The Waiters Mystified. 249 



smaller confectioners' shops were open everywhere, 

 and shops for the sale of ginger-beer, soda-water, 

 and milk, as well as others with fruits and periodicals 

 for sale. Stands with drinks and cakes were common 

 on the roadside to Portobello, and on the sands on 

 the seashore ; and on climbing to the top of Arthur's 

 Seat, there too were copious refreshments spread out 

 on the ground on a white sheet. We saw Holyrood 

 Palace, and the beautiful fountain lately erected. I 

 have the same objection here as I have to almost 

 all other erections of the same kind, namely, that the 

 water is made to gush or flow from the mouth of 

 animals of various kinds, the most unnatural thing 

 possible, a barbarous design continued. 



"Monday, May 10. Left Edinburgh for Elie brick- 

 works, where we arrived shortly after mid-day. 

 Bagged up a good supply of the clay (fifty pounds). 

 Sent it home by rail. 



" Next morning left Elie for Errol, where there is 

 another post-tertiary deposit. Here too, after pick- 

 ing out what shells we could, took another supply of 

 clay for further examination, and proceeded to Mont- 

 rose. When at the hotel I began to inquire about 

 brick-fields, and clays, and bags to hold them, per- 

 haps not in the most intelligible way, and as my 

 wife was inquiring for the residence of Dr. Howden, 

 the superintendent of the lunatic asylum, and was 

 apparently taking the chief management of affairs, I 

 imagined that the waiters were casting uncommonly 

 suspicious looks at me. We left, to find Dr. Howden. 

 As we had run ourselves short of bags to hold the clay, 

 Mrs. Robertson suggested that she should sit down 



