Spencer had then returned to the lodgings in time to be present at the departure of Jamie, as already noticed.

The question, What was to be done with so much of the day as was still before them? was now discussed. A trip to the Bass; an excursion to Dunglass Dean and Pease Dean, with a look at Fast Castle as they passed; or a fishing excursion up the Eye, were severally proposed and discussed. Mr. Spencer thought they could manage the Bass Rock very well; and if they were bent upon a day's fishing-and Ned he knew was a great angler-why not go to the Whiteadder, in which, he believed, they might get as good a day's flyfishing as in almost any unpreserved stream in the kingdom? It would take a day, no doubt; but they would be repaid by commensurate success, probably, and if not, still by an interesting excursion; while the fly-fishing in the Eye, he believed, was but limited, and what there was, not first-rate. Mr. Spencer's suggestion was adopted by acclamation. It was decided to start for the Bass Rock, in the "Blue," without delay, and to give the following day to the Whiteadder expedition. Jack, for whom some consideration was manifested, refused to be a hindrance to the plan, for which, indeed, he was as keen as any of the party; notwithstanding the probable consequences to

him; for there was still some “ sea on." Half-anhour saw them sailing out of the harbour, and another half-hour saw them rounding St. Abb's Head, and opening that part of the ocean which narrows into the Frith of Forth. Fast Castle was seen on its precarious-looking stance, domineered by the rocky masses behind it. Dunbar, with its ancient castle, dipping its foot in the sea, was passed. The Bass and North Berwick Law loomed higher and larger, until at last, in about three hours from the time of departure from Eyemouth, they lay-to off the Bass, and under shelter of its massy bulk. Some little delay occurred in obtaining permission from the keeper of the Bass to land; but during these few minutes of inactivity the boys were sufficiently occupied, as they had indeed been for the last mile or two of the run, by watching the numberless gannets as they sailed along on their buoyant pinions to and from their home. Soon, leaving the "Blue" and ascending the not very accessible approach to the summit of the Bass, they had the pleasure of witnessing the novel spectacle of countless wild birds sitting still while human intruders were walking amid their nests. The lads were even allowed to stroke some of the matrons on whom they were calling; whose response to the civility was calculated to suggest the advisability of a visit

from a temperance advocate, rather than any great degree of annoyance or impatience on their part; for it was a sort of muttered "Grog, grog." One lady was pointed out as a mature specimen, having been a frequenter of the rock now for more than thirty years. Others were mentioned, whose identity had been so long recognised as to render it certain that they could not be less than thirty-five to forty years old. A remarkable statement was made by the keeper, to the effect that the gannet does not reach maturity until four years old, and certainly does not begin to breed until it reaches that age. The changes in colour, too, described by their attendant, as experienced by the gannet, from the time of their exclusion from the egg up to that of putting on the full dress of maturity,— Bob wondered what toga virilis was in Solan-goose cackle,—were sufficiently curious and interesting. When first hatched, their skin is featherless and downless, and of a bluish black. In a few days they are covered with a white down, which grows rapidly enough, and gives them the appearance of large powder puffs. Over this downy substitute for a flannel waistcoat the feathers grow by degrees, and this first crop of plumage is black. At about eight or nine weeks old they are able to fly, and from that time till they come of age, the general hue of their feathers is black, with more