We stayed some time at the Boniton Fall, which has one great advantage
over the other falls, that it is at the termination of the
pleasure-grounds, and we see no traces of the boundary-line; yet, except
under some accidental circumstances, such as a sunset like that of the
preceding evening, it is greatly inferior to the Cora Linn. We returned
to the inn to dinner. The landlord set the first dish upon the table, as
is common in England, and we were well waited upon. This first dish was
true Scottish—a boiled sheep’s head, with the hair singed off; Coleridge
and I ate heartily of it; we had barley broth, in which the sheep’s head
had been boiled. A party of tourists whom we had met in the
pleasure-grounds drove from the door while we were waiting for dinner; I
guess they were fresh from England, for they had stuffed the pockets of
their carriage with bundles of heather, roots and all, just as if
Scotland grew no heather but on the banks of the Clyde. They passed away
with their treasure towards Loch Lomond. A party of boys, dressed all
alike in blue, very neat, were standing at the chaise-door; we
conjectured they were charity scholars; but found on inquiry that they
were apprentices to the cotton factory; we were told that they were well
instructed in reading and writing. We had seen in the morning a flock of
girls dressed in grey coming out of the factory, probably apprentices
also.
After dinner set off towards Hamilton, but on foot, for we had to turn
aside to the Cartland Rocks, and our car was to meet us on the road. A
guide attended us, who might almost in size, and certainly in activity,
have been compared with William’s companion who hid himself in the niche
of the cavern. His method of walking and very quick step soon excited
our attention. I could hardly keep up with him; he paddled by our side,
just reaching to my shoulder, like a little dog, with his long snout
pushed before him—for he had an enormous nose, and walked with his head
foremost. I said to him, ‘How quick you walk!’ he replied, ‘_That_ was
_not_ quick walking,’ and when I asked him what he called so, he said
‘Five miles an hour,’ and then related in how many hours he had lately
walked from Lanerk to Edinburgh, done some errands, and returned to
Lanerk—I have forgotten the particulars, but it was a very short time—and
added that he had an old father who could walk at the rate of four miles
an hour, for twenty-four miles, any day, and had never had an hour’s
sickness in his life. ‘Then,’ said I, ‘he has not drunk much strong
liquor?’ ‘Yes, enough to drown him.’ From his eager manner of uttering
this, I inferred that he himself was a drinker; and the man who met us
with the car told William that he gained a great deal of money as an
errand-goer, but spent it all in tippling. He had been a shoemaker, but
could not bear the confinement on account of a weakness in his chest.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account