Page:The aquarium - an unveiling of the wonders of the deep sea.djvu/43

18 point, just beneath the bluff headland known as Binkleaf, (probably a local corruption of Byng Cliff or some such appellation). The ledges are covered by the tide, but the recess of low water leaves a large surface exposed, which subsequently afforded me many a harvest of marine plants and animals. For the present, however, I satisfied myself with a cursory view; climbing over the green and slippery boulders, at some risk of chafed shins, I walked out upon the low ledge, marked the long narrow ribbon-like leaves of the Zostera, green and glossy, growing in beds in the pools and nooks that indent the ledges, and the purple tufts of mossy sea-weed that fringe the dark hollows of the rock; turned over a few stones, and saw colonies of the plump and fruit-like smooth Anemone (Actinia mesembryanthemum) of various hues, adhering to their sides; essayed to catch one or two of the nimble little Blennies that shot from covert to covert in the rocky basins; and having satisfied myself that the ground was promising, I sought for a place where I might climb the cliffs, and enjoy the widened prospect from their summit.

The inclination of the slope allows access to the top a little farther on, and I wended my way up over the rugged but turf-covered steep, through thickets of furze and bramble, thence walking back along the margin of the cliff. It was a lovely day in the beginning of April, but the northern breeze made it cold; the clear transparent blue of the sky was speckled over with fleecy clouds, which, as they flitted along, made a constant alternation of sunshine and shadow. A noble view of the broad bay is before one at this