their rights.

Johnny, while inspecting too closely the nest of one of them, curiously
constructed of long stiff reeds, resembling rods of steel, suddenly
received, as a rebuke for his impertinence, a blow from the wing of the
offended owner, which laid him sprawling upon his back.

Notwithstanding this severe lesson, the gentle and amiable aspect of a
large white bird, so far reassured him, that he ventured to make some
friendly advances, whereupon he got so severely pecked, that he at once
gave up all further attempts at familiarity with any of them. This
harsh treatment, in fact, so disgusted Johnny with the whole race of
sea-birds, and so impaired his faith in their innocent and inoffensive
looks, that he declared he would never have any thing more to do with
them, "since that beautiful white bird had bitten him so savagely, when
he only offered to stroke its neck."

Some of these birds were very large and strong: in several of the
unoccupied nests I saw eggs, as large as those of the duck: they were of
different colours some of them prettily speckled or mottled, but most
were of an ash colour, or a whitish brown. Eiulo pointed out two kinds,
which he said were highly prized for food, and which, as we afterwards
found, were, in fact, nearly equal to the eggs of the domestic duck.

The heat had by this time become exceedingly uncomfortable, and we
concluded to halt until it should abate a little, at the first
convenient and pleasant spot. Leaving the shore, which, besides being
unsheltered from the sun, was so rugged with crevices and gullies, and
great irregular blocks of coral, as to be almost impassable, we entered
the borders of the wood, and took a short cut across the point. Johnny,
in imitation of the desert islanders of the story-books, desired to give
appropriate names to all the interesting or remarkable localities, with
which we became acquainted. He had already christened the little island
on which we had first landed, "Palm-Islet," and the spot upon the
opposite shore, abounding in brilliant shells, had, from that
circumstance, received the impromptu name of "Pearl-shell Beach." He
now proposed to call the point, "Cape Desolation," from its waste and
forbidding aspect; but finally fixed upon "Sea-bird's Point," as being
more appropriate, the birds having, in fact, taken possession of nearly
its entire area, which, judging from the warlike spirit they had
displayed, they were likely to hold again