130 THE JOURNEYMAN. 



had formed of Edinburgh, and how little the hope of its 

 pleasures appeared when compared with the well-proved 

 joys of the home I had left. 



'Thou may'st boast, Edina, thou home of delight, 

 For thy gallants are gay, and thy ladies are bright, 

 August is thy palace, thy castle, sublime, 

 Has braved the rude dints of fire, battle, and time. 



' Thou may'st boast. Edina, thou famed abode 

 Of the wise and the learn'd, of the great and the good, 

 Thou may'st boast of thy worthies, may'st boast of thy towers t 

 Thy halls and thy temples, thy grots and thy bowers. 



1 Yet lovelier by far and more dear to this heart, 

 Than all your gay trophies of labour and art, 

 Is the home of my fathers, the much-loved land 

 Of the dauntless of heart and the mighty of hand. 



' 'Tis there the grey bones of my fathers are laid, 

 'Twas there that my life's sunny friendships were made, 

 And till death chills my bosom and closes my e'e, 

 These friends and that land shall be dear unto me.' 



1 The weather was still extremely thick, and though 

 my eyes were earnestly fixed in that direction, I could see 

 but little of Edinburgh. Once indeed I saw the chim- 

 neys of the new town appearing through the mist, like 

 the shocks of a field newly reaped, and several times the 

 rugged summit of Arthur's Seat came full in sight, as 

 if passing through the dark cloud which obscured its 

 base. These were but transient glimpses, but of the 

 town of Leith I had a full and distinct view. A young 

 lad, one of the passengers, was pointing out to me the 

 harbour, docks, and public buildings, and between the 

 amusement his remarks afforded me and the pleasure I 

 took in looking at the vessels we passed and repassed in 

 the roadstead, an hour or two flew away very agreeably. 



1 By a signal from the shore we were made to under- 

 stand that the water in the channel had risen to a re- 

 quisite height. The vessel's head was immediately 

 turned that way, and in a few minutes I found myself 



