g boat
like a winkle out of a shell, by a noose at the end of a line from a
crane a hundred and fifty feet above, swung perpendicularly up into
the air, and then round and into a trap-door in the side of the
lighthouse. On leaving one was swung out again in the same fashion,
and dangled over the tumbling boat until caught and pulled in by the
oarsmen.

Another day we rowed out nine miles in an Irish craft to visit the
Skerry Islands, famous for the old Beehive Monastery, and the
countless nests of gannets and other large sea-birds. The cliffs rise
to a great height almost precipitously, and the ceaseless thunder of
the Atlantic swell jealously guards any landing. There being no davit
or crane, we had just to fling ourselves into the sea, and climb up as
best we could, carrying a line to haul up our clothing from the boat
and other apparatus after landing, while the oarsmen kept her outside
the surf. To hold on to the slippery rock we needed but little
clothing, anyhow, for it was a slow matter, and the clinging power of
one's bare toes was essential. The innumerable gannets sitting on
their nests gave the island the appearance of a snowdrift; and we soon
had all the eggs that we needed lowered by a line. But some of the
gulls, of whose eggs we wanted specimens also, built so cleverly onto
the actual faces of the cliffs, that we had to adopt the old plan of
hanging over the edge and raising the eggs on the back of one's foot,
which is an exploit not devoid of excitement. The chief difficulty
was, however, with one of our number, who literally stuck on the top,
being unable to descend, at least in a way compatible with comfort or
safety. The upshot was that he had to be blindfolded and helped.

One of our Council, being connected at this time with the Irish
Poor-Relief Board and greatly interested in the Government efforts to
relieve distress in Ireland, arranged that we should make a voyage
around the entire island in one of our vessels, trying the trawling
grounds everywhere, and also the local markets available for making
our catch remunerative. There has been considerable activity in these
waters of late years, but it was practically pioneer work in those
days, the fishery being almost entirely composed of drift nets and
long lines. It was supposed that the water was too deep and the bottom
too uneven and rocky to make trawling possible. We had only a sailing
vessel of about sixty tons, and the old heavy beam trawl,