Part 6 (1/2)

One ofout with the servants to the Calton, and hile the ”claes” bleached in the sun on the grassy slopes of the hill The air was bright and fresh and pure The lasses regarded these occasions as a sort of holiday

One or two of the children usually accoether, and the servants told us their auld-warld stories; coh in those days, but which have now, in a ress” have made the world much less youthful and joyous than it was then

The woht their work and their needles with them, and when they had told their stories, the children ran about the hillharebells and wild thyme They ran after the butterflies and the bumbees, and made acquaintance in a small ith the beauties of nature Then the servants opened their baskets of provisions, and we had a delightful picnic Though I a about seventy years after the date of these events, I can alhtful perfurant plants and flowers, wafted around me by the warm breezes of the Calton hillside

In the days I refer to, there was always a most cheerful and intimate intercourse kept up between the children and the servants They were members of the same family, and were treated as such The servants were for the hters of farm servants or small farmers They were fairly educated at their parish schools; they could read and write, and had an abundant store of old recollections Many a pleasant crack we had with them as to their native places, their families, and all that was connected with thely attached to their masters and mistresses, as well as to the children All this led to true attachment; and when they left; us, for the most part to be married we continued to keep up a correspondence with the these delightful holidays, before ress, especially in the way of acquaintance with the habits of nature in a vast variety of its phases, always so attractive to the minds of healthy children It happened that close to the Calton Hill, in the valley at its northern side, there weretrades were carried on; there were coppersoldbeaters, and blacksroup at the foot of the hill, in a place called Greenside The workshops were open to the inspection of passers-by Little boys looked in and saw the s of hast others, I was an ardent admirer I may almost say that this row of busy workshops was my first school of practical education

I observed the mechanical manipulation of the men, their dexterous use of the hammer, the chisel, and the file; and I imbibed many lessons which afterwards proved of use to me Then I had tools at home in my father's workshop I tried to follow their reatly interested in the use of tools and their appliances; I could s for myself In short, I became so skilled that the people about the house called rassy slopes of the Calton Hill I would often hear the chirand old tower of StGiles

The cathedral lay on the other side of the valley which divides the Old Town from the New The sounds came over the murmur of the traffic in the streets below

The chime-bells were played every day from twelve till one--the old-fashi+oned dinner-hour of the citizens The practice had been in existence foreffect of the merry airs, which ca to see thee] Mural crown of St Giles', Edinburgh

My father was always anxious to give pleasure to his children

Accordingly, he took rand old tower, to see the chi vaulted room was pointed out to me, where the witches used to be imprisoned I was told that the poor old women were often taken down from this dark vault to be burnt alive! Such terrible tales enveloped the toith a horrible fascination tomind

What a fearful contrast to the ht summer day

On my way up to the top flat, where the chih the vault in which the great penduluhostly-like tick-tack, tick-tack; while the great ancient clock was keeping ti movement The whole scene was almost as uncanny as the witches' cell underneath There was also a wild ru sound overhead I soon discovered the cause of this, when I entered the flat where the musician was at work

He was seen in violent action, beating or haantic pianoforte-like apparatus The instrureat leather-faced mallets, one of which he held in each hand

Each key was connected by iron rods with the chime-bells above

The frantic and etically rushed froave me the idea that the man was daft--especially as the noise of the mallets was such that I heard no music emitted from the chimes so far overhead

It was only when I had cli that I understood the perforave me so much pleasure when I heard them at a distance

Another source of enjoyment in my early days was to accompany my h generous in her hospitality, was necessarily thrifty and econoement of her household There were no less than fourteen persons in the house to be fed, and this required a good deal of

At the time I refer to, (about 1816, it was the practice of every lady who took pride ineconoo to h were then situated in the valley between the Old and Nens, in what used to be called the Nor Loch

Dealers in fish and vegetables had their stalls there: thein their several locations

It was a very lively and bustling sight to see the , likely to be a customer, she was at once surrounded by the ”caddies” They were a set of sturdy hard-working women, each with a creel on her back Their coetic form The rival candidates pointed to her with violent exclamations; ”She's my ledie!

she's my ledie!” ejaculated one and all To dispel the disorder, a selection of one of the caddies would be ain until another custoular order in which the purchases were deposited in the creel First, there came the fish, which were carefully deposited in the lowest part, with a clean deal board over them The fishwives were a most sturdy and independent class, both in e

When at home, at Newhaven or Fisherrow, theytackle to rights, and when the fishi+ng boats cah

To see the groups of these hard-working wo with their heavy creels on their backs, clothed in their remarkable costu their sturdy legs, was indeed a reood-natured, but very outspoken Their skins were clear and ruddy, andfishwives were handsome and pretty They were, in fact, the incarnation of robust health In dealing with the They often asked two or three ti to the thenwhich the husbands and sons had toiled to catch the fish, on the usual question being asked, ”Weel, Janet, hoo's haddies the day!” ”Haddies, mem? Ou, haddies is men's lives the day!” which was often true, as haddocks were often caught at the risk of their husbands' lives After the usual aht down to their proper ood haddock, or, when herrings were rife, a dozen herrings for twopence, crabs for a penny, and lobsters for threepence For there were no railways then to convey the fish to England, and thus equalise the price for all classes of the community

Let me mention here a controversy between a fishwife and a buyer called Thomson the buyer offered a price so ridiculously snant, and she ter up to hiht, Maister Taht, woman! What has that to do with it?” ”Ou,” said she, ”because ye ha'e nae nose to put spectacles on!” As it happened, poor Mr Thomson had, by some accident or disease, so little of a nose left, if any at all, that the bridge of the nose for holding up the spectacles was al

And thus did the fishwife retaliate on her niggardly custoot her fish laid at the bottom of the creel, she next went to the ”flesher” for her butcher- here, for the meat was sold at the ordinary etables, or fruits in their season; and, finally, there was ”the floore”--a bunch of flowers; not a costly bouquet, but a, large assortrance), polyanthuses, lilacs, gilly-flowers, and the glorious old-fashi+oned cabbage rose, as well as the even rant moss rose The caddy's creel was then topped up, and thewas completed The lady was followed home; the contents were placed in the larder; and the flowers distributed all over the house

I have reat fondness for cats which distinguished the Nasenerations

My father had always one or two of such domestic favourites, ere, in the best sense, his ”familiars” Their quiet, companionable habits rendered theed in his artistic work I know of no sound so pleasantly tranquillising as the purring of a cat, or of anything more worthy of adant manner in which the cat adjusts itself at the fireside, or in a snug, cosy place, when it settles down for a long quiet sleep Every sparedown to rest is occupied in carefully cleaning itself, even under adverse circuinal inventor of a sanitary process, which has lately been patented and paraded before the public as a sanitary novelty; and yet it has been in practice ever since cats were created Would that men and women were more alive to habitual cleanliness--even the cleanliness of cats The kindly and gentle aniives us all a lesson in these respects

Then, nothing can be more beautiful in aniraceful manner in which the cat exerts the exact aht and spot it wishes to reach at one bound The neat and delicately precisewith those who habitually treat theentle kindness is truly admirable In these respects cats are entitled to the ard There are, unfortunately, ainst this most perfect and beautiful member of the animal creation, and who abuse them because they resist ill-treat of independence Cats have no doubt less personal attachs, but when kindly treated they become in many respects attached and affectionate animals

My father, when a boy, made occasional visits to Hamilton, in the West of Scotland, where the descendants of his Covenanting ancestors still lived One of them was an old bachelor--a recluse sort ofof pious pedigree and habits, he always ended the day by a long and audible prayer