MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 



93 



it best to halt till the effects of it could be removed. 

 My landlord was very kind. He had seen the 

 world; and, when he found that I was an engraver, 

 he expressed his surprise that I had not carried 

 my tools with me ; for, if I had done so, he said 

 he had no manner of doubt, with my knowledge 

 of heraldry, &c., that I could have found plenty 

 of employment among the gentry and the lairds, 

 in engraving their arms, crests, and other devices, 

 besides being handed from chieftain to chieftain, 

 and seeing the whole country in a very different 

 way from that which I had, through wildernesses, 

 so wildly pursued. On my way to Edinburgh, 

 by Falkirk, I visited Carron Works, and passed 

 under the canal, where, for the first time, I saw 

 vessels afloat that had passed over my head. I 

 was also shown the ground where the Battle of 

 Bannockburn was fought. 



As soon as I could, I made my way, by Lin- 

 lithgow, to Edinburgh, and took up my abode 

 again with Mrs. Hales. I engaged a passage by 

 sea, in a ship belonging to Whitby, which had 

 to touch at Shields. I attended upon this vessel 

 every tide, late and early, for several days, not- 

 withstanding which I missed my time, and was 

 left behind. In this emergency, I got on board 

 a Leith sloop, bound for Newcastle, commanded 

 by Captain Kay, then moving from the pier. We 

 had no sooner got down the Frith of Forth, to 

 the open sea, than we met a heavy swell, and 

 presently encountered a violent gale which soon 

 tore our sails to shivers, drove us far out of sight 

 of land, and put our crew in a great bustle and 

 dilemma. In this small vessel, the crew and 

 passengers amounted to twenty-six. For these 



