16 Daring the voyage whales frequently came near the ship, blowing water from their spouts like a jet from a fountain They rise to the surface, give « ne “blow,” sometimes throwing the water 30 or 40 feet high, then instantly disappear. We thought a whaling ship would have had a good time here, but we learned that “it is only the very rarest species of whale that is the object of the fishery, and these common ones, the largest creatures upon the planet, may whisk their SO feet of worthless tallovv round a whaler without fear of any missile more dangerous than a biscuit.” Owing to this the finner, with its good-for-nothing cousin the hunchback whale, abounds in these Arctic seas As the day wore on the Westman Islands appeared in all their magnificence, rising up like columns a thousand feet above the sea ; there are fourteen of them, but only one, well called Home Island, is inhabited, and as we drop anchor in the bay we observe that every ledge, and nook, and cranny of the bold, brown, beetling crags that frown down upon us is crowded with sea-fowl, whose screams fill the air with a continuous clamour—it is truly the sea-bird’s home. These Islands were settled by a colony of Irish slaves over ten centuries ago. A Norwegian pirate cruising on the Emeral Isle landed, captured a number of men, women and children, and carried them off. The passage not being pleasant they rose on their captors, slew them, threw them overboard, and went ashore at the first land they met with. Why they remained on this desolate spot is a secret of the past; most likeiy they had no other alterna- tive, and freedom on the rock was, at all events, better than slavery under a cruel Viking. We wondered and anxiously listened to hear if any of their native “ brogue” could be discerned in their conversation, but decided it had all been frozen up long ago. Doubly secure as these people are by their poverty and almost inaccessible cliffs, it is surprising to think they have been attacked and pillaged several times by sea-rovers One English pirate, named “Gentleman John,” paid them a visit in the sixteenth century, and couiteously plundered the houses, pillaged the church, and carried off their sacred relics. After this exploit he returned to England, where the king had him hung, and honestly returned the church ornaments.

(1) Front Board
(2) Front Board
(3) Front Flyleaf
(4) Front Flyleaf
(5) Front Cover
(6) Front Cover
(7) Page [1]
(8) Page [2]
(9) Page 1
(10) Page 2
(11) Page 3
(12) Page 4
(13) Page 5
(14) Page 6
(15) Page 7
(16) Page 8
(17) Page 9
(18) Page 10
(19) Page 11
(20) Page 12
(21) Page 13
(22) Page 14
(23) Page 15
(24) Page 16
(25) Page 17
(26) Page 18
(27) Page 19
(28) Page 20
(29) Page 21
(30) Page 22
(31) Page 23
(32) Page 24
(33) Page 25
(34) Page 26
(35) Page 27
(36) Page 28
(37) Page 29
(38) Page 30
(39) Page 31
(40) Page 32
(41) Page 33
(42) Page 34
(43) Page 35
(44) Page 36
(45) Page 37
(46) Page 38
(47) Page 39
(48) Page 40
(49) Page 41
(50) Page 42
(51) Page 43
(52) Page 44
(53) Page 45
(54) Page 46
(55) Page 47
(56) Page 48
(57) Page 49
(58) Page 50
(59) Page 51
(60) Page 52
(61) Page 53
(62) Page 54
(63) Page 55
(64) Page 56
(65) Page 57
(66) Page 58
(67) Rear Flyleaf
(68) Rear Flyleaf
(69) Rear Flyleaf
(70) Rear Flyleaf
(71) Rear Board
(72) Rear Board
(73) Spine
(74) Fore Edge
(75) Scale
(76) Color Palette