DISTANT VIEW OF MONTROSE.
SLEEPS IN A HAYCOCK.
It was now getting dark. He had walked all day, and was now very tired. He was desirous of putting up somewhere for the night. But first he must have his supper. He sat down by a little rill, and, with the help of the water, ate some more of his meal and a piece of his oat-cake. After he had refreshed himself, he thought he could walk a few more miles. He had now walked forty miles. The twilight being long in the north, and the month being July, he went on until he came to what he thought would be a good beild[19] for the night. This was a field in which there were a number of haycocks. He crossed the wall, went up to a haycock, pulled a lot of hay out, then ensconced himself inside, and soon fell fast asleep.
Towards morning he was wakened up by something scratching at his brow. On putting his hand up he found it was a big black beetle trying to work its way in between his skin and his bonnet. He wished he had had his box with him to preserve the beetle, but he could only throw it away. As he lay awake he heard the mice squeaking about him. It was still dark, though there was a glimmering of light in the east. Day was about to break. So he got out of his hole, shook the hay from him, crossed the wall, and resumed his journey.
Though he felt stiff at first, he soon recovered his walking powers, and reached Arbroath by daylight. Everybody was in bed, excepting one woman, whom he saw standing at the end of a close-mouth. He went up to her and asked, “which was the road to Dundee.” When she began to speak, he saw that she was either drunk, or daft, or something worse. He went away, walked through several other streets, but found no one astir. The town was asleep. Then he sat down on a doorstep and ate some of his cake. He was just beginning to fall asleep, when some men who passed woke him up. They told him the road to Dundee, and he instantly set off in that direction.
As he went on his way, he came up to a man who was tramping along like himself. He belonged to Dundee, was a weaver by trade, and had been travelling through the country in search of work. The man asked Edward where he had come from, whither he was going, where he had slept, and what money he had to carry him to the end of his journey. On hearing that he had only enough to carry him across the ferry at Dundee, the weaver gave him a penny, saying that he would have given him more, but that the penny was all the change he had.
THE SAILORS’ WIVES.
Shortly after, they overtook two women, who turned out to be two sailors’ wives. They had come from Aberdeen. The ship in which their husbands sailed, had been chartered to Dundee, and would not enter the port of Aberdeen for some time; hence the journey of the wives to Dundee. The weaver, on hearing where they came from, pointed to his little companion, and said, “Here’s a laddie that comes frae the same place, and as his wallet’s no very weel filled, perhaps ye might gie him a copper or two.” One of the women looked hard at Edward, and said, “I’ve surely seen ye before, laddie. Did ye ever frequent the fishmarket i’ the Shipraw?” “Yes.” “And ye had sometimes tame rottens wi’ ye?” “Yes.” “Ah! I thocht sae. I used to help my mother wi’ her fish, and was sure that I had seen ye i’ the market.”
They then asked him where he was going? “Till the Kettle,” he said. “Till the—what did ye say, laddie?” “The Kettle!” How they laughed! They had never heard of such a place before. But when their laughter had settled down, they gave the boy twopence; and as they parted, one of the women said, “Tak’ care o’ yer feet, laddie, when ye step intil the Kettle.”