cathedral—he who owned nine earldoms in Scotland
+and all the Southern Isles, besides a great realm in
+Ireland. But there was still a bishop in the palace
+and an earl with powers of life and death in his
+dominion, and an armed following that counted for
+something in war; and the cathedral was still the
+church of a small country rather than of a little
+county. The sun cast the shadows of dignitaries in
+the winding street, and the bones they were framed
+of were laid in time beneath the flags of St. Magnus’s
+church. When one comes to think of it, the old
+cathedral must hold a varied collection of these,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[201]</span>for here lie the high and the low of two races, and
+no man knows how many chance sojourners and
+travellers.</p>
+
+<p>At last, upon a dark day for the islands, their era
+of semi-independence and Vikingism and Norse
+romance came to a most undignified end. A needy
+king of the north pledged them to Scotland for his
+daughter’s dowry, as a common man might pledge
+his watch. East to Norway was no longer the way
+to the motherland, and the open horizon meeting the
+clouds, the old highroad, led now to a foreign shore.
+Henceforth they belonged to the long coast with its
+pale mountain peaks far away over the cliffs, which
+had once, so far as the eye could see, belonged to
+them. It was a transaction intended for a season,
+but the season has never ran to its limit yet. Now,
+it is to be hoped, it never will; but for centuries it
+would have been better for the Orkneys if they had
+gone the way of some volcanic islet and sunk quietly
+below the gray North Sea.</p>
+
+<p>One might think that, when they had ceased to be
+a half-way house between their sovereign and his
+neighbours of Europe, and were become instead a
+geographical term applied to the least accessible
+portion of their new lord’s dominions, their history
+and their troubles would soon have ceased, and the
+islanders been left to fish and reap late crops and
+try to keep out the winter weather. But there
+was no such good luck for many a day to come.
+Alas for themselves, they were too valuable an asset
+in the Scotch king’s treasury. Orkney too valuable!
+That collection of windy, treeless islands, where great
+ponds of rain-water stand through the fields for
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[202]</span>months together, and a strawberry that ripens is
+shown to one’s friends! The plain truth is that,
+measured by a Scotch standard of value in those days,
+it would have been hard to find a pocket not worth
+the picking. The rental of Orkney was more than
+twice that of the kingdom of Fife, and Fife, I suppose,
+was an El Dorado compared with most provinces of
+its impecunious country. So north they came, Scotch
+earls and bishops and younger sons, to make what
+they could before the pledge was redeemed. And to
+the old cathedral was flung the shame of standing as
+the symbol of oppression. It was not its fault, and
+every stone must have silently cried to Heaven for
+forgiveness. But a cathedral meant a bishop, and an
+Orkney bishop meant the refinement of roguery and
+exaction. When these prelates in their turns came to
+inhabit permanently their minster, and they could at
+last hear the voice of its spirit that loves the land it
+watches, demanding an account of their stewardship,
+what could they say? The old excuse—“We must
+live”? I can hardly think the church perceived the
+necessity.</p>
+
+<p>That monument which the old sailors and fighters
+of the north had built, that they might link a better
+world with the rough and warring earth, had to stand
+immovable for century upon century, watching the
+trouble of their sons. It saw them make their stand
+at Summerdale in the old fashion, with sword and
+halbert and a battle-cry on their lips, and march back
+again to the town in a glimpse of triumph. But that
+quickly faded, and the weight of new laws and evil
+rulers gradually broke the high spirit entirely. It
+saw the proud odallers reduced to long-suffering
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[203]</span>“peerie lairds,” and all their power and romance and
+circumstance of state pass over to the foreigner, until
+after a time it was hard to believe that, some pages
+further back, there was a closed chapter of history
+which read quite differently from this.</p>
+
+<p>Down below the parapet of the tower the narrow
+streets were full of the most splendid-looking people,
+all in steel and the Stewart arms. Earls Robert and
+Patrick of that royal name, each, through his scandalous
+life, made the island the home of a prince’s court;
+and out among the moors and the islands the old race
+wondered whose turn it should be for persecution
+next, and how long Heaven would let these things be.</p>
+
+<p>The downfall of the Stewarts’ rule came at last,
+violently as was fit, but to the end they used the old
+church on behalf of the wrong. The tower was
+wrapped in the smoke of the rebels’ musketry when
+old Earl Patrick lay by the heels in Edinburgh
+awaiting his doom as a traitor, and his son held
+Kirkwall against what might, by comparison, be
+termed the law, and it was only at the point of the
+pike that they turned the last Stewart out of the
+sepulchre of St. Magnus.</p>
+
+<p>Then the long windows watched the shadows of
+all manner of persons, who are well forgotten now,
+darken the prospect for a while, and pass away to let
+other clouds gather; and in all that time there cannot
+have been many whom a critical edifice can recall
+with pride.</p>
+
+<p>The bishops were sent about their business, and the
+Solemn League and Covenant was solemnly sworn.
+The troopers of Cromwell stalked through the old
+pillars with their wide hats the firmer set on. The
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[204]</span>Covenant was unsworn, and the bishops came back
+and acquired emoluments for a little while longer, till
+at last they went altogether, and in good, sober
+Presbyterian fashion the awakened people set about
+purifying their temple. Poor old church! they did
+it thoroughly. Away went carving and stained glass,
+and ancient tombs and bones, and everything that the
+austere taste of Heaven is supposed by man to dislike.
+They made it clean with a kind of yellowish whitewash,
+and divided it by a sanitary deal screen
+impervious to draught. In this shameful guise the
+cathedral has watched the advent of quiet days and
+the slow healing of time. To-day the greatest clamour
+it hears is made by the rooks. No earl’s men or
+bishop’s men quarrel in the streets; no one either
+fears or harries the islanders; the history of Orkney
+is written and closed and laid upon the shelf. The
+hands of the clock move evenly round, and the
+seasons change by the almanac.</p>
+
+<p>But there stands the old red church, silently
+remembering and arranging in their due perspective
+all these things remarkable and true. The worst of
+it is that it makes no comment that a mortal can
+understand, so that no one can say what a seasoned,
+well-mortared observer of seven centuries of affairs
+thinks of changing dynasties and creeds, and whether
+it is disposed to take them more seriously than so
+many moultings of feathers, and if one can retain any
+optimism through a course of whitewash and draught-proof
+screens.</p>
+
+<p>It is pleasant to think, for the old minster’s sake,
+that it heeds the rubs of fortune very little, and
+regards material changes just as so many shifts of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[205]</span>plumage. Its people are still flesh and blood, and its
+islands rock and turf and heather, and it will take
+more than pails and paint-brushes, and pledges and
+covenants to make them otherwise. The winter days
+are as bleak as ever, and the summer evenings as
+long and light, and the sun rises out of the North
+Sea among the flat green islands, and sinks in the
+Atlantic behind the western heather hills; and it is
+likely enough that from the height of the cathedral
+tower many other most serious events look surprisingly
+unimportant.</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">J. Storer Clouston.</span>
+(<i>“Macmillan’s Magazine.” By permission.</i>)</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus050" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus050.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Kirkwall in winter.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[206]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="A_ROAD_IN_ORCADY">A ROAD IN ORCADY.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-i1.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">In southern lands—and most lands are southern
+to us—the road runs between fragrant
+hedgerows or under shady trees; but in
+Orcady trees and hedges are practically
+unknown. Yet the road lacks not its
+charm, for this is a world of compensations.
+If we never breathe the fragrance
+of the may or hear the whisper of the wind-stirred
+branches, we have, on the other hand, nothing to shut
+out from our eyes the wide expanse of land and
+sea or to hide the blue sky over us, no fallen timber
+after a gale to block our way and make of our
+progress an involuntary obstacle race, and no thorns
+to puncture our cycle tyres. The lover of the highway
+may miss here much of the bird-life that enlivens
+the roads of the south; but our road has a life and
+traffic of its own quite apart from the trickling
+stream of men and horses which flows fitfully along
+its white channel. Flowers and flies, birds and
+beasts, the road has something for each and all of
+them. Even by day they use it, but from dusk to
+dawn they claim it as their very own.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[207]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="illus051" style="max-width: 35.9375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus051.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>By the Roadside—“Peerie Hooses.”</i></p>
+      <p>1. Holm. 2. Harray. 3. Birsay. 4. Tankerness. 5. Orphir.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[208]</span></p>
+
+<p>I do not remember that Stevenson, who so loved
+the road, has written anywhere of its little life—of
+the birds and beasts, the shy living things, that haunt
+it. In the treeless isles of Orcady, at least, the furred
+and feathered creatures seem to think that man makes
+the road for their especial delectation. For all creatures
+of beach and bog, hill and meadow, it has its
+charms; and hence it is ever beat upon by soft,
+soundless feet and shadowed by swiftly moving
+wings, and many a little comedy or tragedy is played
+out upon its stage. We walk upon it in spring and
+summer through an air fragrant with the perfume of
+innumerable small, sweet flowers, with the music of
+birds and bees about us, and ever, under and behind
+all song, the voice of the great sea, full of indefinable
+mystery as of a half-remembered dream.</p>
+
+<p>The engineer who makes the road unwittingly
+plans it in such fashion as to be of service to the
+folk of moor and marsh, of shore and furrow. In
+Orcady every road, sooner or later, leads to the sea.
+In former days the sea itself was the great highway,
+and therefore close to its shores are found the old
+kirks and kirkyards. For by sea men came to worship
+God, and by sea they were carried to their long
+home. The kirks and kirkyards being beside the sea,
+the road comes thither to them. It comes down also to
+the piers, the slips, and jetties, which play so important
+a part in the lives of the islanders. Thus the road
+passes within a few yards of the haunts of all the
+divers, swimmers, and waders that frequent our shores.</p>
+
+<p>Also in making a road the aim of the man who
+plans it is to avoid, so far as possible, all ascents and
+descents. In carrying out this aim he raises the road
+on embankments where it passes through low and
+marshy grounds, and makes cuttings through the
+higher lands. Where it runs through such a cutting
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[209]</span>the roadside ditches catch and keep a little store of
+water in a dry season, and thither plover, snipe,
+redshanks, and dotterel bring their velvet-clad birdlings
+to drink. If the season be wet, the road raises
+above the marsh a comparatively dry platform, on
+which the birds may rest when not feeding, and the
+roadside dykes offer a shelter from wind and sun.</p>
+
+<p>But our road draws feet and wings to it in many
+other ways. It passes now through cultivated fields,
+with dry stone dykes fencing it on either side; now
+it runs unfenced through the open moorland, and
+again along the very margin of the sea. Here it is
+bordered by marshes and there by a long reach of
+black peat-bog, and everywhere it woos with varied
+wiles the living things of earth and air. Before the
+dykes have seen many seasons they begin to deck
+themselves with velvet mosses, and to the miniature
+forests of moss come insects of the lesser sorts, flying
+and creeping things, red and brown and blue. In
+pursuit of these small deer come the spiders, which
+lurk in crevices of the walls and spread their cunning
+snares across the mouths of culverts where farm roads
+branch off from the highway. Long-legged water-skaters
+dart to and fro among the floating weeds on
+the surface of the stagnant ditches; and over these
+ditches the midges weave their fantastic dances on
+summer evenings. The litter of passing traffic brings
+hurrying, busy, burnished beetles, which find harbourage
+in the loosely piled banks of ditch scrapings
+that form the boundary between highway and moorland.
+Where the road, with its generous grassy
+margin, runs like a white ribbon with green borders
+through the brown moors, wild flowers that are choked
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[210]</span>or hidden in the heather spread themselves to the
+sunshine—primroses and daisies, clover red and white,
+milkwort and tormentil, hawkweed and violets, thyme
+and crowfoot: their very names read like a poem.
+The number of small wild flowers that grow in our
+roadside ditches and within reach of the road is
+amazing when one begins to reckon them. Here the
+steep grassy bank is gorgeous with rose-campion and
+with the purple and gold of the vetches, and all the air
+is sweet with the perfume of wild mustard, which with
+the pale yellow of its blossoms almost hides the green
+in that field of springing barley. This wet meadow,
+on either hand all aglow with the pink blossoms of
+the ragged robin, a little earlier in the year had its
+wide and shallow ditches glorified by the broad green
+leaves and exquisite feathery blooms of the bog-bean,
+while its drier grounds were starred with the pale
+cups of grass of Parnassus. In spring the vernal
+squills shone on yonder hillocks with a blue glory as
+of the sea in summer.</p>
+
+<p>On this long flat stretch of peat-bog these are not
+untimely snowdrifts but nodding patches of cotton-grass.
+In autumn, when a strong wind blows from
+that quarter, all the road will be strewn with the
+silvery, silken down that makes so brave a show
+among the purple heather of the bog. Later still in
+the year the same bog will glow ruddy as with a
+perpetual sunset, when the long, coarse grass reddens.
+Passing this way on some gray afternoon the wayfarer
+will find it hard to believe that the “charmed
+sunset” has not suddenly shone out through the
+clouds “low adown in the red west.” And the peat-moss
+on which the road is built has other glories—green
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[211]</span>moss and moss as red as blood, fairy cups of
+silver lichen with scarlet rims, and long reaches of
+bog-asphodel, shining like cloth-of-gold and sweetening
+the winds with their faint, delicate perfume. Here,
+where our road runs on a firmer foundation, grow
+the wild willows, all low-growing and all adding
+a beauty to the year in their catkins. When the
+daisies have hardly ventured to thrust their heads
+into a cold world the catkins gleam in silky silver,
+changing as the days lengthen to yellow gold. Later
+on some of them are covered with an exquisite white
+down which floats their seeds about the land. The
+little burns which our road bridges ripple and chatter
+through miniature forests of ferns and meadow-sweet,
+the foxglove shakes its bells above the splendour of
+the gorse, and the yellow iris hides the young wild-duck
+that are making their way by ditch and brooklet
+to the sea. These are but a few of the flowers with
+which the road garlands and bedecks herself to welcome
+the little peoples who love her.</p>
+
+<p>To the flowers come all day long in summer the
+humble-bees. These little reddish-yellow fellows, hot
+and angry-looking, have their byke or nest in some
+mossy bank or old turf dyke, to which they carry wax
+and honey for the fashioning of a round, irregular,
+dirty-looking comb. The chances are that they will
+be despoiled of their treasure by some errant herd-boy
+before July is half over. Their great cousins in
+black velvet striped with gold prefer to live solitary
+in some deserted mouse-hole; but they cannot, for
+all their swagger and fierce looks, save their honey
+from Boy the Devourer. Though there are no wasps
+in Orcady, the roadside blossoms have visitors other
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[212]</span>than the bees. Here come the white and brown
+butterflies, and those dainty little blue creatures
+whose wings are painted and eyed like a peacock’s
+tail. And at night moths, white, yellow, and gray,
+flit like ghosts above the sleeping flowers, or dance
+mysteriously in the dusk on silent wings.</p>
+
+<p>Where the insects come, there follow the insect-eaters.
+On a June evening there are parts of the
+road where one may see kittiwakes and black-headed
+gulls hawking for moths. Wheatears and starlings,
+larks and pipits, and, more rarely, thrushes, blackbirds,
+and wrens, with an occasional stonechat, all come to
+prey on the insect life of the road. Swallows there
+are none in Orcady, but the ubiquitous sparrow is
+there. To his contented mind the road offers a continual
+feast. When the birds set up housekeeping
+in spring, many of them choose their nesting-places in
+the near neighbourhood of the road. It seems almost
+as if they argued that here, under the very eye of
+man, they run less risk of discovery than further
+afield, where he may expect to find their treasures.
+From crannies of the loosely-built walls that bound
+the road you may hear the hungry broods of starlings,
+sparrows, and wheatears chirping on every side as
+you pass in May. I have seen a nestful of young
+larks gape up with their foolish yellow throats from
+a tuft of grass on the very edge of a roadside ditch,
+and have found a grouse’s nest in the heather not
+fifty yards from the most man-frequented part of the
+road. Yellow-hammers, too, and other buntings often
+nest in the long grass by the ditchside. Here, in
+a hedge of whin or gorse which crosses the road at
+right angles, are the nests of the thrush, the blackbird,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[213]</span>and the wren. If you drive along our road in
+spring you shall see the male pewit, in all the glory of
+his wedding garments, scraping, a few yards from the
+roadside, the shallow, circular hollow in which his young
+are to be hatched; and a little later you shall see his
+patient spouse look up at you fearlessly from her eggs,
+or even, if your passing be at noonday, you may watch
+her slip off the nest as her mate comes up behind to
+relieve her in her domestic duties. For these birds have
+learned that man on wheels is not to be feared, though
+man on foot is one of their most dreaded enemies.</p>
+
+<p>In Orcady there are not many four-footed wild
+things, but those that dwell among us are drawn to
+the road as surely as the birds are. In the gloaming
+rabbits come down to the roadside clover where the
+bees have gathered honey all day. Great brown
+hares, too, come loping leisurely along the road—moving
+shadows that melt into the dusk at the least
+alarm. Hares always like to make their forms near
+a road of some sort, for it affords them a swift and
+ready means of flight when they are pursued. They
+must be hard pressed indeed before they will dive
+like rabbits into roadside drains or culverts, but these
+refuges are not to be despised when greyhound or
+lurcher is close upon their heels. Mice, voles, and
+rats find shelter in the banks of road-scrapings or in
+the walls and drain-mouths; and the sea-otter does
+not despise the road when he makes a nocturnal
+expedition inland. It is not long since a man who
+was early afoot on a summer morning met a pair of
+otters almost on the street of our sleeping island
+capital. Seals, of course, cannot use the road, but
+where it runs by the sea-marge their shining heads
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[214]</span>rise up from the water to watch the passers-by, and
+he who is abroad before dawn may find them on the
+beaches within a few yards of the roadway.</p>
+
+<p>The deer, roe, foxes, badgers, stoats, weasels, wild-cats,
+and moles of Orcady are even as the snakes of Iceland.
+Tame cats ran wild, however, we do not lack, and they
+take their tithe from the road as surely as do the hawks
+and falcons. Neither snakes, lizards, nor frogs are found
+in the isles, but on a damp autumn evening the road
+is dotted with toads of all sizes, which sit gazing into
+infinity or hop clumsily from before the passing wheel.</p>
+
+<p>In pursuit of beetles, mice, and small birds, hawks
+and owls come to the road. The kestrel of all hawks
+loves it the most. He sits upon the humming telegraph
+wires or hangs poised, like Mahomet’s coffin, in
+mid-air, ever watchful and ready to swoop down upon
+his prey. The same wires which give him a resting-place
+often furnish him with food, ready killed or
+disabled. When man first set up his posts along the
+road and threaded them with an endless wire, sad
+havoc was wrought among the birds. Plover—green
+and golden—snipe, redshanks, and grouse dashing
+across the road in the dusk, struck the fatal wires and
+fell dead or maimed by the wayside. I have seen a
+blackbird fly shrieking from a prowling cat, and strike
+the wire with such force that his head, cut clean off,
+dropped at my very feet. The older birds appear to
+have learned a lesson from the misfortunes of their
+fellows, but every autumn young birds, new to their
+wings, pay their tribute of victims to the wires. More
+especially is this the case with the plovers, and though
+the kestrel rarely touches so big a bird when it is
+whole and sound, he feasts upon their wounded.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[215]</span></p>
+
+<p>The hen-harrier skims to and fro along the roadside
+ditches, but he is a wary and cautious fowl, and
+is never within gunshot of the road when a man
+comes down that way. The merlin, that beautiful
+miniature falcon, glides swift and low across the
+moors and meadows, flashes suddenly over the roadside
+dyke, and before the small birds have time to
+realize that their enemy is upon them, he is gone
+again—only a little puff of feathers floating slowly
+down the air showing where he struck his prey.
+The peregrine wheels high overhead, but is too proud
+and shy a bird to hunt upon man’s roads. Nor has
+the road any charm for the raven, who goes croaking
+hoarsely over it on his way from shore to hill. The
+little short-eared owls hide all day among the heather
+near our road, and come flapping up in the gloaming
+on noiseless wings to take their share of its good
+things. In the treeless islands the kestrel is not the
+only bird that sits upon the wires. There the starling
+sings his weird love song, mingling with his own
+harsh notes the calls of every other bird that the
+islands know; and the buntings chant their lugubrious
+and monotonous ditties there.</p>
+
+<p>The telegraph wires are not the only mysterious
+works of man which have disturbed and interfered with
+the feathered life so near to and yet so far apart from
+his. What a mystery must he be to those fellow-creatures
+who watch him, with his continual scratching
+and patching of the breast of kindly Mother Earth!
+Not wholly does he yield the road to them between
+sunset and sunrise; but when he goes abroad in the
+dark it is often in the guise of a rumbling dragon
+with great eyes of flame. Once, to the writer’s
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[216]</span>knowledge, a gannet swooped down in valiant ignorance
+on such a horrid creature of the night. He
+flashed suddenly, white out of the darkness, into the
+circle of light of a doctor’s gig lamps. That bold
+bird his fellows saw no more; and one may fancy
+that with his disappearance a new terror was added
+to the fiery-eyed creatures that roam the roads by
+night. He died, though not without a fierce fight
+for his life; and his skin, cunningly filled out with
+wire and straw, stands under a glass case in his
+slayer’s home even unto this day.</p>
+
+<p>It is in spring and summer that the road sets forth
+its choicest lures for its lovers, yet even in “winter
+and rough weather” it has its beauties for the seeing
+eye. The puddles and cart-ruts shine like dull silver
+when the clouds are heavy and gray overhead.
+When the rain cloud blows over and the sky clears,
+these same shallow pools and channels gleam with
+a cold, clear blue, more exquisite than that of the
+heavens they reflect; and at night the stars besprinkle
+them with diamonds. Again,—</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">“Autumnal frosts enchant the pool,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And make the cart-ruts beautiful.”</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>“When daisies go”—and of all roadside blossoms
+they linger latest and reappear earliest (I have seen
+them lifting their modest crimson-tipped heads in
+December and opening their yellow eyes before the
+coltsfoot stars begin to shine)—but even when they
+are gone the gray stone dykes have still a glory of
+green moss, of gray and golden lichens.</p>
+
+<p>When all the land is soaked and sodden with
+heavy rains, the road, where it climbs that low brown
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[217]</span>hill, will suddenly shine out across the intervening
+miles like a sword flung down among the heather.</p>
+
+<p>When the winter rains have given place to the
+first snowfall of the year, go out early in the morning,
+before hoofs and wheels have blotted out the traces of
+the night, and you shall learn, as nothing else save
+long and close observation can teach you, how great
+is the nocturnal traffic of birds and beasts upon the
+road. Like fine lacework you shall find their footprints,
+to and fro, round and across, up the middle
+and down again. Hares and rabbits, rats and mice,
+gulls and plovers, thrushes and larks, water-hens and
+water-rails—these and many more have been busy
+here while you slept. And even now bright eyes are
+watching you, themselves unseen—those unsuspected
+eyes which are ever upon us as we follow the road on
+our daily round of duty or pleasure. Do they look on
+us with fear or wonder, with contempt or admiration,
+or with a mingling of all these feelings? That we can
+never know while the great barrier of silence stands
+between us and them. We blunder across their lives,
+doing them good and evil indiscriminately, but we
+understand them no more than they can understand us.</p>
+
+<p>Now in winter, new birds come to our road.
+Great flocks of snow-buntings, circling and wheeling
+with marvellous precision, at one moment almost
+invisible—a dim, brown, moving mist—and the next
+flashing a thousand points of silver to the level rays
+of the wintry sun. Scores of greenfinches, which we
+never see in summer, rise from the road edges to circle
+a little way and settle again. The “spink spink” of
+the chaffinch, also unknown to us in summer, may now
+be heard; fieldfares spring chuckling through the air
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[218]</span>far overhead, and red-winged thrushes hop among the
+stubbles. Down this shallow pass between the low hills
+come in the gloaming the lines of the wild swans, flying
+from the upland lochs to the sea. Their trumpet call
+rings far through the frosty air, and as we hear them
+there stir within us vague thoughts and dreams of the
+white north whence they came. As if answering the
+thought, the wet road shines with a new, faint, unearthly
+light, as flickering up the northern sky come
+the pale shifting streamers of the aurora borealis.</p>
+
+<p>Of the human life that pulses intermittently along
+our road there is not space now to write. Boy and
+girl, youth and maiden, man and woman, day by day,
+year in, year out, they follow the winding line, till for
+each in turn the day comes when it leads them to the
+kirkyard or to the sea, and the roads of Orcady know
+them no more.</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Duncan J. Robertson.</span>
+(<i>“Longman’s Magazine.” By permission.</i>)</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus052" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus052.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Kirkwall Pier—a midnight photograph.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[219]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="A_LOCH_IN_ORCADY">A LOCH IN ORCADY.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-i2.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">It is one among many, in an island where
+the lochs lie scattered like fragments of
+the sky fallen among the hills—one
+among many, and one of the least
+known of them all. On it the fisherman
+casts no fly, or casts it in vain, for
+fish have never prospered in its waters.
+It can never be an ideal trout loch, for it is not fed,
+like its sister lochs, by the innumerable small burns
+that channel our low hills. One surface-fed streamlet
+indeed flows into it, a streamlet hardly worthy of
+the courtesy-title it bears; but for the most part its
+waters are drawn from the secret sources of the
+springs.</p>
+
+<p>Its placid surface mirrors no hillsides purple with
+heather and green with waving fern, but from its
+margin the land rolls back in low billows, squared
+with fields that year by year darken under the
+plough and smile again in due season with the
+homely crops of the isles. Yet the little loch has
+charms of its own for those who know it—charms
+that its wilder and more romantic sisters cannot
+boast. Not a quarter of a mile from its western
+shore the Atlantic billows boom and thunder upon
+the cliffs, or roll in, great and green, to burst and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[220]</span>spread in a whirling smother of foam upon the
+sands; and the quiet of the inland water is thrice
+welcome to eye and ear when these are dazzled
+and wearied by the ceaseless turmoil and tumult of
+the sea.</p>
+
+<p>The valley in which lies the loch runs down to
+a deeply curved bay, swept and scoured out by the
+sea, where there is a breach in the great cliff rampart
+that guards our island’s western coast. Up this
+valley the wind has, through the ages, heaped a
+huge sandhill which rolls and ripples under its
+greensward down to the lip of the bay. Between
+the sand and the clay lies the loch, narrowed by
+the rising slope of sand that forms its northern bank.</p>
+
+<p>At its eastern end is the germ of a village. A
+little shop, a post office, the long, low building which
+was a school before these days of school boards—these
+and a few cottages stand between the loch and
+the sunrise. Close to the water’s edge runs the highroad
+leading from a steep little seaport town, away
+through the quiet country, luring men to the sea
+and the great world of adventure beyond it. For
+with us isles-folk the tune that sings itself in the
+dreams of youth is not “Over the <i>hills</i>,” but “Over
+the <i>seas</i> and far away.”</p>
+
+<p>Along the northern shore, as close as may be to
+the water, runs another road—a road that leads to
+the kirk and the kirkyaird, and, incidentally, to the
+laird’s house. Yet because men, who made the road,
+must preserve an apparent sobriety and straightness
+of purpose, while Nature, who laid the line between
+land and water, need care nothing for her reputation,
+there runs between the road and the water a grassy
+margin. Here it is of the narrowest, and there it
+spreads out into miniature capes and peninsulas, where
+teal love to rest in the early morning, and rabbits
+come down to nibble the juicy water-plants long
+before man is afoot.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[221]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="illus053" style="max-width: 35.9375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus053.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Some “Big Hooses.”—I.</i></p>
+      <p>1. Skaill, Sandwick. 2. Binscarth. 3. Hall of Tankerness. 4. Westness, Rousay.
+    5. Holodyke, Harray.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[222]</span></p>
+
+<p>On the other side of the road the sandbank rises
+steep and green, a cliff of sandy sward sometimes
+attaining a height of full twenty feet. There the
+rabbits have their outposts. The green turf is
+splotched with the scattered sand from their burrows,
+and their white tails bob and flutter among the
+mounds they have made.</p>
+
+<p>This is but the flank of the sandhill. Farther
+to the west, where man has never ploughed the sand,
+the loch is bounded by low, green links which swarm
+with rabbits. Bunkers and hazards there are to
+delight the soul of the golfer; yet hither that lover
+of links comes but seldom. The rabbits and the birds
+have it all to themselves, save where some little
+fields are set amid the links, and one or two houses
+of men.</p>
+
+<p>Out of the turf of the bank projects a great stone,
+gray with lichen, and looking like the broken and
+petrified shaft of a mighty spear flung by one of the
+giants who of old waged a titanic warfare from isle
+to isle. Yet if a vague legend be true, the great
+stone is rather some bewitched living creature waiting
+the breaking of spells; for, so they say, there is a
+certain night in each year when it leaves its sandy
+bed and goes down to quench its thirst in the waters
+of the loch.</p>
+
+<p>Yet the birds do not fear it. The wheatear jerks
+and bobs upon its topmost edge as we gaze and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[223]</span>wonder how and when he came hither. Then with
+a flirt of his tail he is off to repeat his cheerful,
+tuneless call upon the nearest mound.</p>
+
+<p>At its western end the loch widens and is divided
+into two little bays, a bay of sand and a bay of mud.
+In the more northerly of these bays there is being
+fought a long skirmish in the great, slow, endless war
+between land and water; and now victory leans
+towards the land, for the sand, blowing up day by
+day from the sea, settles here in the shallow water
+and drives it back.</p>
+
+<p>Twenty years ago, between the loch’s edge and the
+links lay a field of shining yellow sand, to which the
+golden plover were wont to come down in great flocks
+of an autumn evening. Once the sand had established
+itself, the advance of grass and flowers began.
+Pushing forward a vanguard of reeds and rushes,
+they pursued their steady march down to the water’s
+edge; and now, where the sands were, is a grassy
+meadow, starred in its season with the pale blooms
+of the grass of Parnassus, its landward side meshed
+by rabbit tracks, the tiny rivulets winding through
+it beset with scented beds of wild peppermint and
+haunted by snipe, and its outer margin giving cover
+to duck and coots, to water-hens and dabchicks.</p>
+
+<p>There are little islets beyond the meadow, some
+grass-grown, some still of bare sand, and a little sandy
+beach at one place, where redshanks and ringed
+plover run in the shallows. Thither too come the
+dunlin and the sandpiper, and rarer birds—knots
+and ruffs, greenshanks with their triple call, and
+whimbrels, the “summer whaups” of the isles-folk.
+Here you may wade, knee-deep in clear water, to the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[224]</span>very outer edge of the reeds and find all the way
+a footing on hard sand. And the reeds will yield
+their secrets. On this heaped pyramid the little
+grebe is hatching her eggs, and that reedy platform
+is a coot’s nest. Or at a later season you may
+chance, if the Fates be kind, to catch a glimpse of
+scurrying dusky ducklings vanishing among the green
+stems, while their mother flutters off, making-believe
+to have a broken wing.</p>
+
+<p>A wide, shallow ditch divides the marsh from the
+fields on the south, and where the ditch ends an old
+stone wall begins, marches a little way towards the
+water, and then breaks off to run round the bay
+of mud, and so up along the south shore of the
+loch. Where it turns off, this wall seems at one
+time to have meditated an advance into the water,
+and in its retreat has left a tumbled straggle of
+stones which runs out along a little cape. Here at
+twilight come great gray herons, shouting hoarsely,
+to sit gazing into the waters. Here, too, curlews are
+wont to gather, keeping well out of gunshot from
+wall or ditch.</p>
+
+<p>The southern bay—the bay of mud—holds a great
+reed-bed, where shelter many water-fowl. The swans
+breed there, with coot and water-hen and grebe.
+There, too, come the wild duck after their kind,
+mallard and teal, pochard and scaup, golden-eye
+and merganser. But the bottom there is muddy and
+treacherous, and it is a very doubtful pleasure to
+follow the wild-fowl through their haunts in the
+reeds. About the inner margin of the reed-bed,
+among the grassy tussocks and muddy pools, is a
+favourite feeding-ground for snipe. There, too, the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[225]</span>pewits gather, and gulls of many kinds, while redshanks
+rise screaming from the water’s edge.</p>
+
+<p>Out in the middle of the loch is a small islet or
+holm. This islet is nested on every summer by a
+colony of black-headed gulls. There, too, the terns
+breed, and there the great white-breasted cormorants,
+which come up after the eels of the loch, sit with
+black wings widespread in the sunlight. The circling,
+screaming cloud of gulls which hovers over the
+islet is a sight never to be forgotten, and the very
+thought of the sound of their calling brings back
+those wonderful summer days when all the world
+was young, and a brighter sun shone in a bluer sky.</p>
+
+<p>There are men scattered here and there about the
+world who look back to the loch and its environs
+as to an earthly paradise; and ever in their dreams
+the loch, the links, the shore are but a beloved and
+beautiful background to one central figure—a boy
+with a gun. The seasons may change and mingle,
+as seasons do in dreams, but the boy treads again the
+familiar places, and renews his old disappointments
+and triumphs. Each man sees different pictures and a
+different boy, but a boy with a gun is always there.</p>
+
+<p>It is strange to think that there may be other
+boys to-day who hold the loch and all its pleasant
+places in fee as we hold it by the tenure of our
+memories. Stranger still to think of all the vanished
+boys, back through the years, the generations, the
+centuries, who have loved our little loch, hunted by
+its margins, and dreamed strange dreams among the
+sunny hollows of the links. Could they return
+to-day, islesman born, Norseman, Pict, or Scot, they
+would find many changes; for man is ever busy
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[226]</span>improving and altering the face of his kindly Mother
+Earth: yet the loch they would see but little changed.</p>
+
+<p>The waters shine as of old under the same sunlight,
+or ruffle into miniature white-capped billows
+with the autumn winds, and by night they mirror
+the unchanging stars. The splendour of the sandhills
+in summer, when they robe themselves like kings
+with the purple and gold of crowfoot and thyme;
+the hot scent of wild peppermint crushed under foot;
+the trumpet call of the wild swans ringing through
+the frosty air on winter nights; the pipings and
+flutings of the water-fowl among the summer reeds;
+the screaming of falcons and croaking of ravens from
+the cliffs; and overhead, from dawn to dusk, in the
+long days of the northern summer, the myriad music
+of the larks;—all these things they would find
+unchanged. And though the little fences and fields,
+the roads, the byres and barns of men have changed
+the nearer scene, yet man has not altered the “beloved
+outline of familiar hills,” nor silenced the deep music
+of the eternal sea.</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Duncan J. Robertson.</span>
+(<i>“Longman’s Magazine.” By permission.</i>)</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus054" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus054.jpg" alt="">
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[227]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="AMONG_THE_KELPERS">AMONG THE KELPERS.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-i3.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">In the end of March and the beginning
+of April, when the isles rise brown from
+a steel-gray, wind-ruffled sea, their bare
+unloveliness is veiled by pale blue smoke-drifts,
+which cast over the low, sloping
+shores a certain charm of remoteness and
+of mystery. Later in the year, when the
+summer seas are only less blue than the skies above
+them, and every island shines like an emerald, white
+jets and spirals as from many altars rise round all
+the shores. For spring and summer are the kelper’s
+seasons, and long, dry days, which scorch and wither
+the young crops, are welcome to the crofter who has
+secured a good stock of “tangles” in winter and a
+big share in a “brook of ware,” now that “burning
+weather” has come.</p>
+
+<p>Until recently no kelp was burned after Lammas—that
+is, August 2—but of late years, when the season
+has been dry, the fires have been burned even so late
+as October.</p>
+
+<p>The kelper’s year may be reckoned from mid-November.
+Then he is paid for his work in the
+year that is ended. Then the gales sweep up from
+north or west, tearing from its deep sea-bed the
+red-ware, of which the long supple stems are known
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[228]</span>to the islesmen as “tangles.” Should the wind
+freshen to a gale during the night, the diligent
+kelper is up and out before the first glimmer of
+dawn. Buffeted by the wind and lashed by the
+stinging spray, he peers through the darkness, watching
+for those shadows against the white surf of
+the breaking waves which he knows to be rolling
+masses of seaweed and wrack. He is armed with
+a “pick,” an implement resembling a very strong
+hayfork, but with the prongs set, like those of a
+rake, at right angles to the handle. With this
+pick, struggling often mid-thigh deep in the rushing
+waters, he grapples the tumbling seaweed and drags
+it up the beach, out of reach of the waves. For the
+wind may change, and the “brook,” as he calls a
+drift of weed, if not secured at once, may be carried
+out to sea again, or even worse, to some other strand
+where it will be lost to him. Of course, the winds
+and waves often do this work alone, and pile the
+tangles in huge, glittering rolls along the beaches.</p>
+
+<p>When the brook is fairly on the strand, the work of
+the kelper is only begun. He has to carry the tangles
+from the beach to the seabanks above, in carts where
+that is possible, and where no carts can pass, then
+laboriously on hand-barrows. I know of one strand
+on which the great gale of November 1893 landed a
+brook of tangles which kept the kelpers busy for three
+months. Once on the banks, the tangles are stacked
+in great heaps on “steiths,” or foundations built of
+sea-rounded stones arranged in such fashion as to give
+free ingress to the air. There they lie till spring, when
+by the action of wind and sun they have become hard,
+dry, and wrinkled—brands ready for the burning.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[229]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="illus055" style="max-width: 35.9375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus055.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Some “Big Hooses.”—II.</i></p>
+      <p>1. Trumbland, Rousay. 2. Graemeshall, Holm. 3. Melsetter. 4. Balfour Castle.
+    5. Smoogro, Orphir.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[230]</span></p>
+
+<p>Only the tangles can be dried in winter; but the
+softer parts—the foliage, one may call it—of the red-ware
+is not lost, but goes to manure the fields, and
+until a sufficient quantity has been obtained for that
+purpose none is made into kelp.</p>
+
+<p>Each proprietor in the islands has right, generally
+under a charter from the Crown, to the weed cast
+up on his shores. Each ware-strand, or beach where
+drift-weed comes to land, is set apart for a certain
+number of tenants on the estate to which it belongs,
+and each brook of ware as it comes ashore is divided
+among these tenants, usually in proportion to their
+rents. The general custom is, that it is decided by
+lot from which portion of the brook each man shall
+draw his share. The middle is generally considered
+the best part, as there the weed is in its greatest bulk,
+and less rolled and beaten by the sea than at the ends;
+but it may happen that one end is near the only part
+of the beach where the ware can be carried up, and
+then the man who draws his lot there is saved much
+labour.</p>
+
+<p>The sharing of the ware is a fertile seed of dispute
+and an inexhaustible source of quarrel. The “kelp
+grieve,” or overseer who acts for the proprietor, generally
+settles all disputes; and each kelper, with the aid
+of his family, carries up his share of the brook, and
+spreads it on the drying-greens. These are most
+frequently links that know not cleek or driver, and
+upon them in the early morning the ware is spread,
+as thinly as may be, to be dried on the short, crisp
+grass by sun and wind.</p>
+
+<p>To the man whose daily life is built about with
+stone and lime, the summer work of the kelpers shines
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[231]</span>tempting as the waters to Tantalus. He thinks not
+of that kelper in winter, plunging and struggling
+with the slippery tangles amid the turmoil of the
+surf, but dreams only of quiet summer days and
+the gray glimmer of sunlit waters seen through a
+veil of drifting smoke.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp94" id="illus056" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus056.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Kelp-burning.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The links roll down in long, green billows from
+the ruins of an old feudal castle, where the brown
+rabbit is the door-ward, and in whose towers the
+starling nests unscared—roll down to a little bay,
+where the long waves of the Atlantic come up unceasingly,
+curving in great, green arches, before they
+break in thunder of white foam on the brown rocks
+and yellow sand. Where the grass is thin and scant
+the sand shines through, and this makes a bad drying-green,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[232]</span>as kelp is of less value when mixed with
+sand. But here is a short, close turf, nibbled upon
+by rabbits, a racing-ground for lambs, where the
+thrift or sea-pink meets the meadow-clover, and thyme
+and crowfoot break in ripples of purple and gold
+to sweeten all the summer air.</p>
+
+<p>Than this a better drying-green cannot be found.
+On one side of the bay a long stretch of flat rocks
+runs down from the grass to the sea, and they too
+are utilized, when tides allow, to dry the seaweed.
+Here, in May and June, the whole air tingles with
+the song of larks innumerable. Long before sunrise,
+before the last stars have faded in the west, they are
+up, weaving a magical garment of song over all the
+green land. All day and far into the dim twilight
+that is our northern night they sing without ceasing.
+Larks are everywhere. In that tuft of grass at our
+feet is a nest with four of the dusky-brown eggs
+which hold next year’s music. There, in the ditch by
+the roadside, is another nest, from which the featherless
+young raise feeble necks to gape for food, showing
+their yellow tongues with the three black spots, which
+children here are told will appear on the tongue of
+that child who takes the laverock’s nest. Again, a
+fledgeling, speckled like a toad, rises suddenly from the
+clover and flies a few yards, while its anxious parents
+circle close overhead with little tremulous bursts of
+song, or flutter with trailing wing along the grass.</p>
+
+<p>That pretence of a broken wing, which now seems
+to be an instinct, must surely at first have been arrived
+at by a process of reasoning. There must have been
+long since a broken wing, and a boy, or a dog, or
+a snake to chase the fluttering sufferer, and some
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">[233]</span>wise observer among the mother-birds of that forgotten
+day to see and make a note of the chase,
+and with the heart-leap of a happy inspiration to find
+in it a new method of protecting her eggs and tender
+young, and to hand down the lesson she learned to
+our blithesome bird of the wilderness.</p>
+
+<p>But this summer world, so thrilled with lark music,
+is not held by the lark alone in fee. From every dry-stone
+wall young starlings are calling, “Chirr! chirr!
+chirr!” and the old birds hurry to and fro between
+their nests and the brown fields, soon to wave with
+oats and bere, where they gather the insects and grubs
+their younglings love. Their bronze feathers gleam
+in the sunshine as they pass, and at their harsh note
+of warning as they see strangers near their homes the
+tumult of the young birds among the stones is instantly
+hushed. The farmer owes these cheerful and
+busy birds a heavy debt of gratitude, as the number of
+his insect enemies which they destroy is incalculable.</p>
+
+<p>On the smooth turf the dried ware is piled in
+conical heaps, like giant molehills, to preserve it from
+the heavy night dews and from possible rain, and
+among the brown hillocks the wheatear bobs up
+and down, flirting his tail and repeating his cheerful
+“Tchk! tchk! chek-o! chek-o!” At times the rapture
+of summer and of his love inspire him with a
+vain desire of song. Up he goes, as if he were in
+very deed the skylark he takes as his model, uttering
+harsh and unmelodious notes—a feeble travesty of
+the golden rain of song that falls from the blue
+above him. But his flight extends upwards only a
+yard or two, and he sinks down again, chuckling to
+himself, as pleased with his song as any minor poet.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">[234]</span></p>
+
+<p>As the day wears down to afternoon the corncrakes
+begin to call from the young grass, and all night long
+they answer each other from field to field. Speak of
+them to the kelpers, and everywhere one hears the
+same story of their hibernation in old walls. That
+landrails migrate has been proved beyond question,
+but equally beyond question does it seem that some
+few sleep out the winter here. Any kelper will tell
+how he, or if not he himself then some one of his
+neighbours, once in winter found a corncrake in some
+old dyke, to all appearance dead. He carried it home,
+and, laying it before the fire, watched the death-like
+trance slowly melt into life and motion.</p>
+
+<p>As to the winter sleep I can only speak at second-hand;
+but I have seen the birds in summer run like
+rats into the dry-stone dykes with which our crofters
+so love to encumber and adorn their land. That these
+dykes can be meant only for ornament is evident to
+the most casual observer in this land where ponies,
+cows, sheep, ay, and the very geese, are ofttimes
+tethered by the leg.</p>
+
+<p>Yet if the dykes serve no other purpose, they provide
+nesting-places for the starling and the wheatear,
+for the rock-pipit and the sparrow, which save the
+crops of the crofter from destruction by grub and fly.
+Mice also shelter in them, and rats in those islands
+where rats are found. In the happy isle of which I
+write no rat can live. They come ashore time and
+again from vessels touching at the little pier near the
+village, but where they go or what fate awaits them
+none can tell—only this, that they are seen no more
+on the green lap of the world.</p>
+
+<p>But we have left the ware too long in the sun.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[235]</span>Should rain come, the kelper sees much of his profit
+melt away, for the salt which it causes to crystallize
+on the dried weed wastes, and what is left makes
+inferior kelp. All along the edges of the drying-greens
+are the burning pits or kilns—hollows for all
+the world like huge plovers’ nests in shape, lined with
+flat blue stones from the beach. They are about two
+feet deep and some five feet in diameter.</p>
+
+<p>When the ware is ready to be burned a smouldering
+peat or a handful of lighted straw is laid in the
+bottom of the pit. Over this dry ware is piled, slowly
+at first till the fire catches, and ever more rapidly as
+the red core of smouldering flame waxes.</p>
+
+<p>Sometimes ware and tangles are burned separately,
+but more frequently the kelper burns them together.
+The tangles make the stronger and better kelp. The
+pit is filled, and the ware or tangles are piled on till
+the mass rises two feet or more above the level of the
+earth. Then for six or eight hours it must be carefully
+watched and tended, and ever new fuel piled on
+to prevent a burst of flame. When tangles are being
+burnt alone, the kelper finishes off his pit with dried
+ware, as otherwise the tougher knots and lumps of the
+latest burned tangles would not be thoroughly consumed.</p>
+
+<p>Each pit holds about half a ton, and takes the
+best part of a summer day to burn, the actual time
+depending on the state of the wind and the condition
+of the weed. When at last it smoulders low, it is
+“raked” before being left to cool. One man takes a
+spade with a very small blade and a handle fully
+seven feet long, the lower half being of iron; two
+other workers, as often women as men, have “rakes,”
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">[236]</span>implements not unlike a rough caricature of a golfer’s
+iron, but with handles as long as that of the spade.
+With these rakes the kelp is mixed and smoothed,
+while the spadesman turns it up from the bottom
+of the pit. Hard work it is and hot, great jets of
+flame shooting out under the spade from what looks
+like gray crumbling earth mingled with black ashes
+and white quartz; for the kelp assumes so many
+colours and forms that to describe it accurately were
+impossible. As the kelper turns and tosses the glowing
+mass on a warm June evening, he knows he has
+come near the end of that labour which began in
+the gray winter dawn, when the rolls of red-weed
+lashed about him amid the roaring backwash of the
+waves.</p>
+
+<p>When the kelp has been sufficiently mixed, the pit
+is levelled and smoothed over, all the outlying ashes
+are swept in with a handful of dry ware, and it is left
+to cool and harden. Then, as the kelpers turn homewards,
+the white sea fog creeps up by the rocks where
+all day long the kelp smoke drifted.</p>
+
+<p>Such is the work of the kelper, and such the places
+of his toil. An easy and a pleasant life it is compared
+to that of the men who labour in the bowels of the
+earth or in the great manufactories of smoke-darkened
+cities. He has the green turf under his foot and the
+clear sky over him, the sea makes music for him
+unceasingly, and the salt winds bring him health and
+strength. The furred and feathered folks share his
+land with him, and gather their harvest on the same
+shores. As he goes to his work in the morning,
+through the silver mists of dawn, a flock of blue rock-doves
+with great clatter of wings flash off through the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">[237]</span>clear air. The redshank pipes shrilly at him from the
+copestone of the nearest wall, and over the ploughed
+fields where their precious eggs are lying the pewits
+wheel and scream. “Pewit-weet! pee-weet!”—their
+note has in it for the isles folk, to whom the cuckoo
+is but a name, the very voice of spring and hope and
+love. The ringed plover stands motionless on his
+three-toed yellow feet, calling with his sweet, low
+note, and invisible save to the keenest eye until he
+makes a little run and betrays himself. Linnets
+swing and sing on the swaying thistles and among
+the heather. On the blue waters of the bay a little
+fleet of eider ducks is afloat, and their curious, hoarse,
+barking chuckle rolls up over the waters. Perhaps a
+seal raises his round head, shining like a bottle, and
+gazes with mild eyes at the men upon the beaches;
+while overhead gulls and terns swing past, cleaving
+the strong air with careless wing. Far out to sea the
+white gannets hawk to and fro. Suddenly one poises
+in mid-air for a moment, then drops like a stone into
+the water, a fountain of white spray flashing up in
+the sunlight as he disappears. Your kelper will tell
+you how in his younger days he caught the solan
+geese by means of a herring fastened to a board
+and sunk a few inches below the surface of the water.
+The bird sees the fish, poises, and swoops down only
+to drive his mighty bill through the board and break
+his neck.</p>
+
+<p>Nearer shore than the gannets the kittiwakes are
+fishing, when suddenly there glides among them a
+dusky skua, who forces the luckiest fisher to drop his
+spoil, which the ravager catches in mid-air and bears
+off. A true pirate of the air is the skua, and reminds
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[238]</span>me always of those low, dark feluccas so dreadful
+and so dear to the sailor on the high seas of romance.
+Far up in the blue ether a peregrine falcon sweeps
+round, circling wide on motionless, outspread wings,
+or a raven goes croaking from the cliffs to seek a
+prey, as he may have done for years unnumbered.
+If the tradition of his longevity may be believed,
+that dark corbie who flies croaking over the kelpers
+toiling in the morning sunlight, and sees the white
+smoke rise from their harmless kilns—what fires may
+he not have seen upon these beaches, and what strange
+smoke of sacrifice go up from forgotten altars to the
+unchanging heavens? Give him even a shorter lease
+of life than that which tradition assigns him, and still
+he may remember the blazing beacons leap up to
+carry from isle to isle a warning of the coming of
+Norse invaders. Allow him only two short centuries,
+and yet he must have watched the smoke of many a
+burning homestead in the days when the followers of
+the “Wee, wee German Lairdie” avenged their private
+wrongs in the name of their king. The older men
+among the kelpers still tell tales of the Jacobite lairds
+who lay hid like conies in the clefts of the rocks till
+these calamities were overpast.</p>
+
+<p>The old stories—the folk-tales of the isles—linger
+fragmentary among the kelping people. One may
+hear from them how all the fairies were seen to leave
+some island riding on tangles, and how they all went
+down in the windy firth, never to be seen again of
+mortals. Here is a man, bowed and crippled by
+rheumatism, who will tell how he was shot in the
+back by a “hill-ane” when ploughing. He saw not
+his assailant, but only the shadow of him on the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">[239]</span>earth. Another old man remembers having his side
+hurt as a boy, and going to a “wise woman” to be
+cured. She told him he had been “forespoken”—that
+is, bewitched—by a woman then dead, and made
+him drink water mixed with earth from the “fore-speaker’s”
+grave. She then put a hoop covered with
+a sheep’s skin on his head, a basin of water on that,
+and poured melted lead through the head of a key
+into the water, giving the patient a piece of the lead
+in the form of a heart as a charm. The cure wrought
+by this modern Norna was not, however, effectual.</p>
+
+<p>There are many quaint and even beautiful turns
+of speech among these hard-working crofters. Their
+faces shine on my memory red like setting suns
+through the white reek of the kelp pits. Here is
+one whose fathers fled from Perthshire after “the
+’45,” and who thinks that some day he would like to
+go back to see the old place again—the “old place”
+which none of his have looked upon for one hundred
+and forty years! He toils night and day in summer
+cultivating his croft, fishing for lobsters, and making
+kelp. His rent is perhaps seven or eight pounds.
+Books, you would think, must be unknown to him;
+yet he will tell you he has “always been a great
+reader of Sir Walter Scott’s works,” and under the
+spell of that mighty wizard his hard life has budded
+and wreathed itself with romance.</p>
+
+<p>At the next pit is a man of a very different type.
+Quiet and slow, this man has led an honest life, with
+an eye ever to the main chance. Pressed once for an
+answer to some question important to the settling of a
+kelp dispute, after vain attempts at evasion, he burst
+out, “Gie me time, Mr. Blank, to wind up me mind.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">[240]</span></p>
+
+<p>Across the bay the pits are watched by an old
+bachelor—a <i>rara avis</i> among the kelpers—a little,
+clean-shaven, mouse-like man, who has “money in
+the bank.” He holds a croft where his ancestors
+have dwelt longer than the memory of man extends.
+The peat fire smouldering on his hearth has, to his
+certain knowledge, burned unquenched for two hundred
+years. How much longer ago it was kindled
+tradition recordeth not. Every night his last work
+is to “rest” that precious fire, and every morning
+it claims his earliest care. All his life he has toiled,
+gathering a harvest both from land and sea, and a
+harvest of content and happiness as well, such as
+few crofters know how to reap. “When I come
+oot on a fine simmer morning at four o’clock wi’
+never anither reek but me ain, I’m laird o’ a’ the
+land as far as I can see.” He has the secret of the
+lordship of the eye, which can give to a penniless
+man more profit of the pleasant earth than to the
+greatest lord of land among them all.</p>
+
+<p>Look at this fellow, gaunt, black, and shaggy; he
+might be one of <i>Punch’s</i> Scotch elders. Asked if he
+remembered some event of thirty years ago—“No,
+sir,” he said. “Ye see, I wasna at hame then; I was
+divin’ in the face o’ the sea for a livin’.” He had
+been a fisherman, and quite naturally chose to say so
+in this poetic phrase.</p>
+
+<p>These are only a few from among the many typical
+kelpers whose friendship I am proud to own. But if
+the types among them are many and various, in one
+thing they are all alike—their capacity for hard work.
+That work does not cease with the smoothing over of
+the smouldering pits. When the kelp has cooled it is
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">[241]</span>broken up and lifted out of the pit in great lumps
+which look like gray slag, with streaks of white, blue,
+and brown running through it. Should it be exposed
+to rain its quality is much deteriorated, and to avoid
+this danger storehouses are built by the lairds, to
+which the kelp is carted. The kelp grieve weighs
+each man’s quantity as it is brought in, and he is paid
+a fixed sum per ton. When a sufficient quantity is
+gathered in the store a vessel is chartered, and where
+there is a pier the kelp is carted alongside. In
+islands where there is no pier it must be taken off
+in small boats. The kelpers themselves provide the
+carriage. Then the sails are spread, and the produce
+of the year’s work is carried off to chemical works far
+over sea, where, by processes unknown to me, iodine
+is extracted from it. The kelper receives about two
+pounds ten shillings for each ton of kelp he manufactures,
+and the importance and benefit of the industry
+to these crofters cannot be overestimated. I have
+known a man paying a rent of eight pounds receive
+thirty-four pounds for his kelp in one year. Nor is
+the actual price he receives the only benefit the crofter
+derives from kelp. Were it not for the share of the
+profit falling to the laird, he too often could not, in
+these days, afford to assist his tenants in improving
+either their houses or their land. On the whole, then,
+the kelper’s lot is not an unhappy one. His work
+lies in pleasant places, and it is eminently healthy, and
+his days, as a rule, are long in the land and on
+the sea.</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Duncan J. Robertson.</span>
+(<i>“Longman’s Magazine.” By permission.</i>)</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">[242]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="A_WHALE-HUNT_IN_ORKNEY">A WHALE-HUNT IN ORKNEY.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-w2.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">“Whales in the bay so soon
+in the season!” exclaimed
+the clergyman, starting to
+his feet. “Come away,” he
+continued, “you have yet
+another day before you; we
+imitate the great of old,
+who entertained their guests with tournaments.”</p>
+
+<p>The manse garden commanded a fine view of Mill
+Bay, and on rushing out into the open air we saw a
+long dark line of boats, some with sails and some
+with oars, stretching across the blue waters of the
+broad voe, upwards of a mile from the shore. The
+practised eye of my host caught the gleam of dorsal
+fins in front of the boats, and we immediately hurried
+down to the beach, scarcely drawing breath till we
+stood on the bank above the sands of Mill Bay. The
+inmates of the neighbouring cottages had already
+assembled in eager groups on the grassy downs, and
+other islanders still came flocking from remoter farms
+and cabins to the shore. Several of the men were
+armed with harpoons, while farm lads flourished over
+their shoulders formidable three-pronged “graips”
+and long-hafted hayforks.</p>
+
+<p>Many of the matrons had their heads encased in
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">[243]</span>woollen “buities,” and this peculiar headdress imparted
+a singular picturesqueness to the excited groups on
+the sea-bank. Other boats with skilled hands on
+board put off from various points along the shore,
+and the fleet of small craft in the bay was rapidly
+increased by the arrival of fresh yawls. The crowd
+of urchins on the beach, who “thee’d” and “thou’d”
+each other like little Quakers in the Orcadian vernacular,
+cheered lustily as boat after boat hove in view
+round the headlands, swelling the fleet of whalers.</p>
+
+<p>The line of boats was now little more than a quarter
+of a mile from the beach. The bottle-nosed or ca’ing
+whales, showing their snouts and dorsal fins at intervals,
+seemed to advance slowly, throwing out skirmishers
+and cautiously feeling their way. As the
+beach was smooth and sandy, with a gentle slope, the
+boatmen in pursuit were endeavouring to drive the
+“school” into the shallows, where harpoons, hayforks,
+and other weapons could be used to advantage.</p>
+
+<p>The excitement of the spectators on land increased
+as the long line of the sea-monsters drew closer inshore.
+From the boats there came wafted across the water
+the sound of beating pitchers and rattling rowlocks,
+and the hoarse chorus of shouting voices. This babel
+of noises, which the water mellowed into a wild war-chant
+with cymbal accompaniment, was meant to scare
+the “school” and hasten the stranding of the whales.
+But an incident occurred that changed the promising
+aspect of affairs, turned the tide of battle, and gave
+new animation to the scene.</p>
+
+<p>Eager to participate in the expected slaughter, two
+or three farm lads, whose movements had escaped
+notice, suddenly shot off from the shore in a skiff
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">[244]</span>rowing right in front of the advancing line. The
+glitter and splash of oars alarmed the leaders, and
+the entire “school,” seized with a sudden panic, wheeled
+round and dashed at headlong speed into the line of
+pursuing boats.</p>
+
+<p>A shout rose from the shore as the flash of tail-fins,
+the heaving of the boats, and the rapid strokes
+of the boatmen showed all too plainly the escape of
+the whales, and the success of their victorious charge.
+Away beyond the broken line of the fleet they
+plunged in wild stampede, striking the blue waters
+into spangles of silver foam. Arches of spray, blown
+into the air at wide distances apart, served to indicate
+the size of the “school” and the speed of the fugitives.</p>
+
+<p>“Whew!” exclaimed my reverend friend, “that was
+a gallant charge, and deserved to succeed; but I hope
+our brave lads will yet put salt upon their tails. The
+boatmen have toiled hard for their share of the fish,
+and great would be the pity if the whales made right
+off to the open sea. It is not every day that a ‘drave’
+a hundred strong visits our shores, and there they go
+round the head of Odness in full career.”</p>
+
+<p>A commotion among the crowd at a short distance
+along the beach here arrested our attention. The
+exciting spectacle of the grand charge and wild flight
+of the whales had so absorbed our gaze that we failed
+to notice a mishap which was fortunately more ludicrous
+than alarming. The three youths who foolishly
+rowed off from the shore and caused the stampede
+had suffered for their rashness by getting their skiff
+capsized when the sea-monsters wheeled round to the
+charge. On gaining the outskirts of the crowd, we
+found the three luckless whale-hunters already beached.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">[245]</span>Bonnetless, dripping, and disconsolate, they were the
+objects of mirth to some, of commiseration to others.</p>
+
+<p>At last they made off, and we immediately set out
+in the direction of Odness to catch a sight of the
+whales, which had quite disappeared from the bay.
+The boats had turned in pursuit when the “school”
+escaped, and they were now making all haste to
+double the headland. On gaining the top of the
+cliffs, we were glad to observe that the whales,
+recovered from their fright, drifted leisurely along
+the coast, giving way at times to eccentric gambols.</p>
+
+<p>“All right!” cried my friend, handing me back my
+binocular; “they are coasting away famously round
+Lamb Head, and they are almost certain to take a
+snooze in Rousholm Bay, which is the best whale-trap
+I know in Orkney. Let us sit down here on the top
+of the cliffs till the boats come abreast, and then we
+shall take a nearer way to Rousholm than following
+the coast.”</p>
+
+<p>The summit of the rocks, softly carpeted with
+grass, moss, and wild flowers, afforded a pleasant
+resting-place, and commanded a picturesque prospect.
+To eastward there was a wide expanse of sea, stretching
+away without a break to the Norwegian fiords.
+The whale-hunting fleet, composed of all varieties of
+small craft, was soon well abreast of our resting-place.
+A fine and favourable breeze had sprung up, and fishing-yawls,
+with their brown sails outspread, coasted
+briskly along. The rearguard of the fleet consisted
+of row-boats manned by patient and determined boatmen,
+who pulled hard at the oars in the prospect of
+winning some share of the spoil. We remained a
+short time on the moss-crowned cliffs gazing on the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">[246]</span>animated scene, and listening to the voices of the
+boatmen, the plash of the waves below, and the plaint
+of restless sea-birds. On leaving our lair we dropped
+down upon a neighbouring farmhouse, where a couple
+of “shelties” were placed at our disposal, and away we
+trotted along field-paths and rough tracks to the head
+of Rousholm Bay, on the south side of the island.
+From all the cottages and farms in the district the
+islanders were flocking to the shore of the bay, and
+we thus had good hope that a portion of the school
+at least had run blindfold into the whale-trap of
+Rousholm. On nearing the shore we were delighted
+to find that our hope was fulfilled. A large detachment
+of the whales, supposed to number one hundred
+and fifty, had entered the bay, while the rest of the
+school had disappeared amid the reaches of the Stronsay
+Firth.</p>
+
+<p>Rounding the point of Torness, and stretching
+across the mouth of the bay, the fleet of small craft
+again hove into view, and pressed upon the rear of
+the slowly advancing and imprisoned whales. Among
+the onlookers there was now intense excitement, the
+greatest anxiety being manifested lest the detached
+wing should follow the main army, and again break
+the line of boats in a victorious charge. The shoutings
+and noise of the boatmen recommenced, and
+echoed from shore to shore of the beautiful and
+secluded bay. A fresh alarm seized the monsters,
+but instead of wheeling about and rushing off to the
+open sea as before, they dashed rapidly forwards
+a few yards, pursued by the boats, and were soon
+floundering helplessly in the shallows.</p>
+
+<p>The scene that ensued was of the most exciting
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">[247]</span>description. Fast and furious the boatmen struck
+and stabbed to right and left; while the people on
+the shore, forming an auxiliary force, dashed down to
+assist in the massacre, wielding all sorts of weapons.
+The wounded monsters lashed about with their tails,
+imperilling life and limb, and the ruddy hue of the
+water along the stretch of shore soon indicated the
+extent of the carnage. Some of the larger whales
+displayed great tenacity of life; but the unequal conflict
+closed at last, and no fewer than a hundred and
+seventy carcasses were dragged up on the beach.</p>
+
+<p>One or two slight accidents occurred, but to me it
+seemed marvellous that the boatmen did not injure
+each other as much as the whales amid the confusion
+and excitement of the scene. The carcasses, as I was
+informed, would realize between £300 and £400; and
+grateful were the people that Providence had remembered
+the island of Stronsay, by sending them a
+wonderful windfall of bottle-noses fresh from the
+confines of the Arctic Circle.</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Daniel Gorrie</span>
+(<i>“Summers and Winters in the Orkneys.”</i>)</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus057" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus057.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Wreck at Burgh Head, Stronsay.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">[248]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="ARTICLES_MADE_OF_STRAW">ARTICLES MADE OF STRAW.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-t3.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">The Orkney peasantry of two
+centuries ago lived in a poor
+country—a country ground
+down by the tyranny of
+greedy and unscrupulous rulers;
+a country whose inhabitants
+had neither the raw materials
+from which to construct many necessary utensils nor
+the money to purchase them. It is interesting to note
+some of the ways in which our forefathers overcame
+the circumstances in which they were placed. One
+of the most notable is the ingenious use of straw
+for the construction of many domestic utensils.</p>
+
+<p>The materials from which articles of straw were
+made were principally <i>bent</i> and the straw of black
+oats. The bent, after being cut, was loosely bound
+into rough sheaves and left to dry and wither. It
+was then bound into neat sheaves called <i>beats</i>, the
+legal size of which used to be two spans in circumference.
+Each beat was carefully pleated at the
+upper end, gradually tapering upwards into a cord
+which served to bind two beats together. The pair
+of beats so fastened was called a “band of bent,”
+twelve of which formed a “thrave.” From this bent
+were made the cords, always called <i>bands</i>, which
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">[249]</span>were used in the manufacture of straw. During the
+long winter evenings each ploughman was required
+to wind into bands one beat of bent. The cord
+was spun or twisted by the fingers, the two strands
+being each twisted singly, and at the same time laid
+into each other in such a way that the tendency of
+the strands to untwist was the means of keeping the
+two firmly twisted together.</p>
+
+<p>The straw used was that of the common Orkney
+black oats, which was at once tougher and more
+flexible than that of other cultivated kinds. The
+straw to be used was not threshed with the flail,
+which would have spoiled it, but was selected from
+the sheaves, held in a bunch between the hands, and
+beaten on some hard edge to remove the grain.
+Such straw was called <i>gloy</i>. From those two
+materials, bent bands and gloy, a very wide variety
+of indispensable articles were manufactured by the
+Orkney farmer.</p>
+
+<p>These articles may be divided into three classes—flexible,
+semi-flexible, and inflexible. Of the flexible
+type, the most simple and primitive article was the
+<i>sookan</i>, or, to give it a still older name, the <i>wislin</i>.
+This was simply straw twisted loosely into a thick
+cord of one strand, for temporary use. If not at
+once used to tie round something, it had to be wound
+into a clew to preserve its twist.</p>
+
+<p>A very common use of sookans in the winter-time
+was to form what were known as “straw boots.” A
+loop of the sookan was passed round the instep, over
+the shoe or <i>rivlin</i>, the thick straw cord being then
+wound round the ankles and the lower part of the
+leg. When the snow was deep, such straw boots
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">[250]</span>formed a very comfortable part of the peasant’s
+attire. Less than a century ago, on a Sunday when
+the snow lay deep on the ground, more than forty
+men wearing straw boots were seen in one Orkney
+church. It must be added that on the way home
+some of them were severely reproved by a neighbour
+for having performed this unnecessary labour on the
+Sabbath day!</p>
+
+<p>Next in order comes <i>simmans</i>. This was a strong
+straw rope made of two strands, also twisted by
+hand, and rolled into great balls or clews, the size of
+which was the width of the barn door. The main
+use of simmans was to thatch the corn stacks, and
+also the roofs of the cottages. A newly-thatched
+cottage, with the bright warm colour of the new
+straw ropes, was a pleasing object in an Orkney
+landscape. The sombre colour given when the
+simmans were twisted of brown heather was less
+cheerful, but Nature did her best even here by her
+decoration of the low walls with bright yellow and
+green lichens.</p>
+
+<p>Most of the ropes and cordage required by the
+Orkney farmer were made either of hair or of bent.
+The bent bands already noticed were made into ropes
+on a rude machine called a <i>tethergarth</i>, and were
+used for tethering cattle and sheep, and for “boat
+tethers” for small fishing-boats. Finer bent ropes
+were applied to a great many uses, such as flail
+“hoods,” sheep shackles, and all parts of horse harness.
+A very important part of this, the collar or <i>wazzie</i>,
+was formed by twisting four thick folds of straw
+together; and, when properly made, I suspect the
+wazzie was much cooler for the horse than the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">[251]</span>modern collar with its absurd cape. Even the plough-traces
+were made of bent ropes, which, if quickly
+worn, were easily replaced. For bringing in the crop,
+a large net made of bent cord, and called a <i>mazie</i>,
+was put round a bundle of sheaves, and suspended,
+one on each side of the horse, from the horns of the
+<i>clibber</i>, a rough kind of wooden pack-saddle.</p>
+
+<p><i>Flackies</i>, or mats made of straw bound together
+with bent cord, were used for many purposes.
+Small ones were used as door-mats, and large ones
+were hung up as an apology for an inner door.
+Horse flackies were laid over the back of the horse
+to protect it from the friction of the clibber, and
+his sides from the load which it supported. Flackies
+were also fixed on the rafters, under the straw, when
+thatching house roofs.</p>
+
+<p>We next come to what I have called the semi-flexible
+class of straw articles. The first to be noticed
+is the <i>kaesie</i>, which, in various shapes and sizes, was
+put to a great number of uses. It was made of
+straw, bound by bent cord, like the flackie, but was
+of a closer texture, and it was usually in the shape
+of a basket. The <i>meils-kaesie</i> was so called because
+it was made to hold a “meil” of corn—that is, a
+little over a hundredweight.</p>
+
+<p>It was in these meils-kaesies that the corn was
+carried to the mill, and the meal brought back from
+it; for carts were unknown, and roads were but paths
+or tracks. Each horse carried a full kaesie on either
+side. The horses travelled in single file, the head
+of each being tied to the tail of the one in front.
+A man was in charge of each pair of horses, to
+attend to the proper balancing of their loads. A
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">[252]</span>train of twenty or thirty horses marching in this
+way was a picturesque sight. On arriving at the
+mill, the burdens were removed, and the head of the
+foremost horse was tied to the tail of the hindmost,
+which prevented their moving away until their
+drivers were ready to return home.</p>
+
+<p>Next may be mentioned the <i>corn-kaesie</i>, which
+was used to hold dressed grain. These were shaped
+somewhat like a barrel, and were made in various
+sizes. Then comes the common kaesie, used for
+carrying burdens on the back. These also were of
+different sizes. In form they were narrow and
+rounded at the bottom, and widened gradually towards
+the top, which was finished by a stiff circular
+rim called the <i>fesgar</i>, to give firmness to the basket.
+To the fesgar were fastened the ends of a bent rope
+of suitable length, called the <i>fettle</i>, by which the kaesie
+was suspended from the shoulders of the bearer.</p>
+
+<p>To the same class as the kaesies belong the
+<i>cubbies</i>, the names and uses of which are legion.
+These were smaller than the former, and firmer in
+texture, while the shapes showed more variety, as
+might be needed for their special uses. We need
+only mention a few. The windo’ or winnowing
+cubbie was used to pour out the corn gently on
+the barn floor, while the wind blowing in at one
+door and out at the other carried away the chaff.
+The sawin’ or sowing cubbie carried the seed corn
+in spring. The horse cubbie was used as a muzzle
+for a horse when necessary. The hen cubbie was
+suspended as a nest for the domestic fowls. The
+use of the spoon cubbie, which hung by the side of
+the fire, needs no explanation. The bait cubbie and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">[253]</span>the sea cubbie must close our list, the former used
+for carrying bait, and the latter for the catch of
+fish. A cubbie was always carried by the beggars
+who swarmed before the introduction of the poor
+law, and to “tak’ the cubbie and the staff” was a
+phrase meaning to be forced to beg one’s bread.</p>
+
+<p>We now come to what I have called inflexible
+articles. Here we may mention first the <i>luppie</i>,
+once in universal use for holding all sorts of dry
+materials, such as meal, burstin, eggs, and the like.
+Luppies were round and barrel-shaped, close in
+texture, and as firm as a board. They varied much
+in size, being made from about ten inches to three
+feet in height. They had a rim round the lower end
+to protect the bottom, and two “lugs” at the top.
+Those of the smallest size were used by housewives
+as work-baskets.</p>
+
+<p>The work on these luppies, and on the straw stools
+to be mentioned next, was considered the finest and
+most durable. Small coils or gangs of straw were
+firmly and closely laced over one another. The
+lacing cord was of the strongest bent, and the projecting
+ends of the bent were carefully clipped off. These
+bands were known as <i>stool bands</i>.</p>
+
+<p>We now come to the straw stools or chairs, which
+were mainly of three kinds. The first was a sort
+of low, round stool without any back. Such a stool
+could be easily lifted to or from the fireside, and
+on an emergency could be instantly converted into
+a luppie by simply being turned upside down. The
+next was called the low-backed stool, having a semi-circular
+back reaching to the shoulders of the sitter.
+Last comes the high-backed or hooded stool, which
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">[254]</span>was the easy-chair of the Orkney cottage. In later
+times the seat was always made of wood, in the form
+of a square box, with a slightly projecting top.
+Strips of wood were used to support the front edges
+of the back, and to form elbow rests in front of
+these. The seat box usually contained a drawer, in
+which the goodman kept his supply of snuff, and
+perhaps the few books which made up the cottage
+library. This form of chair, which is now regarded
+as the orthodox one, was invented in the middle of
+the eighteenth century by a native of North Ronaldsay,
+as the construction of the seat of wood took
+far less time than working it all in straw; but the
+older form, with its circular straw seat, and the side
+slips and elbow rests entirely covered with straw and
+bent cords, was much more elegant in the lines of its
+form.</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Walter Trail Dennison.</span>
+(<i>Adapted from “Orcadian Papers.”</i>)</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus058" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus058.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Making a straw-backed chair.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">[255]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_WEATHER_OF_ORKNEY">THE WEATHER OF ORKNEY.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-a2.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">A foreign writer has said that Englishmen
+grumble more at their
+weather than at anything else,
+while it is really the only thing
+about their country of which
+they might be proud. His meaning
+is that, compared with other
+regions of the world, the climate of Great Britain
+is singularly free from disagreeable extremes of
+heat or cold, and of drought or flood. And if this
+is true of Great Britain as a whole, it is especially
+true of Orkney. In summer we rarely suffer from
+heat, and in winter we are equally free from extreme
+cold. The mean temperature of the whole year in
+Orkney (45·4°) is little below that of Aberdeen
+(46·3°), of Alnwick in Northumberland (46·3°), or
+of Kew near London (49·4°).</p>
+
+<p>The equability of our temperature, or its freedom
+from all extremes of heat and cold, is due to the
+influence of the sea. The temperature of the ocean
+varies only about 13° during the year; it is lowest
+in February, being 41·6°, while that of the air is
+38·6°, and is highest in August, being 54·5°, while
+that of the air is 54°.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">[256]</span></p>
+
+<p>The smallness of the difference between the annual
+mean temperature of Orkney and that of Kew is really
+due to the mildness of our winters. Taking the mean
+of the three winter months, we find that of Orkney
+to be almost the same as that of Kew, and slightly
+higher than that of Alnwick. For the three summer
+months, however, Orkney is three degrees colder than
+Alnwick and eight degrees colder than Kew. The
+hottest day in Orkney during the last thirty years
+only reached 76°, while at Kew 92° was recorded.</p>
+
+<p>The extent to which the sea influences our climate
+can best be seen by comparing it with that of an
+inland or continental station of similar latitude.
+Winnipeg, in the province of Manitoba, formerly well
+known to Orkney men as Fort Garry in the Red
+River Settlement, lies in nearly the same latitude as
+London. Its mean temperature, however, during the
+three winter months is only 0·9°, or thirty-one degrees
+below freezing-point, and thirty-eight degrees lower
+than that of Orkney; in summer it is 66°, or thirteen
+degrees above that of Orkney.</p>
+
+<p>Not only is our climate ruled by the sea; it is
+ruled by a sea whose waters are themselves somewhat
+warmer than their latitude might lead us to expect.
+The temperature of the ocean is often affected by
+currents, bringing water either from warmer or from
+colder regions. In the case of the ocean waters round
+our coasts, the movement is from the south-west.
+This movement is due at first to the Gulf Stream,
+which carries a great mass of warm water from the
+Gulf of Mexico into the North Atlantic, and afterwards
+to a surface drift caused by the prevailing
+south-westerly winds.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">[257]</span></p>
+
+<p>Our coast waters are therefore somewhat warmer
+than they would be if there were no such movement,
+and much warmer than if there were a current
+in the opposite direction, sweeping along the shores
+of Norway from the northern ocean. If we compare
+our climate with that of Nain, in Labrador, which lies
+in nearly the same latitude, and is also on the Atlantic
+coast, we shall see how much depends upon the ocean
+currents. The cold Arctic current which washes the
+Labrador coast, bringing with it melting icebergs,
+snow, and fog, reduces the mean annual temperature
+of Nain to less than 26°, more than nineteen degrees
+below that of Orkney.</p>
+
+<p>While the climate of oceanic islands is benefited by
+the equable temperature of the ocean, it is often
+marked by excessive moisture and rainfall. Yet
+even in this matter we shall see that Orkney has
+little to complain of, while, of course, serious droughts
+are practically unknown.</p>
+
+<p>Scotland, though small in area, shows great inequality
+in the distribution of its rainfall, due to the
+diversity of its surface and to the fact that most of
+its rain is brought by westerly winds. Districts near
+the west coast, especially if mountainous, have a much
+greater rainfall than those towards the east, which are
+also on the whole less elevated. Thus considerable
+portions of the West Highlands have an annual rainfall
+of over 80 inches, Ben Nevis recording over 150.
+Many parts of the eastern Lowlands, on the other hand,
+have only 30 inches or less; and Cromarty, which is
+the driest station in Scotland, has only 23 inches.</p>
+
+<p>Compared with the mainland of Scotland, then, it
+does not seem that the climate of our islands gives us
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">[258]</span>much cause for grumbling, for our annual rainfall
+varies from 37·7 inches at Sandwick to 30·7 at Start
+Point in Sanday. Our wettest months are October,
+November, and December, during which we receive
+from one-third to one-half of our yearly rainfall; our
+driest months are April, May, and June, which together
+give us only one-eighth of the total.</p>
+
+<p>One fact about rain is sometimes overlooked: in
+cool climates rain brings heat. This may not be
+noticeable at the time, but its general effect can be
+observed. Just as it requires heat to turn water into
+vapour, and as evaporation always produces cold, so
+the change back again from vapour into water sets free
+some of this heat, raising the temperature of the air,
+of the rain itself, and of the land on which it falls.
+Much of the warming effect of our westerly winds is
+due not to the direct warmth of the Gulf Stream, as
+used to be supposed, but simply to the fact that these
+winds are rain-carrying winds. They thus bring to
+us the benefit of that solar heat which far away to
+the south-west caused the vapour to rise from the
+surface of the ocean.</p>
+
+<p>The chief difference between our weather and that
+of Scotland is, perhaps, the greater prevalence of high
+winds in Orkney. The land being low, our islands are
+swept by the full force of the gales so common in the
+North Atlantic. When speaking of winds, it may be
+useful to remember the classification which is recognized
+by the Meteorological Office. A wind moving
+at the rate of thirteen miles an hour is called a light
+breeze; forty miles represents the velocity of a moderate
+gale, and fifty-six miles a strong gale; seventy-five
+miles an hour is the speed of a storm, and ninety
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">[259]</span>miles that of a hurricane. We have the record of only
+one hurricane, on November 17, 1893, with a velocity
+of ninety-six miles. Several gales of over eighty miles
+have been experienced, and one summer gale of seventy-five
+miles in the year 1890. During the fifteen years
+1890 to 1904 three hundred gales were recorded in
+Orkney, while Alnwick experienced only one hundred
+and fifty-seven, and Valencia, on the west coast of
+Ireland, one hundred and thirty for the same period.
+Fleetwood, on the coast of Lancashire, however, had a
+record of three hundred and six gales during those years.</p>
+
+<p>Every Orcadian must have noticed a type of
+weather which is common all the year round, but
+especially so in winter. On a blue sky wisps of
+cirrus or “mare’s-tail” cloud appear in patches.
+Gradually these increase till they form a continuous
+haze, in which a lunar halo or “broch,” and occasionally
+solar halos or “sun-dogs,” may be seen. Then the
+wind, which was light and probably westerly, backs
+to the southward and eastward, and the sky becomes
+threatening. The wind increases, perhaps to a moderate
+gale, and rain falls heavily. The wind then shifts
+towards the south and south-west, increasing in force,
+sometimes quite suddenly, or it may change still
+further round towards the north. Meantime the
+barometer, which has been low and falling, begins to
+rise briskly, and the weather clears.</p>
+
+<p>To understand how this common series of weather
+changes comes about, a little knowledge of cyclones
+is necessary. A cyclone is a movement in the air
+resembling a whirlwind; the cyclones of the Indian
+Ocean and the China seas, indeed, are real whirlwinds
+of the most violent and destructive type. In the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">[260]</span>North Atlantic they exist for the most part as enormous
+eddies in the great air-ocean, often several
+hundreds of miles in diameter, probably rotating with
+the force of a gale near the centre, and at the same
+time moving forward as a whole at a moderate speed.
+A cyclone has been known to keep company with one
+of our Atlantic liners during its whole voyage, but
+the rate of progress is often less than this.</p>
+
+<p>A cyclone owes its origin to some local excess of
+heat, such as might arise from a heavy rainfall, the
+heat causing an upward movement in the air. The
+inrush of cool air which then follows begins a
+circular or whirling motion. The moist air in front
+of the cyclone gives up its moisture with the fall in
+temperature, causing the rains that are invariably
+found in front of such a movement. The air after
+the rainfall is dry and warmer, and its ascent keeps
+up a partial vacuum or area of low pressure, which
+is the centre or vent of the cyclone. It is really the
+rainfall in front of the cyclonic system that causes
+its forward movement, assisted by the rotation of the
+earth. Each space relieved of its moisture forms in
+its turn the new centre. A coast-line, or an anti-cyclonic
+movement of the air in front of a cyclone,
+will alter its course. When one reaches the shores
+of Europe, it soon spends itself for want of the
+moisture-laden winds in front to keep up the system.</p>
+
+<p>In the northern hemisphere the direction of rotation
+of a cyclone is opposite to the movement of the
+hands of a watch; in the southern hemisphere it is
+in the same direction as the movement of the hands
+of a watch. This is the effect of the rotation of the
+earth, as will be clear after a little thought on the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">[261]</span>matter. In the North Atlantic the forward motion
+of a cyclone is always from the westward to the
+eastward; hence the “storm warnings” which reach
+us from the United States.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus059" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus059.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Diagram of a typical Atlantic cyclone.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Our islands lie in the most common track of those
+Atlantic cyclones, and the centre of the whirl often
+passes over or near the Orkneys. Now if you will
+look at the chart or diagram of a typical cyclone as
+given here, and suppose it to be moving slowly from
+south-east to north-west, or suppose yourself to be
+moving through it in the opposite direction while it
+remains still, you will see how the changes of wind
+and weather which we have described must result
+from this movement.</p>
+
+<p>During the greater part of the year our weather
+is mainly due to a constant procession of those
+Atlantic cyclones, great and small, and hence arises
+the changeableness of our winds and our weather.
+But in the spring we often have weather of a different
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">[262]</span>type. Our winds are then often cold, sometimes
+dry, and frequently easterly or northerly in direction
+for several days together. Such weather is due to
+anti-cyclones—that is, areas of high pressure, from
+which the air flows downwards and spreads outwards
+in every direction. An anti-cyclone is the opposite of
+a cyclone in almost every respect. Its supply of dry
+air often comes from the ascending air in the centre
+of a cyclone, which has deposited its moisture. At
+the meteorological station on Ben Nevis it was sometimes
+noticed that when an anti-cyclone was stationed
+over the south of England, and a cyclone was crossing
+the north of Scotland, there was an upper air-current
+travelling from the latter to the former, and no doubt
+supplying the dry air of the anti-cyclone. This is a
+type of movement which is usually found over land
+rather than sea, and it has not the regular forward
+movement of the cyclone.</p>
+
+<p>The last point which we may notice about our
+weather is the amount of sunshine which we receive.
+At every well-equipped observatory, such as that of
+Deerness, there is an instrument which records the
+duration of sunshine, hour by hour and day by
+day, all the year round. In the matter of sunshine,
+Orkney is not so badly treated as we may sometimes
+think. The average number of hours of sunshine
+each year recorded at Deerness is 1,177, while Edinburgh
+enjoys only 1,166. London is a little better,
+with 1,260, while Hastings, on the more favoured
+south coast of England, has an average record of 1,780
+hours. Our brightest month is May, with an average
+of 178 hours of sunshine, and our gloomiest month is
+naturally December, with only 20·6 hours.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">[263]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_PLACE-NAMES_OF_ORKNEY">THE PLACE-NAMES OF ORKNEY.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-o.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">Orkney place-names form an attractive
+subject of study. There is
+always some reason why a certain
+place received its own particular
+name, though that reason may
+often be difficult to discover. The
+use of a name is, of course, to
+distinguish one place from other places of a similar
+class, and the most obvious way of doing so is to
+refer to some special feature or peculiarity of the
+place. In this way arise such names as the Red
+Head, the North Sea, the Muckle Water, and Green
+Holm. Houses and farms and islands are often
+named after the owner.</p>
+
+<p>When people of a different race and language settle
+in a country, or when the language changes, as happened
+in Orkney after its annexation to Scotland, the
+old names may still be used, although when their meaning
+is unknown or has been forgotten they are apt to
+be changed in various ways. People rarely take the
+trouble of inventing a new name for a place if they
+can find out the name already given to it. Thus if
+there had been any Celtic or Pictish inhabitants left
+in Orkney when the Norsemen settled there, the Celtic
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">[264]</span>names of the islands and hills and bays would have
+been handed down from them to us. But all the old
+place-names in Orkney are Norse, and the only Celtic
+elements found in them refer to the settlements and
+churches of the Culdees, as we have already mentioned.</p>
+
+<p>The Norse place-names are usually descriptive,
+based either on the appearance or the situation of the
+place, or on the name of its occupier. Such names
+have an interest which is entirely wanting in the
+modern names given to farms or houses, names which
+are often selected for absurd or trivial reasons. There
+is little need for inventing any new names in a land
+which has been so fully supplied with them already.
+For it is not only the various islands and their most
+prominent physical features that bear descriptive Norse
+names; hillock and meadow, field and spring, rock,
+geo, and skerry—all have been named by our forefathers
+with names of which the form as well as the
+meaning is now in many cases forgotten. Those
+names should be regarded as relics entrusted to our
+care, and we ought to learn them from the old people
+by whom they are still remembered, and preserve them
+from alteration or oblivion, as the material relics of
+our romantic history are now being preserved from
+destruction and decay.</p>
+
+<p><i>Orkney</i>, the general name of the island group, is
+partly Celtic and partly Norse. Pliny, the Roman
+geographer, mentions <i>Cape Orcas</i>, probably Duncansby
+Head in Caithness, and calls the islands <i>Orcades</i>.
+The Celtic Scots called them the <i>Orc Islands</i>, and
+southern writers use the form <i>Orcanig</i>. The root
+of the name is supposed to be <i>orc</i>, which meant
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">[265]</span>the bottlenose whale. The Norse visitors added the
+termination <i>-ey</i>, meaning “island.”</p>
+
+<p>When the Norsemen settled in these islands, they
+gave to each a name in their own language, and these
+names have been preserved with little alteration,
+though their meaning has generally been forgotten.
+Some were named from their configuration or appearance,
+as Hoy (<i>Ha-ey</i>), the high island; Flotta (<i>Flat-ey</i>),
+the flat island; Sanday, the sand island; Eday,
+the island of the <i>eith</i> or isthmus; Burray (<i>Borgar-ey</i>),
+the islands of the “brochs.” Some were named from
+their position, as Westray, the west island; Auskerry,
+the east skerry. Some were named after persons as
+Rousay, Rolf’s island; Gairsay (<i>Gareksey</i>), Garek’s
+island; Graemsay (<i>Grimsey</i>), Grim’s island; Copinsay,
+Kolbein’s island. The name <i>Rinansey</i>, the island
+of St. Ninian, often called Ringan, was afterwards
+changed to Ronaldsay, with “North” prefixed to
+distinguish it from the original Rognvald’s island,
+now South Ronaldsay. A few were named from
+their uses, as Faray, the sheep island; and Hrossey,
+the horse island, an old name for the Mainland
+(<i>Meginland</i>), or principal island of the group.</p>
+
+<p>It is very odd to find in books and on maps the Latin
+name <i>Pomona</i> applied to this last island—Pomona,
+the Roman goddess of harvest-plenty, whose name
+was also used to indicate the fruits of the earth.
+The explanation seems to be that a mistake was
+made by George Buchanan, the greatest Latin scholar
+whom Scotland ever produced, in quoting a passage
+from Solinus, an old Latin writer. Solinus, speaking
+of some island which he calls Thylé or Thulé, says
+that it is five days’ sail from the Orcades, and that it
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">[266]</span>is large and rich in the constant yield of its harvests
+(<i>pomona</i>). Buchanan, who knew much of Latin but
+little of either Thulé or the Orcades, takes this to
+mean that “Thulé is large and Pomona is rich and
+fertile,” and he concludes from this that Pomona must
+be the chief island of the Orcades. Thus by a mere
+blunder the name “Pomona” was given to the Mainland;
+but there is no good reason why we should
+perpetuate this blunder. “Mainland” is the name
+which every intelligent Orcadian should use. It is
+believed by some that the use of the word <i>pomona</i>
+itself is due to another blunder, the mistake of a
+copyist, and that what Solinus really wrote was a
+contracted form of a word which simply meant fruit.</p>
+
+<p>Our place-names have suffered much from the
+blunders of surveyors and map-makers who knew
+nothing of the Norse language. Whenever they
+found a name which bore some resemblance to an
+English word, they immediately changed it into what
+they supposed to be its correct English form. A
+good example of a name thus “corrected” for us is
+that of the place now called “Walls.” The proper
+name of the district is <i>Waas</i>, and this is the name
+which it should bear on the map. But the intelligent
+surveyors no doubt knew that there is an English
+word “walls” which is pronounced “wa’s” in Scotland,
+and so they assumed that the Norse place-name
+“Waas” ought to be written and pronounced “Walls.”
+This is of course an absurd error. “Waas” is a form
+of “Voes,” a name which is admirably suited to the
+district, the land of the voes or bays.</p>
+
+<p>The name of our county town, Kirkwall, has been
+similarly disguised by the well-meaning reforms of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">[267]</span>ignorant persons. Old people in the islands still call
+it “Kirkwaa,” and this is the correct form of the name.
+The Peerie Sea was called the “Kirk-voe” long before
+St. Magnus Cathedral was built, the name being derived
+from the old church of St. Olaf, whose doorway
+still exists, and this name, applied to the town, naturally
+changed into “Kirkwaa.” It would probably be
+impossible now to restore the old name; we can only
+be grateful that our map-makers did not also turn
+“kirk” into the English form “church.” We may
+suspect that the parish name Holm has been similarly
+tampered with. The local pronunciation, which is
+“Ham,” indicates that the name may be derived from
+<i>hafn</i>, a harbour, as in “Hamnavoe” (<i>Hafnarvagr</i>)
+and other cases, but has no connection with <i>holm</i>,
+which means a small island. When the meaning of
+<i>hafn</i> had been forgotten, and the local pronunciation
+was ignored, the name was naturally supposed to be
+connected with the <i>holms</i> which lie off the shore.</p>
+
+<p>A similar intrusion of the letter <i>l</i> is found in
+<i>Pierowall</i>, and also in <i>Noltland</i>, in Westray. The
+latter is sometimes, and more correctly, written as
+“Notland.” The Norse name was <i>Nautaland</i>, the
+pasture for “nowt” or cattle. The word <i>Pentland</i>
+must be our last example of such blunders. To the
+Norsemen the Scottish mainland was <i>Pettland</i>, the
+land of the Picts; and even at the present day
+Orcadians, who have not been misled by books and
+maps, still speak of the “Pettland Firth.”</p>
+
+<p>The names of farms or small districts are often
+very interesting. A common termination in these is
+<i>-bister</i>, which represents the Norse <i>bolstadr</i>, a farmsteading,
+the first part of the name usually being
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">[268]</span>derived from the name of the original owner, as in
+“Grimbister” and “Swanbister,” the farm of Grim
+and of Sweyn. The word is connected with <i>bol</i>, a
+dwelling, which still exists in our local dialect in the
+form “beul,” meaning a stall in a byre or stable.
+Two Norse words, <i>bu</i> and <i>bær</i>, meaning a home or a
+household, give rise respectively to the common farm
+name Bu, and to several names ending in <i>-by</i>, as
+Houseby and Dounby.</p>
+
+<p>The termination <i>-ster</i> or <i>-setter</i>, which is also very
+common, represents the Norse word <i>setr</i>; the name
+<i>saeter</i> is still used in Norway for a summer pasture
+among the hills at some distance from the farm.
+Several of our farms bear the name of Seatter, and
+the number of compounds of this word is too large
+to need illustration.</p>
+
+<p><i>Garth</i>, which meant an enclosure, is akin to the
+English words <i>yard</i> and <i>garden</i>, and is found in
+numerous farm names, sometimes alone, but more
+frequently in compounds, where it appears as the
+termination <i>-ger</i>, the <i>g</i> being sounded hard. Other
+names for enclosed land were <i>quoy</i> (<i>kvi</i>) and <i>town</i>
+(<i>tun</i>), and in almost every district we find farm
+names in which these words appear. The Norse
+<i>skali</i>, a hall, appears as <i>skaill</i>, either alone or as
+an element in compound names. There are other
+common terminations which might be mentioned,
+all of them significant and worthy of study, but
+these may suffice to illustrate how full of meaning
+and interest our common place-names really are.</p>
+
+<p>We have said that the Norse word for “island”
+now appears as the termination <i>-ay</i> or <i>-a</i>. This
+termination, however, has in some cases a different
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">[269]</span>origin, especially where the name does not refer to
+an island. Thus in the names Scapa and Hoxa the <i>-a</i>
+is a contraction of <i>eith</i>, meaning an isthmus. Scapa
+was <i>Skalpeith</i>, the ship-isthmus, and Hoxa was <i>Haugseith</i>,
+the isthmus of the haug or howe. In the name
+of the island of Sanday, the termination means
+“island;” in the name Sanday applied to several
+places round Deer Sound, the reference is to the
+“Sand aith” or isthmus already mentioned. In
+names of places such as Birsay and Swannay, where
+a large burn is found, we may conclude that the <i>-ay</i>
+represents the Norse <i>-a</i>, meaning a river, as the <i>o</i>
+does in Thurso.</p>
+
+<p>As we should expect from a seafaring race, the
+Norsemen have left us a very liberal heritage of
+names for the various natural features of our shores.
+Projecting points of land are called “ness” or “moul”
+or “taing,” according to their configuration, and even
+the less prominent rocks are still known as “clett” or
+“skerry,” or bear other names which were originally
+simple descriptions of their peculiar forms. In the
+same way descriptive names were applied to the
+water features, and every “voe” and “sound,” every
+“hope” and “geo” have names which offer us a fine
+field for study.</p>
+
+<p>In dealing with this last class of names, there are
+two Norse words which may cause us some trouble—<i>hella</i>,
+a flat rock, and <i>hellir</i>, a cave, both of which
+appear in place-names as <i>hellya</i>, while a third word
+<i>helgr</i>, holy, sometimes assumes the same form. It is
+impossible to determine what the original form and
+meaning of a name have been unless we examine
+the place as well as its name.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">[270]</span></p>
+
+<p>In studying our place-names, we ought to remember
+that the correct names are those that are used by
+the old people who live in the district, not those that
+are found on the map, or are used by people who
+adopt the pronunciation suggested by the spelling.
+By means of the knowledge of a few dozen common
+Norse roots, and a careful examination of the places
+to which the names belong, most of our old-fashioned
+place-names may be made to yield up their ancient
+meanings, and to throw some light upon the past condition
+of the islands. When studied in this way, our
+place-names are seen to be fragments of fossil history,
+organic remains of an early stratum of society,
+as eloquent of the past as are the geological fossils
+of the early ages of plant and animal life.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp90" id="illus060" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus060.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>At the quern.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">[271]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="Part_III-Nature_Lore">Part III.—Nature Lore.</h2>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_STORY_OF_THE_ROCKS">THE STORY OF THE ROCKS.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<h4 id="Sermons_in_Stones">“Sermons in Stones.”</h4>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-a2.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">A stone quarry is a common enough
+object in Orkney—so common,
+indeed, that we may never have
+taken any interest in it. Yet
+this common quarry is a place
+where we may learn some
+strange facts about the making
+of our islands, if we visit it in the spirit of one who</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">“Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Sermons in stones, and good in everything.”</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The quarrymen begin their work by clearing away
+the “redd” from the rock beneath. First they remove
+the soil. This is dark in colour, not very rich or
+deep, perhaps, and not so black as the more fertile
+soils of other lands. Yet it contains the plant-food
+which nourishes our crops, and thus nourishes ourselves.
+The particles are fine and loose, and the
+soil is traversed everywhere by the small rootlets
+of plants. The dark colour is due to the decayed
+substance of past crops of plants, which largely consists
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">[272]</span>of carbon. We must try to find out how this soil,
+which is so precious to the farmer, has been formed.</p>
+
+<p>Every one knows the difference between the appearance
+of a new house and that of an old one: in the
+former the stones of the walls are clean and sharp, in
+the latter they have a weathered, time-worn look.
+In graveyards the headstones recently put up have
+their inscriptions sharp and clear; the older stones
+have their surfaces pitted, and the letters carved
+on them are indistinct. Compare the old carvings
+and tracery on the outer walls of our cathedral, made
+hundreds of years ago, with the clean-cut masonry
+of new buildings which stand near it, and you will
+see that stones decay with time and moulder away;
+they crumble into dust under the winter’s frost and
+rains and the heat of the summer sun.</p>
+
+<p>So it is with all the rocks of which the surface
+of our islands is made up. Year by year they
+moulder away. The dust or earth into which they
+break down forms a soil in which plants take root and
+grow. The plants push their root fibres downwards,
+helping to open up the cracks in the rock; and when
+these roots die and decay their substance mingles
+with the soil, giving it that black colour which marks
+old fertile soils that have long been cultivated.</p>
+
+<p>Under the soil lies the subsoil—that is, rock which
+is half decayed and partly broken up. In course of
+time it will become as fine as the soil itself; for the
+subsoil gradually changes into soil. In wet weather
+the rain, and in dry weather the wind, carry away the
+fine particles of earth from the surface of the fields,
+and would sooner or later take away all the fertile
+soil; but the continual action of the weather on the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">[273]</span>subsoil supplies fresh material. Hence, while the old
+soil is constantly being removed, new soil is forming
+to take its place.</p>
+
+<p>As we see in the quarry, under the soil and the
+subsoil there is rock. This is true of all parts of our
+country; there is a rocky skeleton beneath the thin
+layer of fertile soil which supports the plants and
+animals. In the rocky skerries which are common
+along the shores we see the nature of the rock-built
+framework of the islands. If the soil and subsoil
+were swept away, as the waves have swept it from
+the skerries, it would be plainly seen that the islands
+are built up of rocks.</p>
+
+<p>All the rocks of our islands, almost without exception,
+were laid down under water. They consist of
+three different substances. One is sand, in small
+rounded white or yellow grains. Another is clay,
+dark gray in colour, very close grained and soft. The
+third is lime.</p>
+
+<p>A rock which consists mostly of sand is called sandstone.
+The Eday freestone, which is much used for
+putting round the doors and windows of shops and
+large buildings, is a sandstone. The common blue
+flagstone contains clay mixed with more or less sand.
+The sandy beds are coarse, gritty, and hard; the fine-grained
+flags contain more clay, and are darker in
+colour, softer, and smoother on the surface. Nearly
+all the fine flags contain lime; often it is seen in
+white shining crystals on the joint-faces of the stones
+used in building. The presence of lime in a soil
+improves it considerably.</p>
+
+<p>In different parts of Orkney the rocks differ much
+in appearance. In one place we find yellow and red
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">[274]</span>sandstone, in another blue and gray flags, in another
+pudding-stone and granite. What is the meaning of
+this? It shows that while the whole area of our
+islands was covered with water, gravel was being laid
+down at one place, sand or muddy silt at another, and
+so on. We can even make out the order in which
+the different layers or strata were laid down.</p>
+
+<p>It is done in this way:—Usually the beds of rock
+are not now flat but tilted, and show their edges
+turned up in a more or less sharp slope. If we
+walk along any bare rocky shore we shall find that
+bed succeeds bed, each resting on the top of all those
+which underlie it. No place could be found to show
+this better than the shore of Hoy Sound from Stromness
+to Breckness. We go on and on, crossing over bed
+after bed of rock, till we have passed over the edges of
+a pile of flagstone which must be several thousand feet
+thick. The same thing can be seen to the east of
+Kirkwall, or, in fact, almost anywhere in the islands.</p>
+
+<p>Sometimes the beds dip or slant in different directions
+at different parts of the shore. Then again
+they may be broken by cracks or faults which bring
+different kinds of rock up against one another. If one
+could visit the whole of Orkney and examine all the
+rocks, making out in what order they follow one
+another, how often they are interrupted or repeated
+by faults, and what is their inclination or dip, one
+could tell exactly the order in which the rocks of
+each district were laid down on the bottom of the old
+lake where they were formed. This is one of the
+tasks which the geologist undertakes; and though it
+looks very difficult, yet in Orkney it is quite possible
+to do so with pretty fair accuracy.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">[275]</span></p>
+
+<p>What is the result? At the bottom of the whole
+we place the granite of Stromness and Graemsay.
+This represents part of the floor of the old lake on
+which the gravel and sand and mud were laid down—a
+part which stood up above the water as an island.
+Next to this we find a thin layer of pudding-stone.
+This is formed of the old gravel which gathered on the
+beaches and shores around the granite island as it
+was slowly covered over. Above that were laid down
+the flagstones of the West Mainland; then those of
+Kirkwall, the East Mainland, and the North Isles; then
+the yellow and red sandstones of Eday, Shapinsay, the
+Head of Holland, Deerness, and South Ronaldsay.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus061" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus061.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Cliff showing horizontal strata.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The whole series of these rocks must be thousands
+of feet thick, and how long they took to form we
+cannot conceive.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">[276]</span></p>
+
+<p>Then there is a gap in the series. This means
+that for a time the lake was dry land and instead
+of mud and sand being laid down, the rocks which
+had been formed were partly washed away by rain
+and streams. After a long time had passed, another
+lake was formed, and in it were laid down the yellow
+sandstones of Hoy, which are quite different from the
+other yellow sandstones of Orkney.</p>
+
+<p>When you think that each thin flagstone or layer
+of sandstone in our quarry was once a sheet of mud
+and sand, and that it took months, no doubt, or even
+years, to gather on the lake bottom, you can understand
+how vast a space of time is represented by the
+old red sandstone of Orkney.</p>
+
+<h4 id="Books_in_the_Running_Brooks">“Books in the Running Brooks.”</h4>
+
+<p>Let us now take a stroll along one of the little burns
+which flow between their green or heathery banks
+in any of the valleys of our native islands. These
+little burns are very small in comparison with the
+mighty rivers of the world, yet they are quietly performing
+a great task, and in the long past ages the
+amount of work which they have done is far greater
+than you have ever imagined.</p>
+
+<p>It is summer, and the burn runs shallow and slow;
+the pebbles and sand show clearly in the pools. The
+burn enters a little bay, and as it flows across the
+shore it breaks up into several streamlets, each working
+its way through the gravel. Brackish water plants
+grow here; the shore is muddy, and the seaweed is
+often soiled with fine sediment. The burn has brought
+this down, and has dropped it where it enters the sea.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">[277]</span></p>
+
+<p>We follow the channel upwards, through flat, rich
+meadows, which may be tilled, and covered with corn
+and other crops. In the meadow the burn winds to
+and fro, and in each loop the outer side is steep,
+often overhanging: under the grassy bank the trout
+lie hid. The inner side of the bend is shallow, slopes
+gradually down to the water, and is covered with
+small broken stones and gravelly pebbles. We can
+see that the current is eating away the steep outer
+bank by undermining it, while on the inner side the
+small stones are gathering.</p>
+
+<p>The meadow through which we are passing is
+flat, and covered with wiry grasses which love wet
+situations. The stuff of which it is made can be
+seen on the banks of the burn. It is a soft, dark-brown
+earth, almost without stones, or with here
+and there a layer of pebbles. How has this meadow
+been formed? The stream has done it.</p>
+
+<p>To find out how the stream made the meadow we
+must visit it in winter after several days of heavy
+rain. Then a sheet of water covers the meadow,
+making it a shallow lake. The water is very still
+except near the channel of the burn; it is brown and
+full of mud. For some days the lake remains, then
+the water begins to fall. The stream is clearer now,
+though still dark with mud; good water this for
+the trout-fisher. A few days more and the lake has
+vanished; the stream keeps within its banks, though
+it is still full.</p>
+
+<p>Now look at the meadow. It is covered with
+a very thin film of grayish-brown mud. In spring
+the grasses will grow quickly, and will be greener
+than ever. The meadow is a little—ever so little—higher
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">[278]</span>for the new sheet of mud it has acquired.
+Winter after winter this goes on. The brown earth
+which forms the meadow is flood mud. Its flat configuration
+is due to its being laid down in a little
+temporary lake.</p>
+
+<p>Let us follow the stream still farther, and leave the
+meadow behind. The channel gets steeper, and the
+water flows along quite merrily, faster than in the level
+meadow below. The bends in the burn disappear.
+It is in a hurry here and flows straight; in the flat
+meadow below it loiters and swings lazily to and
+fro. The channel is shallow, and there are few pools.
+The banks are often bare rock, or the stony clay which
+is produced by the weathering of rock. The stream is
+washing away the clay; it even attacks the hard rocks.</p>
+
+<p>To see how this is done you must come when the
+burn is swollen with heavy rains. Then you will
+hear it rolling the stones along. They grind on
+one another, and thus they get their rounded shape,
+or are broken up into small fragments. As they
+are rolled along they wear away the rocks and
+deepen the bed of the stream. Loose pieces are
+swept away, soft layers are planed down. Many of
+the cracks and joints are opened and loosened, ready
+for fresh attacks during the floods of next winter.</p>
+
+<p>This is where the gravel comes from. In the
+lower part of its course the stream cannot move
+large stones, but in floodtime the smaller pebbles are
+carried downwards. The big stones lie in the upper
+stream; they must be broken smaller before they
+can be carried away. After rainy weather you will
+often find that a rapid branch stream has shot a big
+heap of pebbles into the main stream. When the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">[279]</span>floods rise above the surface of the meadow they
+may strew sheets of little stones here and there over
+the grass.</p>
+
+<p>After a big flood, if you know the stream well,
+you will find many changes. Here a bank of gravel
+has been carried away; there a new one has gathered.
+At every bend the bank shows undermining, and
+pieces have been swept away. The fine stuff makes
+mud: part of this is laid down on the meadow, but
+much of it is carried right out to sea.</p>
+
+<p>That running water will wash away sand, gravel,
+and mud is not new to you. You have often seen it
+on the roads and in the roadside ditches, in the little
+runnels around the farmhouses, or in the ploughed
+fields. The burn is always doing the same thing,
+according to its powers. In dry weather it does
+little, for its current is weak; in floods it works
+rapidly. For perhaps two dozen days in a year
+every burn is in great strength, and is a powerful
+agent in changing the form of the land. This leads
+you to grasp the fact that the stream has dug out
+its own channel, and that it carries rock material to
+lower levels, and at last to the sea. If you know
+some of our burns well, and study and watch them
+closely, you will find a world of interest in them.
+Every feature of their channels is due to the work
+the flowing water is doing, and shows the manner in
+which it is done.</p>
+
+<p>But what of the wide valley in which the burn
+flows? Other agencies have been at work here besides
+the water: ice has left its mark on every part
+of our valleys. But the burn has done most. On
+either side it is joined by branches. Each of these
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">[280]</span>is cutting its own channel, and thus gradually deepening
+the valley. Each branch has its lesser branches;
+together they cover the whole valley with an intricate
+system of water channels.</p>
+
+<p>Between these channels, heather and grass are
+growing in the stony soil. The soil, as you have
+learned already, is due to the decay of the rocks.
+Frost and rain begin the work, and the growth of
+plants hastens and helps it. Over the whole of
+the sloping valley sides the rocks are being broken
+up into finer and finer particles. When heavy rain
+comes it washes away the smaller particles, and little
+runnels appear which carry away the surface water.</p>
+
+<p>Every year a portion of the soil is swept away to
+the meadows, or to the mud sheets which floor the
+shallow sea below. None of this ever comes back;
+it is sheer loss—a little at a time, but if the time
+be long enough it amounts to a very great quantity.
+Every day since that burn began to flow it has carried
+downwards a greater or smaller burden of soil.</p>
+
+<p>It took a long time for people to grasp the fact
+that running water is a great earth-shaping agent.
+Every valley you have ever seen was made in this
+way. Other things helped, but the stream was the
+main cause. A valley is only a great groove eaten
+out of the rock. It is not due to any earthquake or
+rending apart of the rocks; it is not an original
+feature of the country. There was a time when
+there was no valley there; but from the day the
+stream first began to trickle over the rocks it has
+gone on deepening its channel and excavating the
+valley, and it is still doing so.</p>
+
+<p>The stream not only made the valley; it shaped
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">[281]</span>the hills also. We sometimes speak of “the everlasting
+hills.” No doubt the hills are very old, and
+will last a long time. Yet the little stream is older
+and mightier than they. It shaped them and brought
+them into being; in time it will remove them and
+level them with the plain.</p>
+
+<p>Let us climb the side of a hill, and see what we
+can learn about it by patient observation and inference.
+Any one of our flat-topped, round-shouldered Orkney
+hills will do. They were all formed in the same way,
+and teach the same lessons.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus062" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus062.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>The Ward Hill, Hoy.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The ascent is gentle at first as we leave the plain
+or the bottom of the valley. Then it gets steeper
+and steeper. Often it is like a series of great steps—a
+sharp rise for a little, then a flat ledge; another
+sharp rise, followed by a gentle slope, and so on.
+These terraces are formed of beds of hard stone,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">[282]</span>which weather down very slowly. The softer rocks
+crumble fast, and form the steep slope. All our flagstone
+hills show these steps or terraces. They prove
+that the slope of the hillside is determined largely by
+the rate at which the different rock beds wear away.</p>
+
+<p>After our stiff climb we get near the top. Many
+of our hills are broad-backed. When we get above
+the steep part we find a flat top, and it is often difficult
+to say where the actual summit is. In many
+places there are great groups of hills, all of about
+the same height, but separated by valleys. The
+Orphir, Firth, and Harray hills, the Rousay, Evie,
+and Birsay hills, and the hills of Walls are all of
+this kind. Even the Hoy hills show the same
+feature, though less clearly. In all these cases the
+hilltops look like the remains of one continuous
+stretch of high ground, which has been cut up into
+pieces by the digging out of the valleys. The hills
+are the remnants of a plateau.</p>
+
+<p>This is not a mere supposition, but can be proved
+quite clearly. In many Orkney hills there are beds
+of rock which can be identified by the geologist by
+certain marks. They may contain peculiar fossils,
+or they may be of a special colour or structure. In
+Firth and Orphir, for example, there is a band of
+flagstone which yields roofing slabs. You can follow
+this band from hill to hill for several miles, often
+by the quarries in which it was extensively worked
+in former years. It occurs at much the same level
+in all the different hills, though sinking somewhat
+to the north according to the dip or slope of the
+rock bed. It is found on both sides of the valleys,
+as, for example, at Finstown, at much the same height.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">[283]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="illus063" style="max-width: 29.6875em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus063.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>The Hills of Orkney. Photographed from a Relief Model
+    based on the Ordnance Survey.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">[284]</span></p>
+
+<p>The Orkney hills, then, consist of a great pile of
+beds of flagstone which once spread unbroken over
+the whole country. Out of this great mass of flagstones
+and sandstones the running water of the burns
+has carved the valley systems. The hills are the
+remnants which the streams have not yet removed.
+As time goes on the valleys deepen and broaden,
+and the hills get less and less.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">“The hills are shadows, and they flow</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">From form to form, and nothing stands.”</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>It has taken vast ages to do this work, and the
+work is still going on. It is very slow. The oldest
+man hardly notices any visible change in the configuration
+of the country. But wind, rain, frost, and
+running water are ever at work. Every day sees
+some loss, some material swept away never to return.
+What becomes of it? It reaches the sea, and there
+forms mud and sand. Time will change these into
+solid rock again, and may ultimately use them in
+building new continents. The hills crumble into
+dust, but it is “the dust of continents to be.”</p>
+
+<h4 id="Cliffs_and_Beaches">Cliffs and Beaches.</h4>
+
+<p>On looking at a map of Orkney or Shetland we
+are struck with the irregularity in the shape of the
+islands and the winding nature of the coast line.
+There must be some reason for this, and a little
+reflection will bring it to light. If you look at the
+larger valleys you will notice that most of them end
+in salt-water bays, while the hills or ridges between
+the valleys run out into points or “nesses.” This is
+especially the case in Shetland; but in Orkney, too,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">[285]</span>there are many instances of it. The shape of the
+land extends beneath the water—the deep bay continues
+the land valley, the point and the skerry mark
+the position of the watersheds.</p>
+
+<p>We have seen that the valleys were eaten out by
+running streams. At one time the land stood higher,
+and the burns flowed where now the salt water
+covers the bottom of the bay. Thus the land was
+shaped. Then the ground sank a little, and the
+sea flooded the lower grounds. The hilltops remained
+above water as islands; the valleys and flat grounds
+were changed into bays and sounds and firths. Think
+what would happen if the land sank another hundred
+feet. Many of the present islands would become
+shoals, and new islands would be made where the sea
+flowed round the higher ground, winding out and in
+among them in narrow sounds and straits, just as it
+does among the islands of the present day.</p>
+
+<p>Long ago Orkney and Shetland were much larger
+than they are at present. Most of the North Sea
+was dry land, covered with trees. In several parts
+of Orkney we can see trunks and roots of trees
+uncovered after heavy storms have shifted the sand
+on the beach. These trees did not grow beneath the
+sea, of course; but the land sank, and the salt water
+covered the site of the old forest.</p>
+
+<p>Our wild animals, such as hares and rabbits, mice,
+voles, and shrews, were not imported in boats. They
+were here probably before man arrived, and they
+walked in on their own feet when the sea bottom was
+still part of the dry land of Europe. Those who have
+studied this question think the land is still sinking,
+or at any rate has not yet begun to rise. If it were
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">[286]</span>rising, we should find gravels and shells and sea-beaches
+above the level of the present shores. Such
+raised beaches are found in many parts of Scotland,
+but not in Orkney or Shetland.</p>
+
+<p>The shores are always changing, and every part
+of them bears evidence of constant alterations. Where
+there are high banks or cliffs, you will often find that
+pieces have fallen down; this is especially the case
+where the bank consists of clay. Our Orkney rocks
+are very hard and our cliffs very lasting, but in some
+parts of England there are villages and churches
+now standing on the very edge of the cliffs which
+a few centuries ago were at a considerable distance
+from the sea.</p>
+
+<p>It is the sea that wears away the cliffs by hammering
+at the rocks; during storms the big stones on
+exposed beaches are rounded and worn by the billows
+tossing them about and driving them against the
+rocks. On the west coasts of our islands the great
+winter waves have enormous power; no breakwater
+could resist them, and a ship which is driven ashore
+soon goes to pieces. The cliffs are undermined at
+their base by the formation of caves; the soft parts
+are eaten out into geos. Frost and rain open the
+seams of the rocks and great masses tumble down;
+these are then tossed to and fro until they are
+converted into heaps of boulders. The boulders get
+less and less, and become pebbles; last of all they are
+ground down to fine shingle and sand.</p>
+
+<p>Every kind of rock has its own characteristic type
+of cliff scenery. When pieces are detached they separate
+along natural cracks which are called “joints,”
+and these joints have a different arrangement in
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">[287]</span>sandstone, in granite, in serpentine, and in schist.
+Weathering then acts on the exposed surface, and,
+if the rock is bedded, some beds are eaten away more
+rapidly than others. There is much to interest us in
+our cliffs; there is not a detail in their form which
+has not a meaning.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus064" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus064.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>A sandstone cliff.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>On wild shores where storm-waves are high we find
+large boulders; the smaller ones are washed away
+and swept out to sea. Sometimes there is no beach,
+but the cliff plunges down into deep water, for there
+the waves are so powerful that they clear away all
+the broken rock. On sheltered beaches we find small
+rounded pebbles. If we look at the stones on the
+shore of a small fresh-water loch we find them scarcely
+rounded at all, for the little waves cannot toss them
+about and rub them against one another.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_288">[288]</span></p>
+
+<p>The tear and wear of pebbles produces sand, and
+the sand is driven to and fro by currents and by
+storms. It rests for a time in some of the bays, but
+is not a fixture. A high wind drives some of it
+ashore to cover the grass of the sandy links. A
+heavy storm may drag a great deal of it out to sea.
+Unless it is held fast by bent or other plants, sand
+is always moving.</p>
+
+<p>Even the stones travel along the shore, driven by
+the beat of the waves in bad weather. There are
+stone beaches common in Orkney and Shetland which
+are often called ayres, and which have behind them
+a salt lagoon or oyce. The oyce opens to the sea at
+one end of the ayre, and a strong tidal current flows
+out and in through the opening. An ayre is really
+an army of stones on the march, constantly moving
+forward. In every bay there is one direction from
+which the biggest waves come, and the stones of the
+ayre have come from that direction. The opening of
+the oyce is at the other end of the ayre.</p>
+
+<p>At first there was a bay with a shallow inner end.
+When the big waves reach shallow water they turn
+over and have their speed checked. Stones carried
+along the shore are dropped at the edge of the
+shallow water, forming a bar. The bar goes on
+stretching across the bay as the storms fetch more
+stones, and in time the oyce is nearly walled in.
+But as the opening gets narrower and narrower the
+tidal flow gets stronger and stronger There is a
+combat between the tidal currents and the storm
+currents, and in time things are adjusted so that
+the speed of the outflow is just enough to keep
+the opening from being closed up.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_289">[289]</span></p>
+
+<h4 id="The_Age_of_Ice">The Age of Ice.</h4>
+
+<p>Along the burns and the seashores, and in stone
+quarries, we often see banks of clay. Usually this
+clay is full of stones. In some places the clay is
+merely the softened, crumbling top of the rock, and
+the stones in it are of the same kind as the solid
+rock below. In other places the clay contains stones
+which are quite unlike any rocks in the neighbourhood.
+Sometimes these stones are very large,
+and they must have been carried from some distant
+place, for they are of a kind of rock which is not found
+in the islands. What is the history of this clay with
+travelled stones, or “boulder clay,” as it is called?</p>
+
+<p>Boulder clay may be recognized by several marks.
+It is tough and sticky; it shows no bedding or layers;
+and it may be only a few inches thick, or it may
+form cliffs thirty or forty feet high. Pick a few
+stones out of it: you will notice that they are not
+all of the same kind. Wash them carefully in the
+sea or the burn. Their ends are blunt and worn, but
+they are not rounded like sea-pebbles. Their surfaces
+are smooth, and are covered with fine scratches,
+as if some one had drawn a needle or the point of a
+knife along them. Nowhere except in this clay will
+you see stones with these curious scratches.</p>
+
+<p>If you find the place where the bottom of the
+clay rests on the hard rock, you should carefully
+remove a little of the clay and lay bare the rock
+surface beneath. Wash it with a little water, and
+you will see that it is covered with fine scratches
+exactly like those on the stones. Now this smoothing
+and scratching of the stones and of the rock
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">[290]</span>might be explained by imagining that the clay at one
+time was in motion, pushed forward by some immense
+force, and that the stones rubbing on one another
+and on the rocky floor produced these scratches.</p>
+
+<p>Among the Alps, in Norway, in Greenland, and in
+other places where there are high snow-clad mountains
+or a very cold climate, the snow gathers in the
+valleys till it forms thick masses, and is compressed
+by its own weight into ice: these masses are known
+as glaciers. Glaciers are really slow-moving rivers of
+ice; they slip very slowly down the valley slopes,
+travelling usually only a few inches in a day.
+When they reach the warmer region at the base
+of the mountains, they melt away, leaving behind
+them heaps of clay which they have swept down
+from the hills. The stones in this clay are worn
+and smoothed and scratched exactly like those in the
+boulder clays of Orkney and Shetland, and the rocks
+over which the glaciers have moved are smoothed
+and scratched likewise.</p>
+
+<p>The boulder clay, then, is clearly a glacial deposit,
+formed at a time when our islands were covered with
+moving sheets of ice. These ice sheets were travelling
+from the North Sea towards the Atlantic, in a
+west or north-west direction, for the scratches on the
+rock surface always have that trend. We can often
+prove also that the boulders found in the clay have
+travelled from the south-east. Thus at the Mont,
+near Kirkwall, the boulder clay is full of red sandstone
+from the Head of Holland and Inganess Bay.
+In Shetland stones have been carried from the east
+side of the mainland right over the hills to the
+west shores.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">[291]</span></p>
+
+<p>When we piece together all the evidence about
+this Ice Age or Glacial Period, not only in Orkney
+and Shetland but in all the north-west of Europe,
+we learn that it lasted a very long time, and that
+the North Sea was filled with a great sheet of ice
+which must have been several thousand feet thick.
+This ice was pushed out of the basin of the North
+Sea westwards into the Atlantic by the pressure
+of the deep snow-cap which covered the mountains
+of central Europe, and on its way it passed over
+Orkney and Shetland. The broken stones and rubbish
+which gathered below it formed the boulder clay.
+This may seem a very strange tale, but every kind
+of evidence that is needed to prove its truth has
+been found by those who have studied the boulder
+clay and the scratched rocks beneath it.</p>
+
+<p>After the great ice sheet melted, the climate
+was still cold, and there were times when snow
+and ice gathered on our hilltops and little glaciers
+flowed down the valleys. These also have left traces
+behind by which you can know where they were.
+In every one of the higher glens in the Orkney hills
+you will find mounds of clay and stones, often
+forming a crescent or bow running from side to
+side of the valley. They are very well seen in
+Harray, Birsay, Orphir, and Hoy; but even in the
+East Mainland the hills, though low, gave rise to
+little glaciers. In Shetland they are almost as common
+as in Orkney. In many parishes there are
+clusters of large and small mounds, some of them
+grassy and others covered with heather, lying near
+the mouths of the main valleys. When these
+mounds have been cut into by streams or by
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">[292]</span>roads, we see that they are not rocky hillocks but
+consist only of clay and stones, and that the stones
+are often scratched like those in the stiff boulder
+clay. These mounds are the “dumps” or moraines
+where the glaciers which filled the valleys melted
+and dropped their rubbish. At that time our islands
+must have resembled Spitzbergen, where to-day most
+of the hills have an ice-cap and nearly all the
+valleys are filled with glaciers, some of which reach
+the sea and give birth to icebergs, while others melt
+away and deposit lumpy moraines over the valley
+bottoms.</p>
+
+<h4 id="Orkney_Fossils">Orkney Fossils.</h4>
+
+<p>You cannot examine many of our Orkney flagstones
+carefully without finding fossils. The most common
+are scales and bones of fishes. In the rock these
+often appear as coal-black specks. When a fossil has
+weathered for a long time, as in a stone dyke or on the
+seashore, it often becomes bright blue, like a splash of
+blue paint. Sometimes whole fishes are found in the
+gray flagstones, with every fin and every scale perfect.
+Of course you will not find these every day or every
+year, but there are many quarries in Orkney where
+you may get them occasionally. When the quarryman
+uncovers a bed of rock, he often finds it
+sprinkled over with great numbers of fossil fishes.</p>
+
+<p>We can picture to ourselves that, at some time
+long gone by, when these flagstones were being laid
+down in the old Orcadian lake as sheets of sandy
+and muddy silt, the fishes were suddenly killed by
+a volcanic eruption, or by a period of drought, and
+their dead bodies covered the muddy bottom for
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_293">[293]</span>miles. Fresh mud then came down and buried them,
+and preserved their remains. In process of time
+their bones and scales were changed into the pitch-black
+substance which we now find in the rocks.
+But we can still see that these specks and scales
+are really parts of fishes. If we examine them
+under the microscope, we find that they have all
+the marks of structure that the same parts of certain
+fishes have at the present day.</p>
+
+<p>In almost every parish in Orkney there is at least
+one quarry which contains good fossils, and there
+must be many others which we do not yet know of.
+But no person who knows what a bit of fossil fish is
+like need search very long among the flagstones of
+the shore without finding a scale, a jaw bone, a tooth,
+or other relic of the fishes which lived in Orkney at
+the time the flagstone muds were gathering. A heap
+of stones thrown down by the roadside, for building
+a dyke or for mending the roads, often contains fragments
+of dozens of fishes.</p>
+
+<p>It is not difficult for us to picture what these fishes
+were like when alive. Some of them were about the
+size of sillocks or herrings, others were as large as a big
+cod. They had scales all over their bodies, and fins,
+supported by bony rays, just like living fishes. But
+though many of them were of the same shape and
+general outline as a trout or a herring, they differed
+from these in many ways.</p>
+
+<p>Their scales were often hard and bony, with a
+smooth, shining outer layer of enamel like that which
+covers a tooth. Those fishes are called <i>ganoids</i>. On
+their heads they had bony plates with the same hard
+covering, often showing ridges and furrows, knobs,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_294">[294]</span>and other markings. You may see these beautifully
+preserved in many of the fossil bones which occur
+in the gray and blue flagstones. Those fishes belong
+to species which are no longer living on the earth’s
+surface, but closely allied kinds of fish are still found
+in a few rivers in Africa, America, and Europe.
+The royal sturgeon is one of these.</p>
+
+<p>None of the fishes which are common in our seas
+at the present day are ever found as fossils in rocks
+as old as the Orcadian flagstones. The water of the
+Orcadian lake was fresh water. We know this because
+we find no marine shells, and no crabs or cuttle-fishes
+in the flagstones, though these kinds of animals peopled
+the sea at that time, and would have been preserved
+as fossils if they had inhabited the lake.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the fishes in the lake were very grotesque
+and oddly-shaped creatures. One of them had two
+curious bony arms or wings which stuck out from its
+sides. It is not very common in Orkney, but is sometimes
+found in quarries near Stromness, and a smaller
+fish of much the same shape may be got in Deerness
+occasionally. They are called “winged fishes,” and
+are quite unlike any fishes now living. So strange
+is this fossil that when first found it was thought
+to be a curious beetle.</p>
+
+<p>Another strange fish was of great size; its head
+bones are a foot or more in length. Pieces of the
+head of this fish may be seen in many parts of
+Orkney, but the bones of the body were soft and
+rotted away after the fish died. The back of its
+head was somewhat like a shovel in shape, and the
+bones are often half an inch in thickness. There were
+two great holes for the eyes near the corners of this
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_295">[295]</span>shield. The back of the neck was protected by another
+large plate. A specimen of this fossil can be seen in
+the Stromness museum; it was called by Hugh Miller
+the <i>Asterolepis</i>, or “star-scale fish,” of Stromness.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the fishes, other fossils occur in the flagstones,
+but not of many kinds. At Pickaquoy, near
+Kirkwall, and in several other places, very small
+shells, like tiny mussel shells, often cover the surface
+of the beds of rock. Pieces of wood may also
+be seen in the flagstones; they are flattened out
+and form black strips of a coaly substance, but as
+they must have drifted a long distance from land,
+and sunk to the bottom only when they became
+water-logged, they do not tell us much about the
+nature of the plants which clothed the islands and
+the shores of the lake. Yet we know that there
+were no flowers then, no grasses, or sedges, or trees
+like those that now live, but only great reeds and
+tree-like plants belonging to the same groups as
+the horse-tail that grows in watery places and along
+roadsides, and the little green scaly club moss that
+creeps through the heather, sending up its fruit-bearing
+spikes. There were also many kinds of ferns.
+In the forests and swamps there were land-snails
+and insects, but no frogs or lizards, still less any
+birds or other warm-blooded creatures. The fishes
+are the highest types that then existed; they were
+the “lords of creation” in that day.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus065" style="max-width: 25.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus065.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>“Winged fish” (Pterichthys).</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_296">[296]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="A_PEAT-MOSS">A PEAT-MOSS.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-e.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">Earl Einar it was, as the story goes,
+who first taught the Orkneyman to
+make the turf into peats—Torf Einar,
+as he was called in memory of this
+fact. If the story is true, he did
+a great work for the islands,—not
+quite treeless in his day, perhaps,
+but yet in a bad way for fuel in the long winter
+evenings,—and he deserves a monument almost as
+splendid as that of Earl Magnus.</p>
+
+<p>The wood fires went out long ago, and the peat
+fires will, no doubt, follow in due time. True, the
+peat-mosses are not yet exhausted, but year by year
+they recede, and the road to “the hill” grows longer.
+There is less time to spare now for peat-cutting than
+there used to be, for our modern methods of farming
+require more constant labour. But through our trade
+with other lands money is circulating more freely,
+and coal can be bought to take the place of peat.
+The change means more money and less time, and
+that is just the great difference between this century
+and those which have gone by.</p>
+
+<p>But the peat-moss is not yet deserted, and in the
+early summer it is still a busy scene in many places.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_297">[297]</span>Harvest has ever been a time of joy, and peat-cutting
+is the harvest of the moss. The flaying-spade and
+the tuskar are not mere toys, nor is “taking out”
+the newly-cut peats a holiday task; but there are
+few scenes where more cheerfulness and wholesome
+mirth can be seen than at many an Orkney peat-cutting.</p>
+
+<p>Let us approach one of these familiar “peat-banks,”
+not necessarily to share in the fun, and certainly not
+to take part in the labour, but to find out what we
+can about the substance which we call peat. Here
+is a bank where the moss is deep enough to give
+three lengths of peat, one above the other, besides
+the surface layer, which is cut off and thrown down
+on the old peat ground.</p>
+
+<p>This top layer, we see, is, like ordinary turf, full
+of the roots of growing plants—heather, rushes,
+sedges, and grasses of various kinds. Filling up
+the spaces between them is a tangled mass of spongy
+mosses. These mosses are the most important plants
+of all in the formation of peat.</p>
+
+<p>The most common of the bog-mosses is the
+<i>Sphagnum</i>, a small branching plant with thin, scaly
+leaves. Where there is plenty of light it is of a
+vivid green, and the tops of the sprays look like
+tiny emerald stars. Lower, where less light comes,
+the plant looks yellow and sickly, while still lower
+it is black and decaying. The black substance which
+we call peat is really a mass of decayed sphagnum
+moss.</p>
+
+<p>The upper part of our peat-bank, just below the
+turf which has been cut away, is more loose and
+fibrous than the under part. The roots of the larger
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_298">[298]</span>plants may still be seen in it. The second and
+especially the third peat are much closer in texture
+and of a deeper black colour. The vegetable matter
+is more completely decayed, and if we were to compress
+it sufficiently it would look very like coal.</p>
+
+<p>At one part of the face of the bank we notice a
+layer of a different kind. We find the roots and
+parts of the stems and branches of small trees embedded
+in the moss. There has been a wood here at
+one time—how long ago, we cannot tell. That layer
+of moss which now lies above the remains of the trees
+may have taken centuries to form.</p>
+
+<p>In many places we find more than one such layer
+of wood, separated as well as covered by thick layers
+of moss. Some of the trees have been of considerable
+size, too; the trunk of one found in the parish of
+Stenness measured about five feet in circumference,
+while the moss near it was thickly studded with the
+nuts which had fallen from it year after year.</p>
+
+<p>The trees whose remains have been found in our
+mosses include the poplar, pine, mountain ash, birch,
+hazel, alder, and willow. One very interesting fact
+is that the silver fir is also found, a tree which does
+not now grow in Scotland, and is not found in Scottish
+peat-mosses, but which is common in Norway.</p>
+
+<p>What curious tales those peat-mosses tell of the
+changes of climate which have passed over our
+islands! At the present day it is only in our deepest
+glens, as in Hoy, that we can find even small trees
+and bushes growing wild. Yet at one time our
+islands must have been well wooded, though it is
+only in the mosses that the remains have been
+preserved for us to see.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_299">[299]</span></p>
+
+<p>The sphagnum, again, has another story to tell.
+It requires abundant moisture for its growth, and
+at present it can find this only in flat and boggy
+ground. It is therefore only in such places that
+peat is now being formed. Yet we find peat on
+most of our hillsides and even hilltops. This tells
+of a time when our climate was much wetter than it
+now is, and when sphagnum flourished everywhere.</p>
+
+<p>One more story of a different kind can be read
+from the peat-moss. Here and there, as at Deersound
+and Widewall Bay, when the tide is out, we
+may find peat-moss, and the remains of large trees
+among it, far down on the beach, many feet below
+the level of high water, and most of it covered to a
+considerable depth with the sand and gravel which
+form the upper beach and the land near it. This
+tells clearly of a gradual sinking of the land in the
+neighbourhood. When that moss was being formed,
+and when those trees were growing, the shallow bay
+must have been dry land.</p>
+
+<p>The plants and flowers which grow on our mosses
+are worth more than a passing glance. Let us look
+at some of them. The sphagnum we have already
+mentioned; it belongs to the class of flowerless plants.
+The others we shall mention are flowering plants.</p>
+
+<p>Best known of all, perhaps, is what we call heather.
+This name is used for at least four different plants
+in Orkney. Two of these bear that common but
+beautiful flower the heather-bell. One bears bells
+of a pale, rose-coloured, waxy appearance; the other,
+which is more common, has bells of a darker and often
+purplish red. The former is the cross-leaved heath,
+with its little green leaves arranged in whorls of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_300">[300]</span>four; the latter has its leaves in whorls of three,
+and is known as the fine-leaved heath.</p>
+
+<p>The most common kind of heather is the ling,
+which flowers somewhat later than the heaths. It
+is this plant whose spikes of tiny rose-coloured
+flowers make our hillsides a purple glory in the
+early autumn, and whose leaves and stems give them
+their familiar brown tint during the rest of the year.
+A white variety is also found, the “white heather”
+which is supposed to bring good luck to the finder.</p>
+
+<p>Another kind of heather is that which bears the
+small black berries so well known to every young
+Orcadian. This plant is not a heath at all; it is
+really the black crowberry. The berry is preceded
+by a tiny purplish flower, which probably few of
+the berry-gatherers have ever seen.</p>
+
+<p>The “rashes” or rushes are a common feature of
+our moors. Two kinds may be noticed, one with
+its flower-tuft more closely packed together than
+the other. These rushes were of some use in former
+days. The white pith was extracted and dried for
+winter use as wicks in the old oil-burning “crusies,”
+before the introduction of paraffin.</p>
+
+<p>There are many smaller plants of a similar type,
+one of which, the bog asphodel, ought to be well
+known; its pretty, yellow, star-like flowers, grouped
+on a stalk some eight inches high, often make
+patches of our moorlands glow with the shimmer
+of gold.</p>
+
+<p>The cotton-grass is probably more familiar. There
+are two kinds found in Orkney, one bearing a single
+tuft of white down on each stem when seeding, the
+other a group or cluster of tufts. This plant is not
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_301">[301]</span>a grass, and has no connection with the cotton plant;
+but the name is a good one for all that, and no one
+can mistake the plant to which it applies.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp69" id="illus066" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus066.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Plants of the peat-moss.</i></p>
+      <p>1. Common ling (<i>Calluna vulgaris</i>). 2. Cross-leaved heath
+    (<i>Erica tetralix</i>). 3. Black crowberry (<i>Empetrum nigrum</i>).
+    4. Cotton grass (<i>Eriophorum polystachion</i>). 5. Grass of
+    Parnassus (<i>Parnassia palustris</i>). 6. Bog asphodel (<i>Narthecium
+    ossifragum</i>).</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>One of our most beautiful moorland plants is that
+which bears the attractive name, “grass of Parnassus.”
+This also is not a grass, and does not in the least
+resemble one. It is well worth looking for and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_302">[302]</span>looking at when found. From a group of dark-green,
+glossy, heart-shaped leaves rises a slender stem
+four or five inches high, with one leaf growing on
+it midway up its height. This stem bears a single
+cup-shaped flower as large as a common buttercup,
+with five white petals marked with darker veins.
+The central parts of the flower are yellowish-green.
+Round the stigma stand the five stamens, and between
+these and opposite the petals are five curiously shaped
+nectaries or honey vessels. They are fringed with
+a row of white hairs, each ending in a yellow knob,
+and look like a tiny golden crown placed in the
+centre of the flower-cup. The name of the flower
+is said to be taken from Mount Parnassus in
+Greece, the home of the Muses. Certainly the
+flower itself is dainty enough to be a favourite with
+the poets.</p>
+
+<figure class="figright illowp42" id="illus067" style="max-width: 14.0625em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus067.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Butterwort.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Some plants have developed the curious habit
+of eating, or, at any rate, digesting and absorbing
+the juices of insects. Two of those insectivorous
+plants may be found in our peat-moss. In certain
+places we may notice that the thick carpet of moss
+is dotted with little rosettes of bright yellowish
+green, which look like vegetable star-fishes scattered
+over a beach of moss. That is one of our “plants of
+prey.” It is called the butterwort.</p>
+
+<p>From the centre of the rosette rises a slender stalk
+of two or three inches, bearing a small dusky purple
+flower somewhat like a dog-violet. The green leaves
+which form the rosette are stiff, and lie close to the
+ground, as if to keep a clear space among the other
+plants. They curl up at the edges, and look as if
+they did not want to mingle with their kindred
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_303">[303]</span>round about; and indeed they do not, for they have
+other game in view.</p>
+
+<p>Attracted by this bright green star, a small insect
+comes in search, perhaps, of honey. He finds the leaf
+covered with a sticky fluid, and his touch causes
+more of the fluid to come out of little pores in the
+leaf. The insect is held fast, and the gum clogs up
+the pores of his body so that he cannot breathe.
+He soon dies. Then the plant pours out an acid
+liquid, which dissolves all the
+soft parts of the captured insect,
+and leaves only the skeleton.
+At the same time this dissolved
+or digested food is sucked in by
+the pores of the leaf.</p>
+
+<p>The acid juice of the butterwort
+is so like the juice of the
+animal stomach, that in Lapland
+the people used to pour warm
+milk over butterwort leaves, and
+thus changed it into a curd,
+just as we do by adding to the
+milk some rennet, made from the
+stomach of a calf.</p>
+
+<figure class="figleft illowp33" id="illus068" style="max-width: 12.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus068.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Sundew.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>On this same patch of moor
+we may find another flesh-eating plant. This is smaller
+than the last, and less easily found. It has a slender
+flower-stalk with a spike of small whitish flowers
+rising from the centre of a curious group of leaves.
+The leaves lie flat on the ground; they are small
+and round, no larger than split peas, and covered
+with bright red hairs that look like tiny red pins
+stuck in a tiny green pin cushion.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_304">[304]</span></p>
+
+<p>Each of these hairs carries at its tip a bead of
+clear fluid, which glitters in the sun; hence the plant
+is called the sundew. Let any thirsty insect come
+to drink this dew, and a strange thing happens. He
+finds his feet held fast by the sticky dewdrops, and
+the more he struggles the more of these does he rub
+against. He is held fast until he
+is suffocated, and then he is digested
+and absorbed by the leaf.</p>
+
+<p>When the fly alights on the
+plant, the hairs begin to bend
+in towards the centre of the
+leaf. Even those hairs which
+have not been touched bend
+over until all of them are helping
+to hold fast the prey and
+dissolve it with their liquid.
+If the insect alights near the
+edge of the leaf, he is thus
+carried towards the centre and
+held fast, while the leaf itself
+bends so as to form a cup for
+the acid that pours from the
+hairs. If two insects alight on
+the same leaf, the hairs form
+into two groups, those near
+each animal curving towards him, so that the leaf acts
+as if it had two hands. In this way all the insects
+that come are attended to.</p>
+
+<p>There are many other curious plants to be found
+in the peat-moss, but those we have mentioned will
+suffice to show how much of interest there is in our
+bleak mosses and moors.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_305">[305]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="SOME_COMMON_WEEDS">SOME COMMON WEEDS.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-w1.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">What is a weed? We may
+best describe it, perhaps, as
+a plant growing in the wrong
+place. A weed is not necessarily
+ugly, or harmful, or
+even useless. Many common
+weeds are very beautiful, and
+some of them are very useful; but if they are growing
+where we wish something else to grow, we call them
+“weeds,” and root them out, or try to do so. Grass
+in our hayfields and meadows is a valuable plant;
+grass in our flower-borders or turnip-fields is a
+weed. So when we speak of weeds, we do not mean
+any special class of plants, but only those which
+force themselves upon our notice by springing up
+where we wish something else to grow.</p>
+
+<p>Many of our common weeds are very interesting
+plants to the botanist. They have to fight for their
+lives; and the way in which they scatter their seeds,
+and the power of those seeds to lie dormant for years
+waiting a chance to grow, are well worth study. It
+is a war between the farmer and wild nature, and
+when we look over our fields and pastures in spring
+and summer we see clearly enough that the farmer
+is not always the victor. In many a cornfield the oat
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_306">[306]</span>crop seems to be merely incidental, while the hardier
+children of nature flourish in spite of its intrusion.</p>
+
+<p>This is not as it ought to be. Even if they are
+otherwise harmless, the weeds use up a large part
+of the plant food in the soil, and they rob the young
+oats of the necessary light and air. In this way
+weeds prove an expensive crop to the farmer. It
+pays him to study their life-history so as to learn
+how they may be eradicated, and to spend some
+labour in the task of doing so.</p>
+
+<p>A common pest in the Orkney cornfields is the
+“runcho” or “runchic,” known elsewhere by the
+name of charlock or wild mustard. Its pale-yellow
+flowers overtop the growing oats, and their unwelcome
+gleam makes some fields conspicuous for miles
+around. The form of the flower shows that the
+charlock belongs to the same family as the turnip
+and the cabbage and the fragrant wallflower of our
+gardens. The flower has four petals, and the cross-like
+arrangement of its six stamens, four long and
+two short, has given them their name of <i>Cruciferæ</i>,
+or cross-bearers. The seed-vessels, like those of the
+turnip, are in the form of a long, narrow pod with
+a partition running down the middle. The seeds
+are small and hard, and they grow only in a freshly-stirred
+soil with plenty of light and air. When a
+field is laid down in grass they make no sign of
+life, but when it is ploughed for the next crop of
+oats they spring up once more, and make it as gay
+as a flower-bed. Two kinds of this plant are found—the
+one, charlock, of a light yellow colour, common
+in peaty and clayey ground; and the other, wild
+mustard, of a deeper yellow, found in sandy soil.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_307">[307]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="illus069" style="max-width: 35.9375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus069.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Some common weeds.</i></p>
+      <p>1. False oat grass. 2. Chickweed. 3. Ragwort. 4. Prunella. 5.
+    Wild mustard (<i>Brassica Sinapis</i>). 6. Charlock (<i>Raphanus
+    Raphanistrum</i>). 7. Corn spurrey. 8. Sheep’s sorrel. 9. Common sorrel.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_308">[308]</span></p>
+
+<p>Another showy weed is the yellow corn-marigold.
+This handsome flower seems more dainty in its choice
+of soil, and in some districts it is not common. A
+glance at the open flower shows its kinship to the “wee,
+modest, crimson-tipped” daisy. The so-called flower
+is not one, but a host of tiny flowers or florets
+growing upon a broad green disc called the receptacle.
+This compound or composite type of flower is found
+in a large number of common plants, named on this
+account <i>Compositæ</i>. Many of them are found in
+Orkney, and they are a very interesting as well as
+a numerous family.</p>
+
+<p>One of the best known is the dandelion, a more
+beautiful flower than many which we grow in our
+gardens, and only its abundance prevents our admiring
+it. If we examine the florets of the dandelion,
+we see that each of them has a corolla forming a
+long yellow ribbon on the side farthest from the
+centre of the flower. In the corn-marigold only the
+outer florets have this ribbon, which forms a halo of
+rays round the central portion. In the daisy these rays
+are white, with the tips pink, especially underneath.</p>
+
+<p>A well-known feature of the dandelion is the
+white down which it produces when in seed—a
+wonderfully beautiful arrangement for spreading its
+seeds far and wide to find room to grow. This is
+a common method of broadcast sowing among the
+Compositæ family. The thistles, which form a well-known
+section of that family, depend largely on their
+floating seeds in their struggle against the farmer.
+Some farmers seem to forget this fact, for, crowded
+in some corner of an old pasture, or in serried ranks
+by roadside and ditchside, we may see those armed
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_309">[309]</span>foes allowed to blossom and send forth thousands of
+winged seeds to overrun the neighbouring fields, and
+even the neighbouring farms. A few hours’ work
+with a scythe would prevent the mischief. There
+might well be laws to prevent the careless spreading
+of weeds as there are to prevent the spreading of
+infectious disease among animals.</p>
+
+<p>One of the Compositæ family is a common weed
+in Orkney pasture fields—the “tirsac” or ragwort.
+This is a coarse, vigorous plant, with a tough stalk
+about two feet in height, crowned with a spreading
+tuft of yellow daisy-shaped flowers. In fields where
+this weed is allowed to grow and multiply, it soon
+comes to occupy a large proportion of the whole area,
+and this means a considerable loss in the grazing
+value of the pasture.</p>
+
+<p>The large family of the grasses includes some of
+the plants most useful to the farmer. All the grain
+crops, such as wheat, barley, and oats, are cultivated
+grasses, as are also the plants which are used for
+pasture and for hay. There are some wild grasses,
+however, which are very persistent and troublesome
+weeds. Some of these, like couch grass, spread more
+by creeping underground stems than by seeds. A
+common grass in Orkney is that known as “swine-beads,”
+from the knotted form of its underground
+stems. Its common name is false oat grass. It
+resembles small black oats, but is much taller. Cartloads
+of its beaded stems may be gathered from
+some fields when being prepared for turnips, and by
+so doing much trouble may be saved.</p>
+
+<p>When a field is laid down in turnips or potatoes,
+the weeds have a hard struggle for life. Those of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_310">[310]</span>slow growth are checked by the ploughing and
+grubbing and harrowing, and later by the hoe and
+the scuffler. Yet there are a few which in a moist
+season spring up quickly and soon cover the drills.
+The common spurrey, with its narrow, sticky leaves
+growing in whorls, and its tiny white flowers which
+open only in the sun, is perhaps the best known.
+The chickweed is another common weed in such
+fields. These, however, if kept down at first by the
+hoe, are of too feeble growth to injure the crop
+among which they strive to find a living.</p>
+
+<p>Sheep’s sorrel and common sorrel, both commonly
+known as “sooricks,” were more harmful half a century
+ago than they are at present. Cultivation and the
+rotation of crops have reduced their quantity, but their
+enormous power of spreading can be witnessed in a
+poor, thin, or peaty soil, where the crops, especially
+grass, are meagre. There they spread, and sometimes
+with such vigour that they push every other plant
+aside. Both kinds of sorrel are common. The one
+with arrow-shaped leaves is called common sorrel;
+that with spear-shaped leaves, sheep’s sorrel. Their
+leaves, which have a very acid taste, often turn
+reddish.</p>
+
+<p>Another common and pretty little flower is prunella
+or self-heal. Whorls of green bracts and violet
+flowers form a dense, short spike. It grows from four
+to six inches high, and is to be met with on dry soils,
+and although fairly common in oats, flourishes best
+in second year’s grass. It is one of the large order
+of <i>Labiates</i>, a group which includes the dead-nettle
+and the hemp-nettle, and when abundant it is a
+clear indication of the exhaustion of some ingredients
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_311">[311]</span>of the soil—often lime. When fields are brought to
+a high state of cultivation, or are near enough the
+seashore to get an abundant supply of sand, it almost
+disappears; but when they are impoverished, it soon
+returns.</p>
+
+<p>These are only a few of the weeds which every
+farmer knows well. They are worth study, for it
+is only when we know how they grow and spread
+that we are able to prevent their increase. The
+cultivation and manuring of the soil and the sowing
+of seeds are only one side of the farmer’s work; he
+has to remove the wild growth as well as to promote
+the growth of what he sows. Otherwise his fields
+will bear two crops at a time, one of nature’s sowing
+and one of his own, and of these two the natural
+crop is likely to be the more flourishing.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus070" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus070.jpg" alt="">
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_312">[312]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="HOME_LIFE_ON_THE_ROCKS">HOME LIFE ON THE ROCKS.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<h4 id="Guillemots">Guillemots.</h4>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-n.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">Nothing is more interesting than
+to look down from the summit
+of some precipice on to a ledge
+at no great distance below, which
+is quite crowded with guillemots.
+Roughly speaking, the birds form
+two long rows, but these rows are
+very irregular in depth and formation, and swell here
+and there into little knots and clusters, besides often
+merging into or becoming mixed with each other,
+so that the idea of symmetry conveyed is of a very
+modified kind, and may be sometimes broken down
+altogether. In the first row a certain number of the
+birds sit close against and directly fronting the wall
+of the precipice, into the angle of which with the
+ledge they often squeeze themselves. Several will
+be closely pressed together, so that the head of
+one is often resting against the neck or shoulder
+of another, which other will also be making a pillow
+of a third, and so on. Others stand here and
+there behind the seated ones, each being, as a rule,
+close to his or her partner. There is another irregular
+row about the centre of the ledge, and equally
+here it is to be remarked that the sitting birds have
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_313">[313]</span>their beaks pointed towards the cliff, whilst the
+standing ones are turned indifferently. There are
+generally several birds on the edge of the parapet,
+and at intervals one will come pressing to it through
+the crowd in order to fly down to the sea, whilst
+from time to time others also fly up and alight on it,
+often with sand-eels in their beaks. On a ledge of
+perhaps a dozen paces in length there may be from
+sixty to eighty guillemots, and as often as they are
+counted the number will be found to be approximately
+the same.</p>
+
+<figure class="figright illowp75" id="illus071" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus071.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Guillemot.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Most of the sitting birds
+are either incubating or have
+young ones under them,
+which, as long as they are
+little, they seem to treat
+very much as though they
+were eggs. Much affection
+is shown between the paired
+birds. One that is sitting
+either on her egg or her
+young one—for no difference in the attitude can
+be observed—will often be very much cosseted by
+the partner who stands close behind or beside
+her. With the tip of his long, pointed beak he, as
+it were, nibbles the feathers (or, perhaps, scratches
+and tickles the skin between them) of her head, neck,
+and throat; whilst she, with her eyes half closed, and
+an expression as of submitting to an enjoyment—a
+“Well, I suppose I must” look—bends her head
+backwards, or screws it round sideways towards him,
+occasionally nibbling with her bill also amidst the
+feathers of his throat, or the thick white plumage of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_314">[314]</span>his breast. Presently she stands up, revealing the
+small, hairy-looking chick, whose head has from time
+to time been visible just peeping out from under its
+mother’s wing. Upon this the other bird bends its
+head down and cossets in the same way—but very
+gently, and with the extreme tip of the bill—the little
+tender young one. The mother does so too, and then
+both birds, standing side by side over the chick, pay
+it divided attentions, seeming as though they could not
+make enough either of their child or of each other.
+It is a pretty picture, and here is another one.</p>
+
+<p>A bird—we will think her the female, as she performs
+the most mother-like part—has just flown in
+with a fish—a sand-eel—in her bill. She makes her
+way with it to the partner, who rises and shifts the
+chick that he has been brooding over from himself
+to her. This is done quite invisibly, as far as the
+chick is concerned, but you can see that it is being
+done.</p>
+
+<p>The bird with the fish, to whom the chick has been
+shifted, now takes it in hand. Stooping forward her
+body, and drooping down her wings, so as to make a
+kind of little tent or awning of them, she sinks her
+bill with the fish in it towards the rock and then
+raises it again, and does this several times before
+either letting the fish drop or placing it in the chick’s
+bill—for which it is I cannot quite see. It is only
+now that the chick becomes visible, its back turned
+to the bird standing over it, and its bill and throat
+moving as though swallowing something down. Then
+the bird that has fed it shifts it again to the other,
+who receives it with equal care, and bending down
+over it, appears—for it is now invisible—to help or
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_315">[315]</span>assist it in some way. It would be no wonder if the
+chick had wanted assistance, for the fish was a very
+big one for so small a thing, and it would seem as if
+he swallowed it bodily. After this the chick is again
+treated as an egg by the bird that has before had
+charge of him—that is to say, he is sat upon, apparently,
+just as though he were to be incubated.</p>
+
+<p>On account of the closeness with which the chick
+is guarded by the parent birds, and the way in which
+they both stand over it, it is difficult to make out
+exactly how it is fed; but I think the fish is either
+dropped at once on the rock, or dangled a little for it
+to seize hold of. It is in the bringing up and looking
+after of the chick that one begins to see the meaning
+of the sitting guillemots being always turned towards
+the cliff, for from the moment that the egg is hatched
+one or other of the parent birds interposes between
+the chick and the edge of the parapet. Of course I
+cannot say that the rule is universal, but I never saw
+a guillemot incubating with its face turned towards
+the sea, nor did I ever see a chick on the seaward
+side of the parent bird who was with it.</p>
+
+<p>I observed that the chick—even when, as I judged
+by its tininess, it had only been quite recently hatched—was
+as alert and as well able to move about as a
+young chicken or partridge; but whilst possessing all
+the power, it appeared to have little will to do so.
+Its lethargy—as shown by the way in which, even
+when a good deal older, it would sit for hours without
+moving from under the mother—struck me as
+excessive; and it would certainly seem that on a
+bare, narrow ledge, to fall from which would be certain
+death, chicks of a lethargic disposition would
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_316">[316]</span>have an advantage over others who were fonder of
+running about.</p>
+
+<p>The young guillemot is fed with fish which are
+brought from the sea in the parent’s bill, and not—as
+in the case of gulls—disgorged for them after having
+been first swallowed. It is, however, a curious fact
+that the fish when thus brought in are, sometimes
+at any rate, headless. The reason of this I do not
+know, but with the aid of glasses I have made quite
+certain of it, and each time it appeared as though
+the head had been cleanly cut off. Moreover, on
+alighting on the ledge the bird always has the fish
+(a sand-eel, whenever I saw it) held lengthways in
+the beak, with the tail drooping out to one side of it,
+and the head part more or less within the throat—a
+position which seems to suggest that it may have been
+swallowed or partially swallowed—whereas puffins and
+razor-bills carry the fish they catch crosswise, with head
+and tail depending on either side.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus072" style="max-width: 25.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus072.jpg" alt="">
+</figure>
+
+<p>I have once or twice thought that I saw a bird
+which just before had no fish in its bill all at once
+carrying one. But I may well have been mistaken; and
+it does not seem at all likely that the birds should
+usually carry their fish, and thus subject themselves to
+persecution, if they could disgorge it without inconvenience.
+With regard to the occasional absence of the
+head, perhaps this is sometimes cut off in catching the
+fish.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_317">[317]</span></p>
+
+<h4 id="Seals">Seals.</h4>
+
+<p>Quite near to where I watch the guillemots there is
+a little iron-bound creek or cove, walled by precipice,
+guarded by mighty “stacks,” and divided for some
+way into two by a long rocky peninsula running out
+from the shore.
+On the rocks in
+one of these alcoves
+were lying
+eight seals, which
+were afterwards
+joined by another,
+making nine, whilst
+in the adjoining one
+were four—also, as
+it happened, joined
+by another, as I
+watched—making fourteen in all: such a sight as
+I had never seen before.</p>
+
+<figure class="figleft illowp92" id="illus073" style="max-width: 25.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus073.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Common seal.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>I watched these seals of mine on this, my first
+meeting with them, for a considerable time from the
+top of the cliffs—the glasses giving me a splendid
+view—and soon knew more about them than I had
+done before, and got rid of some popular errors. For
+instance, I had always imagined that seals had one
+set attitude for lying on the rocks—namely, flat on
+their bellies—a delusion which every picture of them
+in this connection had helped to foster. Imagine
+my surprise and delight when it burst upon me
+that only some three or four were in this attitude,
+and that even these did not retain it for long. No;
+instead of being in this state of uninteresting orthodoxy,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_318">[318]</span>they lay in the most delightful free-thinking
+poses, on their sides, showing their fine, portly,
+columnar bellies in varying degrees and proportions;
+whilst one utter infidel was right and full upon his
+broad back, yet looked like the carved image of some
+old Crusader on the lid of his stone sarcophagus.
+Every now and then they would give themselves
+a hitch, and bring their heads up, showing their
+fine round foreheads and large mild eyes; a very
+human—mildly human—and extremely intelligent
+appearance they had, looking down upon them
+from above. Again, they had the oddest or oddest-appearing
+actions, especially that of pressing their
+two hind feet or flippers together, with all their
+five-webbed toes spread out in a fan, with an energy
+and in a manner which suggested the fervent clasping
+of hands. Then they would scratch themselves with
+their fore feet lazily and sedately, raising their heads
+the while, looking extremely happy, having sometimes
+even a beatific expression. And then again
+they would curl themselves a little and roll more
+over, seeming to expatiate and almost lose themselves
+in large, luxurious ease—more variety and expression
+about them lying thus dozing than one will see in
+many animals awake and active.</p>
+
+<p>Even in this little time I learnt that they were
+animals of a finely touched spirit, extremely playful,
+with a grand sense of humour, and filled “from the
+crown to the toe, top-full” of happiness. Thus one
+that came swimming up the little quiet bay, in quest
+of a rock to lie upon, seemed to delight in pretending
+to find first one and then another too steep and
+difficult to get up on (for obviously they were not),
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_319">[319]</span>and would fling himself from off them in a sort of
+little sham disappointment, gambolling and rolling
+about, twisting himself up with seaweed, and generally
+having a most lively, solitary romp. A piece of
+bleached spar, some four or five feet long, happened—and
+I am glad that it happened—to be floating
+in the water at quite the other side of the creek
+and, espying it, this delightful animal swam over to
+it, and began to play with it as a kitten might with
+a reel of cotton or a ball of worsted. More frolicsome,
+kitten-hearted, and withal intelligent play I
+never saw. He passed just underneath it, and,
+coming up on the opposite side, rolled over upon
+it, cuffed it with one fore foot, again with the other,
+flipped it then with his footy tail as he dived away,
+and returning, in a fresh burst of rompiness, waltzed
+round and round with it, embracing it, one might
+almost say. At last, going off, he swam to a much
+steeper rock than any he had made-believe to find
+so difficult, and, scrambling up it with uncouth ease,
+went quietly to sleep in the best possible humour.</p>
+
+<p>What intelligence all this shows! Much more, I
+think, than the sporting of two animals together. This
+seal was alone, saw the floating spar at a distance,
+and swam to it with the evident intention of amusing
+himself in this manner. Later, another seal played
+with this same spar in much the same way; yet both
+of them seemed to be quite full-grown animals.</p>
+
+<p>Then I saw something which looked like a spirit
+of real humour, as well as fun. Three seals were
+lying on a slab of rock together, and one of them,
+raising himself half up, began to scratch the one
+next him with his fore foot. The scratched seal—a
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_320">[320]</span>lady, I believe—took it in the most funny
+manner, a sort of serio-comic remonstrance, shown
+in action and expression: “Now do leave off, really.
+Come now, do leave me alone”—and when this had
+reached a climax the funny fellow left off and lay
+still again; but as soon as all was quiet, he heaved
+up and began to scratch her again. This he did—and
+she did the other—three times, at the least, and if
+not to have a little fun with her I can hardly see why.</p>
+
+<h4 id="Shags">Shags.</h4>
+
+<p>Now I have found a nest with the bird on it, to
+see and watch. It was on a ledge, and just within
+the mouth of one of those long, narrowing, throat-like
+caverns into and out
+of which the sea, with all
+sorts of strange, sullen
+noises, licks like a tongue.
+The bird, who had seen
+me, continued for a long
+time afterwards to crane
+about its long neck from
+side to side or up and down
+over the nest, in doing which
+it had a very demoniac appearance,
+suggesting some evil being in its dark
+abode.</p>
+
+<figure class="figright illowp75" id="illus074" style="max-width: 21.875em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus074.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Shag.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>As it was impossible for me to watch it without
+my head being visible over the edge of the rock I
+was on, I collected a number of loose flat stones that
+lay on the turf above, and, at the cost of a good
+deal of time and labour, made a kind of wall or
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_321">[321]</span>sconce with loopholes in it, through which I could
+look and yet be invisible. Presently the bird’s mate
+came flying into the cavern, and wheeling up as it
+entered, alighted on a sloping slab of the rock just
+opposite to the nest. For a little both birds uttered
+low, deep, croaking notes in weird unison with the
+surroundings and the sad sea-dirges, after which they
+were silent for a considerable time, the one standing
+and the other sitting on the nest <i>vis-à-vis</i> to each
+other. At length the former, which I have no doubt
+was the male, hopped across the slight space dividing
+them on to the nest, which was a huge mass of seaweed.
+There were now some more deep sounds, and
+then, bending over the female bird, the male caressed
+her by passing the hooked tip of his bill through the
+feathers of her head and neck, which she held low
+down the better to permit of this. The whole scene
+was a striking picture of affection between those dark,
+wild birds in their lonely wave-made home.</p>
+
+<p>The male bird now flies out to sea again, and after
+a time returns carrying a long piece of brown seaweed
+in his bill. This he delivers to the female,
+who takes it from him and deposits it on the heap,
+as she sits. Meanwhile the male flies off again, and
+again returns with more seaweed, which he delivers
+as before; and this he does eight times in the space
+of one hour and forty minutes, diving each time for
+the seaweed with the true cormorant leap. Sometimes
+the sitting bird, when she takes the seaweed
+from her mate, merely lets it drop on the heap, but
+at others she places and manipulates it with some
+care. All takes place in silence for the most part,
+but on some of the visits the heads are thrown up,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_322">[322]</span>and there are sounds—hoarse and deeply guttural—as
+of gratulation between the two.</p>
+
+<p>The nest of the shag is continually added to by
+the male, not only while the eggs are in process of
+incubation, but after they are hatched, and when the
+young are being brought up. In a sense, therefore,
+it may be said to be never finished, though for all
+practical purposes it is so before the female bird
+begins to sit. That up to this period the female
+as well as the male bird takes part in the building
+of the nest I cannot but think, but from the time
+of my arrival on the island I never saw the two
+either diving for or carrying seaweed together. Once
+I saw a pair of birds together high up on the cliffs,
+where some tufts of grass grew in the niches. One
+of these birds only pulled out some of the grass, and
+flew away with it, accompanied by the other.</p>
+
+<p>It is not only seaweed that is used by these birds
+in the construction of the nest. In many that I saw
+grass alone was visible, though I have no doubt
+seaweed was underneath it; and one in particular
+had quite an ornamental appearance, from being covered
+all over with some land plant having a number
+of small blue flowers; and this I have observed
+in other nests, though not to the same extent. I
+think it was on this same nest that I noticed the
+picked and partially bleached skeleton—with the
+head and wings still feathered—of a puffin. It had,
+to be sure, a sorry appearance to the human—at
+least to the civilized human—eye, but if it had not
+been brought there for the sake of ornament, I can
+think of no other reason; and brought there or at
+least placed upon the nest by the bird it must
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_323">[323]</span>almost certainly have been. The brilliant beak and
+saliently-marked head of the puffin must be here
+remembered. Again, fair-sized pieces of wood or
+spar, cast up by the sea and whitened by it, are often
+to be seen stuck amongst the seaweed, and on one
+occasion I saw a bird fly with one of these to its
+nest and place it upon it. In all this, as it seems
+to me, the beginnings of a tendency to ornament the
+nest are clearly exhibited.</p>
+
+<p>Both the sexes share in the duty and pleasure of
+incubation, and (as in some other species) to see them
+relieve each other on the nest is to see one of the
+prettiest things in bird life. The bird that you have
+been watching has sat patiently the whole morning,
+and once or twice, as it rose in the nest and shifted
+itself round into another position on the eggs, you
+have seen the gleam of them as they lay there “as
+white as ocean foam in the moon.” At last, when
+it is well on in the afternoon, the partner bird flies
+up and stands for some minutes preening itself; while
+the one on the nest, who is turned away, throws
+back the head towards it, and opens and shuts the
+bill somewhat widely, as in greeting, several times.
+The new-comer then jumps and waddles to the
+farther side of the nest, so as to front the sitting
+bird, and sinking down against it with a manner and
+action full both of affection and a sense of duty, this
+one is half pushed, half persuaded to leave, finally
+doing so with the accustomed grotesque hop. It
+has all been done nearly in silence, only a few low,
+guttural notes having passed between the birds
+whilst they were close together. Just in the same
+way the birds relieve each other after the eggs have
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_324">[324]</span>been hatched, and when the young are being fed and
+attended to.</p>
+
+<p>A shag is sitting on her nest with the young ones,
+whilst the male stands on a higher ledge of the rock
+a yard or so away. He now jumps down and stands
+for a moment with head somewhat erected and beak
+slightly open. Then he makes the great pompous
+hop which I have described before, coming down
+right in front of the female, who raises her head
+towards him, and opens and closes the mandibles
+several times in the approved manner. The two
+birds then nibble, as it were, the feathers of each
+other’s necks with the ends of their bills, and the
+male takes up a little of the grass of the nest,
+seeming to toy with it. He then very softly and
+persuadingly pushes himself against the sitting bird,
+seeming to say, “It’s my turn now,” and thus gets
+her to rise, when both stand together on the nest
+over the little ones. The male then again takes up
+a little of the grass of the nest, which he passes
+towards the female, who also takes it, and they toy
+with it a little together before allowing it to drop.
+The insinuating process now continues, the male in
+the softest and gentlest manner pushing the female
+away, and then sinking down into her place, where
+he now sits, whilst she stands beside him on the
+ledge. As soon as the relieving bird has settled itself
+amidst the young, and whilst the other one is still
+there—not yet having flown off to sea—it begins
+to feed them. Their heads—very small, and with
+beaks not seeming to be much longer in proportion
+to their size than those of young ducks—are seen
+moving feebly about, pointing upwards, but with
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_325">[325]</span>very little precision. Very gently, and seeming to
+seize the right opportunity, the parent bird takes
+first one head and then another in the basal part,
+or gape, of his mandibles, turning his own head on
+one side in order to do so, so that the rest of the
+long bill projects sideways beyond the chick’s head
+without touching it. In this connection, and while
+the chick’s head is quite visible, little, if any, more
+than the beak being within the gape of the parent
+bird, the latter bends the head down and makes that
+particular action as of straining so as to bring something
+up which one is familiar with in pigeons. This
+process is gone through several times before the bird
+standing on the ledge flies away, to return again in
+a quarter of an hour with a piece of seaweed, which
+is laid on the nest.</p>
+
+<p>As the chicks become older they thrust the head
+and bill farther and farther down the throat of the
+parent bird, and at last to an astonishing extent.
+Always, however, it appeared to me that the parent
+bird brought up the food into the chicks’ bills in
+some state of preparation, and was not a mere passive
+bag from which the latter pulled fish in a whole
+state. There were several nests all in unobstructed
+view, and so excellent were my glasses that, practically,
+I saw the whole process as though it had been
+taking place on a table in front of me. The chicks,
+on withdrawing their heads from the parental throat,
+would often slightly open and close the mandibles
+as though still tasting something, in a manner which
+one may describe as smacking the bill; but on no
+occasion did I observe anything projecting from the
+bill when this was withdrawn, as one would expect
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_326">[326]</span>sometimes to be the case if unmodified fish were
+pulled up. Always, too, the actions of the parent
+bird suggested that particular process which is known
+as regurgitation, and which may be observed with
+pigeons, and also with the night-jar.</p>
+
+<p>Young shags are at first naked and black, also
+blind, as I was able to detect through the glasses.
+Afterwards the body becomes covered with a dusky
+gray down, and then every day they struggle more
+and more into the likeness of their parents. They
+soon begin to imitate the grown-up postures, and it
+is a pretty thing to see mother and young one sitting
+together with their heads held stately upright,
+or the little woolly chick standing up in the nest and
+hanging out its thin little featherless wings, just as
+mother is doing, or just as it has seen her do. At other
+times the chicks lie sprawling together either flat or
+on their sides. They are good tempered and playful,
+seize hold playfully of each other’s bills, and will
+often bite or play with the feathers of their parent’s
+tail. In fact, they are a good deal like puppies, and
+the heart goes out both to them and to their loving,
+careful, assiduous mother and father.</p>
+
+<p>When both birds are at home, the one that stands
+on the rock, by or near the nest, is ready to guard
+it from all intrusion. Should another bird fly on
+to the rock and alight, in his opinion, too near it,
+he immediately advances towards him, shaking his
+wings, and uttering a low grunting note which is
+full of intention. Finding itself in a false position,
+the intruding bird flies off; but it sometimes happens
+that when two nests are not far apart, the sentinels
+belonging to each are in too close a proximity and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_327">[327]</span>begin to cast jealous glances upon one another. In
+such a case neither bird can retreat without some
+loss of dignity, and, as a result, there is a fight.</p>
+
+<p>I have witnessed a drama of this nature. The two
+locked their beaks together, and the one which
+seemed to be the stronger endeavoured with all his
+might to pull the other towards him, which the
+weaker bird, on his part, resisted as desperately, using
+his wings both as opposing props and to push back
+with. This lasted for some while, but the pulling
+bird was unable to drag the other up the steeply-sloping
+rock, and finally lost his hold. Instead of
+trying to regain it, he turned and shuffled excitedly
+to the nest; and when he reached it, the bird sitting
+there stretched out her neck towards him, and opened
+and shut her beak several times in quick succession.
+It was as if he had said to her, “I hope you observed
+my prowess. Was it well done?” and she had replied,
+“I should think I did observe it. It was
+indeed well done.” On the worsted bird’s ascending
+the rock to get to his nest, the victorious one ran,
+or rather waddled, at him, putting him to a short
+flight up it. This bird was also cordially received
+by his own partner, who threw up her head and
+opened her bill at him in the same way, as though
+sympathizing, and saying, “Don’t mind him; he’s
+rude.” In such affairs, either bird is safe as soon
+as he gets within close distance of his own nest;
+for it would be against all precedent, and something
+monstrous, that he should be followed beyond a
+charmed line drawn around it.</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Edmund Selous.</span>
+(<i>From “Bird Watching” and “The Bird-Watcher in the Shetlands.” J. M. Dent and Co. By permission.</i>)</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_328">[328]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_BIRDS_OF_SULE_SKERRY">THE BIRDS OF SULE SKERRY.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-s.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">Sule Skerry is a tiny, barren, surf-bleached
+islet, lying far out in the open
+ocean, thirty-two miles west from Hoy
+Head, about the same distance from
+Cape Wrath, and thirty miles from the
+nearest land, Farrid Head, in Sutherlandshire.
+The Skerry, roughly rhomboidal
+in outline, is about half a mile in length and
+a quarter of a mile in its greatest width, and attains
+a height of only forty-five feet in its central part.
+All round the shore is a belt of bare, jagged rock,
+where the wash of the great Atlantic waves prevents
+any vegetation from finding a foothold, and of the
+thirty-five acres or so which form the entire area
+of the island only some twelve are covered with a
+mossy, vegetable soil.</p>
+
+<p>Lying, as it does, right in the track of trading
+vessels, this low islet, together with the Stack, which
+rises to a height of more than a hundred feet some
+four and a half miles to the south-westward, formed
+a death-trap to many a ship, which was, no doubt,
+afterwards merely reported as “missing,” and its
+shores when visited were rarely found without some
+stranded wreckage to tell of the unrecorded tragedies
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_329">[329]</span>of the winter seas. It was not till the year 1892 that
+steps were taken to mark this dangerous rock, but
+three years later saw the completion of Sule Skerry
+Lighthouse, a massive tower of a hundred feet in
+height, with a powerful light visible for a distance of
+eighteen miles.</p>
+
+<p>Sule Skerry is no longer either a dangerous or a
+lonely islet when compared
+with its former
+state. The three lightkeepers
+who are always
+on duty, together with
+their goats, poultry, and
+rabbits, give quite an inhabited
+air to the place—probably
+too much so for
+the comfort of the original
+occupants, the flocks of
+birds which find on it
+either a permanent home
+or a temporary dwelling-place.
+Sule Skerry is an
+ideal place for observation
+of the birds which frequent
+our islands, both from the
+immense numbers of them which nest there, and from
+the absence of high cliffs or inaccessible rocks. Luckily
+for us, one of the lightkeepers formerly on this station,
+Mr. Tomison, a native of Orkney, was a man unusually
+well qualified for such observation, and he has recorded
+much that is of interest regarding the bird life of the
+Skerry. From one of his papers on this subject
+we quote the following interesting pages.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp46" id="illus075" style="max-width: 15.625em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus075.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Sule Skerry Lighthouse.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_330">[330]</span></p>
+
+<h4 id="The_Residenters">The Residenters.</h4>
+
+<p>The birds of Sule Skerry may be divided into three
+classes—the residenters, the regular visitors, and the
+occasional visitors. The class of residenters is represented
+by the great black-backed gull, the herring
+gull, the shag or green cormorant, and the meadow
+pipit.</p>
+
+<figure class="figleft illowp87" id="illus076" style="max-width: 21.875em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus076.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Great black-backed gull.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The great black-backed gull is one of the handsomest
+birds of the gull family, but owing to its
+destructive propensities
+amongst small
+birds, rabbits, and
+occasionally young
+lambs, a continual
+warfare has been
+waged against it for
+years by farmers and
+gamekeepers, until
+now it is almost entirely
+banished to the
+outlying parts of the
+country. Before the lighthouse was erected on Sule
+Skerry, large numbers of this species frequented the
+island; but the lightkeepers found them such arrant
+thieves that they reduced their numbers considerably.
+There are still about twenty pairs resident on the island
+all the year round, and they seem to find plenty of food
+either on land or at sea. Their breeding-time is in May,
+and sometimes as late as June. When the young are
+hatched the parents are continually on the lookout
+for food, and I have often seen them swoop down and
+seize young rabbits. Frequently they make desperate
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_331">[331]</span>efforts to capture the old rabbits, but never successfully.
+They lay three eggs in a nest composed of withered grass,
+and the process of incubation lasts about four weeks.</p>
+
+<figure class="figright illowp100" id="illus077" style="max-width: 25.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus077.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Herring gull.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>A small colony of
+herring gulls stays
+on the island all the
+year round, but in
+summer vast flocks
+of them are in evidence
+when the herrings
+are on the coast.
+Only the residents remain to breed, and about a dozen
+pairs annually rear their young and spend their whole
+time in the vicinity. Some of the young must
+emigrate to a more genial climate, for although rarely
+disturbed their numbers are not increasing. They lay
+three eggs early in May, and sit about four weeks.
+When hatched, the young immediately leave the nest,
+and are so like the surrounding rocks in colour that
+when they lie close it is almost impossible to discover
+them. When hunting for food for their offspring, these
+gulls are almost as great a pest as their cousins, the
+great black-backed, and are more audacious thieves.</p>
+
+<p>The most numerous of the residenters are the
+scarfs. In summer and winter they are always on
+the island, and apparently there is an abundant
+supply of suitable food in the vicinity, for they
+never go far away. During winter they congregate
+on the rocks in large flocks or colonies, and they have
+become so accustomed to man’s presence that they fly
+only when one approaches within a few yards of them.
+In very stormy weather they seek refuge in some
+sheltered spot, far enough away from the coast-line
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_332">[332]</span>to be safe from the encroaching waves, and only when
+frightened by any one approaching too near do they
+choose what is, in their opinion, the lesser of two evils,
+and seek safety in flight. With the advent of spring
+they, like all other birds, turn their thoughts to love.
+Their comparatively homely winter dress gradually
+changes to one more appropriate to this sentiment
+and more in harmony with the imposing surroundings.
+Early in the year their plumage assumes a greener
+tint, and the graceful tuft or crest on the top of the
+head becomes more and more prominent. This crest
+practically disappears about the end of June, and
+seems to be a decoration in both sexes only during
+the nuptial season. Usually they manage to get
+through with their love-making and selecting of partners
+by the middle of March, after which the operations
+of nest-building are undertaken.</p>
+
+<p>In Orkney we associate a scarf’s nest with some
+almost inaccessible cliff, but such is not the case on
+Sule Skerry, for the simple reason that there are no
+cliffs. The nests are built all over the island, but
+principally near the coast-line; and the sociableness of
+the bird’s disposition shows itself in this fact, that
+they tend to crowd their nests together in certain
+selected spots, to which they return year after year.
+One place in particular, a patch of rough, rocky
+ground from forty to fifty yards square, I have
+named the scarf colony on account of its numerous
+population during the breeding season. Here in
+1898 I counted fifty-six nests.</p>
+
+<p>As to the materials used for nest-building, these
+are principally seaweed and grass, but the scarf is not
+very particular as to details, and uses anything that
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_333">[333]</span>will suit the purpose. I have found pieces of ordinary
+rope, even wire rope, and small pieces of wood used, and
+a very common foundation is the skeleton of a rabbit
+which has died during the winter. During building
+operations I have observed that one bird builds and the
+other brings the materials. After all has been completed,
+three, four, and sometimes five eggs are laid.
+Three is the most common number; five is rare.
+During incubation the one bird relieves the other
+periodically. It is a common sight to see one come in
+from the sea, sit down at the edge of the nest, and hold
+a long palaver with its mate. The sitting bird then
+gets up and flies out to sea, the other taking its place.</p>
+
+<p>When the young come out of the egg they are
+entirely naked, of a dark sooty colour, and particularly
+ugly. Towards the end of the first week of their
+existence a coating of down begins to grow, followed
+by feathers in about three weeks. As near as I can
+judge from observation, the bird is fully fledged in
+five weeks from the time of hatching.</p>
+
+<figure class="figleft illowp100" id="illus078" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus078.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Meadow-pipit.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The only other residenter is the meadow-pipit, tit-lark,
+or moss-cheeper. It is
+the only small bird that remains
+on the island all the
+year round. It nests generally
+in May, and lays five
+or six eggs. It is said that
+two broods are raised in the
+season, but I have never
+noticed that here. Towards
+the end of summer they are to be seen in considerable
+numbers, but in September and October the island
+is visited by kestrels, who soon thin them down.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_334">[334]</span></p>
+
+<h4 id="The_Regular_Visitors">The Regular Visitors.</h4>
+
+<p>The regular visitors are puffin, razor-bill, common
+guillemot, black guillemot, oyster-catcher, tern, eider
+duck, kittiwake, stormy petrel, curlew, snipe, turnstone,
+and sandpiper. In this list I have advisedly
+placed first the puffin, or tammynorie, or bottlenose,
+or coulterneb, or pope, or sea-parrot, for it is a well-known
+and well-named bird. In point of interest
+it undoubtedly takes the first place among all our
+feathered friends. Its remarkable
+appearance, its
+activity, its assertive disposition,
+and the regularity of its
+habits, compel the attention
+of the most careless observer.</p>
+
+<figure class="figright illowp56" id="illus079" style="max-width: 14.0625em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus079.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Puffin.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>At one time puffins were
+much in demand for food.
+An old history of the Scilly
+Islands tells us that in 1345
+the rent of these islands was
+three hundred puffins. In
+1848, on account of the bird
+having got scarcer, and consequently
+more valuable, the rent was fifty puffins.
+We are also led to understand that the young birds,
+being plump and tender, were more highly esteemed
+than their more elderly and tougher relatives.</p>
+
+<p>The most remarkable feature of this curious bird is
+its beak, the peculiarities of which are its enormous
+size compared with the size of the body, and its
+brilliant colours—blue, yellow, and red. For a long
+time it was a puzzle that occasional dead specimens
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_335">[335]</span>found washed ashore in winter had a beak very
+much smaller and destitute of bright colours. It
+has now been ascertained that the outer sheath is
+moulted annually, being shed on the approach of winter
+and replaced at the return of the breeding season.</p>
+
+<p>To give any idea of their numbers on Sule Skerry
+is an almost impossible task, for when they are on the
+island they are hardly ever at rest. The air is black
+with them, the ground is covered with them, every
+hole is tenanted by them, the sea is covered with
+them. They are here, there, and everywhere.</p>
+
+<p>They first make their appearance early in April,
+and spend from eight to twelve days at sea before
+landing, coming close in round the island in the
+forenoon and disappearing at night. Before landing
+they fly in clouds round the place, and after having
+made a survey to see that all is right, they begin
+to drop in hundreds, till in half an hour every stone
+and rock is covered. They do not waste time, but
+start at once to clear out old holes and make new
+ones, and for burrowing they can easily put a rabbit
+in the shade. Those who are not engaged in digging
+improve the shining hour by fighting, and for pluck
+and determination they are hard to beat. They are
+so intent on their work that I have often seized the
+combatants, and even then they were unwilling to let
+go their hold of each other; but when they do, it is
+advisable for the person interfering to let go also, if
+he would avoid a rather unpleasant handshake.</p>
+
+<p>After spending a few hours on the island they all
+disappear, and do not usually land again for two days;
+but when they do come back the second time there
+is no ceremony about their landing. They come in
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_336">[336]</span>straggling flocks from all points of the compass, and
+resume their digging and fighting. They continue in
+this manner, never remaining ashore all night till the
+first week of May. They spend very little time on
+the construction of their nests, which consist merely
+of a few straws. The greater number burrow in the
+dry, peaty soil, and their holes will average at least
+three feet underground; but there are also an immense
+number that lay amongst loose rocks and stones on
+the north side of the island. The eggs laid there are
+always clean and white until the young bird is
+hatched; but those laid underground in a day or
+two become as brown as the soil, and seem more like
+a lump of peat than an egg. During the time of
+incubation, which lasts a month, those not engaged in
+hatching spend their time in fishing and resting on
+the rocks, and as a pastime indulge in friendly sparring
+matches.</p>
+
+<p>One easily knows when the young are hatched by
+seeing the old birds coming in from sea with herring
+fry or small sand-eels, which are carried transversely
+in their bills, from six to ten at a time. The sole
+work of the parent birds for the next three or four
+weeks is fishing and carrying home their takes to the
+young. Very little time is given to nursing. They
+remain in the hole just long enough to get rid of
+their burden, and then go to sea again. As the
+young ones grow, the size of the fish brought home
+increases. At first it is small sand-eels from one and
+a half to two inches long, but at the end of a fortnight
+small herrings and moderate-sized sand-eels are the
+usual feeding. I noticed an old bird fly into a hole
+one day with a bigger fish than usual, and, to see
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_337">[337]</span>what it was, I put in my hand and pulled out both
+birds. The tail of the fish was just disappearing
+down the young one’s throat, but I made him disgorge
+his prey, and found it to be a sand-eel eight inches
+long. How that small bird could find room for such
+a dinner was really wonderful.</p>
+
+<p>At first the young are covered with a thick coating
+of down, and probably their appearance at this stage
+has given rise to the name “puffin,” meaning a “little
+puff.” In a fortnight the white feathers on the breast
+begin to show, and the birds are fully fledged in four
+weeks, when they at once take to the water. As
+soon as they go afloat, young and old leave the place,
+and about the middle of July one can easily see that
+their numbers are decreasing, the end of August
+usually seeing the last of them.</p>
+
+<figure class="figright illowp68" id="illus080" style="max-width: 17.1875em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus080.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Razor-bill.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>There is a considerable colony of razor-bills on the
+island. Their time of arrival is about the same as
+that of the puffin, but they make no
+commotion when they come. They
+seem to slip ashore, and always keep
+near the coast-line, ready to fly to
+sea when any one approaches. They
+begin laying towards the end of
+May, and lay one egg on the bare
+rock, usually under a stone, but in
+some cases on an exposed ledge.
+During incubation one bird relieves the other, for
+if the egg were left exposed and unprotected the
+black-backed gull would very soon appropriate it.
+Some authorities say that the male bird brings food
+to its mate; but I have never observed this, though I
+have watched carefully to see if such were the case
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_338">[338]</span>The young remain in the nest, or, to speak more
+correctly, on the rock, for about two weeks if not
+disturbed, and I have seen a young one remain ashore
+until covered with feathers, which would mean about
+four weeks from the time of hatching. They all,
+young and old, leave early in August. I am sorry to
+say they are becoming scarcer every year, chiefly on
+account of their shyness and fear of man.</p>
+
+<p>The common guillemots are scarce. Their great
+haunt in this vicinity is the Stack. There they are
+to be seen in myriads on the perpendicular side of
+the rock facing the west. Only two or three pairs
+take up their abode on the island; in fact their
+numbers scarcely entitle them to be called Sule
+Skerry birds. The few young ones I have seen are
+carried to the water as soon as they are hatched—at
+least they disappear the same day.</p>
+
+<p>Black guillemots or tysties are plentiful. Their
+time of arrival is about the middle of March, but they
+are rarely seen ashore before the end of April. Their
+nests are to be found in out-of-the-way crevices or
+under stones, and are not easily discovered on account
+of the extraordinary watchfulness of the birds and
+their care not to be caught on or near their nests.
+They lay two eggs, and the young are fully feathered
+before going afloat. They remain about the island till
+the end of September.</p>
+
+<figure class="figleft illowp100" id="illus081" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus081.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Oyster-catcher.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The first of all the visitors to arrive are the oyster-catchers.
+They first put in an appearance about the
+end of February, when their well-known cry denotes
+that the long, dreary winter is over. They spend
+their time till the end of March chiefly feeding along
+the coast-line; but after that time they pair, and are
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_339">[339]</span>seen all over the island. About the end of May they
+lay three eggs in a nest composed of a few small
+stones; and when the young are hatched the noise of
+the old birds is perfectly
+deafening on the approach
+of an intruder, and even
+when no one is annoying
+them the clamour they make
+almost amounts to a nuisance.
+On calm, quiet nights
+it is hardly possible to sleep
+for them, and one feels inclined to get out of bed and
+shoot them down wholesale. The young leave the
+nest as soon as hatched, and are rarely seen, for on
+hearing the warning cry of the parent bird they at
+once hide among the long grass or under stones, and
+on one occasion I found a pair some distance underground
+in a rabbit’s hole. They all leave the island
+during the first half of September.</p>
+
+<p>Next to the puffins in numbers are the terns—the
+Arctic terns. They are also like the puffins in the
+regularity of their arrival at the island. When first
+seen they are flying high up, and they continue doing
+so for a day or two, only resting at night. There are
+several varieties of terns scattered all over the British
+Isles, but in the north the most numerous are the
+Arctic and the common tern. The latter rarely visits
+the island.</p>
+
+<figure class="figright illowp100" id="illus082" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus082.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Arctic tern.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>There are certain localities where the terns take up
+their abode, and they stick closely to the same ground
+year after year, never by any chance making a nest
+twenty yards outside their usual breeding ground.
+They begin to lay in the first week of June, but I
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_340">[340]</span>have found eggs on the last day of May. They lay
+two eggs, and sometimes three. When the young are
+hatched the parents are kept busy supplying them
+with food, which consists
+chiefly of sand-eels and
+herring fry. Their method
+of fishing is to hover over
+the water, not unlike the
+way a hawk hovers when
+watching its prey, and when
+they see a fish to make a
+dart on it, rarely if ever failing to make a haul. They
+also prey on worms when it is too stormy for fishing
+at sea. On a wet evening, when the worms are having
+an outing, the terns are to be seen in hundreds all over
+the island, hovering about six feet above the ground,
+every now and again making a dart down, and, when
+successful, flying home with their catch to the young.
+No time is lost, for the old bird seldom alights when
+handing over the worm. It swoops down to where
+the young ones are standing with outstretched necks
+and bills gaping, screaming out to let their whereabouts
+be known, and then flies off again for more.
+When the young are able to fly they accompany their
+parents over the island, and occasionally do a little
+hunting on their own account.</p>
+
+<p>About the first of August the young are fully fledged.
+Young and old then assemble from all parts of the island
+to a piece of bare rocky ground on the north-east corner,
+which they make their headquarters for about ten days,
+flying out to sea for food, but always returning at
+night. About the fifteenth of August they all disappear,
+and are seen no more till the following May.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_341">[341]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figright illowp90" id="illus083" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus083.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Stormy petrel.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The island is the headquarters of a large colony of
+stormy petrels. It is not an easy matter to fix the
+exact date of their arrival, for they are never seen
+during the day, and only come out of their holes at
+night. They are first seen in
+the latter end of June, when
+on a fine clear night one can
+see them flitting about close to
+the ground, very like swallows
+in their movements. They
+begin to lay in July, and their
+nests are to be found under
+stones and in rabbits’ holes.
+Almost the only way to find them is to listen for
+their peculiar cry, which they keep up at intervals
+the whole night through. If captured during the day,
+they seem quite dazed when released, and at once fly
+into some dark place. The date of their departure,
+like that of their arrival, is not easily fixed, but I
+think it is during September.
+Young birds have
+been got on the lantern at
+night as late as the end of
+September, but never in
+October.</p>
+
+<figure class="figleft illowp90" id="illus084" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus084.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Eider duck (male).</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The eider duck is a regular
+visitor, and a considerable
+flock make Sule Skerry
+their headquarters for about
+eight months in the year. They are first seen in
+March fishing off the island, but they very rarely
+land before the end of April. In May they may be
+seen ashore every day, but always near the water,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_342">[342]</span>ready to pop in if alarmed. They are very shy and
+difficult to approach. In June the duck and the
+drake both come ashore and select a place for their
+nest, and that is the only occasion on which the
+drake takes a part in the hatching process. So far
+as my observation goes, I have never seen him
+approach his mate during the month of incubation.</p>
+
+<p>The nest is built sometimes on a bare rock, but
+more commonly among grass, and consists of coarse
+grass for a foundation, the famous down being added
+only as the eggs are laid. Five or six is the common
+number found in one
+nest. From the time
+it begins to sit until incubation
+is completed,
+the duck never leaves
+the nest unless disturbed,
+and will only
+fly to sea if driven off.
+If approached quietly,
+it will allow one to
+stroke it, and does not seem afraid. There are
+always one or two nests close to the house, and
+though I have watched them closely at all hours,
+night and day, I have never seen the birds go away
+for food, nor have I seen their undutiful spouses bring
+any to them. I will not venture to say that the duck
+lives a month without sustenance, but I am strongly
+inclined to that belief. When frightened away, it
+goes only a short distance, and returns immediately
+as soon as the cause of its fright has been removed.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus085" style="max-width: 25.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus085.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Eider duck on nest.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The whole inside of the nest is lined with down,
+which seems to be intended only for the purpose of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_343">[343]</span>keeping the eggs warm. It is certainly not intended
+to form a cosy nursery for the young, as they leave
+for the sea a few hours after birth and do not return.
+Unless the down is removed before the young are
+hatched it is useless, for it gets mixed up with the
+egg-shells, which are always
+broken into very small pieces.
+After leaving the nest the
+young birds rarely come
+ashore again, but remain
+afloat, feeding along the
+edge of the rocks on mussels
+and crustaceans. The old
+birds disappear in October,
+but some young ones remain till the end of November.</p>
+
+<figure class="figleft illowp100" id="illus086" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus086.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Kittiwake.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Few kittiwake gulls visit the island, but these
+come regularly, and take up their abode on the same
+ground year after year. They arrive in April, and
+about the first of May begin nest-building, a work
+which keeps them employed for about three weeks.
+They begin laying about
+the end of May, and lay
+three eggs. The young are
+fully grown before leaving
+the nest, and are fed by
+both the parent birds. They
+all leave the island about
+the end of August, and not even a straggler is seen
+till the following spring.</p>
+
+<figure class="figright illowp100" id="illus087" style="max-width: 25.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus087.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Curlew or whaup.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>I have now gone over all the birds that breed on
+Sule Skerry, and come next to the regular winter
+visitors, consisting of the curlew, the snipe, the
+turnstone, and the common sandpiper.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_344">[344]</span></p>
+
+<p>About a dozen curlews or whaups make the island
+their home for about nine months of the year. They
+leave about the end of May and return in August,
+remaining on the island all winter. Their number
+always keeps about the same—twelve or fifteen.
+They have the same characteristics as those found
+elsewhere—their extraordinary alertness and their
+peculiar cry—but they are distinctly less shy than
+is usually the case in other parts of the country.
+They are never disturbed in any way, and the result
+is that, if any one wished, it would be an easy matter
+to get within gunshot of them. Their chief food is
+worms and insects, of which there is a plentiful supply
+on the island.</p>
+
+<p>When the curlews leave the island, a few whimbrels
+take their place, and remain about six weeks. They
+breed in Orkney and Shetland, but though they
+remain on the island most of the breeding season
+I have never yet found a nest. I have spent many
+an hour watching them from the light-room with the
+glass to see if they were sitting, and have gone over
+the ground where they are most frequently seen, but
+could never find an egg or
+any attempt at nest building.
+They are very much
+like the curlew in general appearance,
+only much smaller.</p>
+
+<figure class="figright illowp100" id="illus088" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus088.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Snipe.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The snipe leaves the island
+in May, and is absent
+about four months, usually
+returning in October. None, so far, have ever nested
+on Sule Skerry, and they all go elsewhere for that purpose.
+There is a considerable number of them resident
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_345">[345]</span>during the winter, larger in some years than in others.
+They sometimes get killed by dashing against the
+lantern at night, but it is not often they fly so high.</p>
+
+<figure class="figleft illowp65" id="illus089" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus089.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Turnstone.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The turnstone always spends the winter on the
+island, arriving about the end
+of August or the first of September,
+and from then on till
+April it spends its time feeding
+on insects. On Sule Skerry
+it is in no way afraid of man,
+but rather the opposite, for it
+depends a good deal on the
+lightkeepers for its livelihood
+in stormy weather. Whenever
+the lightkeepers go to feed their
+hens, the turnstones gather
+from all parts of the island and sit round at a respectful
+distance—about a dozen yards—waiting for their
+share, which they receive regularly every day, and
+they seem to enjoy it very much. The lightkeepers
+often turn over big stones to
+enable the hens to feed on
+the insects which are there
+in immense quantities. The
+turnstones have learned the
+meaning of this operation, and
+whether the hens are present
+or not, they soon gather round
+for a feast when one retires
+a short distance. A few specimens of the common
+sandpiper always accompany them, but they feed more
+amongst the seaweed along the coast-line, and are
+more afraid of the approach of man.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp90" id="illus090" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus090.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Sandpiper.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_346">[346]</span></p>
+
+<h4 id="Occasional_Visitors">Occasional Visitors.</h4>
+
+<p>We now come to the third class, the occasional
+visitors. These are the wild goose, the mallard or
+stock duck, the teal, the widgeon, the Iceland gull,
+the Sclavonian grebe, the heron, the kestrel, the
+hooded crow, the rook, the lapwing, the golden plover,
+the redshank, the corncrake, the water rail, the fieldfare,
+the redwing, the snow-bunting, the starling, the
+song thrush or mavis, the blackbird, the water-wagtail,
+the stonechat, the woodcock, the skylark, the twite or
+mountain linnet, the robin, the swallow, the black-headed
+gull, and the little auk.</p>
+
+<p>Wild geese pass the island on their way south in
+October, but very rarely rest. Occasionally a flock
+will hover round for some time, but the sight of a
+human habitation scares them away, and they continue
+on their way in the direction of Cape Wrath. Last
+October half a dozen were seen resting on the island
+one morning about eight o’clock. They seemed to be
+feeding in one of the fresh-water pools, but all they
+would find there would not fatten them. Sule Skerry
+is a very likely place for them to call at, as it is right
+in their track when on the way
+to and from Iceland and Faroe,
+but perhaps the island being
+inhabited causes them to give it
+a wide berth. At any rate very
+few of them ever honour it with
+a visit.</p>
+
+<figure class="figleft illowp100" id="illus091" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus091.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Mallard.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The mallard pays the island
+frequent visits during the winter, two and three at a
+time. They never stay long, for there is very little
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_347">[347]</span>feeding for them. They are particularly shy, resting
+only on the most outlying parts, and seeming continually
+on the watch. Teal and widgeon are not common.
+Of the former one sees a specimen or two every winter,
+while of the latter only two have visited the island, and
+that was in March 1897, when they stayed a few days.</p>
+
+<p>In November 1895 an Iceland gull arrived on the
+island, and remained to the end of February following.
+It became fairly tame, sitting the greater part of the
+day near the house on the watch for any scraps of
+meat that were thrown out. Hopes
+were entertained that it intended
+remaining permanently on the island,
+but on the approach of the
+breeding season it departed. In
+1898 one stayed for a week in
+November; in the following year
+another was seen on the 23rd of
+November. This one was fishing
+in company with some common
+gulls, and occasionally flew over
+the island quite close to the tower;
+but I did not see it alight, nor
+was it seen again on any of the following days.</p>
+
+<figure class="figright illowp46" id="illus092" style="max-width: 15.625em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus092.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Heron.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The common heron every year spends a day or two
+on the island, generally in October or November, but
+it never seems at home. They wander about in
+search of food, but apparently do not find very much.
+When leaving the island they always, without exception,
+fly in the direction of Cape Wrath, but where
+they come from I cannot say, never having noticed
+them arriving.</p>
+
+<p>The hooded crow is an annual visitor, generally in
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_348">[348]</span>November, and it sometimes comes for a short visit in
+April. Two or three is the common number at one
+time. There is, however, not much food for them,
+and on that account their visit is soon over. A few
+rooks call about the same time.</p>
+
+<p>Every year in April the lapwings make the island
+a resting-place, staying from a week to a fortnight.
+The place does not seem to suit them for nesting
+purposes, for I have never seen them make any
+attempt at nest-building. After resting and renewing
+their strength, they seek out some more hospitable
+part of the country. Small flocks of the golden
+plover also rest on the island on their passage north
+in March and April, and again on their way south in
+October and November, staying from eight to twelve
+days. There are also a few straggling visitors during
+the winter.</p>
+
+<p>The common redshank is a frequent visitor, staying
+perhaps a week at a time, but it never nests on the
+island. In 1896 a corncrake’s well-known song was
+heard during the greater part of June. It was heard
+again the following season, but never since. The bird,
+however, is occasionally seen in summer. The only
+way I can account for its silence is that the goats and
+rabbits never allow the grass to grow to any length,
+and thus there is no cover for it. I think most
+ornithologists are now satisfied that this bird migrates
+to a warmer climate every year on the approach
+of winter. Whether such is the case or not I do not
+feel prepared to say, but from my experience of Sule
+Skerry I am quite satisfied it is only a summer visitor
+there, and does not remain on the island all winter.
+The water-rail pays the island a visit every winter,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_349">[349]</span>but I do not think there is any danger of its being mistaken
+for the corncrake. They are a little like one another
+in shape, but they are two distinct
+species, and easily recognized.</p>
+
+<figure class="figleft illowp100" id="illus093" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus093.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Water-rail.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>In October and November the
+island is visited annually by considerable
+numbers of fieldfares, redwings,
+blackbirds, rock-thrushes,
+starlings, and woodcocks. They
+generally stay from a week to a fortnight, and are
+more numerous some years than others. Water-wagtails
+are rare visitors, seen at various times of
+the year. Stonechats are also rare visitors, only
+staying a few days in May. The skylark, so common
+everywhere else, is a very rare visitor, and is only seen
+or heard once or twice during the summer months.
+Robin redbreast is always seen in the autumn, and
+generally stays a few weeks if the weather is moderate.
+The twite or mountain linnet pays an occasional visit
+in summer, and stays for some time; but I have never
+yet found a nest, and cannot say if it breeds on the
+island. In June every year a few sparrows spend
+a fortnight on Sule Skerry. Snow-buntings almost
+deserve the name of regular winter visitors, for from
+October to March they are seldom long absent.</p>
+
+<p>Last September I got a bird which I knew to
+belong to the grebe family, but I could not be sure of
+its proper name, and I sent it to Mr. Harvie Brown
+for identification. He informed me it was a Sclavonian
+grebe, a bird not very common in this part of the
+country. In November 1897 I found a dead specimen
+of the little auk.</p>
+
+<figure class="figright illowp90" id="illus094" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus094.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Solan goose.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Though not a Sule Skerry bird, the solan goose
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_350">[350]</span>deserves notice in this paper. The Stack, distant
+four and a half miles, has been their chief breeding
+place in Orkney for ages, and every year it is tenanted
+by immense numbers. The rock is 140 feet high,
+rising perpendicularly on the west, but sloping gradually
+from the water to the summit on the east
+side. It is on this slope that the solans congregate,
+and no other bird is allowed to trespass on their
+preserves. In May, June, July, and August their
+numbers are so vast that any one seeing the rock
+at a distance would imagine it was painted white or
+composed of chalk. Sule
+Skerry, however, is too far
+distant to allow of one forming
+any idea of their numbers,
+but looking at them
+with the glass one sees the
+rock simply covered, and
+apparently as many flying
+about as resting. Lewis
+men visit the place annually
+in August, and carry away a boatload of young
+birds. Last year they came up to the rock, but there
+was too much surf for a landing, and as the weather
+was threatening they headed for the Sutherlandshire
+coast. That night the wind blew half a gale, and fears
+were entertained that it would prove too much for them,
+for their boat was small and hardly powerful enough to
+be so far from home; but a few days later they again
+approached the rock. They again failed to negotiate
+it, and after waiting for about an hour they made sail
+for home, and did not return. The weather certainly
+favoured the solans on these occasions.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_351">[351]</span></p>
+
+<p>I have never seen a solan resting on Sule Skerry;
+they even carefully avoid flying across the island,
+though they fish in immense numbers all round, and
+sometimes within forty or fifty yards of the shore.
+They usually begin to arrive in the vicinity about the
+end of January, and their numbers continue to increase
+until the end of April, when they take possession of
+the rock, and from then until the end of August their
+name is legion. When the young are fledged, they
+gradually disappear, and from the first of December
+till the last days of January they are not to be seen.</p>
+
+<p>Thus they go on year after year, a fraction of that
+great feathered multitude which has come and gone since
+the earliest ages, and will probably continue to come
+and go as long as the world lasts, some arriving and
+departing in silence, others heralding their coming and
+going with the wildest clamour. On this subject, and
+speaking of the northern isles, Thomson the poet says:—</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">“Where the Northern Ocean, in vast whirls,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Boils round the naked melancholy isles</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Of farthest Thule, and the Atlantic’s surge</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Pours in amongst the stormy Hebrides;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Who can recount what transmigrations there</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Are annual made? what nations come and go?</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And how the living clouds on clouds arise,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Infinite wings! till all the plume-dark air</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And rude resounding shore are one wild cry?”</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">J. Tomison</span>
+(<i>“Orcadian Papers.”</i>)</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus095" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus095.jpg" alt="">
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_352">[352]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="COMMON_SEAWEEDS">COMMON SEAWEEDS.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-a1.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">A severe storm has been raging for
+several days on our shores, and no
+ship has dared to cross the Pentland.
+To-day a great calm has
+fallen upon the face of the waters,
+and the sun shines clear in the sky.
+A walk by the seashore on such
+a morning will afford an excellent
+opportunity for collecting specimens
+of our seaweeds, and for studying their life-history.</p>
+
+<p>Here they lie in all their varied colours, strewn
+on the beach like autumn leaves in a forest. Now
+is our chance to secure some of those rare and
+beautiful weeds that grow in the deeper water,
+and have been torn off and driven ashore by the
+waves. If pressed and dried with care, they will
+remain things of beauty for long. For this purpose
+we use squares of stiff paper or card, on which
+we spread them out carefully under water. When
+pressed, they will adhere to the paper by means of
+the mucilage which they contain.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp58" id="illus096" style="max-width: 34.375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus096.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Common seaweeds.—I.</i></p>
+      <p><span class="allsmcap">A</span>, <i>Sargassum</i> (Gulf-weed), <span class="allsmcap">B</span>, <i>Cladophora</i>.
+    <span class="allsmcap">C</span>, <i>Enteromorpha</i>. <span class="allsmcap">D 1</span>, <i>Fucus vesiculosus</i>.
+    <span class="allsmcap">D 2</span>, Receptacle of same, with eggs and sperms. <span class="allsmcap">D 3</span>,
+    Egg, with sperms. <span class="allsmcap">E</span>, <i>Polysiphonia</i>.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The delicate fern-like or feathery fronds of those
+red seaweeds will compare in beauty with the best
+of our flowering plants. This is all the more wonderful
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_353">[353]</span>when we consider their lowly origin. For the
+family of the <i>Algæ</i>, to which the seaweeds belong,
+is the oldest and most primitive of all the families
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_354">[354]</span>of plants. To the Algæ most likely belonged the
+first forms of life which appeared on the earth.</p>
+
+<p>If we are fortunate to-day we may find a specimen
+of the famous Gulf-weed (<i>Sargassum</i>), which gives
+its name to the Sargasso Sea, and which is said
+to have cheered Columbus on his celebrated voyage
+of discovery. In the tropical Atlantic it covers
+immense areas of the ocean, and it is occasionally
+cast ashore on the Orkney coasts, drifted hither by
+the Gulf Stream and the westerly winds. It is
+easily recognized by its numerous little round air-bladders,
+each on a separate branch.</p>
+
+<p>Now let us turn our attention to the seaweeds
+which we find growing on the beach around us.
+In many a rock pool in the “ebb” we may see a
+miniature forest of tiny weeds of beautiful colours
+and forms, a veritable ocean garden. Near high-water
+mark we find here and there in the pools
+pretty green algæ, some with broad, flat fronds, such
+as the sea-lettuce (<i>Ulva</i>), and others with slender
+branching feathery filaments (<i>Cladophora</i>). Many of
+the green algæ, however, prefer to live in fresh
+water. If you make an aquarium, you will find the
+sea-lettuce and the sea-grass (<i>Enteromorpha</i>) of
+great value in keeping the water pure, owing to the
+amount of oxygen which they give out.</p>
+
+<p>Farther down on the beach the rocks are covered
+thickly with algæ of an olive-brown colour. The
+rocks, indeed, would fare much worse in a storm if
+the seaweeds were not there to protect them, as the
+grass protects the soil of the fields.</p>
+
+<p>Look more closely at those big brown sea-wracks
+and you will notice that the most common kind
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_355">[355]</span>(<i>Fucus vesiculosus</i>) has little globular air-bladders
+arranged in pairs along its flat, smooth-edged fronds.
+Each blade has a distinct midrib, and where it divides,
+like all the Fucus group, it splits into two equal
+branches. On some of the little end branches you
+may see a yellowish swelling dotted over with minute
+knobs and pores. These swellings are receptacles
+for holding the eggs and sperms, which are contained
+in tiny cavities under each projecting knob. Many
+seaweeds produce their fruit in winter, when the
+land plants are sleeping and the fields are bare.</p>
+
+<p>The microscopic sperms correspond to the pollen
+and the eggs to the ovules of the flowering plants.
+But there is one wonderful difference. The sperms
+of the Fucus can move about freely by means of
+two little projecting threads or cilia. When the tide
+is out, both eggs and sperms come to the door of
+their little houses by the help of the mucilage in
+which they float; and when the sea comes back
+swarms of these sperms swim away and wriggle
+about, till one of them comes in contact with an
+egg. It adheres to and fuses with the egg, which
+thus becomes fertilized, and is then able to give rise
+to a young plant. A similar process goes on in all
+the plants of the Fucus group.</p>
+
+<p>Here is one with notched or serrated edges (<i>Fucus
+serratus</i>), and without air-bladders; there another
+well known to every schoolboy as the “bell tang”
+(<i>Fucus nodosus</i>), with large air-bladders in the
+centre line of the frond, and yellow fruit-bodies
+each on a branch of its own, without any trace of
+midrib.</p>
+
+<p>The air-bladders of the seaweeds are natural buoys,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_356">[356]</span>by means of which the plants are kept erect in the
+water. The mucilage which makes them so slippery
+to walk over is of the utmost importance, as it
+protects them from drought when they are left
+uncovered by the tide. Seaweeds are very simple
+in their structure, and have no true roots, stems,
+or leaves. They do not need such organs, for every
+part of their body is in contact with the water
+which contains their food-supply.</p>
+
+<p>What are those tufts of reddish-brown threads
+growing all over the fronds of this Fucus? That
+is a red seaweed (<i>Polysiphonia</i>), which often makes
+its home under the shelter of a more hardy plant.
+In the red algæ the sperms have no cilia, and cannot
+move about of themselves, but the eggs have each a
+long thread, corresponding to the stigma of the higher
+plants, and against this thread the sperms are driven
+by currents of water.</p>
+
+<p>The little Fucus known as “teeting tang” (<i>Fucus
+canaliculatus</i>) ought not to be passed unheeded. It
+is often much relished by sheep and cattle. You
+may know it by its greenish-brown colour and by
+the distinct groove on one side all along its length.
+It is found only in the upper part of the “ebb”.
+Another interesting plant of this group may be found
+on the large rocks nearer low-water mark. It is
+called the “sea-thong” (<i>Himanthalia lorea</i>), because
+its fructification grows out from a button-shaped
+base into long, forked, thong-like branches.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_357">[357]</span></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp58" id="illus097" style="max-width: 34.375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus097.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Common seaweeds.—II.</i></p>
+      <p><span class="allsmcap">F</span>, <i>Fucus canaliculatus</i>. <span class="allsmcap">G</span>, <i>Himanthalia
+    lorea</i>. <span class="allsmcap">H</span>, <i>Laminaria digitata</i>. <span class="allsmcap">I</span>,
+    <i>Rhodymenia</i>. <span class="allsmcap">K</span>, <i>Chondrus crispus</i>. <span class="allsmcap">L</span>,
+    <i>Porphyra</i>.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_358">[358]</span></p>
+
+<p>If the tide is far out, we shall be able to see the
+tops of the “red-ware” standing out of the water,
+and some of the tangles will be quite dry. These
+tangles belong to the <i>Laminaria</i> group, the giants
+among the seaweeds. They contain a large amount
+of iodine in their composition, and that is why they
+are used for the manufacture of kelp. Notice how
+firmly they cling to the sea-bottom by their strong
+holdfasts, which have weathered many a storm.</p>
+
+<p>An interesting feature in this group is their
+manner of growth. The growing region lies at the
+junction of the stalk with the blade. You will often
+find a specimen in which the old blade is being
+pushed away on the end of the young one, ready to
+be broken off and cast adrift by the waves. The stalk
+itself is perennial, but in some kinds of Laminaria
+(<i>Laminaria digitata</i>, for example) the blade is usually
+torn into shreds before it is thrown off.</p>
+
+<p>A well-known ally of the tangles is the “merkal,”
+also called “honey-ware.” You can tell it by the
+prominent midrib and the broad, thin wing on each
+side, running all its length. This is one of the
+edible seaweeds. Do you see this bright red palmate
+plant growing under the shelter of the tangles? It
+is the common dulse (<i>Rhodymenia palmata</i>), which
+may often be seen for sale on the streets of our
+cities. Examine it well and taste it, and you will
+be able to recognize it in future, however much it
+may vary in form or colour. But do not eat too
+much of it, for it is said to be somewhat indigestible.</p>
+
+<p>Another edible seaweed which has been widely
+used as an invalid food may be found in the lower
+part of the “ebb,” often under the shelter of larger
+plants. This is the Irish moss or carrageen (<i>Chondrus
+crispus</i>). It is fleshy and pink in colour. A
+jelly is made from it which is considered a great
+delicacy.</p>
+
+<p>The purple laver (<i>Porphyra</i>) is perhaps the most
+valuable of the seaweeds as a food, and is said to
+sell at a high price in Yokohama. In form it
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_359">[359]</span>resembles the sea-lettuce. Many other marine algæ
+have been used as food, and none of them are poisonous.
+In North Ronaldsay the sheep seem to
+esteem them highly as food.</p>
+
+<p>The most important use of seaweed is to serve as
+food for various kinds of molluscs, crustaceans, and
+fishes. The “plankton” of the sea-surface—minute
+one-celled algæ—are very important in this way.
+What grass is to the land animals, the marine algæ
+are to the living creatures of the sea. When driven
+ashore by the waves, or when cut down by the once
+familiar “hook,” the larger seaweeds are much used
+as manure for field crops. They thus repay the debt
+they owe for any portion of their food that may have
+come originally from the dry land.</p>
+
+<p>Before returning from our walk let us haul
+down this small boat from its “noust” and take a
+bird’s-eye view of the seaweeds in their natural
+habitat. Through the clear water beneath us we
+can see the strange shapes of the submerged vegetation,
+dense and tangled, with here and there a
+lazy sea-urchin on the broad red-ware, and the
+sillocks actively swimming around. But our oars are
+entangled in the “drew” (<i>Chorda filum</i>), so full of
+annoyance and even of danger to the swimmer.
+Look at one of those long threads. It is covered
+with hairs; it tapers towards both ends, and its
+fructification extends along its whole surface. In
+structure it is a hollow tube divided into many
+chambers.</p>
+
+<p>What a variety of colours and shades we see as
+we look down on this wonderful submarine scenery!
+We notice that near high-water mark green is the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_360">[360]</span>predominant colour, and that the lower belt is
+mostly brown, while here at low-water mark and
+beyond it, as well as under the shelter of the sea-wracks
+and tangles, shades of red prevail. Beyond
+the depth of thirty or forty fathoms seaweeds are
+extremely rare, owing to the want of light at the
+sea-bottom: seaweeds, like other plants, cannot take
+in their food in darkness.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding their varied tints, the fundamental
+colour of all seaweeds is green, as you can
+prove for yourselves by boiling a few brown specimens,
+or soaking them for some time in fresh water.
+You will find that the other colouring matters are
+dissolved out, and only the green is left. The red
+or brown pigments are probably of use in aiding
+or in protecting the green colouring matter, chlorophyll,
+in its important work of assimilating the food
+material.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus098" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus098.jpg" alt="">
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_361">[361]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="CRABS">CRABS.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-w2.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">When I was a boy at school
+we frequently amused ourselves
+by catching crabs.
+The scene of our operations
+was the Peerie Sea, where
+a wall had been built along
+the shore. Here we used to
+gather, armed with a piece of string and bait of some
+kind, and we often spent a whole long evening perched
+on the wall, fishing for crabs. The Peerie Sea was a
+receptacle for all kinds of refuse, and formed a happy
+hunting-ground for swarms of crabs.</p>
+
+<p>When one thinks of catching crabs, one may
+naturally imagine an excursion to the shore during
+ebb-tide, and much turning over of stones and seaweed.
+Our method was quite different. We made
+the crabs come to us. Our bait was a piece of fish
+or anything of an animal nature, provided it was
+fairly tough. No hook was necessary; we simply
+tied the end of the string round the bait.</p>
+
+<p>The baited line was let down into the water, preferably
+in the vicinity of a crab, and drawn slowly
+along the bottom. If the animal was timid, and
+not very hungry, he often scuttled off in a fright.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_362">[362]</span>Usually, however, he was both hungry and fearless,
+and seized the bait at once, trying to drag it in among
+seaweed or into a hole. Now came the exciting
+part of the business. Our object was to haul him up
+before he quitted his hold. The wall was high, and
+he required careful management. Sometimes when
+he was drawn up out of the water he would let go,
+and fall back with a flop into the sea again; sometimes
+he would hold on till he was drawn up over
+the wall, and then we shook him off on the pavement
+behind.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus099" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus099.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Common shore crab.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Occasionally when we had no bait we would manage
+to land a crab with a small stone or a cinder. So long
+as the stone lies motionless on the bottom he pays no
+attention to it. As soon as it begins to move, drawn
+along by the string, the crab rushes at it and seizes
+it with his claws, and it is some time before he finds
+out his mistake. Not infrequently he will allow himself
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_363">[363]</span>to be drawn quite out of the water, clinging to his
+find. It is very amusing to see the crab worrying a
+hard stone, then dropping it when he has discovered
+it is not eatable, and then seizing it again as it begins
+to move away from him, just like a kitten with a
+ball of wool. Apparently he cannot resist the idea
+that movement means life.</p>
+
+<p>The commonest kind of crab in Orkney is the green
+shore-crab. He is on the whole a bold animal, but
+when frightened he runs away with great speed. He
+moves sideways, and thus meets with less resistance
+from the water than if he were to move directly
+forward. Usually, however, he does not walk fast,
+but creeps over the bottom in a leisurely fashion.
+When seizing his food he comes up to it “head on,”
+his nipping claws held wide apart; when he is near
+enough, he suddenly brings them together, and begins
+to tear up the food in little bits and pack it into
+his mouth.</p>
+
+<p>His eyes are placed on the tip of movable projections,
+so that they command a wide view. He
+cannot see behind him, however, or under his body,
+and he usually keeps his eyes fixed in the direction in
+which he is going. When he is resting, his eyes are
+ever on the watch. Every little movement on the
+beach near him he notices at once.</p>
+
+<p>The crab has a peculiar method of feeding. His
+mouth is just under his head, and the opening is
+guarded by two flat jointed plates, one on each side of
+his mouth. If you pull these two plates apart—after
+having arranged with a friend to hold his pincers—you
+can see where his mouth is, and you may notice
+two strong things which look like teeth. These are
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_364">[364]</span>really his jaws; they move from side to side, and not
+up and down like our jaws. To see how he feeds,
+you must put him into a glass jar, and look up from
+below while he is eating a bit of fish. He tears it up
+with his pincers, and puts little bits into his mouth,
+the parts of which move from side to side as he
+eats.</p>
+
+<p>He is not very particular as to what he eats. He
+is, indeed, a cannibal, and will eat the crushed leg of
+another crab as readily as anything else. He is one
+of the most useful animals on the beach, however,
+and has been called the scavenger of the shore. In
+fact, if one wishes to get the flesh cleaned off the
+skeleton of any large animal, there is no easier method
+than to lay it on the beach, well below high-water
+mark, and build stones around it, leaving spaces
+between them to admit crabs.</p>
+
+<p>As we have already said, the crab is bold and fearless.
+He is safe in his coat of armour, and his pincers are
+powerful weapons of offence and defence. When
+fighting he rears himself up and throws his nipping
+legs far apart with the pincers wide open. He then
+looks a formidable animal; and he really is formidable,
+for with these legs he can protect almost any part of
+his body, and the strength of his grip is considerable.</p>
+
+<p>Take up a dead crab and examine his biting leg.
+The different parts are joined by hinges. Each
+hinge allows of motion only in one plane, but the
+various planes are so adjusted that the limb can be
+moved in almost any direction. Only one part of his
+body cannot be touched by his pincers, and that is
+his back. If you wish to grasp a live crab with
+impunity, seize him across the back just where his
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_365">[365]</span>walking legs join the body. He may struggle as he
+pleases, but he cannot nip you.</p>
+
+<p>It is quite a common thing to find a shore crab
+with one or more legs wanting, or with one large
+pincer and one small one. What is the reason of this?
+It means that at one time or other the crab has had
+a limb torn off in a fight, for the males are continually
+fighting with one another. When a limb is lost it is
+not a very serious matter, for a new limb soon begins
+to grow on again, and after a time becomes as large
+as the lost one.</p>
+
+<p>There are times, however, when the crab is by no
+means pugnacious. One sometimes finds under a
+stone a crab which has hardly enough spirit to lift
+his pincers in self-defence. On touching him one
+finds that he is quite soft. What has happened to
+him? He has recently been casting his coat; for,
+as the animal goes on growing within his shell, he
+becomes too big for it, and the only thing he can do
+is to burst the shell and come out of it, and then wait
+for a bigger one to grow. When he is thus moulting,
+he is glad to crawl away and hide till he is able to
+face the world again. Many of the empty crab shells
+that one picks up on the beach are the old cast-off
+clothes of crabs still alive and vigorous. By examining
+one of these we can see how thorough the process of
+moulting is; not only are the shells of his back and
+his legs thrown off, but the covering of his eyes, his
+feelers, his mouth parts, and even the inside lining of
+his stomach,—for, strange to say, the wall of his
+stomach is lined with the same kind of shell as the
+outside of his body.</p>
+
+<p>The crab is formed for living in water, but he
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_366">[366]</span>can stand long exposure to the air. If you cover
+him with damp garden soil or peat mould he will
+survive for days. The reason is that so long as
+his gills are kept damp he can breathe and live quite
+well. The lobster breathes in exactly the same way,
+and when lobsters are being shipped for the southern
+markets they are put in boxes with layers of wet
+seaweed to keep them alive.</p>
+
+<p>Have you ever seen the beautiful set of gills
+which the crab has? If you find a dead crab that
+has been lying on the beach for some little time,
+you can easily remove the upper shell, leaving the
+soft parts of the body with the legs attached. Just
+above the attachment of the legs there is a series of
+brown feathery-looking things which seem to cover
+the whole side of the body. These are the gills.
+They lie in a special chamber, occupying about half of
+the whole space inside the shell. While the crab is
+alive, the gills are continually bathed in a current of
+water, which is pumped in through a small hole at the
+side of his mouth and drawn out at another hole near
+it. If the gills become dry the animal soon dies.</p>
+
+<p>There is a curious pointed flap folded tightly across
+the crab’s body underneath, which is commonly called
+its “purse.” It used to be a schoolboy belief that
+the crab carries its money here. The fact simply
+is that the purse is kept closed for the sake of protection,
+as the skin underneath it is soft and might
+easily be injured in a fight.</p>
+
+<p>You have all seen the long tail of the lobster, with
+its broad flaps at the end. By suddenly bending its
+tail underneath its body the lobster is able to propel
+itself backwards through the water at a great rate.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_367">[367]</span>The crab and the lobster are, as you may know,
+closely related, and the purse of the former corresponds
+to the tail of the latter. The purse or tail
+of the crab, however, is always tucked up under the
+body, and is never used for swimming.</p>
+
+<p>Both animals carry their eggs on this part of their
+body, and you may occasionally find a crab with its
+purse so full of eggs that it cannot be closed. These
+eggs have a curious history. When they are hatched,
+it is not a small crab that comes out, but a funny
+little creature not in the least like its parent. It
+has a rounded body and a long thin tail, and swims
+actively about. At this stage it is called a <i>zœa</i>.</p>
+
+<p>By-and-by the creature settles down to the sea-bottom
+and casts its shell. Its back is now broader
+and its tail shorter, and it is provided with claws;
+but it is still quite unlike a crab, and swims freely
+about. It is now known as a <i>megalopa</i>. Swarms
+of these may be found clustered round seaweed and
+other floating substances, both near the shore and in
+deep water. As it grows it again casts its shell, but
+it now tucks in its tail and settles down in life as a
+real crab, though of course a very small one as yet:
+you may find scores of them on the beach not much
+bigger than a split pea.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the green crab there are others which are
+common on the sea-beach. One of these is the edible
+crab or “partan.” This crab lives in somewhat deeper
+water than the other, and is of a dark reddish or
+purplish hue on the back, while its under parts are
+white. It is not nearly so quick and active in its
+movements as the green crab, but when it does get
+hold of anything it has a stronger bite. In deep
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_368">[368]</span>water it grows to a giant size, and it is regularly
+caught in creels and sold for food, as its flesh is firm
+and good to eat. The flesh of the green crab, on the
+other hand, is much softer and less abundant, and it
+is not used for eating. Strangely enough, all crabs
+turn red when boiled, whatever their colour when
+alive.</p>
+
+<p>Another curious crab is sometimes found in weedy
+pools on the beach. This animal is of a spidery form,
+and is much more difficult to see than an ordinary
+crab, for he is elaborately disguised. His back and
+legs are grown over with hairy brown seaweed, and
+as he always lies among a mass of similar weed it is
+impossible to detect him so long as he remains at rest.
+When he does move, his movements are extremely
+slow. If you take him out of the water, he looks a
+most uncouth creature as he feebly sprawls about.
+Place him back in the bunch of seaweed from which
+he was taken, and he immediately adjusts himself
+so as to become invisible. This is his mode of
+escaping observation, for he is too slow and weak to
+be able to defend himself.</p>
+
+<p>Still another odd-looking crab may be found in
+deep water. This animal has rather thin legs, while
+its back is somewhat pear-shaped, the pointed end
+being directed forwards. It is, however, a much
+more active animal than the last mentioned, and we
+may often see it from a boat as it climbs about
+on the broad blades of the tangles. It is rarely found
+on the beach, but the cast-off shell of the animal may
+be found on almost any part of our shores.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most interesting of our crabs is known
+as the hermit-crab. He belongs to the family of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_369">[369]</span>soft-tailed crabs, and in shape is more like the lobster
+than the other crabs we have mentioned. The hinder
+part of his body being without armour, he is forced
+to seek an artificial defence, and this he finds in the
+empty shell of a whelk or “buckie,” into the spiral
+coils of which he inserts his unprotected tail. These
+creatures are generally called hermit-crabs, because
+each lives in his own separate habitation, like a
+hermit in his cell or like Diogenes in his tub; but
+unlike these in
+their habits, they
+are so pugnacious
+that they are also
+known as soldier-crabs.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp75" id="illus100" style="max-width: 25.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus100.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Hermit-crab (with anemone on shell).</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Hermit-crabs
+may be found
+plentifully on the
+shores, of various
+sizes, and inhabiting
+any kind of
+shell that they
+find to suit their
+size. If we look
+into a shallow sand-bottomed rock-pool, we may see
+some of these shells moving about at a rate to which
+they were quite unaccustomed during the life of their
+builder and original occupier: we know at once that
+each of these shells has now as a tenant one of those
+interesting crabs.</p>
+
+<p>By means of an apparatus at the extremity of his
+tail the hermit holds firmly to his temporary abode,
+and he flattens himself closely against the shell,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_370">[370]</span>leaving exposed only the one large pincer which is
+specially fitted to bar the door against intruders.
+It is difficult to seize the creature at all; and even
+when a grasp of any portion can be secured, the hold
+of the tail is so firm that the animal runs some risk of
+being torn apart rather than leave his shell.</p>
+
+<p>A well-known writer on Natural History, the Rev.
+J. G. Wood, has given an interesting account of the
+hermit-crab, from which we quote the following
+paragraphs:—</p>
+
+<p>“The combative propensities of these creatures are
+wonderful. If two hermits of fairly equal size are
+placed in an aquarium, they are not content with
+appropriating different portions of the vessel to
+themselves, but must needs travel over it and fight
+whenever they meet. This struggle is constantly
+renewed, until one of them discovers his inferiority
+and makes way whenever the victor comes near.
+When they fight they do so in earnest, tumbling over
+each other, and flinging about their legs and claws
+with great energy. They are not at all particular
+about diet so long as it is of an animal substance, and
+will eat molluscs, raw meat, or even their own species.
+More than once when a hermit has died I have
+dropped the body into the water so as to bring it
+within view of another hermit. The little cannibal
+caught the descending body in one of his claws very
+dexterously, and holding it firmly with one claw he
+picked it to pieces with the other, and put each
+morsel into his mouth in a rapid and systematic
+manner that was highly amusing.”</p>
+
+<p>“When a hermit desires to change his habitation, he
+goes through a curious series of performances. A
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_371">[371]</span>shell lies on the ground, and the hermit seizes it with
+his claws and his feet and twists it about with
+wonderful dexterity, as if testing its weight; and after
+having examined every portion of its exterior, he
+proceeds to satisfy himself about its interior. For
+this purpose he pushes his fore legs as far into the
+shell as they will reach, and probes every spot that
+can be touched. If this examination satisfies him, he
+whisks himself into the new shell with such rapidity
+that he seems to have been acted upon by a spring.
+Such a scene as this will not be witnessed in the sea
+unless the hermit is forcibly deprived of his shell, but
+when hermits are placed in a tank or vase they seem
+to be rather fond of ‘flitting.’”</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus101" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus101.jpg" alt="">
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_372">[372]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="HOPPERS_AND_SHOLTIES">HOPPERS AND SHOLTIES.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-o.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">Of the great multitude of different animals
+which live on the seashore
+possibly the most numerous are
+the little creatures known as
+“sholties” or “Shetland sholties.”
+They are to be found on almost
+every beach. Their peculiar shape,
+flattened on the sides, their habit of hiding in crowds
+under stones or seaweed, their intense alarm when
+they are suddenly exposed, and their vigour in escaping
+into a new hiding-place, are known to every
+schoolboy. They look very different from their pugnacious
+relatives, the crabs; they are feeble creatures,
+more ready to escape from danger than to offer fight.
+Yet they are most interesting little animals, and the
+more one watches their ways the more one comes
+to understand their wonderful adaptation to their
+surroundings.</p>
+
+<p>Though their general appearance is quite familiar,
+it is not so commonly known that there are many
+different varieties of these creatures. As a matter of
+fact, there are scores of different kinds, some living
+on the beach, some just below extreme low-water
+mark, and others in the deep sea. We shall concern
+ourselves here only with those that live on the beach.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_373">[373]</span></p>
+
+<p>There are three common kinds which every one
+ought to know. Two of these, curiously enough,
+though <i>beach</i> animals are not really <i>sea</i> animals.
+They are hardly ever in the water; they live on
+the fringe of beach
+which lies just above
+high-water mark.
+The sea reaches them
+but rarely, and they
+never voluntarily
+seek the water.
+These two kinds
+are known as the
+shore-hopper (<i>Orchestia</i>)
+and the
+sand-hopper (<i>Talitrus</i>),
+the latter
+being found mostly
+on sandy beaches,
+where they make
+little burrows in
+which to hide, and
+the former living
+under stones or
+among the decaying
+seaweed on stony
+beaches. They both
+get their name of
+“hopper” from their
+habit of leaping or springing into the air, by means
+of which they often avoid capture by enemies.
+French people call them “sea-fleas.”</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp45" id="illus102" style="max-width: 18.75em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus102.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Shore-hopper (Orchestia).</i><br>
+      <i>Sand-hopper (Talitrus).</i><br>
+      <i>Sholtie (Gammarus).</i></p>
+      <p>(All magnified about three times.)</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The third variety, which is probably best known of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_374">[374]</span>all, and to which the name of “sholtie” is here more
+especially applied, is that which occurs farther down
+on the beach in places which are constantly wet with
+sea-water. This animal (<i>Gammarus</i>) is much narrower
+in the body than the other two, and some of its legs
+are bent backwards along its side, so that by means
+of them it can run or crawl on its side. Indeed,
+when out of the water this creature in quite unable
+to walk back uppermost; whenever by any chance it
+does succeed in raising itself into what is for most
+animals the normal attitude, it immediately topples
+over on its side again. It can be readily distinguished
+from the other two forms by having <i>two</i> pairs of
+long, delicate feelers or antennæ in front of its head;
+the hoppers have only one long pair of antennæ
+and one short pair.</p>
+
+<p>All these animals, in spite of their small size, are
+near allies of the crabs and lobsters. A naturalist
+would tell you that they belong to the group of the
+<i>Crustacea</i>, this name being applied to all animals
+of the crab tribe on account of the firm, crackly skin
+or shell which surrounds them. The Crustacea are
+marked by other features in addition to the possession
+of this hard exterior. They are all jointed animals,
+their body being built up of a series of segments,
+each of which carries a pair of legs or appendages of
+some kind, these appendages also being jointed. In
+the crab and the lobster a number of segments have
+become fused or welded together to form the front part
+or body of the animal. In the group of animals to
+which the sholties belong the segments are all distinct.</p>
+
+<p>To understand something of the structure and the
+general habits of the sholtie, all that we require
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_375">[375]</span>to do is to collect a few specimens from the beach
+and put them in a saucer with a little sea-water.
+They will swim about in a very active fashion, the
+swimming being performed by means of little fan-like
+appendages attached to the under part of the
+animal just where the swimmerets are in the lobster.
+By the vigorous strokes of these appendages the
+animal forces its way through the water.</p>
+
+<p>These appendages are, however, of use in another
+way; the gills of the animal are attached to them.
+Even when it is lying almost dry, or in water too
+shallow for swimming, these appendages can be seen
+to work regularly and rhythmically with a gentle
+flapping movement. Sometimes they stop working
+for a little and then begin again, but they are never
+long at rest. In this way currents of water are
+made to bathe the gills continually, and the flapping
+of the appendages is really a breathing movement.</p>
+
+<p>The walking legs are attached to the fore part
+of the body. Some of them point backwards, as has
+already been mentioned, and the animal prefers to
+crawl or run on its side. As a rule, too, it propels itself
+over the ground by jerking movements of its body,
+its tail being alternately curled up and then suddenly
+straightened out again. It is in this way that it
+wriggles over the stones and escapes into a place
+of safety when exposed.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most characteristic points about the
+sholtie is its habit of clinging to objects, especially if
+they afford a cover from the light. Drop a bit of seaweed
+into the dish where they are swimming, and in
+two or three minutes the sholties will all be found
+clinging to the under surface of the weed. We
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_376">[376]</span>might indeed imagine that they had escaped from the
+saucer. They cluster like swarming bees round the
+smallest blade of seaweed, and it is only by turning over
+the weed that we can make sure that they are there.
+When exposed to full daylight they seem uncomfortable,
+and keep swimming about trying to find a hiding-place.
+It is only when they find something to cling
+to and to hide under that they really rest and feel
+at ease.</p>
+
+<p>But we have not yet examined the hoppers.
+Though externally so like the sholties, they are very
+different in constitution and habits. To understand
+the difference between the two classes of animals,
+the best plan is to put either a shore-hopper or a
+sand-hopper into some water along with a sholtie.
+The latter is an active little animal in the water,
+capable of moving about like a fish. The hopper,
+on the other hand, is obviously out of his element;
+he sinks to the bottom of the dish and there
+works his way along in lumbering fashion. His
+breathing organs can be seen waving backwards
+and forwards in rhythmical fashion, but they are
+too feeble to be used for swimming. The shore-hopper
+can breathe quite well in water, and may live
+in it for days. It is said that sand-hoppers do not
+stand long-continued immersion, and die of drowning.</p>
+
+<p>On land, however, the hopper is at home, provided
+he gets just sufficient moisture to keep his gills damp.
+Not only can he crawl about back uppermost—a feat
+which the <i>Gammarus</i> would attempt in vain—but
+as he crawls he keeps his tail curled up under his
+body, and by suddenly straightening this out he
+can throw himself into the air with considerable
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_377">[377]</span>vigour. In this way he often not merely escapes
+from an enemy, but even drives terror into the heart
+of the pursuer. It takes some little time to realize
+that hoppers can be handled with impunity, and are
+harmless for all their sudden jerky movements.</p>
+
+<p>Why do these animals live on the upper fringe
+of beach, and what do they find there to eat?
+The answer is simple. They live on the cast up
+refuse of the sea; they are the scavengers of the
+jetsam. Naturalists who are collecting the skeletons
+of small animals often put the carcases which they
+wish to have cleaned under some decaying weed on
+the beach. After a week or a fortnight the bones
+are found to be picked absolutely clean.</p>
+
+<p>In order to tell the sand-hopper from the shore-hopper
+we have only to look at his front feet. If
+they are all thin and slender, the animal is a sand-hopper;
+if one pair of the front feet are clubbed at the
+end and armed with a claw, we know that he is a
+shore-hopper.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus103" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus103.jpg" alt="">
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_378">[378]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="SEA-ANEMONES">SEA-ANEMONES.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-w1.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">When the tide ebbs and leaves
+the rocks exposed we may
+find here and there a few
+soft, rounded objects attached
+to the bare rock, often bright
+red in colour, and looking like
+strawberries or ripe cherries.
+They are found especially on the sheltered sides of
+high rocks and in the angles formed by slight ridges
+and clefts. We do not seem to have any local
+name for these objects, although they are so common
+and conspicuous; one wonders why our name-inventing
+forefathers did not bestow on them some descriptive
+title. Their English name is “sea-anemone,” a term
+derived from their resemblance to the anemone flower.</p>
+
+<p>It is only when they are covered by the water,
+however, that they deserve the name of anemone,
+for then they open out like a bud and spread out
+circles of leaf-like projections, much as an opening
+daisy or dandelion does. They usually remain open
+during the whole time that the tide is up; when the
+water goes back again these leaves all curl in towards
+the middle of the anemone and are folded up inside,
+leaving only a little dimple on the top to indicate
+where they have disappeared.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_379">[379]</span></p>
+
+<p>Sea-anemones, however, are by no means flowers.
+Their jelly-like consistency and their habits would
+lead us to classify them as animals, and this they
+undoubtedly are. Though they seem to be rooted
+to one spot, and to open and close like a plant, their
+real habits are those of an animal. As a matter
+of fact, they are carnivorous animals; they first kill
+their victims by poisoning them, and afterwards
+devour them. If they had the power of moving
+rapidly in pursuit of prey, they would be as deadly
+to the general population of the beach as are the
+most venomous
+snakes
+to the creatures
+on
+land. As it
+is, they account
+for a
+very considerable
+number of
+the beach inhabitants by simply lying in wait and
+grasping the little animals that happen to stray within
+their reach.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus104" style="max-width: 25.0em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus104.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Sea-anemones.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The beautiful circles of leaflets which we see so
+regularly arranged are really active grasping tentacles,
+armed with whole batteries of little poisonous stings.
+With these tentacles they seize hold of any little
+creature, such as a “sholtie” or a young crab, that
+happens to move over them. The poor animal is
+held fast in spite of all its struggles, tentacle after
+tentacle is brought up by the anemone to grasp it,
+while hundreds of fine stinging darts discharge into
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_380">[380]</span>it their poison, and the victim, its struggles gradually
+becoming more and more feeble, is ultimately drawn
+into the centre of the animal, where lie its mouth and
+its stomach. Then the tentacles are all closed in
+over the prey, and remain thus closed for a time—a
+day or several days, according to the size of the
+animal caught. During this time the process of
+digestion is going on, and when it is completed
+the skeleton and useless parts of the animal are
+discharged by the same opening as that by which
+it was taken in, and the anemone once more spreads
+its tentacles to wait for its next victim.</p>
+
+<p>It is not only living animals that the anemone will
+devour. Anything of animal nature, dead or alive,
+is grist to its mill; and though it has no eyes, it
+can quite well distinguish what is good for food.
+A waving branch of seaweed borne towards it by
+currents in the water is quite ignored, while a bit
+of flesh is never allowed to come in contact with
+the tentacles without an effort being made to secure
+it. By some natural power, whether by the sense
+of smell or of taste or by some other sense unknown
+to us, the creature distinguishes unfailingly what it
+needs. It is great fun to feed it with small portions
+of limpet or of whelk, and by doing so one can see
+exactly how the process of feeding is carried on.</p>
+
+<p>One might imagine that the anemone would easily
+fall a prey to larger and stronger animals. It has no
+hard skin or shell to protect it, and its beautiful jelly-like
+appearance would suggest to any hungry fish or
+crab that it is not only easy to demolish but would
+form a juicy morsel. Yet it does not seem to be in
+any danger from such enemies. I was once amusing
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_381">[381]</span>myself by throwing little pieces of bait into the sea
+among a crowd of sillocks. Along with the bait,
+which consisted of limpet and fish, I threw in a
+morsel of one of these red anemones. A bold young
+sillock immediately snapped it up. Then something
+seemed to go wrong, for the poor young fish suddenly
+shot the anemone out of its mouth and swam off
+without so much as looking at the other bait which
+I threw all round about it. The piece of anemone
+was less palatable than it looked.</p>
+
+<p>Strangely enough an anemone is not much inconvenienced
+by being cut into bits. The individual
+pieces if put into the sea again close up and grow
+into new animals. No doubt the piece which the
+sillock swallowed was fully alive, and stung the
+mouth and throat of its captor so severely that the
+fish was only too glad to be rid of it.</p>
+
+<p>All anemones are not red in colour like those of
+which we have been speaking. There is a great
+number of different kinds of these creatures round
+our shores, but most of them are only to be found
+by careful searching. Some are found in rock-pools;
+these are generally coloured more or less like the
+seaweeds in the pools. Others are found only in
+dark places; under large stones or boulders near
+low-water mark they grow in all attitudes—upright,
+sideways, and upside down—attached by their base
+to the surface of the stone. The greatest variety of
+them I ever saw was found among the stones of a
+little jetty or pier, which was being taken down to
+make room for a larger pier. The under surface
+and the sides of the stones on this pier were simply
+covered with anemones of all sizes, shapes, and colours.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_382">[382]</span></p>
+
+<p>The various kinds of anemone differ not only in
+colour but also in size and shape. Some are minute
+things, with a thin body or stalk crowned at the top
+with long, fine tentacles, which they wave about
+actively through the water in search for small prey.
+Others again are large, and one kind, known as the
+dahlia, which is common in Orkney, attains to
+gigantic proportions; when its tentacles are expanded
+it is as wide across the top as the mouth
+of a large breakfast cup. The dahlia is variously
+coloured, sometimes dark crimson, the tentacles being
+marked with broad rings of crimson and white,
+sometimes green with red markings. The outside
+of its body is usually covered with bits of gravel
+and broken shells, so that when the animal closes
+up there is nothing to be seen but a rounded heap
+of gravel. When open it is a magnificent creature,
+and its broad, tapering tentacles shine with an iridescent
+light.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus105" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus105.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>Dahlia anemone.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_383">[383]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="Part_IV-Legend_and_Lay">Part IV.—Legend and Lay.</h2>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_OLD_GODS">THE OLD GODS.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-i3.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">In the north of Europe there lived long ago
+that race of people whom we know as the
+Norsemen—tall, fair-haired men, strong
+and warlike, and as much at home on
+sea as on land. They came to Britain in
+great numbers at different times, and
+many of them settled there. We read of
+them sometimes as Vikings, sometimes as Danes, and
+sometimes as Normans. The Saxon settlers of a still
+earlier time were of the same kindred. We have
+already told the story of their settlement in Orkney,
+and of the earldom which they established there.
+Everything that we can find out about this wonderful
+race of sea-rovers and warriors is of interest to us;
+for while most of the lowland dwellers of Scotland
+and England have some Norse blood in their veins,
+we who live in these northern islands regard ourselves
+as the lineal descendants of those Vikings.</p>
+
+<p>Before the Norsemen became Christians, they believed
+in many gods and goddesses. They had gods
+of the sky and of the sea, of spring and of summer,
+of thunder and lightning, of frost and of storm.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_384">[384]</span>Many a strange tale they told of the doings of their
+gods, and most of those tales are really pictures of
+the processes that take place in nature—of the wars
+between wind and sea, between light and darkness,
+and between sun and frost.</p>
+
+<p>In the beginning, they believed, there was the
+great Spirit, the Creator. Of him they have no tales
+to tell. Then the world was made—or rather the
+worlds, for the Norsemen thought that besides this
+world of men there were a world of the gods, a world
+of the giants, and other worlds. Between Asgard, the
+home of the gods, and Midgard, the world of men, a
+beautiful bridge was built, which we call the rainbow.</p>
+
+<p>Odin was the highest of the gods. He was the god
+of wisdom and of victory, and the friend of heroes.
+Men spoke of him as tall and strong, with long,
+flowing hair and beard, and wearing a wide blue
+mantle flecked with white, as the blue sky is flecked
+with fleecy clouds. On his shoulders sat two ravens,
+Thought and Memory. They roamed over the world
+every day, and came back at night to whisper in his
+ear all they had seen and heard. At his feet crouched
+two wolves, which he fed with his own hand.</p>
+
+<p>Odin had three palaces in Asgard. One of these was
+Valhalla, the home of heroes; and hither came at their
+death all the brave men Odin loved so well. He sent
+forth beautiful maidens to hover over every field of
+battle, and to carry home to Valhalla those who fell
+in the fight. In Valhalla the brave lived for ever.
+They spent their days in fighting, as they had loved to
+do on earth; but every evening the warriors returned
+to the hall of feasting, unhurt, and the best of friends.
+Such was the Norsemen’s idea of a heaven for heroes.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_385">[385]</span></p>
+
+<p>Odin gave men wisdom as well as courage. Only
+through suffering, however, did he become the god
+of wisdom. It happened on this wise. Far below
+the world of the giants was a crystal spring which
+watered the roots of the tree of life—a great tree
+reaching up to heaven. This well was the fountain
+of wisdom, and whoever drank of it became wise. It
+was guarded by a giant called Mimir, or Memory.
+Mimir was older than the gods, and wiser than they,
+for he remembered all things. Odin went down below
+the world of the giants one day, and he said to Mimir,
+“Give me a drink of the clear water of your well.”</p>
+
+<p>“Ah,” said Mimir, “this water is never given to
+any except at a great price. You must be willing to
+give up the most precious thing you possess before
+you can drink at Mimir’s fountain.”</p>
+
+<p>“Be it so,” replied Odin; “I will give whatever
+you ask.”</p>
+
+<p>Mimir looked at him, admiring his courage, and at
+length replied, “If you would drink, you must leave
+with me one of your eyes.”</p>
+
+<p>This was a great price to pay, but Odin did not
+flinch. He drank of the fountain, and came back to
+Asgard with only one eye, but he had won the
+wisdom he desired.</p>
+
+<p>Thor was the god of thunder; he was the champion
+of the gods, and defended Asgard against the giants.
+His was the largest palace in Asgard; it had five
+hundred and forty halls and many great doors, and
+was called by a name which means Lightning. Thor
+wore a crown of stars upon his head, and rode in a
+chariot drawn by two goats, from whose hoofs and
+teeth flashed sparks of fire. To Thor belonged three
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_386">[386]</span>very precious things. The first was his mighty
+hammer, with which he fought the frost giants. The
+second was his belt of strength: when he girded
+himself with this his strength was doubled. The
+third was his iron gauntlet: with this he grasped his
+famous hammer, which he made red-hot when he
+fought the giants.</p>
+
+<p>Loki was the spirit of evil and mischief. Having
+been banished from Asgard for his wickedness, he lived
+many years in giant-land, rejoicing in his evil deeds.
+He had three children, each as full of evil as himself.
+So much mischief did they work that Odin looked
+down from Asgard with a grave countenance. “This
+must not be,” he said; “Loki’s children will fill the
+world with evil.” So Odin fared forth to giant-land.
+One of the evil brood he sent to the under world of
+darkness, and one he threw into the sea. The third,
+Fenris the wolf, was so strong that Odin spared him.
+“If he were to live with the gods,” he said, “his
+strength might be turned to good instead of ill.” So
+he took Fenris the wolf up to Asgard, to see whether
+he would learn goodness with his strength.</p>
+
+<p>Who among the gods would care for the wolf-spirit?
+Brave Tyr was ready with the answer. “Father
+Odin,” he cried, “I delight in strength. Let me have
+the charge of this fierce fellow; I care not if the task
+be hard and dull.” So Fenris became his charge.
+He fed him with sheep and oxen, and took him with
+him upon his journeys. But Fenris did not learn the
+ways of the gods. His muscles were like iron, and
+his teeth stronger than steel, but his heart remained
+savage and cruel.</p>
+
+<p>One night Odin called the gods together. “Sons,”
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_387">[387]</span>he said, “I have looked upon Fenris, and seen his
+cruel strength. There is no love in his eyes, and
+no thought of good in his heart. Day by day he
+becomes stronger for evil. We must bind him, or he
+will destroy us.” They listened, and saw that the
+counsel of Odin was good. “Come with me,” said
+Thor the mighty; “I will forge a chain that will
+hold him fast.” All night long the gods watched
+Thor toiling at his anvil, dealing great blows upon
+the glowing iron, and sending sparks like shooting-stars
+through the darkness. When morning came the
+massive chain was finished.</p>
+
+<p>“Come, Fenris,” called Thor, “you are strong; let
+us see you break this chain which I have made.”
+Fenris allowed them to bind him with the heavy
+links: when they had done so, he stretched his huge
+limbs, and the thick iron snapped like a thread of
+silk. The gods kept silence as Fenris walked away.</p>
+
+<p>Again Thor led them to his forge; again he toiled
+all night, hammering and shaping great bars of steel.
+When morning came, another chain was ready, ten
+times stronger than the first. But this chain also
+snapped like a spider’s thread before the might of
+Fenris.</p>
+
+<p>The gods once more sat in council, and Odin’s face
+was grave. “Great indeed is the power of evil,” said
+the All-wise, “but the power of good must be greater
+still. Sons, let us call to our aid the skill of the
+dwarfs. Tyr shall tell them of our need, and they
+will help us to bind the enemy.” Like an arrow from
+the bow, Tyr sped from Asgard to the cave of the
+dwarfs, the skilful workers in gold and gems, and gladly
+they lent their aid to Father Odin. Three nights they
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_388">[388]</span>toiled in the darkness, and then they brought to Tyr
+a delicate chain which might have been spun from
+a cobweb. “Here is thy chain, O Tyr,” they said.
+“Fierce Fenris cannot escape from its bands.”</p>
+
+<p>When Tyr came back to Asgard, Fenris was called
+once more to test his strength. He looked on the delicate
+thread, and he trembled; yet he would not seem to
+be afraid. “If one of you will place his hand in my
+mouth, so that there may be fair play, I will let you
+bind me,” he replied. The gods looked in one another’s
+faces. Who would dare the power of the wolf?</p>
+
+<p>Brave Tyr stepped forward and put his arm between
+the wolf’s jaws. The tiny chain was wound
+round Fenris. He rose to stretch himself and shake
+it off, but it held him fast. With a wild howl he
+gnashed his teeth together, and Tyr stood before the
+gods without his strong right arm. Then a great
+shout arose in Asgard, “Hail to Tyr! he has given
+his right hand to save the world from evil.” It was
+echoed from the hills, and rang through the caves of
+the dwarfs. “The chain of the dwarfs is mighty,”
+they said, “but stronger is the brave heart of Tyr.”
+So wisdom and goodness together were more than a
+match for strength and evil.</p>
+
+<p>Baldur was the god of light. He was the fairest
+of all that dwelt in Asgard, the best beloved of gods
+and men. Wherever he went he carried with him
+that kindness and love which is to the heart of man
+what light is to the sky. Every one loved him but
+Loki; the spirit of evil hated the goodness that was
+in Baldur. Baldur’s palace was the home of all that
+was bright and pure. It was built of the blue of the
+sky and the clear crystal of running water. Here he
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_389">[389]</span>lived in peace, for no evil thing could enter. But
+Baldur became sad and troubled, for he dreamed that
+his life was in danger.</p>
+
+<p>Then his mother went abroad over the whole world,
+and made everything promise not to hurt Baldur.
+Who would harm the beautiful god? Earth, air, and
+water, beasts and birds, and plants and flowers—all
+things promised never to hurt him. So his mother
+returned to Asgard with joy, but still Baldur was sad.
+Then the gods invented a kind of game to cheer his
+heart. They made him stand in the midst while they
+threw at him weapons and all hurtful things, to show
+that nothing could do him harm; and thus they
+amused themselves many days.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime Loki disguised himself as an old
+woman, and went to Baldur’s mother. He said he
+marvelled that Baldur was not hurt, and then the
+mother told him of the promise which all things had
+made never to harm her son.</p>
+
+<p>“What! have all things promised this?” asked
+Loki.</p>
+
+<p>“Yes,” was the reply; “all things have promised
+except one weak little plant, the mistletoe, which
+grows far away, and which I did not think it worth
+while to ask.”</p>
+
+<p>Loki rejoiced in his evil heart when he heard this.
+He hurried to the place where the mistletoe grew, and
+plucked a twig of it, which by his magic he made into
+a spear. Then he came back to Asgard, where the
+gods were playing their game of throwing spears at
+Baldur.</p>
+
+<p>“Why do you not join in the game?” he asked
+one of the gods.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_390">[390]</span></p>
+
+<p>“Because I am blind,” he replied.</p>
+
+<p>“For the honour of Baldur you should throw a
+spear at him,” Loki went on.</p>
+
+<p>“I have no spear to throw,” answered the blind
+god.</p>
+
+<p>Then Loki put into his hand the mistletoe spear,
+and helped him to aim it. The spear pierced Baldur
+through the heart, and he fell dead. Then there were
+grief and anger in Asgard; weeping and mourning
+were heard for the first time among the gods.</p>
+
+<p>Odin sent a message to the daughter of Loki, who
+ruled over the world of the dead, and asked her to set
+Baldur free. She replied that he would be set free
+if every living thing would weep for him; but if a
+single creature refused to weep, he could not return.</p>
+
+<p>Then the gods went through all the earth, and
+prayed all things living to weep for Baldur. One old
+woman alone refused, and so Baldur could not be set
+free. The old woman was no other than Loki, who
+had taken this form in order to hide himself.</p>
+
+<p>After the death of Baldur came a gloomy time in
+Asgard. The gods had fierce wars with the frost-giants,
+and were defeated. This time is called “the
+twilight of the gods.” But even then they looked
+forward to a better time which was to come, when
+Baldur should return, and all should be light and joy
+and peace.</p>
+
+<p>Thus the old Norsemen gave us the beautiful tale
+of Baldur, the sun-god. When the days are short
+in winter, the time of the mistletoe, Baldur is dead;
+but when spring returns, the war with the frost-giants
+is over, and Baldur returns with light and joy to the
+northern lands.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_391">[391]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="A_VANISHING_ISLAND">A VANISHING ISLAND.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-e.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">Eynhallow—the “holy island”—lies
+in the middle of the fierce tideway that
+separates the Orcadian mainland from
+Rousay, the Hrolfsey of the Sagas.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">“Eynhallow frank, Eynhallow free,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Eynhallow stands in the middle of the sea;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">With a roaring roost on every side,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Eynhallow stands in the middle of the tide.”</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p class="noindent">So runs an old island rhyme, and surely never was
+there an island so beaten upon and shouted round by
+the angry tides. It sets a black front of jagged rocks
+to the Atlantic on the west, and the great billows,
+rushing on the rocks, send spouts of spray high in the
+air, to whirl eastward over the gradual slope of the
+isle. All day long the tide sweeps past on either
+side, boiling and eddying like a swift and deep river.
+When the wind is in the north-west and a strong ebb-tide
+is running, then is the time to see the roosts in
+all their glory; for the inrolling ocean swell meets the
+outrushing tide in the narrow channels, and the white
+waves leap and roar as if some</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">“wallowing monster spouted</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">His foam fountains in the sea.”</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_392">[392]</span></p>
+
+<p>To see this mad turmoil of the roost on a wild
+winter day is strange and terrible; but when the
+white breakers shout and toss themselves in the sunlight
+of a still June morning there is a paradoxical
+charm in the sudden outburst of leaping, sparkling
+foam amid the blue waters, unruffled of any wind,
+that the wildest storm of winter can never claim.</p>
+
+<p>There is an even stronger fascination in the swift,
+dark, silent rush of the tides, ceaseless along the
+shores, sweeping in with the flood and whirling out
+again with the ebb, and with the little green isle
+in their midst setting its steep front to the angry
+ocean, but sheltering with its two long eastward points
+a quiet sandy bay where no current ever comes.</p>
+
+<p>All along the coast, on either side of Eynhallow
+Sound, are low green mounds, marking the places
+where once were the homes of the prehistoric Orcadians,
+that Celtic or Pictish race which the conquering
+Norsemen destroyed so completely that there is not
+in all the place-names of the isles any trace of their
+forgotten tongue. Amidst such surroundings, one has
+only to look at Eynhallow to know that it must have
+gathered legend and tradition in the long years.</p>
+
+<p>In Rousay there still lingers a tale of the breaking
+of the spell that held Eynhallow sea-bound; for
+“once upon a time” the isle was enchanted, and visible
+to human eyes only at rare intervals. It would rise
+suddenly out of the sea, and vanish as suddenly before
+any mortal could reach it. And if any one should feel
+inclined to doubt this tale, can we not point him to
+the isle of Heather-Bleather, which is still held by the
+spell of the sea-folk, and appears and disappears even
+unto this day?</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_393">[393]</span></p>
+
+<p>When Eynhallow was still a vanishing island, it
+became known in Rousay that if any man, seeing the
+isle, should hold steel in his hand and, taking boat, go
+out through the tides, never looking at aught but the
+island, nor ever letting go the steel till he leaped on
+to its virgin shore, that man should break the spell
+and win the isle from the sea-folk for his own
+people. After many failures—and who can tell how
+many a brave heart went down the tide to the sea-trows
+in that perilous venture?—there came at last
+the hour and the man; the vanishing isle was won
+from the waters, and left standing “in the middle
+of the tide.”</p>
+
+<p>If there be yet any man brave enough to try
+the adventure of the vanishing island, Heather-Bleather
+awaits his coming. I have never met any person
+who would confess to having seen that mysterious
+isle, but many of the dwellers by the roosts have
+spoken to those who saw it rise green out of the
+waters. This island is the home of the Fin-men or
+Sea-men (not to be too rashly identified with the sea-trows),
+a race of beings who play a prominent part in
+Orcadian folk-lore.</p>
+
+<p>In Rousay they tell of a maiden mysteriously rapt
+from the hillside over the sea, and sought in vain by
+her kindred. Long years after, “when grief was calm
+and hope was dead,” the lost girl’s father and brothers
+were at sea in their fishing-boat, when there rolled
+down upon them one of those dense banks of sea-fog
+so common in the North in summer. The fishermen
+knew not where they were, but sailed on until their
+boat grounded on an island which at first they took to
+be Eynhallow. They soon found, however, that they
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_394">[394]</span>were on an island they had never seen before, and on
+going up to a “white house” they found in the “guid-wife”
+who admitted them their long lost daughter
+and sister. She welcomed them, and in a little time
+her husband and his brother came in from the sea in
+“wisps” (the local name for great rolls of heather
+“simmons,” or ropes, used in thatching houses). Others
+say that they came in the guise of seals, and cast off
+their skins. Be that as it may, they treated their
+human connections well and hospitably. When the
+time came for the men to leave for home, the woman
+refused to accompany them, but she gave her father a
+knife, and told him that so long as he kept it he
+could come to the isle of the waters whenever he
+pleased. Just as the boat put to sea the knife slipped
+from the old man’s hand into the water; in a moment
+the fog swallowed the island, and no man has set foot
+on it since.</p>
+
+<p>In summer and autumn evenings, when the sea-fog
+comes rolling up in great banks from the Atlantic,
+and the westering sun fills the hollows between with
+fantastic lights and shadows—when the islands seem
+all to shift and change, appearing and disappearing
+among the huge masses of white vapour, it requires
+no very strong imagination to see once more the green
+isle of Heather-Bleather riding the waters, real and
+solid as its sister of Eynhallow, won so long since
+from the sea-folk.</p>
+
+<p>Of its old enchantment the isles-folk say that Eynhallow
+still retains some small part. No steel or iron
+stake, such as are used for tethering cattle, will remain
+in its soil after sunset. Of their own motion
+they leap from the ground at the moment when
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_395">[395]</span>the sea swallows the sun. Then, again, no rat or
+mouse can live upon the island, and it is not long since
+it was usual to bring boatloads of earth from Eynhallow
+to lay under the foundations of new houses, and
+under the corn-stacks in the farmyard. It was firmly
+believed that through the charmed earth no mouse or
+rat could pass.</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Duncan J. Robertson</span>
+<i>(The Scots Magazine). By Permission.</i></p>
+
+<p>[Since the preceding article first appeared, a very
+interesting discovery has been made on Eynhallow,
+which may help to explain both the name of the
+island—the “Holy Isle”—and the existence of so many
+supernatural legends regarding it. References are
+made in the Sagas to a monastery in Orkney in Norse
+times, and it is recorded that an abbot from this
+monastery was appointed to that of Melrose in 1175.
+Many probable sites were suggested as having been
+occupied by this monastery, but no remains could
+be found, and some doubt was felt as to whether
+it ever really existed in Orkney at all. In the year
+1900, however, Professor Dietrichson, a Norwegian,
+examined the ruins on Eynhallow, and was able to
+show that they are the long-sought remains of the
+lost monastery—small in size, but complete in all
+the details of a Cistercian monastery of the period
+referred to in the Sagas.]</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_396">[396]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="HELEN_WATERS">HELEN WATERS: A LEGEND OF SULE SKERRY.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div>
+<img class="dropcap" src="images/dropcap-t2.jpg" alt="">
+</div>
+
+<p class="dropcap">The mountains of Hoy, the highest
+of the Orkney Islands, rise
+abruptly out of the ocean to an
+elevation of fifteen hundred feet,
+and terminate on one side in a
+cliff, sheer and stupendous as if
+the mountain had been cut down
+through the middle and the severed portion of it buried
+in the sea. Immediately on the landward side of this
+precipice lies a soft green valley, embosomed among
+huge black cliffs, where the sound of the human voice
+or the report of a gun is reverberated among the rocks
+till it gradually dies away into soft and softer echoes.</p>
+
+<p>The hills are intersected by deep and dreary glens,
+where the hum of the world is never heard, and the
+only voices of life are the bleat of the lamb and the
+shriek of the eagle. The breeze wafts not on its
+wings the whisper of the woodland, for there are
+no trees on the island; the roar of the torrent stream
+and the sea’s eternal moan for ever sadden those
+solitudes of the world.</p>
+
+<p>The ascent of the mountain is in some parts almost
+perpendicular, and in all exceedingly steep; but the
+admirer of Nature in her grandest and most striking
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_397">[397]</span>aspects will be amply compensated for his toil, upon
+reaching their summits, by the magnificent prospect
+which they afford. Towards the north and east, the
+vast expanse of the ocean, and the islands, with their
+dark heath-clad hills, their green vales, and gigantic
+cliffs, expand below as far as the eye can reach. The
+view towards the south is bounded by the lofty
+mountains of Scaraben and Morven, and by the wild
+hills of Strathnaver and Cape Wrath, stretching
+towards the west. In the direction of the latter,
+and far away in mid-ocean, may be seen, during clear
+weather, a barren rock called Sule Skerry, which
+superstition in former days had peopled with mermaids
+and monsters of the deep. This solitary spot
+had long been known to the Orcadians as the haunt
+of sea-fowl and seals, and was the scene of frequent
+shooting excursions, though such perilous adventures
+have been long since abandoned. It is associated
+in my mind with a wild tale, which I have heard
+in my youth, though I am uncertain whether or not
+the circumstances which it narrates are yet in the
+memory of living men.</p>
+
+<p>On the opposite side of the mountainous island
+of which I speak, and divided from it by a frith of
+several miles in breadth, lie the flat serpentine shores
+of the principal island or Mainland, where, upon a
+gentle slope, at a short distance from the sea-beach,
+may still be traced the site of a cottage, once the
+dwelling of a humble couple of the name of Waters,
+belonging to the class of small proprietors.</p>
+
+<p>Their only child Helen, at the time to which my
+narration refers, was just budding into womanhood;
+and though uninitiated into what would now be considered
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_398">[398]</span>the indispensable requisites of female education,
+was yet not altogether unaccomplished for the simple
+times in which she lived, and, though a child of nature,
+had a grace beyond the reach of art.</p>
+
+<p>Henry Graham, the accepted lover of Helen Waters,
+was the son of a small proprietor in the neighbourhood;
+and being of the same humble rank with herself,
+and, though not rich, removed from poverty, their
+views were undisturbed by the dotage of avarice or
+the fears of want, and the smiles of approving friends
+seemed to await their approaching union.</p>
+
+<p>In the Orkneys it was customary for the bridegroom
+to invite the wedding guests in person; for
+which purpose, a few days previous to the marriage,
+young Graham, accompanied by a friend, took a boat
+and proceeded to the island of Hoy in order to request
+the attendance of a family residing there; which done,
+on the following day they joined a party of young
+men upon a shooting excursion to Rackwick, a village
+romantically situated on the opposite side of the
+island. They left the house of their friends on a
+bright, calm autumnal morning, and began to traverse
+the wild and savage glens which intersect the hills,
+where their progress might be guessed at by the
+reports of their guns, which gradually became fainter
+and fainter among the mountains, and at last died
+away altogether in the distance.</p>
+
+<p>That night and the following day passed, and they
+did not return to the house of their friends; but the
+weather being extremely fine, it was supposed they
+had extended their excursion to the opposite coast
+of Caithness, or to some of the neighbouring islands,
+so that their absence created no alarm whatever.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_399">[399]</span></p>
+
+<p>The same conjectures also quieted the anxieties of
+the bride, until the morning previous to that of the
+marriage, when her alarm could no longer be suppressed.
+A boat was manned in all haste, and dispatched
+to Hoy in quest of them, but did not return
+that day nor the succeeding night.</p>
+
+<p>The morning of the wedding day dawned at last
+bright and beautiful, but still no intelligence arrived
+of the bridegroom and his party; and the hope which
+lingered to the last, that they would still make their
+appearance in time, had prevented the invitations
+from being postponed, so that the marriage party began
+to assemble about midday.</p>
+
+<p>While the friends were all in amazement, and the
+bride in a most pitiable state, a boat was seen crossing
+from Hoy, and hope once more began to revive; but,
+when her passengers landed, they turned out to be
+the members of the family invited from that island,
+whose surprise at finding how matters stood was
+equal to that of the other friends.</p>
+
+<p>Meantime all parties united in their endeavours to
+cheer the poor bride, for which purpose it was agreed
+that the company should remain, and that the festivities
+should go on—an arrangement to which the
+guests the more willingly consented, from a lingering
+hope that the absentees would still make their appearance,
+and partly with a view to divert in some
+measure the painful suspense of the bride; while she,
+on the other hand, from feelings of hospitality,
+exerted herself, though with a heavy heart, to make
+her guests as comfortable as possible, and by the
+very endeavour to put on an appearance of tranquillity
+acquired so much of the reality as to prevent her
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_400">[400]</span>from sinking altogether under the weight of her
+fears.</p>
+
+<p>Meantime the day advanced, the festivities went
+on, and the glass began to circulate freely. The
+absence of the principal actor of the scene was so far
+forgotten that at length the music struck up, and
+dancing commenced with all the animation which
+that exercise inspires.</p>
+
+<p>Things were going on in this way when, towards
+night, and during one of the pauses of the dance,
+a loud rap was heard at the door, and a gleam of
+hope was seen to lighten every face, when there
+entered, not the bridegroom and his party, but a
+wandering lunatic named Annie Fae, well known and
+not a little feared in all that countryside. Her
+garments were little else than a collection of fantastic
+and parti-coloured rags, bound close around her waist
+with a girdle of straw, and her head had no other
+covering than the dark tangled locks that hung,
+snake-like, over her wild and weather-beaten face,
+from which peered forth her small, deep, sunk eyes,
+gleaming with the light of insanity.</p>
+
+<p>Before the surprise and dismay excited by her
+sudden and unwelcome appearance had subsided, she
+addressed the company in the following wild and
+incoherent manner,—</p>
+
+<p>“Hech, sirs, but here’s a merry meeting indeed.
+Plenty o’ gude meat and drink here, and nae expense
+spared! Aweel, it’s no a’ lost neither; this blithe bridal
+will mak’ a braw burial, and the same feast will do for
+baith. But I’ll no detain you langer, but jog on upon
+my journey; only I wad juist hint that, for decency
+sake, ye suld stop that fine fiddling and dancing.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_401">[401]</span></p>
+
+<p>Having thus spoken, she made a low curtsy,
+and hurried out of the house, leaving the company
+in that state of painful excitement which, in such
+circumstances, even the ravings of a poor deranged
+wanderer could not fail to produce.</p>
+
+<p>In this state we too may leave them for the present,
+and proceed with the party who had set off on the
+preceding day in search of the bridegroom and his
+friends. The latter were traced to Rackwick; but
+there no intelligence could be gained, except that
+some days previous a boat, having on board several
+sportsmen, had been seen putting off from the shore,
+and sailing away in the direction of Sule Skerry.</p>
+
+<p>The weather continuing fine, the searching party
+hired a large boat, and proceeded to that remote and
+solitary rock, upon which, as they neared it, they could
+discover nothing, except swarms of seals, which immediately
+began to flounder towards the water’s edge.
+A large flock of sea-fowl arose from the centre of the
+rock with a deafening scream; and upon approaching
+the spot, they beheld, with dumb amazement and
+horror, the dead bodies of the party of whom they
+had come in search, but so mangled and disfigured
+by the sea-fowl that they could barely be recognized.</p>
+
+<p>It appeared that these unfortunates upon landing
+had forgotten their guns in the boat, which had slipped
+from her fastenings, and left them upon the rock,
+where they had at last perished of cold and hunger.</p>
+
+<p>Fancy can but feebly conceive, and still less can
+words describe, the feelings with which the lost men
+must have beheld their bark drifting away over the
+face of the waters, and found themselves abandoned
+in the vast solitude of the ocean.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_402">[402]</span></p>
+
+<p>With what agony must they have gazed upon the
+distant sails, gliding over the deep, but keeping far
+aloof from the rock of desolation. How must their
+horrors have been aggravated by the far-off view of
+their native hills, lifting their lonely peaks above the
+wave, and awakening the dreadful consciousness that
+they were still within the grasp of humanity, and yet
+no arm was stretched forth to save them; while the
+sun was riding high in the heavens, and the sea
+basking in his beams below, and Nature looking with
+reckless smiles upon their dying agonies!</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the stupor of horror and amazement
+had subsided, the party placed the dead bodies in
+their boat, and, crowding all sail, stood for the
+Orkneys. They landed at night upon the beach,
+immediately below the house where the wedding
+guests were assembled; and there, while debating in
+what manner to proceed, they were overheard by the
+insane wanderer, the result of whose visit has already
+been recorded.</p>
+
+<p>She had scarcely left the house, when a low sound
+of voices was heard approaching. An exclamation of
+joy broke from the bride. She rushed out of the
+house with outstretched arms to embrace her lover,
+and the next moment, with a fearful shriek, fell upon
+his corpse! With that shriek reason and memory
+passed away for ever. She was carried back
+delirious, and died towards morning. The bridal
+was changed into a burial, and Helen Waters and
+her lover slept in the same grave!</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">John Malcolm.</span> (<i>Adapted.</i>)
+(Native of Firth, Orkney; 1795-1845.)</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_403">[403]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="A_LEGEND_OF_BORAY_ISLAND">A LEGEND OF BORAY ISLAND.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">In the far-off Northern Islands,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Where the wild waves ever flow,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">I have heard a wondrous legend</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Of the days of long ago.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">There, amid the circling waters,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Boray Isle lies all alone,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Silent ever, save at nightfall</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">On the eve of good St. John.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Those who in the faith of Odin</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">’Neath the waves have sunk for aye,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Are as sea-beasts doomed to wander</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Till the dawn of Judgment Day.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Once a year on Boray Island</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">They revisit scenes of earth,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And, their ancient forms resuming,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Hold their wild unhallowed mirth.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">On the shore their sealskins leaving,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">They in revels pass the time,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Till the midnight hour resoundeth</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">From St. Magnus’ distant chime.</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_404">[404]</span>    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">At the solemn knell the dancers</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">In wild haste their guise regain,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And as seals once more appearing</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Plunge below the waves again.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Long ago a Northern fisher</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">In a storm was left alone,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And to Boray Isle was driven</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">On the eve of good St. John.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">There saw the ghostly revels—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Music wild fell on his ear;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And he snatched a cast-off sealskin,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And he hid in mortal fear.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">All the evening long he watched them,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Till he heard St. Magnus’ chime—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Twelve deep tones proclaimed the hour</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">When was o’er the fated time.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">At the solemn knell the dancers</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">In wild haste their guise regain—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">All save one; a fair sea-maiden,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Seeking for her robe in vain.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">All the others plunged and left her,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And no more could Eric bide,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">But his friendly shelter leaving,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Hurried to the maiden’s side.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Flung his fisher mantle round her;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">With the Cross he signed her o’er;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And with loving words addressed her,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Bidding her to fear no more.</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_405">[405]</span>    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">“Fairest one! no longer fated</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">As a wild sea-beast to roam,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Come and be my bride, my treasure,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Mistress of my hearth and home.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">“Thou shalt be a christened woman</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">By the help of good St. John,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And at blessed Magnus’ altar</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Holy Church shall make us one.”</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">So he spake, and so he won her,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And he took her to his home;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">‘Margaret’ was the name they gave her,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">‘Pearl’ cast up from Ocean’s foam.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Three bright years they dwelt together,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Love and joy around her grew;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Every day he blessed the tempest</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">That his bark on Boray threw.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">But when spring three times had circled,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Margaret’s cheek was thin and white;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Day by day her strength departed,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And she faded in his sight.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Then she spoke, and thus she bade him:</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">“Death’s cold touch is on my heart,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">But in peace from this dear homestead</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Soul and body cannot part</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">“Till I know my fate for certain—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">If the holy water shed</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">On my christened brow will save me</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">From the doom of Odin’s dead.</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_406">[406]</span>    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">“Row me in your skiff, my husband,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">On the eve of good St. John;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Take me back to Boray Island,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Lay me on the sands adown.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">“Clasping fast the Cross of Jesus,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">I must meet the dead alone;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">If they still have power o’er me,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Ere day breaks I shall be gone.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">“All alone you needs must leave me;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Pass in fast and prayer the time;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And return when o’er the waters</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Peals St. Magnus’ midnight chime.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">“And if Cross and Chrism guard me</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">From the sway of spirits foul,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Then, my husband, know for certain</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Christ will save my ransomed soul.”</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">All her bidding he accomplished,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Though his heart was sad and sore:</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">On the fated eve he took her,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Laid her down on Boray shore;</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Went where he no more could see her,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">To the islet’s farthest bound.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Soon he heard the ghostly dancers</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">With wild cries his wife surround.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">All the evening long they tried her,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Tempting her to turn again,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">With weird strains of love or threatening,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">To her life below the main.</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_407">[407]</span>    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Sadly Eric watched and waited,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Passed in fast and prayer the time,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Till at last, o’er rippling water,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Pealed St. Magnus’ midnight chime.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Then he rose, and hastened to her;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Found her on the lonely sands,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Lying with the Cross of Jesus</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Claspèd in her folded hands.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">To the Islands of the Blessed</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Margaret’s ransomed soul had fled,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And a smile of victory lingered</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">On her lips, though cold and dead.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="attribution">
+      <div class="attr"><span class="smcap">Alice L. Dundas</span></div>
+      <div class="attr">(The Honourable Mrs. John Dundas).</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> Boray Island, or Holm of Boray, off Millburn Bay in Gairsay.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> Midsummer Eve.</p>
+</div>
+
+</div>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus106" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus106.jpg" alt="">
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_408">[408]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="SONGS_OF_THE_GODS">SONGS OF THE GODS.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<h4 id="The_Challenge_of_Thor">The Challenge of Thor.</h4>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">I am the God Thor,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">I am the War God,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">I am the Thunderer!</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Here in my Northland,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">My fastness and fortress,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Reign I for ever!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Here amid icebergs</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Rule I the nations.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">This is my hammer,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Miölner the mighty;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Giants and sorcerers</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Cannot withstand it!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">These are the gauntlets</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Wherewith I wield it</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And hurl it afar off.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">This is my girdle;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Whenever I brace it</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Strength is redoubled!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">The light thou beholdest</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Stream through the heavens</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">In flashes of crimson</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Is but my red beard</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Blown by the night-wind,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Affrighting the nations!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Jove is my brother;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Mine eyes are the lightning;</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_409">[409]</span>      <div class="verse indent0">The wheels of my chariot</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Roll in the thunder,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The blows of my hammer</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Ring in the earthquake!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Force rules the world still,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Has ruled it, shall rule it;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Meekness is weakness,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Strength is triumphant,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Over the whole earth</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Still is it Thor’s Day!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Thou art a God too.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">O Galilean!</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And thus single-handed</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Unto the combat,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Gauntlet or Gospel,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Here I defy Thee!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">Longfellow.</span></div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<h4 id="Tegners_Drapa">Tegner’s Drapa.&#x2060;<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></h4>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">I heard a voice that cried,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">“Balder the Beautiful</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Is dead, is dead!”</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And through the misty air</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Passed like the mournful cry</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Of sunward sailing cranes.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">I saw the pallid corpse</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Of the dead sun</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Borne through the Northern sky.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Blasts from Niffelheim</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Lifted the sheeted mists</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Around him as he passed.</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_410">[410]</span>    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">And the voice for ever cried,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">“Balder the Beautiful</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Is dead, is dead!”</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And died away</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Through the dreary night,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">In accents of despair.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Balder the Beautiful,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">God of the summer sun,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Fairest of all the Gods!</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Light from his forehead beamed,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Runes were upon his tongue,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">As on the warrior’s sword.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">All things in earth and air</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Bound were by magic spell</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Never to do him harm;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Even the plants and stones—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">All save the mistletoe,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The sacred mistletoe!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Hœder, the blind old God,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Whose feet are shod with silence,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Pierced through that gentle breast</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">With his sharp spear, by fraud</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Made of the mistletoe,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The accursed mistletoe!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">They laid him in his ship,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">With horse and harness,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">As on a funeral pyre.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Odin placed</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">A ring upon his finger,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And whispered in his ear.</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_411">[411]</span>    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">They launched the burning ship!</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">It floated far away</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Over the misty sea,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Till like the sun it seemed,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Sinking beneath the waves.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Balder returned no more!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">So perish the old Gods!</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">But out of the sea of Time</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Rises a new land of song,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Fairer than the old.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Over its meadows green</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Walk the young bards and sing.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Build it again,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">O ye bards,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Fairer than before!</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Ye fathers of the new race,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Feed upon morning dew,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Sing the new Song of Love!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">The law of force is dead!</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The law of love prevails!</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Thor, the Thunderer,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Shall rule the earth no more,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">No more, with threats,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Challenge the meek Christ.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Sing no more,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">O ye bards of the North,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Of Vikings and of Jarls!</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Of the days of Eld</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Preserve the freedom only,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Not the deeds of blood.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">Longfellow.</span></div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[3]</a> The Song of Tegner, a Swedish poet.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_412">[412]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_SONG_OF_HAROLD_HARFAGER">THE SONG OF HAROLD HARFAGER.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">The sun is rising dimly red,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The wind is wailing low and dread;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">From his cliff the eagle sallies,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Leaves the wolf his darksome valleys;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">In the mist the ravens hover,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Peep the wild-dogs from the cover—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Screaming, croaking, baying, yelling,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Each in his wild accents telling,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">“Soon we feast on dead and dying,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Fair-haired Harold’s flag is flying.”</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Many a crest in air is streaming,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Many a helmet darkly gleaming,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Many an arm the axe uprears,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Doomed to hew the wood of spears.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">All along the crowded ranks,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Horses neigh and armour clanks,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Chiefs are shouting, clarions ringing,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Louder still the bard is singing,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">“Gather, footmen—gather, horsemen,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">To the field, ye valiant Norsemen!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">“Halt ye not for food or slumber,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">View not vantage, count not number;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Jolly reapers, forward still;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Grow the crop on vale or hill,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Thick or scattered, stiff or lithe,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">It shall down before the scythe.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Forward with your sickles bright,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Reap the harvest of the fight—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Onward, footmen—onward, horsemen,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">To the charge, ye gallant Norsemen!</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_413">[413]</span>    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">“Fatal choosers of the slaughter,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">O’er you hovers Odin’s daughter;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Hear the choice she spreads before ye—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Victory, and wealth, and glory;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Or old Valhalla’s roaring Hail,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Her ever-circling mead and ale,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Where for eternity unite</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The joys of wassail and of fight.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Headlong forward, foot and horsemen,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Charge and fight, and die like Norsemen!”</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">Sir Walter Scott.</span></div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp68" id="illus107" style="max-width: 34.375em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus107.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>A woodland path, Binscarth.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_414">[414]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="KING_HACONS_LAST_BATTLE">KING HACON’S LAST BATTLE.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">All was over; day was ending</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">As the foemen turned and fled.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Gloomy red</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Glowed the angry sun descending;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">While round Hacon’s dying bed</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Tears and songs of triumph blending</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Told how fast the conqueror bled.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">“Raise me,” said the king. We raised him—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Not to ease his desperate pain;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">That were vain!</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">“Strong our foe was—but we faced him:</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Show me that red field again.”</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Then with reverent hands we placed him</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">High above the battle plain.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Sudden on our startled hearing</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Came the low-breathed, stern command,—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">“Lo! ye stand?</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Linger not—the night is nearing;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Bear me downwards to the strand,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Where my ships are idly steering</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Off and on, in sight of land.”</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Every whispered word obeying,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Swift we bore him down the steep,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">O’er the deep,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Up the tall ship’s side, low swaying</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">To the storm-wind’s powerful sweep,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And his dead companions laying</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Round him—we had time to weep.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">But the king said, “Peace! bring hither</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Spoils and weapons, battle-strown—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Make no moan;</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_415">[415]</span>      <div class="verse indent0">Leave me and my dead together;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Light my torch, and then—begone.”</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">But we murmured, each to other,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">“Can we leave him thus alone?”</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Angrily the king replieth;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Flashed the awful eye again</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">With disdain:</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">“Call him not <i>alone</i> who lieth</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Low among such noble slain;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Call him not <i>alone</i> who dieth</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Side by side with gallant men.”</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Slowly, sadly we departed;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Reached again that desolate shore,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Never more</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Trod by him, the brave, true-hearted,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Dying in that dark ship’s core!</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Sadder keel from land ne’er parted,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Nobler freight none ever bore!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">There we lingered, seaward gazing,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Watching o’er that living tomb,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Through the gloom—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Gloom which awful light is chasing—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Blood-red flames the surge illume!</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Lo! King Hacon’s ship is blazing;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">’Tis the hero’s self-sought doom.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Right before the wild wind driving,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Madly plunging—stung by fire—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">No help nigh her—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Lo! the ship has ceased her striving!</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Mount the red flames higher, higher,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Till, on ocean’s verge arriving,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Sudden sinks the Viking’s pyre—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent6">Hacon’s gone!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">Lord Dufferin.</span></div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_416">[416]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_DEATH_OF_HACO">THE DEATH OF HACO.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container" style="margin: auto; max-width: 25em;">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">The summer is gone, Haco, Haco;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">The yellow year is fled;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And the winter is come, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">That numbers thee with the dead!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">When the year was young, Haco, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And the skies were blue and bright,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Thou didst sweep the seas, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Like a bird with wings of might.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">With thine oaken galley, proudly,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And thy gilded dragon-prow,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">O’er the bounding billows, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Like a sea-god thou didst go.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">With thy barons gaily, gaily,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">All in proof of burnished mail,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">In the voes of Orkney, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Thou didst spread thy prideful sail;</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">And the sturdy men of Caithness,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And the land of the Mackay,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And the men of Stony Parf, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Knew that Norway’s king was nigh.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">And the men of utmost Lewis, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And Skye, with winding kyles,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And Macdougall’s country, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Knew the monarch of the isles.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">And the granite peaks of Arran,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And the rocks that fence the Clyde,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Saw thy daring Norsemen, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Ramping o’er the Scottish tide.</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_417">[417]</span>    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">But scaith befell thee, Haco, Haco!</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Thou wert faithful, thou wert brave;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">But not truth might shield thee, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">From a false and shuffling knave.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">The crafty King of Scots, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Who might not bar thy way,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Beguiled thee, honest Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">With lies that bred delay.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">And hasty winter, Haco, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Came and tripped the summer’s heels,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And rent the sails of Haco</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And swamped his conquering keels.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Woe is me for Haco, Haco!</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">On Lorn and Mull and Skye</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The hundred ships of Haco</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">In a thousand fragments lie!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">And thine oaken galley, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">That sailed with kingly pride,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Came shorn and shattered, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Through the foaming Pentland tide.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">And thy heart sunk, Haco, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And thou felt that thou must die,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">When the bay of Kirkwall, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Thou beheld with drooping eye.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">And they led thee, Haco, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">To the bishop’s lordly hall,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Where thy woe-struck barons, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Stood to see the mighty fall.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">And the purple churchmen, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Stood to hold thy royal head,</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_418">[418]</span>      <div class="verse indent0">And good words of hope to Haco</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">From the Holy Book they read.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Then out spake the dying Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">“Dear are God’s dear words to me,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">But read the book to Haco</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Of the kings that ruled the sea.”</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Then they read to dying Haco</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">From the ancient saga hoar,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Of Holden and of Harold,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">When his fathers worshipped Thor,</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">And they shrove the dying Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And they prayed his bed beside;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And with holy unction Haco</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Drooped his kingly head and died.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">And in parade of death, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">They stretched thee on thy bed,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">With a purple vest for Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And a garland on his head.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">And around thee, Haco, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Were tapers burning bright,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And masses were sung for Haco</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">By day and eke by night.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">And they bore thee, Haco, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">To holy Magnus’ shrine,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And beside his sainted bones, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">They chastely coffined thine.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">And above thee, Haco, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">To deck thy dreamless bed,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">All crisp with gold for Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">A purple pall they spread.</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_419">[419]</span>    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">And around thee, Haco, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Where the iron sleep thou slept,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Through the long, dark winter, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">A solemn watch they kept.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">And at early burst of springtime,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">When the birds sang out with glee,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">They took the body of Haco</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">In a ship across the sea—</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Across the sea to Norway,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Where thy sires make moan for thee,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">That the last of his race was Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Who ruled the Western Sea.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">And they laid thee, Haco, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">With thy sires on the Norway shore,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And far from the isles of the sea, Haco,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">That know thy name no more.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="attribution">
+      <div class="verse attr"><span class="smcap">John Stuart Blackie.</span></div>
+      <div class="verse attr">(<i>From “Lays of the Highlands and Islands.” By
+      permission of the Walter Scott Publishing Company.</i>)</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus108" style="max-width: 37.5em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/illus108.jpg" alt="">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p><i>A modern war-fleet in Kirkwall Bay.</i></p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_420">[420]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_OLD_MAN_OF_HOY">THE OLD MAN OF HOY.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container" style="margin: auto; max-width: 30em;">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent8">The Old Man of Hoy</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">Looks out on the sea,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Where the tide runs strong and the wave rides free;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">He looks on the broad Atlantic sea,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">And the Old Man of Hoy</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">Hath this great joy,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">To hear the deep roar of the wide blue ocean,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And to stand unmoved ’mid the sleepless motion,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">And to feel o’er his head</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">The white foam spread</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">From the wild wave proudly swelling;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">And to care no whit</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">For the storm’s rude fit,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Where he stands on his old rock-dwelling—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">This rare Old Man of Hoy.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent8">The Old Man of Hoy</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">Looks out on the sea,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Where the tide runs strong and the wave rides free;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">He looks on the broad Atlantic sea,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">And the Old Man of Hoy</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">Hath this great joy,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">To look on the flight of the wild seamew,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">With their hoar nests hung o’er the waters blue;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">To see them swing</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">On plunging wing,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And to hear their shrill notes swelling,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">And with them to reply</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">To the storm’s war-cry,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">As he stands on his old rock-dwelling—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">This rare Old Man of Hoy....</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_421">[421]</span>    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent8">The Old Man of Hoy</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">Looks out on the sea,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Where the tide runs strong and the wave rides free;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">He looks on the broad Atlantic sea,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">And the Old Man of Hoy</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">Hath this great joy,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">To think on the pride of the sea-kings old—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Harolds and Ronalds and Sigurds bold—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">Whose might was felt</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">By the cowering Celt</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">When he heard their war-cry yelling.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">But the sea-kings are gone,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">And he stands alone,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Firm on his old rock-dwelling—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">This stout Old Man of Hoy.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent8">But listen to me,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">Old Man of the Sea,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">List to the Skulda that speaketh by me:</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The Nornies are weaving a web for thee,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">Thou Old Man of Hoy,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">To ruin thy joy,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And to make thee shrink from the lash of the ocean,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And teach thee to quake with a strange commotion,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">When over thy head</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">And under thy bed</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">The rampant wave is swelling;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">And thou shalt die</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">’Neath a pitiless sky,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And reel from thy old rock-dwelling—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent8">Thou stout Old Man of Hoy!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="attribution">
+      <div class="verse attr"><span class="smcap">John Stuart Blackie.</span></div>
+      <div class="verse attr">(<i>From “Lays of the Highlands and Islands.” By
+      permission of the Walter Scott Publishing Company.</i>)</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_422">[422]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="ORKNEY">ORKNEY.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">The parting beam of autumn smiles</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">A farewell o’er these lonely isles;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Capped with its fire, the mountains soar</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Like lighted beacons on the shore,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">While far beneath, in depth profound,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The tides roll through each darksome sound—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Those passes where the troubled sea</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Hurries with roar and revelry;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Where waves dash on in headlong haste,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">By a wide world of waters prest.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Here ruined hall and nodding tower</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Hint darkly at departed power,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Their domeless walls, time-worn and gray,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Give dimly back the evening ray,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Like gleams from days long past away.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">Saint Magnus! pile of ages fled,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Thou temple of the quick and dead!</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">While they who raised thy form sublime</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Have faded from the things of time;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">While hands that reared, and heads that planned,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Have passed into the silent land,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Still hath thy mighty fabric stood</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">’Mid sweeping blast and sheeted flood.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Above thy tower and turrets tall</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The thunder-cloud hath spread its pall, ...</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And muttered o’er thine airy height</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Its bursting accents to the night:</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Though oft the wild and wintry storm</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Hath reeled around thy towering form,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The mighty pile still proudly rears</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Its head above the wreck of years.</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_423">[423]</span>    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">As through thy pillared aisles I tread,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Where rest the gone forgotten dead,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Each step a mournful echo calls</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">To wander through the dreary walls;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The sullen sounds they backward throw,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Which falter into whispers low.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Each tombstone’s frail and crumbling frame</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Preserves not e’en an airy name;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The lines by Friendship’s fingers traced,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Now touched by Time’s, are half effaced;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The few faint letters lingering still</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Are all the dead man’s chronicle.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">How often have the guests who ranged</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Thy sacred labyrinths been changed!</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Of crowds, who sang their anthems here,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">How still each tongue—how deaf each ear!...</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">But thou like them must pass away</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Beneath the hand of pale decay;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Even now thy towering turrets feel</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The weight of ages o’er them steal;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Thy summit in its airy waste</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Rocks to the rude and rushing blast;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">When years that wander o’er thee call</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Thy time-struck fabric to its fall,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Thy mouldering columns lone and gray</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Shall shelter then the bird of prey;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Each worshipless recess shall be</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Place for their frightful revelry;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The raven’s hoarse and funeral note</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Shall o’er sepulchral ruins float....</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">Still doth the ruined palace stand,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">A crumbling relic in the land—Tenantless</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_424">[424]</span>      <div class="verse indent0">fabric, huge and high,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And proud in ruined majesty;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The verdant ivy robes thy wall,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Weeds are the dwellers in thy hall,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And in the wind the tufted grass</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Waves o’er thy dim and mouldering mass,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And freshly each returning spring</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Blooms o’er thy mortal withering.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">On darkening piles, and waning wrecks,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">A gay green garment oft is spread;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">For ruin, as in mockery, decks</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">The faded victims she hath made.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">With time and tempest thou art bent,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">A drear, neglected monument,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Lorn as some frail and aged one</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Who lives when all his friends are gone!—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Where is thy voice of music?—where</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The strains that hushed the midnight air,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">When Beauty woke her witching song,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And spellbound held the festive throng?—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">A narrow and a nameless grave</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Hath closed upon the fair and brave,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And all around is deadly still,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Save when, from some high pinnacle,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The raven’s croak, or owlet’s wail,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Blends with the sighing of the gale....</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">The hoary rocks, of giant size,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">That o’er the land in circles rise,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Of which tradition may not tell,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Fit circles for the wizard’s spell,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Seen far amidst the scowling storm,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Seem each a tall and phantom form,</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_425">[425]</span>      <div class="verse indent0">As hurrying vapours o’er them flee,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Frowning in grim society,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">While like a dread voice from the past</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Around them mourns the autumnal blast....</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">Yet not the works of man alone,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Though hallowed by long ages gone,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Charm us away in musing mood;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Bear witness each grim solitude,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">’Mid Hoy’s high shadowy mountain walls</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Where mournfully the twilight falls:</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">There bosomed in a deep recess</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Sleeps a dim vale of loneliness,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The circling hills, all bleak and wild,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Are o’er its slumbers darkly piled,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Save on one side, where far below</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The everlasting waters flow,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And round the precipices vast</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Dance to the music of the blast....</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">There rocks of ages sternly throw</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Their shadows o’er a world below,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And fierce and fast each dark-brown flood</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Careering comes in maddening mood:</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">O’er the sheer cliffs the waters flash,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And down in whitest columns dash,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Till, far away, we scarce can hear</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Their dying falls and murmurs drear,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">As, bursting o’er the dizzy verge,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">They melt into the boiling surge.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">Here, when, perchance, the voice of men</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Is heard within the fairy glen,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Deep muttering echoes start around,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And rocks of gloom fling back the sound,</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_426">[426]</span>      <div class="verse indent0">While from their fragments, rent and riven,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">A thousand airy dwellers driven,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Send forth a wild and dreary scream.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Like such as breaks a fearful dream</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">When Conscience to the sleeper’s gaze</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Holds up the view of other days....</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">When, by Night’s mantle hooded o’er,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The heaving hills are seen no more,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Oft blended with the torrent’s dash</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Are heard the thunder’s startling crash,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And burst of billows on the shore,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Like cannon’s deep and distant roar,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">By echoes answered loud and fast,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">That gallop on the midnight blast,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">As if the Spirit of the vale</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Heard in his cave the stormy wail,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And to the tempest rolling by</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Shrieked loud his frightful mockery....</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">Where cairns of slumbering chiefs are piled,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And frown above the waters wild,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Rear their hoar heads, forlorn and dim,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Upon the ocean’s lonely brim,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">There the fierce storm and maddening surge</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Howl loud and long the warrior’s dirge,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And blended there together rave</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Through many a deep and dreary cave,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And waken from their sullen lair</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Sea-monsters, darkly slumbering there.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">Seen from those death-towers of the flood,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The ocean’s mighty solitude</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Widens through boundless space around,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Vast, melancholy, lone, profound;</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_427">[427]</span>      <div class="verse indent0">So vast that thought with weary wing</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Droops o’er its distant wandering,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And, left behind, again returns</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">To muse upon the mouldering urns....</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">As the rude brush of evening’s wind</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Leaves not a lingering trace behind</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Of landscapes living in the stream,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Like the dim scenery of a dream</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Called up by Fancy’s wizard wand,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">When Sense is sealed by Slumber’s hand;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">So Time’s drear blast hath swept along</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Alike from record and from song</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Their very names, who now lie hid</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Beneath each dusky pyramid;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And all that hint of them are graves</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Where the green flag of ruin waves,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Or crumbling remnant of the past</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">That ivy shelters from the blast,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And clings to still when others flee,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Like true love in adversity.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">On Noltland’s solitary pile</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">The last blush of the dying day</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Plays like a melancholy smile</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And hectic glow on pale decay ...</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The moss of years is on the wall,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And fitfully the night-winds start</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Through Bothwell’s roofless ruined hall,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Like sobs of sorrow from the heart;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Upon each floor of cold, damp sod</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The clustering weeds like hearse-plumes nod;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Through chambers desolate and green</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Hoots the gray owl at evening’s close.</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_428">[428]</span>      <div class="verse indent0">Meant for far other guests, I ween—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Where wave-worn Beauty might repose,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And find that bliss in Love’s caress</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Which hallows scenes of loneliness.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">See Hoy’s Old Man, whose summit bare</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Pierces the dark-blue fields of air,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Based in the sea, his fearful form</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Glooms like the spirit of the storm,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">An ocean Babel, rent and worn</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">By time and tide—all wild and lorn—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">A giant that hath warred with heaven,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Whose ruined scalp seems thunder-riven,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Whose form the misty spray doth shroud,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Whose head the dark and hovering cloud,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Around his dread and lowering mass,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">In sailing swarms the sea-fowl pass,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">But when the night-cloud o’er the sea</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Hangs like a sable canopy,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And when the flying storm doth scourge</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Around his base the rushing surge,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Swift to his airy clefts they soar,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And sleep amidst the tempest’s roar,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Or with its howling round his peak</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Mingle their drear and dreamy shriek.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">The dying day has had its rest</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Upon the mountain’s lofty crest;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Now, o’er the ocean it has fled,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And to the past is gathered;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">From stunted shrubs of foliage bared</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The farewell melodies are heard;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The twilight spreads a duskier veil</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Upon the deep and lonely dale,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And, moaning to the evening star,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The mountain stream is heard afar.</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_429">[429]</span>      <div class="verse indent0">The twilight fades and night again</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Claims from our time her portioned reign;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Earth sets, and leaves us to admire</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Yon vaulted canopy of fire,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Those burning glories of the sky,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Those “sparks of immortality,”</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Which shed from high their living light,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And blaze through the blue depths of night....</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">At such an hour, should music stray</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Soft from some isle, far, far away,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">It seems to charm to silent sleep</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The murmurs of the mighty deep;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The torrent, as it speeds along,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Stills its dark waters to the song,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And the full bosom feels relief,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Soothed by the mystic “joy of grief;”</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Upon the heart-chords stealing slow,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">It hallows every cherished woe,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And wakes sensations in the mind,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Wild, beautiful, and undefined,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">As tones that harp-strings give the wind.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">Oh! at such soul-inspiring strain</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The wondrous links of memory’s chain,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Though scattered far, unite again,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And Time and Distance strive in vain.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Again Youth’s fairy visions pass</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">In morning glow o’er Memory’s glass,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">At every magic melting fall</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">They come like echoes to their call,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And with the dreams of vanished years</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Steal forth again our smiles and tears.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">John Malcolm.</span></div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_430">[430]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="SCENES_FROM_THE_BUCCANEER">SCENES FROM “THE BUCCANEER.”</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<h4 id="Night">Night.</h4>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">Night walked in beauty o’er the peaceful sea,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Whose gentle waters spake tranquillity;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">With dreamy lull the rolling billow broke</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">In hollow murmurs on the distant rock;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The sea-bird wailed along the airy steep;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The creak of distant oar was on the deep.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">So still the scene, the boatman’s voice was heard;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The listening ear could almost catch each word;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">From isles remote the house-dog’s fitful bay</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Came floating o’er the waters far away;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And homeward wending o’er the silent hill,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The lonely shepherd’s song and whistle shrill;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The lulling murmur of the mountain flood,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">That sung its night-hymn to the solitude;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The curlew’s wild and desolate farewell,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">As slow she sailed adown the darksome dell;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The heathcock whirring o’er the heathy vale;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The mateless plover’s far-forsaken wail;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The rush of tides that round the islands ran,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And danced like maniacs in the moonlight wan,—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">All formed a scene so wild, and yet so fair,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">As might have wooed the heart from dreams of care,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">If aught had charms to soothe, or balm to heal,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The pangs that guilt is ever doomed to feel....</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<h4 id="Morning">Morning.</h4>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent2">Day dawns, and from the main the mist is furled,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The night-cloak of a solitary world;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And slow emerging from the fleecy cloud</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The mountains soar like giants from the shroud.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">High o’er the rest, and towering to the storm,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Glooms o’er the ocean Hoy’s majestic form;</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_431">[431]</span>      <div class="verse indent0">From his lone head, as roll the clouds away,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Behold Creation bursting into day,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">As first it broke from night and nothingness,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">When the Great Spirit brooded o’er the abyss.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">How calm and clear the boundless waters seem,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">As if awakening from a heavenly dream;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The little isles within their bosom lie,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Like dwellers in a bright infinity;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The crag terrific beetling o’er the west</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Beholds the heaven reflected in their breast.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The dark-brown hills embrace each silent bay</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">That loves amid their solitude to stray;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And far beneath, with low sepulchral sound,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Moans the dark torrent through the dell profound;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And from the thunder-throne, the mountain cairn,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Shrieks to the waste the solitary erne....</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Scenes of my song, of earliest smiles and tears,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Ye wake the memories of departed years!</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The distant murmur of your mountain streams</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Steals o’er my spirit with departed dreams,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">With many a tale and recollected lay,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Which, like the twilight of an autumn day,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Faint on your shores, of wonderful and wild,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Meet for the musing moods of Fancy’s child.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">There have I roamed o’er many a soaring steep</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">When the last day-gleam died along the deep,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And o’er the still and solitary land,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The distant music of the reaper band</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Came soft and mournful on the pensive soul,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">As mermaid’s siren song o’er ocean’s roll.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">There have I gazed upon the pathless seas,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">As on the gates of two eternities—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Far east, where future days shall gild the wave,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And west, where all the past hath found a grave.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">John Malcolm.</span></div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_432">[432]</span></p>
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="TO_ORKNEY">TO ORKNEY.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Land of the whirlpool, torrent, foam,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Where oceans meet in maddening shock;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The beetling cliff, the shelving holm,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">The dark, insidious rock;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Land of the bleak, the treeless moor,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">The sterile mountain, seared and riven;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The shapeless cairn, the ruined tower,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Scathed by the bolts of heaven;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The yawning gulf, the treacherous sand;—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">I love thee still, my native land!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Land of the dark, the Runic rhyme,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">The mystic ring, the cavern hoar,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The Scandinavian seer, sublime</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">In legendary lore;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Land of a thousand sea-kings’ graves—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Those tameless spirits of the past,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Fierce as their subject Arctic waves,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Or hyperborean blast;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Though polar billows round thee foam,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">I love thee!—thou wert once my home.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">With glowing heart and island lyre,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Ah! would some native bard arise</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">To sing, with all a poet’s fire,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Thy stern sublimities—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The roaring flood, the rushing stream,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">The promontory wild and bare,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The pyramid where sea-birds scream</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Aloft in middle air,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The Druid temple on the heath,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Old even beyond tradition’s breath.</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_433">[433]</span>    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Though I have roamed through verdant glades,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">In cloudless climes, ’neath azure skies;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Or plucked from beauteous Orient meads</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Flowers of celestial dyes;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Though I have laved in limpid streams</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">That murmur over golden sands,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Or basked amid the fulgent beams</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">That flame o’er fairer lands;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Or stretched me in the sparry grot,—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">My country! thou wert ne’er forgot.</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="attribution">
+      <div class="attr"><span class="smcap">David Vedder.</span></div>
+      <div class="attr">(Native of Deerness; 1790-1854.)</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<h3 class="nobreak" id="THE_TEMPLE_OF_NATURE">THE TEMPLE OF NATURE.</h3>
+
+</div>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+  <div class="poetry">
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Talk not of temples; there is <i>one</i>,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Built without hands, to mankind given.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Its lamps are the meridian sun</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And all the stars of heaven;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Its walls are the cerulean sky;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Its floor the earth so green and fair;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The dome is vast immensity,—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">All nature worships there!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">The Alps, arrayed in stainless snow,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">The Andean ranges yet untrod,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">At sunrise and at sunset glow</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Like altar-fires to God!</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">A thousand fierce volcanoes blaze,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">As if with hallowed victims rare;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And thunder lifts its voice in praise,—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">All nature worships there!</div>
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_434">[434]</span>    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">The ocean heaves resistlessly,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And pours his glittering treasures forth;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">His waves, the priesthood of the sea,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Kneel on the shell-gemmed earth,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">And there emit a hollow sound,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">As if they murmured praise and prayer;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">On every side ’tis hallowed ground,—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">All nature worships there!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">The grateful earth her odours yield</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">In homage, Mighty One, to Thee,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">From herbs and flowers in every field,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">From fruit on every tree;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The balmy dew, at morn and even,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Seems like the penitential tear,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Shed only in the sight of Heaven,—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">All nature worships there!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">The cedar and the mountain pine,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">The willow on the fountain’s brim,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The tulip and the eglantine,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">In reverence bend to Him;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The song-birds pour their sweetest lays</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">From tower, and tree, and middle air;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The rushing river murmurs praise,—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">All nature worships there!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse indent0">Then talk not of a fane, save <i>one</i>,</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Built without hands, to mankind given.</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Its lamps are the meridian sun</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">And all the stars of heaven;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">Its walls are the cerulean sky;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">Its floor the earth so green and fair;</div>
+      <div class="verse indent0">The dome is vast immensity,—</div>
+      <div class="verse indent2">All nature worships there!</div>
+    </div>
+    <div class="stanza">
+      <div class="verse right"><span class="smcap">David Vedder.</span></div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_435">[435]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="APPENDIX_I">APPENDIX I.<br>
+<span class="smaller">CHRONOLOGY OF ORCADIAN HISTORY TO THE END
+OF THE EARLDOM, WITH RELATED CONTEMPORARY EVENTS.</span></h2>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Certain historians assign earlier dates than those given below to the events
+before 933. The chronology adopted here is that which harmonizes best with the
+dates of events in other lands during that period. Approximate dates are marked
+“c” (circa); events not directly connected with the Earldom are in square brackets,
+and their dates in lighter type.</p>
+
+<table>
+  <tr>
+    <th>A.D.</th>
+    <th></th>
+    <th></th>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>78</b></td>
+    <td>(c.)</td>
+    <td>Agricola’s visit to Orkney.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">563.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Columba in Scotland.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>580</b></td>
+    <td>(c.)</td>
+    <td>Cormac’s missionary journey to Orkney.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">597.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Augustine in England.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">787.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[First recorded appearance of Vikings in England.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">800</td>
+    <td>(c.)</td>
+    <td>[First period of Norse colonization begins.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">841.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Rouen taken by the Norsemen.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">852.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Norse kingdom established in Dublin.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">862.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Rurik founds the Norse line in Russia.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">871.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Alfred the Great King of England.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">885.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Siege of Paris by the Norsemen.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>900.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Battle of Harfursfirth—Second period of Norse colonization begins.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc2">—</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Iceland colonized by Norsemen.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>901</b></td>
+    <td>(c.)</td>
+    <td>Harald Fairhair in Orkney—Earldom established.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc2">—</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Sigurd I. earl.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>905</b></td>
+    <td>(c.)</td>
+    <td>Battle with Maelbrigda of Ross—Sigurd’s death.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc2">—</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Guttorm, Sigurd’s son, earl.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>907</b></td>
+    <td>(c.)</td>
+    <td>Hallad, son of Rognvald, Earl of Moeri, earl.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>910.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Einar I. (Torf Einar), Rognvald’s son, earl.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">912.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Rolf or Rollo, Rognvald’s son, Duke of Normandy.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>933.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Arnkell, Erlend I., and Thorfinn I., Einar’s sons, joint-earls.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">950.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[King Eric (Bloody axe) expelled from Norway.]<span class="pagenum" id="Page_436">[436]</span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>954.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Eric and Earls Arnkell and Erlend fall at battle of Stainsmoor.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>963.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Arnfinn, Havard, Ljot, and Hlodve, Thorfinn’s sons, joint-earls.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>980.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Sigurd II. (the Stout), Hlodve’s son, earl.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">980.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Discovery of Greenland by the Norsemen.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">986.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Discovery of America (Vinland) by the Norsemen.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>995.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Conversion of Sigurd to Christianity by Olaf Tryggvason.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">998.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Olaf Tryggvason, King of Norway.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1014.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Battle of Clontarf—Death of Earl Sigurd.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc2">—</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Sumarlid, Einar II., Brusi, and (later) Thorfinn II., Sigurd’s
+    sons, joint-earls.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1015.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Olaf the Saint King of Norway.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1015.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Death of Earl Sumarlid.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1017.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Knut (Canute) King of England.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1020.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Murder of Einar II.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1027.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Norse kingdom established in Southern Italy.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1030.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Battle of Sticklestad—Death of St. Olaf.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1031.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Death of Earl Brusi—Thorfinn II. sole earl.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc2">—</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Rognvald, Brusi’s son, claims a share of the earldom.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1045.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Battle in the Pentland Firth between Rognvald and Thorfinn.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1046.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Murder of Rognvald in Papa Stronsay.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1056.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Malcolm Canmore King of Scotland.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1057.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Christ’s Kirk in Birsay founded.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1064.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Death of Thorfinn; his sons Paul I. and Erlend II. joint-earls.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1066.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Harald Hardradi visits Orkney.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc2">—</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Harold, Godwin’s son, King of England.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc2">—</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Battle of Stamford Bridge.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc2">—</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Invasion of Duke William of Normandy—Battle of Hastings.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1087.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Moorish Empire established in Spain.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1096.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[First Crusade.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1098.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Magnus (Barefoot), King of Norway, sends the Orkney earls to Norway,
+    and makes his son Sigurd “King” of Orkney.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1103.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Death of Magnus—Sigurd King of Norway.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1103.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Hakon, Paul’s son, and Magnus, Erlend’s son, joint-earls.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1115.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Murder of Earl Magnus (St. Magnus) in Egilsay.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1122.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Death of Earl Hakon; his sons Harald I. and Paul II. joint-earls.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1127.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Death of Harald—Paul sole earl.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1129.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Rognvald II. (Kali) appointed joint-earl by King Sigurd.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1135.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Rognvald’s first expedition to claim the earldom.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc2">—</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>St. Magnus Church, Egilsay, founded.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1136.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Rognvald’s second expedition—Earl Paul kidnapped by Sweyn Asleifson.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1137.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>St. Magnus Cathedral founded.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1139.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Harald II. (Maddadson) joint-earl.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1151.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Crusaders winter in Orkney.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1152.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Earl Rognvald’s Crusade to Jerusalem.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1154.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Erlend III. joint-earl.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_437">[437]</span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1156.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Death of Erlend III.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1158.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Earl Rognvald killed.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1171.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Sweyn Asleifson’s last cruise and death at Dublin.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1171.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[English invasion of Ireland.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1175.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Abbot Laurentius transferred from Orkney (Eynhallow) to Melrose.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1194.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Battle of Floravoe, near Bergen; defeat of the “Island-beardies.”]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1196.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Shetland separated from the Orkney earldom.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1197.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Harald III. (the Young), grandson of Rognvald, joint-earl.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1198.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Death of Harald the Young.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1206.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Death of Earl Harald II. (Maddadson); his sons David and John
+    joint-earls.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1214.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Death of Earl David.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1214.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Alexander II. King of Scotland.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1215.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Magna Charta granted in England.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1222.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Burning of Bishop Adam in Caithness.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc2">—</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Death of Bjarne, the poet-bishop of Orkney.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1231.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Death of John, the last earl of the Norse line.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1232.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Magnus II., the first of the Angus line, earl.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc2">—</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Loss of ship carrying the chief men of the Isles from Norway.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1239.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Gilbride I. earl.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc2">?</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Gilbride II. earl.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1249.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Alexander III. King of Scotland.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1256.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Magnus III. earl.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1263.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>King Hakon’s expedition—Battle of Largs—Death of Hakon at
+    Kirkwall.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1266.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Treaty of Perth—“Annual of Norway” established.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1276.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Magnus IV. earl.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1284.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>John II. earl.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1286.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Death of Alexander III. of Scotland—Margaret of Norway heiress
+    to the crown.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1292.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Death of Margaret the “Maid of Norway.”]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1306.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Robert Bruce King of Scotland. According to a tradition, the
+    credibility of which is supported by various lines of evidence,
+    Bruce passed the winter of 1306-7 in Orkney, not in the island
+    of Rathlin.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1310.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Magnus V. earl.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1312.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Treaty of Perth confirmed at Inverness.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1314.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Battle of Bannockburn.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1325.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Death of Earl Magnus V.; end of the Angus line.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc2">—</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Malise of Stratherne earl.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1353.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Erngisl earl.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1379.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Death of Earl Erngisl; end of the Stratherne line.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc2">—</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Henry I. (St. Clair) earl—Shetland restored to the earldom.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc2">—</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Union of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark (Union of Calmar).<span class="pagenum" id="Page_438">[438]</span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1400.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Henry II. (St. Clair) earl.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1406.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Prince James of Scotland captured by the English when on his
+    way to France.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1420.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Bishop William Tulloch, commissioner in Orkney for the Crown
+    of Norway.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1423.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>David Menzies of Wemyss commissioner.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1434.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>William St. Clair earl, the last earl under Norse rule.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1453.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Constantinople taken by the Turks.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1468.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Orkney and Shetland pledged to the Scottish Crown.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdc2">—</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Marriage of James III. of Scotland to Margaret of Denmark.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1471.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Lands and revenues of Earl William purchased by the Scottish
+    Crown.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1472.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Bishop William Tulloch appointed to collect Crown revenues.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1485.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Henry St. Clair representative of the Crown.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1492.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[First voyage of Columbus.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1497.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Voyage of Cabot to Labrador.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1513.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Battle of Flodden—Death of Henry St. Clair.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1524.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Union of Calmar dissolved.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1529.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Battle of Summerdale.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1540.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>James V. of Scotland visits Orkney.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1542.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Mary Queen of Scots born.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1565.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Lord Robert Stewart obtains a feu charter of Orkney and Shetland.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1567.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Mary Queen of Scots deposed—James VI. proclaimed—Flight of Bothwell
+    to Orkney and Shetland.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1568.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>The Islands resumed by the Crown of Scotland.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1581.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Lord Robert Stewart earl.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1588.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[The Armada.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1592.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Earl Patrick Stewart obtains the Islands.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr">1603.</td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>[Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England.]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td class="tdr"><b>1614.</b></td>
+    <td></td>
+    <td>Execution of Earl Patrick.</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_439">[439]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="APPENDIX_II">APPENDIX II.<br>
+<span class="smaller">NORSE WORDS IN ORKNEY PLACE-NAMES.</span></h2>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>The following is a list of the Norse words most commonly found in place-names
+in Orkney, with their meaning. The forms in which they now appear, as names or
+parts of names, are given in italic, except where the old form is preserved with
+little change.</p>
+
+<h3>1. <span class="smcap">Land Features.</span></h3>
+
+<ul>
+<li><b>Ass</b>, ridge; <i>-house</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Bjarg</b>, rocky hill; <i>-berry</i>, <i>-ber</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Bratt</b>, steep; <i>brett-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Brekka</b>, slope; <i>-breck</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Dal</b>, valley; <i>-dale</i>, <i>-dall</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Fjall</b>, hill; <i>-fell</i>, <i>-fea</i>, <i>-fiold</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Gil</b>, narrow glen; <i>-gill</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Grjot</b>, gravel; <i>grut-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Hals</b>, neck, col; <i>hass</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Hammar</b>, crag.</li>
+<li><b>Haug</b>, mound; <i>howe</i>, <i>hox-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Hlith</b>, slope; <i>-lee</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Hvāll</b>, <b>hōll</b>, hill; <i>hol-</i>, <i>hool-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Hvamm</b>, small valley, grassy slope; <i>quholm</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Kamb</b>, ridge or crest; <i>kame</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Knapp</b>, hilltop, knob.</li>
+<li><i>Kuml</i>, burial mound; <i>cumla-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Leir</b>, clay; <i>ler-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Mel</b>, sandbank, sandy downs.</li>
+<li><b>Mor</b>, pl. mos, moor; <i>mous-</i>, <i>-mo</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Myri</b>, wet meadow; <i>-mire</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Skal</b>, soft rock, shale; <i>skel-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Thufa</b>, mound; <i>-too</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Varthi</b>, watch-tower; <i>ward</i>, <i>wart</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Voll</b>, valley; <i>vel-</i>, <i>-wall</i>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<h3>2. <span class="smcap">Fresh Water.</span></h3>
+
+<ul>
+<li><b>A</b>, <b>o</b>, <b>or</b>, burn.</li>
+<li><b>Brun</b>, well; <i>-burn</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Fors</b>, waterfall; <i>furs-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Kelda</b>, spring.</li>
+<li><b>Oss</b>, burn-mouth; <i>oyce</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Tjörn</b>, small lake; <i>-shun</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Vatn</b>, water; <i>watten</i>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<h3>3. <span class="smcap">Shore Features.</span></h3>
+
+<ul>
+<li><b>Bakki</b>, banks; <i>-back</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Barth</b>, projecting headland (edge of a hill, beak of a ship, etc.).</li>
+<li><b>Berg</b>, mass of rock; <i>-ber</i>, <i>-berry</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Bringa</b>, breast; <i>bring</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Eith</b>, isthmus; <i>aith</i>, <i>-ay</i>, <i>-a</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Ey</b>, island; <i>-ey</i>, <i>-ay</i>, <i>-a</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Eyrr</b>, gravel beach; <i>ayre</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Fles</b>, flat skerry; <i>flashes</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Gnüp</b>, peak; <i>noup</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Hella</b>, flat rock; <i>-hellya</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Hellir</b>, cave; <i>-hellya</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Hōlm</b>, small island.</li>
+<li><b>Klett</b>, low rock; <i>-clett</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Muli</b>, muzzle, lip; <i>mout</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Nef</b>, növ, nose; <i>nevi</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Nes</b>, nose; <i>-ness</i>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_440">[440]</span></li>
+<li><b>Oddi</b>, sharp point; <i>od</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Sker</b>, skerry.</li>
+<li><b>Stakk</b>, pillar rock; <i>stack</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Tangl</b>, tongue; <i>-taing</i>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<h3>4. <span class="smcap">Sea Features.</span></h3>
+
+<ul>
+<li><b>Brim</b>, surf.</li>
+<li><b>Efja</b>, backwater, eddy; <i>evie</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Fjörth</b>, firth; <i>firth</i>, <i>-ford</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Gja</b>, chasm, creek; <i>geo</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Glup</b>, throat; <i>gloup</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Hafn</b>, harbour; <i>ham</i>, <i>hamn-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Hōp</b>, shallow bay.</li>
+<li><b>Straum</b>, tide-stream; <i>strom-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Vag</b>, narrow bay; <i>voe</i>, <i>-wall</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Vath</b>, wading-place, ford; <i>waith</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Vik</b>, bay; <i>-wick</i>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<h3>5. <span class="smcap">Farms and Houses.</span></h3>
+
+<ul>
+<li><b>Bolstadr</b>, dwelling; <i>-buster</i>, <i>-bister</i>, <i>-bist</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Brū</b>, bridge; <i>bro-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Bu</b>, <b>bær</b>, farm; <i>bu</i>, <i>-by</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Bygging</b>, building, from byggja, to settle, to build; <i>-biggin</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Garth</b>, enclosure, dyke; <i>-garth</i>, <i>-ger</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Grind</b>, gate.</li>
+<li><b>Hagi</b>, enclosed pasture; <i>hack-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Hus</b>, house.</li>
+<li><b>Krō</b>, sheepfold; <i>-croo</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Kvī</b>, cattle pen; <i>-quoy</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Rett</b>, sheepfold; <i>-ret</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Sel</b>, “saeter” hut; <i>selli-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Setr</b>, <b>saetr</b>, out-pasture; <i>seatter</i>, <i>-setter</i>, <i>-ster</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Skali</b>, hall, house; <i>-skaill</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Skipti</b>, dividing, boundary; <i>skippi-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Stadr</b>, homestead; <i>-ster</i>, <i>-sta</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Stofa</b>, room, house; <i>stove</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Thopt</b>, plot, site of a house; <i>-toft</i>, <i>-taft</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Tūn</b>, enclosure, hedge; <i>-ton</i>, <i>-town</i>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<h3>6. <span class="smcap">Miscellaneous.</span></h3>
+
+<ul>
+<li><b>Djup</b>, deep; <i>deep-</i>, <i>jub-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Faer</b>, sheep; <i>far-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Flat</b>, flat; <i>flot-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Gra</b>, gray.</li>
+<li><b>Graenn</b>, green.</li>
+<li><b>Ha</b>, high; <i>ho-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Helgr</b>, holy; <i>hellya</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Hest</b>, horse.</li>
+<li><b>Hrafn</b>, raven; <i>ram-</i>, <i>ramn-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Hross</b>, horse; <i>russ-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Hund</b>, dog.</li>
+<li><b>Hvit</b>, white; <i>wheetha-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Ling</b>, heather.</li>
+<li><b>Mykill</b>, great; <i>muckle</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Raud</b>, red; <i>ro-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Skalp</b>, ship; <i>scap-</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Skip</b>, ship.</li>
+<li><b>Svart</b>, black; <i>swart-</i>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_441">[441]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="APPENDIX_III">APPENDIX III.<br>
+<span class="smaller">LIST OF BIRDS FOUND IN ORKNEY.</span></h2>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>Local names are given in brackets. An asterisk (*) indicates that the bird is
+not known to breed in the islands. When any bird not in this list is found, it will
+usually be worth while to put the fact on record.</p>
+
+<ul>
+<li class="ifrst">*<b>Auk, Little</b> (Rotchie).</li>
+<li class="ifrst"><b>Blackbird</b> (Blackie).</li>
+<li><b>Bunting, Corn</b> (Chirlie Buntling).</li>
+<li>*<b>Bunting, Snow</b> (Snowflake).</li>
+<li class="ifrst"><b>Chaffinch</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Coot</b> (Snaith).</li>
+<li><b>Cormorant</b> (Palmer, Scarf).</li>
+<li>Crow, Hooded (Craa, Hoodie Craa, Grayback).</li>
+<li><b>Cuckoo</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Curlew</b> (Whaup).</li>
+<li class="ifrst">*<b>Diver, Black-throated</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li>*<b>Diver, Great Northern</b> (Immer Goose).</li>
+<li><b>Diver, Red-throated.</b></li>
+<li>*<b>Dotterel</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Dove, Ring</b> (Wood-pigeon)—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Dove, Rock.</b></li>
+<li><b>Dove, Stock.</b></li>
+<li><b>Duck, Eider</b> (Dunter).</li>
+<li>*<b>Duck, Golden-eye</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Duck, Long-tailed</b> (Calloo)—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li>*<b>Duck, Scaup</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Duck, Sheld</b> (Sly-goose).</li>
+<li><b>Duck, Teal.</b></li>
+<li><b>Duck, Tufted.</b></li>
+<li><b>Duck, Wild</b> (Stock Duck).</li>
+<li><b>Dunlin</b> (Plover-page, Plover-pagick).</li>
+<li class="ifrst"><b>Falcon, Peregrine.</b></li>
+<li>*<b>Fieldfare.</b></li>
+<li class="ifrst"><b>Gannet</b> or <b>Solan Goose</b>.</li>
+<li>*<b>Goose, Bernacle</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li>*<b>Goose, Brent.</b></li>
+<li>*<b>Goose, Graylag</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Grebe, Little.</b></li>
+<li><b>Greenfinch</b> (Green Lintie).</li>
+<li><b>Grouse, Red</b> (Muirhen).</li>
+<li><b>Guillemot, Black</b> (Tyste).</li>
+<li><b>Guillemot, Common</b> (Aak).</li>
+<li><b>Gull, Black-headed.</b></li>
+<li><b>Gull, Common</b> (White-maa).</li>
+<li><b>Gull, Greater Black-backed</b> (Baakie).</li>
+<li><b>Gull, Herring</b> (White-maa).</li>
+<li><b>Gull, Lesser Black-backed.</b></li>
+<li class="ifrst"><b>Hen Harrier</b> (Goose-haak).</li>
+<li><b>Heron, Common.</b></li>
+<li class="ifrst"><b>Jackdaw</b> (Jackie, Kae).<span class="pagenum" id="Page_442">[442]</span></li>
+<li><b>Kestrel</b> (Moosie Haak).</li>
+<li><b>Kittiwake</b> (Kittie, Kittick, Kittiwaako).</li>
+<li class="ifrst"><b>Lapwing</b> (Teeack, Teewhup).</li>
+<li><b>Linnet</b> (Lintie, Lintick).</li>
+<li class="ifrst"><b>Merganser, Red-breasted</b> (Sawbill, Harl, Rantick).</li>
+<li><b>Merlin.</b></li>
+<li><b>Moorhen</b> (Waterhen).</li>
+<li class="ifrst"><b>Owl, Long-eared</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Owl, Short-eared</b> (Cattie-face).</li>
+<li><b>Oyster Catcher</b> (Skeldro).</li>
+<li class="ifrst"><b>Petrel, Fulmar.</b></li>
+<li><b>Petrel, Stormy</b> (Sea-swallow).</li>
+<li><b>Phalarope, Red-necked.</b></li>
+<li><b>Pipit, Meadow</b> (Teeting).</li>
+<li><b>Pipit, Rock</b> (Tang Sparrow, Tang Teeting).</li>
+<li><b>Plover, Golden.</b></li>
+<li><b>Plover, Ringed</b> (Sandlark, Sinlack).</li>
+<li><b>Pochard.</b></li>
+<li><b>Puffin</b> (Tammie-norrie).</li>
+<li class="ifrst"><b>Quail</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li class="ifrst"><b>Rail, Land</b> (Corncrake).</li>
+<li><b>Rail, Water</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Raven</b> (Corbie).</li>
+<li><b>Razor-bill</b> (Cooter-neb).</li>
+<li><b>Redbreast</b> (Robin Redbreast).</li>
+<li><b>Redshank.</b></li>
+<li>*<b>Redwing.</b></li>
+<li><b>Rook.</b></li>
+<li class="ifrst">*<b>Sanderling</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Sandpiper, Common.</b></li>
+<li>*<b>Scoter, Common.</b></li>
+<li>*<b>Scoter, Surf</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li>*<b>Scoter, Velvet.</b></li>
+<li><b>Shag</b> (Scarf).</li>
+<li><b>Shearwater, Manx</b> (Lyrie).</li>
+<li><b>Shoveller</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Skua, Richardson’s</b> (Scootie-allan).</li>
+<li><b>Skylark</b> (Laverock, Lavro).</li>
+<li>*<b>Smew</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Snipe</b> (Snippick, Horse-gowk).</li>
+<li><b>Sparrow, Hedge.</b></li>
+<li><b>Sparrow, House</b> (Sprug).</li>
+<li><b>Starling</b> (Stirling, Strill).</li>
+<li>*<b>Stint, Little</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Stonechat</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li>*<b>Swan, Hooper</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li class="ifrst"><b>Tern, Arctic</b> (Pickie-terno, Rit-tick).</li>
+<li><b>Tern, Common</b> (Pickie-terno, Rit-tick).</li>
+<li><b>Tern, Sandwich</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Thrush</b> (Mavis).</li>
+<li>*<b>Turnstone</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Twite</b> (Heather Lintie).</li>
+<li class="ifrst"><b>Wagtail, Pied</b> (Willie-wagtail).</li>
+<li><b>Warbler, Sedge</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Wheatear</b> (Chackie, Stonechat).</li>
+<li><b>Whimbrel</b> (Little Whaup, Summer Whaup)—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Whinchat</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Widgeon.</b></li>
+<li><b>Woodcock</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li><b>Wren</b> (Wirenn, Jenny Wren).</li>
+<li><b>Wren, Gold-crested</b>—<i>rare</i>.</li>
+<li class="ifrst"><b>Yellowhammer</b> (Yallow Yarling).</li>
+</ul>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_443">[443]</span></p>
+
+<h2 class="nobreak" id="APPENDIX_IV">APPENDIX IV.<br>
+<span class="smaller">BOOKS FOR FURTHER STUDY.</span></h2>
+
+</div>
+
+<p>The subjoined list of books is given as a guide to further study by those who may
+wish to extend their knowledge of Orkney in any of the aspects suggested in this
+book. It is not in any sense a complete list of works relating to the Islands, nor
+does it, on the other hand, confine itself to such works in subjects where general
+study is the best foundation for local research. The books marked * are now out
+of print, and can only be obtained from libraries, or bought, when occasion offers,
+from dealers in second-hand books. As regards books still current, the list may be
+helpful to those who are building up school or parish libraries in the Islands. The
+most complete bibliography of Orkney and Shetland is the <b>List of Books and
+Pamphlets relating to Orkney and Shetland</b>, by James W. Cursiter, F.S.A.Scot.
+(Wm. Peace and Son, Kirkwall, 1894.)</p>
+
+<h3>Archæology and Early History.</h3>
+
+<p>*<b>Orkneyinga Saga.</b> Translated by Hjaltalin and Goudie. Edited,
+with Notes, by Anderson. (Edinburgh, 1873.) The historical introduction
+by Dr. Joseph Anderson is of special value.</p>
+
+<p><b>The Orkneyingers’ Saga.</b> Translated by Sir G. W. Dasent. (London,
+1894; Rolls Edition.) A very fine spirited rendering into English, as
+may be seen from the extracts given in the first part of this book.</p>
+
+<p><b>The Saga of Hacon, and a fragment of the Saga of Magnus.</b> Translated
+by Sir G. W. Dasent. (London, 1894; Rolls Edition.) This gives
+the Norse account of the battle of Largs, and events leading up to it.</p>
+
+<p>The Icelandic text of the two preceding books is published in separate
+volumes in the same series.</p>
+
+<p><b>The Story of Burnt Njal.</b> By Sir G. W. Dasent. (Edinburgh, 1861;
+also a later and cheaper edition.) This is the finest of the Icelandic
+sagas. It deals mainly with life in Iceland, but contains several references
+to Orkney under Earl Sigurd the Stout, and the fine description of
+the battle of Clontarf quoted in this book.</p>
+
+<p><b>The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill; or, The Invasion of Ireland
+by the Danes and other Norsemen.</b> Irish text, with translation and
+introduction by Jas. H. Todd. (London, 1867; Rolls Edition.) This
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_444">[444]</span>gives an account from the Irish point of view of the Norse invasions of
+Ireland up to and including the battle of Clontarf.</p>
+
+<p><b>The Heimskringla; or, Chronicles of the Kings of Norway.</b> Translated
+by Samuel Laing. (3 vols., London, 1844; new edition, edited by
+Dr. R. B. Anderson, 4 vols., London, 1889.)</p>
+
+<p><b>Heimskringla Saga.</b> The Saga Library Edition. Translated by
+Wm. Morris and Eirikr Magnusson. (4 vols., London, 1893-1905.) The
+sagas included in the Heimskringla form a history of the early kings of
+Norway, and contain frequent references to Orkney. Snorri Sturlason,
+the author, ranks among the greatest of historians.</p>
+
+<p><b>Corpus Poeticum Boreale.</b> By Gudbrand Vigfusson and F. York
+Powell. (2 vols., Oxford, 1883.) This is an almost complete collection of
+old Norse Eddic and Court poetry, including poems by Torf Einar,
+Arnor the Earl’s poet, Earl Rognvald, and Bishop Bjarni. In a valuable
+introduction Vigfusson shows that many of the Eddic lays were
+written in the western Norse colonies in the British Isles, and some of
+them presumably in the Orkney earldom.</p>
+
+<p><b>Icelandic Primer.</b> By Henry Sweet. (Oxford, 1886.)</p>
+
+<p><b>Icelandic Prose Reader.</b> By G. Vigfusson and F. York Powell.
+(Oxford, 1879.)</p>
+
+<p><b>Icelandic-English Dictionary.</b> By R. Cleasby. Edited by G. Vigfusson,
+with appendix by W. W. Skeat. (London, 1874.)</p>
+
+<p>The preceding three books form the best equipment for studying the
+language of the Norse period.</p>
+
+<p><b>The Dialect and Place-Names of Shetland.</b> By J. Jakobsen. (Lerwick,
+1897.) Many of the place-names explained occur in Orkney.</p>
+
+<p><b>The Vikings in Western Christendom</b>, by C. F. Keary (London, 1891),
+gives an interesting account of the early Viking age, from 789 to 888 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span></p>
+
+<p><b>Saga Time</b>, by J. Fulford Vicary (London, 1887), gives a popular
+description of society from the ninth to the eleventh century.</p>
+
+<p><b>Orcades, seu Rerum Orcadensium Historia.</b> By Thormodus Torfaeus,
+Icelandic historian (1697). Translated by Alexander Pope, minister of
+Reay. (Wick, 1866.) Only a partial translation.</p>
+
+<p>*<b>Account of the Danes and Norwegians in England, Scotland, and
+Ireland.</b> By J. J. A. Worsaae; translation. (London, 1852.) A standard
+work.</p>
+
+<p><b>Monumenta Orcadica: the Norsemen in the Orkneys and the Monuments
+they have left, with a Survey of the Celtic Pre-Norwegian and
+Scottish Post-Norwegian Monuments in the Islands.</b> By L. Dietrichson.
+(Christiania, 1906.) The most recent and most scientific account of the
+Norse remains in Orkney, written in Norwegian, but with a very full
+summary—almost equivalent to a translation—in English. Of special
+interest is the account of the newly-discovered monastery in Eynhallow.</p>
+
+<p><b>The Viking Age.</b> By Paul du Chaillu. (2 vols., London, 1889.) An
+account of the manners and customs, as well as the history, of the Viking
+period; well illustrated, but not accurate or authoritative.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_445">[445]</span></p>
+
+<p><b>The Early Kings of Norway.</b> By Thomas Carlyle. (London, 1875.)
+A short account of the period from 860 to 1397; of no great historical
+value.</p>
+
+<h3>Norse Mythology.</h3>
+
+<p>*<b>Northern Mythology.</b> By Benjamin Thorpe. (3 vols., London, 1851.)
+The best and most complete work on the subject.</p>
+
+<p><b>Northern Antiquities.</b> By P. Mallet; translation. (London, 1770;
+edition in Bohn’s Series.)</p>
+
+<p><b>The Mythology of the Eddas.</b> By C. F. Keary. (London, 1882.)</p>
+
+<p><b>Norse Mythology: the Religion of our Forefathers.</b> By R. B. Anderson.
+(Chicago, 1875.)</p>
+
+<p><b>Asgard and the Gods: a Manual of Norse Mythology.</b> By Dr. W.
+Wägner. (London, 1880.) The best popular book on the subject.</p>
+
+<p><b>The Tragedy of the Norse Gods.</b> By R. J. Pitt.</p>
+
+<p><b>Heroes and Hero-Worship.</b> By Thomas Carlyle. (London, 1841.)</p>
+
+<p><b>The Earthly Paradise.</b> By William Morris. (London, 1868-70.)</p>
+
+<p><b>Sigurd the Volsung.</b> By William Morris. (London, 1877.)</p>
+
+<p><b>Epic and Romance.</b> Essays on Mediæval Literature by W. P. Ker.
+(London, 1908.) An authoritative and very readable account of the old
+Icelandic literary art.</p>
+
+<h3>Later History.</h3>
+
+<p>*<b>History of the Orkney Islands.</b> By the Rev. George Barry. (Edinburgh,
+1805; reprinted, with prefatory account of the Islands, Kirkwall,
+1867.) One of the standard works dealing with the history of the
+Islands.</p>
+
+<p>*<b>Odal Rights and Feudal Wrongs.</b> By David Balfour of Balfour.
+(Edinburgh, 1860).</p>
+
+<p>*<b>Oppressions of the Sixteenth Century in the Islands of Orkney and
+Zetland.</b> (Edinburgh, 1859; Abbotsford and Maitland Clubs publications.)</p>
+
+<p>The above two books give an account of Orkney under Scottish rule.</p>
+
+<p>*<b>Monteith’s Description of the Islands of Orkney and Zetland.</b>
+(Edinburgh, 1711; reprinted 1845.)</p>
+
+<p>*<b>General View of the Agriculture of the Orkney Islands.</b> By John
+Shirreff. (Edinburgh, 1814.) An exceedingly interesting account of the
+state of the Islands in the early nineteenth century.</p>
+
+<p><b>Description of the Isles of Orkney.</b> By the Rev. James Wallace
+(minister of Kirkwall). Published by his son. (Edinburgh, 1693; reprinted,
+with notes by John Small, M.A., Edinburgh, 1883.)</p>
+
+<p><b>The Present State of the Orkney Islands Considered.</b> By James Fea
+(Surgeon). (Edinburgh, 1775; reprinted, Edinburgh, 1884.)</p>
+
+<p><b>Orkney and Shetland Old-Lore Series.</b> A miscellany issued quarterly
+by the Viking Club, London; contains numerous articles of historical
+interest.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_446">[446]</span></p>
+
+<h3>Descriptive.</h3>
+
+<p>*<b>The Orkneys and Shetland.</b> By John R. Tudor. (London, 1883.)
+The best descriptive work on the county; at once popular and systematic.</p>
+
+<p><b>Kirkwall in the Orkneys.</b> By B. H. Hossack. (Kirkwall, 1900.) An
+extremely full and detailed descriptive and historical account of the
+town of Kirkwall.</p>
+
+<p>*<b>History of the Orkney Islands</b>, by the Rev. George Barry (Kirkwall
+edition, 1867), contains a well-written description of the Islands.</p>
+
+<p>*<b>Summers and Winters In the Orkneys.</b> By Daniel Gorrie. (Kirkwall,
+<span class="allsmcap">N.D.</span>) A valuable series of sketches of Orcadian scenery and the
+conditions of life about the middle of last century.</p>
+
+<p><b>Rambles In the Far North.</b> By R. M. Fergusson. (Paisley, 1884.)</p>
+
+<p><b>Our Trip North.</b> By R. M. Fergusson. (London, 1892.)</p>
+
+<p><b>Handbook to the Orkney Islands.</b> (W. Peace and Son, Kirkwall.) Full
+of interest.</p>
+
+<p><b>Orkney and Shetland.</b> By M. J. B. Baddeley, B.A. Thorough Guide
+Series. (Thomas Nelson and Sons, London.) The best tourist guide to
+the Islands.</p>
+
+<p><b>Orkney and Shetland Almanac and County Directory</b> (W. Peace
+and Son, Kirkwall; issued annually) contains statistical and other
+material of value.</p>
+
+<p><b>The North Sea Pilot. Part I.</b> (London, 1894.) A Government publication
+for the use of mariners. Of much value to Orcadians interested
+in boating or in navigation.</p>
+
+<p><b>Tour through the Islands of Orkney and Shetland.</b> By the Rev.
+George Low, with introduction by Dr. Joseph Anderson. (Kirkwall,
+1879.) An interesting account of the appearance of the Islands at the
+end of the eighteenth century.</p>
+
+<h3>Geology.</h3>
+
+<p>There is no book dealing specifically with the geology of Orkney.
+Recourse must be had either to books dealing with the science generally,
+or to those dealing with the Islands in which their geology is included.</p>
+
+<p><b>The Orkneys and Shetland</b> (Tudor) contains an account of the
+geology of the islands, written by Drs. Peach and Horne, with a useful
+geological map.</p>
+
+<p>The most recent and complete geological survey of Orkney is that by
+Dr. J. S. Flett, an account of which is contained in two papers in the
+<b>Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh</b>.</p>
+
+<p>Some of Hugh Miller’s works, such as <b>The Testimony of the Rocks</b>,
+<b>The Old Red Sandstone</b>, <b>Rambles of a Geologist</b>, and <b>Footprints of the
+Creator</b>, contain numerous references to the geology of Orkney.</p>
+
+<p><b>Robert Dick</b>, by Dr. Samuel Smiles, is an interesting account of a
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_447">[447]</span>Thurso baker who devoted his life to the study of geology in Caithness,
+where the rook formation is the same as that of Orkney.</p>
+
+<p>Among general works in geology suitable for beginners may be mentioned
+Huxley’s <b>Physiography</b> and Sir Archibald Geikie’s <b>Outlines of
+Field Geology</b>, his <b>Class-book of Geology</b>, and his <b>Scenery of Scotland</b>.</p>
+
+<h3>Botany.</h3>
+
+<p><b>The Orkneys and Shetland</b> (Tudor) contains a list of the rarer British
+plants found in Orkney, compiled by W. I. Fortescue.</p>
+
+<p>Volume xviii. of the <b>Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh</b>
+contains a complete list of Orkney plants by Prof. J. W. H.
+Traill. Another list is in preparation by Mr. Magnus Spence.</p>
+
+<p><b>The Marine Algæ of the Orkney Islands</b>, by G. W. Traill (Edinburgh,
+1890), contains a list of the seaweeds of Orkney.</p>
+
+<p>The following are some general works on botany which may be of
+service to the beginner:—<b>Open-air Studies in Botany</b>, by R. L. Praeger
+(London, 1897), a study of wild flowers in their homes, with illustrations;
+<b>Flowering Plants, their Structure and Habitat</b>, by C. L. Laurie, illustrated
+(London, 1903); <b>Nature Studies</b>, by G. F. Scott-Elliot (London,
+1903); <b>A Plant Book for Schools</b>, by O. V. Darbyshire, illustrated
+(London, 1908); <b>Flowers of the Field</b>, by C. A. Johns (London, 1894).</p>
+
+<p><b>Common Objects of the Seashore</b>, by the Rev. J. G. Wood (London,
+1866), contains good descriptions and illustrations of the seaweeds.</p>
+
+<p>For identification of plants perhaps the best books are the <b>British
+Flora</b>, by Bentham and Hooker (London, 1904), and <b>Illustrations to
+Bentham and Hooker’s British Flora</b>, by Fitch and Smith (London,
+1905).</p>
+
+<p>For mosses, the best book is Dixon and Jameson’s <b>Student’s Handbook
+of British Mosses</b>.</p>
+
+<h3>Zoology.</h3>
+
+<p>For a general introduction to natural history the best books are—<b>Life
+and her Children</b> (London, 1880), and <b>Winners in Life’s Race</b> (London,
+1882), by Miss A. B. Buckley (Mrs. Fisher), and Professor Arthur J.
+Thomson’s fascinating <b>Study of Animal Life</b>, which gives a list of other
+books on zoology.</p>
+
+<p>The animals of the seashore are dealt with in Rev. J. G. Wood’s
+<b>Common Objects of the Seashore</b> and <b>Fresh and Salt Water Aquarium</b>;
+<b>Seaside Studies</b>, by G. H. Lewes; <b>The Aquarium</b>, by P. H. Gosse; and
+<b>The Aquarium, its Inhabitants, Structure, and Management</b>, by J. E.
+Taylor.</p>
+
+<p>Gosse’s <b>Manual of Marine Zoology for the British Isles</b> (2 vols.,
+London, 1856) still remains the best book for the identification of marine
+animals.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_448">[448]</span></p>
+
+<p>For the study of birds the best works are the following:—<b>The Birds
+of Shetland</b>, by H. L. Saxby (Edinburgh, 1884); <b>The Birds of the West
+of Scotland</b>, by Robert Gray; <b>Bird-Watching</b> and <b>The Bird-Watcher
+in the Shetlands</b>, by Edmund Selous.</p>
+
+<p>Saunders’s <b>Manual of British Birds</b> (London, 1889) is the best single
+book for the identification of birds, each species being illustrated.</p>
+
+<p><b>The Vertebrate Fauna of the Orkney Islands</b>, by J. A. Harvie Brown
+and T. E. Buckley (Edinburgh, 1891), is in greater part a list of the
+birds of Orkney, with a short account of each.</p>
+
+<p><b>Orcadian Papers: being Selections from the Proceedings of the
+Orkney Natural History Society from 1887 to 1904.</b> Edited by M. M.
+Oharleson, F.S.A. Scot. (Stromness, 1905.) The selections are not confined
+to natural history, but include historical and other contributions.</p>
+
+<h3>Fiction, Poetry, etc.</h3>
+
+<p><b>The Pirate.</b> By Sir Walter Scott.</p>
+
+<p><b>Poems, etc.</b> By David Vedder. Edited by the Rev. G. Gilfillan.
+(Kirkwall, <span class="allsmcap">N.D.</span>)</p>
+
+<p><b>Poems, Tales, and Sketches.</b> By Lieutenant John Malcolm, with
+introduction by the Rev. G. Gilfillan. (Kirkwall, <span class="allsmcap">N.D.</span>)</p>
+
+<p>*<b>The Orcadian Sketch-Book.</b> By Walter Traill Dennison. (Kirkwall,
+1880.) A unique collection of stories and poems written in the “North
+Isles” dialect of the Orkney vernacular.</p>
+
+<p><b>Orcadian Sketches.</b> By W. T. Dennison. With introduction by
+J. Storer Clouston. (Kirkwall, 1904.) A selection from the preceding.</p>
+
+<p><b>The Pilots of Pomona.</b> By Robert Leighton. (London, 1892.)</p>
+
+<p><b>Sons of the Vikings.</b> By Dr. J. Gunn, M.A. (Edinburgh, 1893.
+Cheaper edition, 1909.)</p>
+
+<p><b>The Boys of Hamnavoe.</b> By Dr. J. Gunn, M.A. (Edinburgh, 1894.)</p>
+
+<p><b>Vandrad the Viking.</b> By J. Storer Clouston. (Edinburgh, 1897.)</p>
+
+<p><b>Garmiscath.</b> By J. Storer Clouston. (Cheaper edition, London,
+1904.)</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p>In addition to the material available in book form, much excellent
+literature in prose and in verse, with more or less direct relation to
+Orkney, has appeared in various magazines above the names of
+Duncan J. Robertson, J. Storer Clouston, and others, specimens of
+which are included in the pages of this volume.</p>
+
+<p class="titlepage">THE END.</p>
+
+<p class="center smaller">PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN.</p>
+
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76756 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
+
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diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
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+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
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@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for eBook #76756
+(https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76756)