CHAP. Iv. ] The Sailors’ Wwes. 79 
As he went on his way, he came up to a man who was 
tramping along like himself. He belonged to Dundee, 
was a weaver by trade, and had been traveling through the 
country in search of work. The man asked Edward where 
he had come from, whither he was going, where he had 
slept, and what money he had to carry him to the end of 
his journey. On hearing that he had only enough to car- 
ry him across the ferry at Dundee, the weaver gave him a 
penny, saying that he would have given him more but that 
the penny was all the change he had. 
Shortly after, they overtook two women, who turned out 
to be two sailors’ wives. They had come from Aberdeen. 
The ship in which their husbands sailed had been chartered 
to Dundee, and would not enter the port of Aberdeen for 
some time; hence the journey of the wives to Dundee. 
The weaver, on hearing where they came from, pointed to 
his little companion, and said, ‘‘ Here’s a laddie that comes 
frae the same place, and as his wallet’s no very weel filled, 
perhaps ye might gie him a copper or two.” One of the 
women looked hard at Edward, and said, “T’ve surely seen 
ye before, laddie. Did ye ever frequent the fish-market 7 
the Shipraw?” “Yes.” “And ye had sometimes tame rot- 
tens wi’ ye?” “Yes.” “Ah! I thocht sae. I used to help 
my mother wi’ her fish, and was sure that I had seen ye 
i the market.” 
Then they asked him where he was going? “Till the 
Kettle,” he said. “Till the what did ye say, laddie?” 
“The Kettle!” How they laughed! They had never heard 
of such a place before. But when their laughter had set- 
tled down, they gave the boy twopence; and as they part- 
ed, one of the women said, “ Tak’ care o’ yer feet, laddie, 
when ye step intil the Kettle.” 
On reaching Dundee, Edward crossed the Firth of Tay 
by the ferry-boat, and reached Newport, in the county of 
Fife. From thence he walked on to Cupar. He was very 
much bewildered by the manner in which the people told 
