90 Aberdeenshire Militia. [cHAP. Vv. 
the project, Edward prevailed upon him to make an open- 
ing in the cargo, so as to admit him into a hole near the 
bow of the ship. Here, amidst some boxes and coils of 
rope, Edward deposited three dozen biscuits and two bot- 
tles of water. S 
He waited outside, hovering about the quay, until the 
day of sailing arrived. But the ship did not sail until five 
days after the advertised time. When the emigrants went 
on board, Edward went with them. For three days and 
nights he lay among the coils of rope, feeding upon his bis- 
cuits and water. On the forenoon of the fifth day he was 
in his berth; and just as the vessel was about to be loosed 
from her moorings, Edward’s friend came along the hold in 
breathless haste, and inquired (for he was in the dark) “ if 
he was there.” “Surely,” replied Edward. “For the love 
of God,” said the sailor, “come out at once, and get on 
shore. You have time yet. Simon Grant [the town’s offi- 
cer] and a lot of his sharks have come, and they are about 
to rummage the ship from stem to stern for runaways. So 
make haste and come out; you have no chance now.” 
Edward still delayed. He did not like to leave his hole. 
But hearing an unusual commotion going on, amidst a great 
deal of angry speaking, and fearing the worst, he at last 
very unwillingly crept from his berth, went on deck, and 
leaped on shore just as the ship was leaving the quay. He 
afterward learned that the town’s officer was in search of 
another class of stowaways, who, it seems, had been carried 
on board in boxes or barrels. Edward found that he could 
not see the world after this method; and he returned home, 
defeated and mortified. 
The Aberdeenshire militia having been called out in 1831, 
Edward enlisted in the regiment. He was only about eight- 
een years old at the time. When the men assembled, they 
were found to be a very bad lot—mere riffraff—the dregs 
of the neighborhood. ‘They were regardless both of law 
and order. Seldom a night passed without the patrol bring- 
