LIFE IN EDINBURGH. 121 



at the sound of some young voice demanding a story, in the telling 

 of which, like all good grandams, she excelled. 



So, to the pleasant house of his mother, No. 53 Queen street, 

 Wilson changed his abode from dear sycamore-sheltered Elleray. 



In 1815 he was called to the bar, along with his friend Patrick 

 Robertson.* John Gibson Lockhart joined them in the year follow- 

 ing. For a short time, but only for a short time, "Wilson followed 

 the usual routine of a professional promenading in the " Hall of 

 Lost /Steps." He did sometimes get cases, but when he found them 

 lying on his table, he said jocularly, when speaking of this after- 

 wards, "I did not know what the devil to do with them!" The 

 Parliament-House life was plainly not the thing which nature meant 

 for him. The restrictions of that arena would not suit his Pegasus, 

 so he freed his wings and took another course. 



There are some pleasant fragments of his letters to his wife, writ- 

 ten in holiday time, when he would now and then run away for a 

 day or two to saunter, fishing-rod in hand, by the streams of pretty 

 pastoral Peebles, and into Yarrow to visit the Ettrick Shepherd. 



He writes from the " Head of the Yarrow," on " Wednesday morn- 

 ing, seven o'clock," in June, 1815 : — 



" My dearest Jane: — I take time by the forelock merely to inform 

 you that I am still a sentient being. On Sunday, I did not leave 

 Sym's till near twelve o'clock. I called, on my way to Peebles, at 

 Finlay's, at Glencorse, where I sandwiched for an hour, and arrived 

 at Peebles about seven o'clock, a perfect lameter, my shoes having 

 peeled my timbers. The walk was rather dreary. At Peebles I 

 had to stop, and remained there all night. On Monday morning, at 

 six o'clock (miraculous!) I uprose from the couch of slumber, and 

 walked along the Tweed to Traquair Knowe (Mr. Laidlaw's). There 

 I fished, and stayed all Monday, the place being very beautiful. 

 Grieve joined the party that night, and several other people. Mr. 

 Laidlaw is married, an insectologist and poet, and farmer and agri- 

 culturist. On Tuesday morning I walked to Hogg's, a distance of 

 about eight miles, fishing as I went, and surprised him in his cottage 

 bottling whiskey. He is well, and dressed pastorally. His house is 

 not habitable, but the situation is good, and may become very pretty. 



* Among the young men. afterwards distinguished, who passed about the same time, were John 

 Cay, Andrew Kutherfurd, P. F. Tytler, Sir William Hamilton, Thomas Maitland, Alexander Pringle, 

 Archibald Alison, Duncan M'Neill, James Ivory, &c. 



