There is a saying that the people of St. Andrews do nothing but play
golf, but this cannot be true, as St. Andrews has one of the four great
Scotch Universities, and many very great and wise men have come from
there; and you don't get to be a wise man by playing any kind of a game
all of the time.
Another favourite excursion for Edinburgh children was to go to
Newhaven for a fish dinner. Newhaven is a little old fishing-town not
far distant, on the Firth of Forth.
A Newhaven fishwife, or fisherwoman, looks funny and dumpy in her short
petticoat with her dress pinned up about her waist, a white cap on her
head, and over all a big shawl; while on her arm she carries a great
basket of fish.
The fisher-folks' cottages are queer little houses built of stone,
with a stairway on one side.
You have already heard what nice things Donald had to eat at his
afternoon tea. Oh! and there were currant buns, also, just black with
currants. After tea Donald would read, or, better still, his father
or mother would read aloud some of his favourite stories from the
"Tales of a Grandfather," which tell a great deal about Scotch history.
Between eight and nine o'clock there would be supper, of cold meat,
cheese, bread and butter, and sometimes fish, with plenty of milk for
Don, after which he was ready for bed.
Little Scotch children are more careful how they spend their Sundays
than the children of most other nationalities. The Scotch keep Sunday,
or the Sabbath, as it is usually called, in a very strict manner
indeed, though they are not as strict in these days as formerly.
When Donald's father was young no trains were run on Sundays, and
even now there are no trains in some parts of Scotland on the Sabbath.
In those days children did not even take a walk on Sunday, but went
three times to "kirk," as church is called. But Donald often took long
walks with his father after Sunday school in the afternoon. His father
did not, however, approve of their riding in street-cars, which in
the great cities have only recently begun to run on Sundays, and many
people even now will not make use of them on that day.
CHAPTER III.
A WALK IN EDINBURGH
JANET and Marjorie had arrived in Edinburgh, and one of the first of
the pleasures was a walk around the city to see the sights, as Don
expressed it.
"I know those lads will keep us waiting," said Janet, as she pinned on
her tam-o'-shanter.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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