A SCOTCH HAGGIS. 285 



o' you. Now listen to me : hae dinner sharp at twa ; 

 see that the cook clun'na hoil the haggis ower niuckle, 

 and set twa plates. You'll tak your dinner wi' me, 

 sir ; I hae got a real Scotch haggis, and the likes you 

 maybe nare tasted afore. I'll tak no refusal, rnon, 

 unless you're promised to a friend." With pleasure I 

 accepted the invitation, and, much pleased with both 

 captain and schooner, returned to the hotel to pack my 

 traps and make final arrangements before sailing. 

 Sharp at two I was again on board, and the agreeable 

 odour which pervaded the craft, if it rose from, the 

 haggis, was a guarantee of future excellence. The 

 captain welcomed me with great warmth, and expressed 

 hopes that we should have a rapid and pleasant 

 passage, but at the same time informed me that there 

 was no more kittlish navigation in the w r oiid, excepting 

 it be on his own native coast. Our meal passed 

 pleasantly ; and while performing the office of host, 

 his brusqueness disappeared, and with it a good deal 

 of the broad dialect. The haggis was excellent, the 

 bacon and chickens were as good, and the West Indian 

 preserves which formed the dessert were of the best 

 quality. As I stretched my limbs under his table in 

 the snug little cabin, after the cloth had been removed, 

 and a kettle of boiling water flanked with lemons had 

 made its appearance, I felt satisfied that there were 

 worse lots in the world than commanding a clipper 

 schooner in the West Indian trade. 



As the toddy circulated our companionship in- 

 creased, and to a question I asked in reference to 

 his success in the last voyage, he made the following 

 statement : " Well, sir, you see a man that com- 

 menced the world without a bawbee. My faither and 



