PUFFIN ISLAND, OR PRIESTHOLME.
This uninhabited island is of an oval shape, about a mile in length, and half a mile in breadth. Near the centre is an old square tower, supposed to be the fragment of a religious house. During the summer the island swarms with various birds of passage, particularly the alca artica, or puffin. The firing of a gun will frequently cause clouds of these birds to rise, uttering loud and dissonant sounds.