COUSIN WALTER. 351 



almost two men, writing nearly as much as men who 

 only write, and hewing as much as men who only hew ; 

 but were the writing or hewing either to be imposed on 

 me as a task, I would be miserable/ 



' Cromarty, December 16, 1833. 



* I have been low-spirited and unhappy. You 

 remember the fine-looking young man, a cousin of mine, 

 that Miss Reid pointed out to you when you were in 

 Cromarty two years ago ? He is dead. At the time I 

 was enjoying so much in your company at Nigg he was 

 lying on a bed of sickness in a foreign land, with neither 

 friend nor relative to smoothe his pillow or speak him 

 comfort. Poor Walter ! His story is a melancholy one ! 

 He was long attached to a young girl of Cromarty, and 

 in forming his little scheme of future happiness, he had 

 laid down his union with her as its very ground-work ; 

 but seeing, from the miserable depression of trade, little 

 chance of providing for her in this country, he crossed 

 the Atlantic in the hope that his exertions would secure 

 for him in America what they had failed in procuring 

 for him here. Alas, he has found only a grave. Poor 

 fellow ! He had a kind, warm heart, and all his acquaint- 

 ances here regret him sincerely ; what may not I ? We 

 grew up together from our mutual childhood as play- 

 mates and companions; and though for the last twelve 

 years we were less in each other's company, for our pur- 

 suits were different, and mine led me to be much alone, 

 we still continned to love and respect each other. You 

 remember his appearance. He was a well-built man of 

 six feet, but from his being so justly proportioned, he 

 did not seem so tall ; he had an iron constitution and 

 great bodily strength, and when in Cromarty, he used 

 to expose himself with impunity to all the various hard- 



