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THE ISLAND OF ST. KILDA.

St. Kilda is the westermost island of the Hebrides, on the coast of Scotland.

The length of the island is about three miles, and its breadth nearly two miles from north to south.

The ground is chiefly used for pasture, and the men keep a stock of sheep and black cattle on it, from which they are supplied with articles of clothing, milk, butter, cheese, &c. There is no moss or turf bog on the island; and the only fuel consists of turf cut on the hills, and carried home as it is needed.

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Their houses, or huts, are all of the same form and size, and also completely alike inside. They consist of but one room in which the family live at one end, and the cattle at the other. The walls contain their beds, and places for their stores, for which purpose they are generally six or seven feet thick. No chairs or tables are to be seen; wooden stools and even stones being made to supply their place. The ashes are never carried out of the house, nor even removed to the part of the room set apart for the cattle, but are spread every morning under the feet of the inmates. The floor, thus raised in the course of the season, to a great height, is reduced to its proper level only once a year, when the whole matter so collected is conveyed to the fields. There is scarcely any thing like division of labour among them, every man being his own tai lor, shoemaker, and, in most cases, weaver; there being no thorough-bred workman of any kind in the island.

The chief employment of the men consists in bird-catching; and the fulmar and solan goose, which frequent their rocks in immense numbers, are of great service to them, both as to the payment of their rents, which they generally do with the oil and feathers, and as to affording them provision; —for they salt the carcases, and lay them up

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for winter store. these birds is attended with great danger; but long practice has inured them to it, and they seem to be quite fearless. In some cases they let down each other by ropes, along a steep rock, two or three hundred feet, while others at the top, are holding fast the ropes, and ready to haul him up, who is loaded with his prey, whenever he gives them a signal. So great is their skill in this work, that on one of the days I was on the island, the people, in the course of a few hours, brought home their boats deeply laden with 1200 of them, and left 400 more on the field of action, to be sent for afterwards. When the booty was brought on shore, it was divided by lot, into 20 equal parts, according to the number of the families, a method of dividing almost every kind

Their mode of killing

of property, to which they have frequent

recourse.

While their rents are paid chiefly in feathers, they present to the taxman of the island all other articles of produce which it affords, such as beef, mutton, cheese, oil &c. and for any overplus that remains after the amount of the rent is deducted, he gives them value in other articles which they need; such as printed cloths, handkerchiefs, hats, indigo, &c. of which he takes with him an annual assortment for their supply. Hence, a native of St. Kilda can never be rich; neither, while he can work, need he ever be poor, or in total want. Money is of little use to them, except when the taxman comes round; yet they do not object to receiving a present of that kind from a friend, when it is put to their offer.

The people of St. Kilda have not been destitute of the means of public instruction. I found that they had some knowledge of the Scripture account of the creation and fall of man-the deluge-the history of the Israelites the appearance of our Saviour in the world-his obedience and death in the room of the guilty-his resurrection and ascension to glory, and his intercession for men at the right hand of God, &c. But their knowledge in regard to these facts is rather confused, and, in some respects, imerfect and false.

The people themselves make mention of a young man, some years ago, who was eminent for piety; so much so that, as they express it "he was not fit for this world, nor it worthy of him; and that therefore the Lord took him to himself." He died

at the age of twenty, and this is said to have been his character for the last four or five years of his life.

They shew a strong desire, to have the word of life purely dispensed among them. This I am able to affirm, both from their own repeated declarations on the subject, and from the reception which they gave to my poor labours. Never shall I forget the day, when at parting with them on the shore, amidst cries and tears, which were enough to rend any one's heart, the whole of them as with one voice, exclaimed,"Never shall we see his face more,' "Never shall we have such truths told us more!" And, upon my assuring them that the Society for Propagating Christian knowledge had every wish to provide them with a minister: and that, whether they should ever see me or not, I hoped they would have the Gospel established among them: "God grant it," and " our thousand blessings rest on the heads of these gentlemen," was the general reply.

A few years, after the same minister kind

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