Edinburgh Gossip. 4-8 



In a small society like that of Edinburgh there 

 was a good deal of scandal and gossip ; every one's 

 character and conduct were freely criticised, and by 

 none more than by my aunt and her friends. She 

 used to sit at a window embroidering, where she not 

 only could see every one that passed, but with a 

 small telescope could look into the dressing-room of 

 a lady of her acquaintance, and watch all she did. 

 A spinster lady of good family, a cousin of ours, 

 carried her gossip so far, that she was tried for de- 

 famation, and condemned to a month's imprisonment, 

 which she actually underwent in the Tolbooth. She 

 was let out just before the king's birthday, to cele- 

 brate which, besides the guns fired at the Castle, the 

 boys let off squibs and crackers in all the streets. 

 As the lady in question was walking up the High 

 Street, some lads in a wynd, or narrow street, fired a 

 small cannon, and one of the slugs with which it 

 was loaded hit her mouth and wounded her tongue. 

 This raised a universal laugh ; and no one enjoyed 

 it more than my uncle William, who disliked this 

 somewhat masculine woman. 



Whilst at my uncle's house, I attended a school 

 for writing and arithmetic, and made considerable 

 progress in the latter, for I liked it, but I soon forgot 

 it from want of practice. 



My uncle and aunt generally paid a visit to the 



