Cambo is situated two or three miles distant from Fife Ness, the extreme eastern point of the county of Fife. It is now easily accessible by the railway skirting the northern shore of the Firth of Forth, connecting Thornton Junction and St. Andrews, by way of Anstruther and Crail. But at that time the railway was not completed further than Anstruther on the one side and St. Andrews on the other, and Cambo was about eight or nine miles from either place. Starting from Edinburgh on the morning of the day fixed for the wedding, Captain Wauchope should easily have arrived at Cambo in the forenoon, but a protracted snowstorm of several days had completely blocked railways and roads. Thinking he would be more likely to get a conveyance to carry him to his destination if he went by St. Andrews, he took that instead of the route to Anstruther; but on arriving at that ancient city, he was chagrined to find that the roads were so completely {83} blocked with snow that no one would venture the journey for him. Taking his luggage to the Royal Hotel, he tried all his persuasive powers with Mr. Davidson, the genial host, to get a carriage, or even a dogcart, ready for him without delay. But the storm still raged, and he was told that the roads were quite impassable either for driving or riding, and he would require to remain where he was for the night. 'But,' said the would-be and now desperate Benedict, 'I _must_ get to Cambo, as I am to be married to-night.' The hotelkeeper assured him that in the circumstances it was impossible, but promised to do the best he could for him the next morning if the weather moderated. At length, convinced that nothing more could be done, the disappointed swain was obliged to bow to the inevitable, and eat his solitary dinner with what resignation he could command. It was a severe trial of patience, but there was nothing else for it, and so he remained overnight in the friendly shelter of the 'Royal,' in the hope that he might get release the following day. Sir Thomas Erskine, meanwhile, expecting the bridegroom to come by way of Anstruther, where the roads happened not to be so badly blocked, had sent a carriage with the young bride to meet him there. But no Wauchope appeared, and the young lady had to return home without tidings of her lover. The disappointment of all may be better imagined than described, and the wedding was of course postponed _sine die_. The following morning the storm had somewhat abated, but the snow-drift still lay deep on the roads, making them quite impassable for wheeled vehicles. Davidson, true to his word, however, gave him the best horse in his stable, repacked his luggage in carpet-bags slung across the back of another, and with a groom in attendance Wauchope courageously faced the elements to {84} meet his bride. It was a toilsome business, and not without danger. At Browhill, some two miles from St. Andrews, the block was so deep that