204 MEWFOUNDLAND. and George's Bay has been already generally described. The islands of Pierre and Mequelon , ceded in 1814 to France , lie off the mouth of . Langley , although laid down on the maps as a sepa¬ rate island, and appears as such from the sea, is, however, connected to Mequelon by a sand beach.* Peter's has the only harbour which is the rendez¬ vous of the French ships, and where they have built a town since the peace. Here the French governor resides, and it is the head-quarters of the French fisheries. These islands are rugged, and produce nothing but shrubs, moss, and grass. Ptarmigan, or j white partridges, abound on them; and the most 3 plentiful cod-fishing surrounds their shores. * In 1825, on my homeward passage from , we were nearly driven ashore, in a gale of wind, on the west side of Meque¬ lon. I asked the captain if we could not run through the passage, which appeared by the chart to separate Langley and . He replied, that he had formerly landed on those islands, and walked several times across the beach from Mequelon to Langley ; but that, during stormy weather and high tides, the sea flowed between them.