tremble instinctively as we think of the hardihood so wantonly and foolishly displayed. What would have been the feelings of the rest, if one of these frail dependencies had given way, and, while the body had fallen mangled on the beach, the spirit had been hurried into the presence of God! And yet such a catastrophe might easily have occurred, and would doubtless have arisen, but for the interposition of Him, whose goodness was never recognized amidst the thoughtless hilarity of youthful days.

In the hazardous enterprise of taking the young, and the eggs of the birds that dwell on their rocky coasts, the inhabitants of the Hebrides, the Feroe, and other northern islands, frequently engage to earn their subsistence. Sometimes they provide themselves with a long rope, having a strong stick about three feet long

attached to the end.

One of them then fastens one end about his waist and between his legs, and supporting himself partly by the stick, is lowered down by several others. A small line attached to his body enables him to give signals that he may be raised, lowered, or shifted from place to place. Imagine a man thus dangling in mid-air, and little appears between him and death; but his peril will be still more apparent when it is remembered that, as his position is changed, fragments of

the rock are detached, and fall about his head, which requires to be protected by a strong thick cap, and even then is not safe from the larger masses that descend.

Remarkable indeed is the dexterity of these fowlers. Placing their feet against the front of the rock, often two hundred fathoms in height, they will dart themselves to a considerable distance from it, mark the place where the birds nestle, and discharge their pieces into their haunts. When the birds lodge in deep recesses, the fowlers will alight, detach themselves from the rope, collect their booty at their leisure, fasten it to their girdles, and resume their seats.

We are indebted for the following facts to a valuable work on Birds, by the Rev. E. Stanley. Many birdcatchers go on these expeditions without any companion to hold the rope or assist them. It was on such a solitary excursion, that a man, having fastened his rope to a stake on the top, let himself down far below; and, in his ardour for collecting birds and eggs, followed the course of a ledge, beneath a mass of overhanging rock; unfortunately he had omitted to take the usual precaution of tying the rope round his body, but held it carelessly in his hand, when, in a luckless moment, as he was busily engaged in pillaging a nest, it slipped from his grasp, and, after swinging backwards and forwards