uite fond
of me; and one night, as I was going to bed, he crawled into my
bed-place, and from that time he was my bedfellow. At the end of a week
I went over to the other side of the island, and contrived to carry up
the two skins to the summit. It was a hard day's work. The day
afterwards I conveyed them to the cabin, and, as they were quite dry, I
put them into my bed-place to lie down upon, as I did not like the smell
of the bird's feathers, although I had so long been accustomed to them.

And now, what with my seal, my birds, and my garden, and the occupation
they gave me, the time passed quickly away, until, by my reckoning, it
was nearly the period for the birds to come again. I observed, as the
time drew near, that my birds were uneasy. They had paired, as I
mentioned before, and when their plumage was complete, it was evident
that they had paired male and female, as I had supposed. They had not
been tethered for a long while, and appeared to me now very much
inclined to fly, especially the male birds. At first I thought that I
would cut all their wings, as I was fearful that they would join the
other birds on their arrival, but observing that they were so fond of
their mates, I resolved to cut the wing of the females only, as I did
not think that the male birds would leave them. I did so, and took my
chance; for, since I had the seal for a companion, I did not care so
much for the birds as before. At last the birds came, and took
possession of the guano-ground as usual, and I went for fresh eggs; at
the same time I found that my females were scratching, as if they would
make their nests, and a few days afterwards they began to lay. I then
thought that as soon as they had young ones they would wish to go away,
so I took the eggs that were laid, to prevent them; but I found that as
fast as I took away the eggs they laid more, and this they did for
nearly two months, supplying me with fresh eggs long after the wild
birds had hatched, and left the island. The male birds, at the time
that the females first laid their eggs, tried their wings in short
flights in circles; and then flew away out to sea. I thought that they
were gone; but I was deceived, for they returned in about a quarter of
an hour, each with a fish in its beak, which they laid down before their
mates. I was much pleased at this, and I resolved that in future they
should supply their own food, which they did; and not their own food
only, b