74 NIM ROD'S NORTHERN TOUR. 



room ;" " would my horses be at Kelso to-night ?" c., c., &c. 

 But now comes the climax. " Give this note to the Dunse post- 

 boy," said I, "and tell him it is for Mr. Campbell of Glen- 

 saddell." " Oh, sir," exclaimed Peter, " I wish I had known you 

 had been writing to Mr. Campbell of Glen-saddell, perhaps, sir, 

 you would have been so good to have told him I am quite all 

 (ill) at all the gentlemen forsaking me ; I am sure I shan't live 

 two years. I got more in one six weeks, sir, when my lord" 

 (Elcho) "and the gentlemen was here, than I do all the year round 

 besides. Do, sir, just look at our hunt room ; there, sir, you 

 see that table" (we adjourned to the room in which stood a hand- 

 some and wide dinner table). " The very last time the gentlemen 

 dined in. this room, Lord John Scott jumped clean over that table 

 at four o'clock in the morning, with all the bottles and glasses, 

 punch bowls and jugs on it, and never touched one of them." 

 " Lucky for his lordship," said I, " that he cleared his fence so 

 well ; I all but lost my right arm by falling upon a glass bottle ;, 

 but don't put my dinner in this big room, for it feels devilish 

 cold." Exit Peter, with a bow. 



About six o'clock I went to my chamber to dress, and found 

 every comfort in it to be expected at an inn. A tap at the door, 

 however, soon announced the arrival of Peter, who, advancing, 

 towards me in the most respectful manner, and with a card in 

 his hand, thus addressed me : " Beg pardon, sir" (giving me the 

 card) ; "an invitation to dinner , Mr. Burn Callander of Preston- 

 hall, near Edinburgh ; a "very excellent gentleman. He and his 

 lady have apartments in the house a fine stud of hunters at 

 Dickinson's stables hunts every day with the duke. Dinner 

 ordered exactly at seven ; hopes to have the pleasure of your 

 company." Now this was very pleasing intelligence to myself, 

 and nothing out of Peter's way, as, but for it, I was booked for 

 the Cock and Gridiron in the village of St. Boswell's close to 

 the kennel the very next morning, intending only to have one 

 day's experience of Peter and his inn, both of which are ex- 

 cellent in their way.* To the hospitality of Mr. Callander then, 

 whose acquaintance I had the pleasure of making some years 

 back when at Brighton, was I indebted for most agreeable even- 

 ings during my residence at Kelso, as he would not hear of my 

 dining by myself, so long as he was sojourning in the house \ 

 and, as insisted upon by Peter, dinner was each day served in 

 the hunt room. It is a handsome room, comfortably furnished, 



* " Go to the Cock and Gridiron at St. Bos well's," said Lord Kin- 

 tore in one of his letters. " It will suit your pocket better than Kelso,. 

 Barclay and myself once lived there for a fortnight." 



