mon.

And I, Omai, expected it was to be a sermon made on purpose to please the King, but no such thing; it was a very good sermon, and nothing about the King in it, only the minister prayed for the King, and the King was affected by that honest minister's prayer, for he had never heard the like; the prayers in the island of London being all read out of a book. And I, Omai, and the King liked the sermon of the chief of the ministers, for it was good. After another prayer and psalm, then the King went away, and the church was done.

And the King was gone when I, Omai, came out of church, so I did not see him but Captain Smith told me that he gave a large box of money to the poor, good man, when he came in, to buy them meat; and he would have given more, but that there are few poor in Edinburgh island, save those who are too old to work, and so the King kept the rest of his money to himself. And there was no more of the King for this day, for he went straight to his palace at the island of Dalkeith; but I, Omai, went again to church, for it is good to hear sermons preached on Sunday.

DAY TWELFTH.

Caledonian Hunt Ball.

[As Omai was at the Peers' Ball, it would seem that he did not think it worth while to attend the ball given by the Caledonian Hunt. From his journal of this day's proceedings, however, it appears he had gone on an angling expedition to the North Esk, at Roslin.]

DAY THIRTEENTH.

The Parthenon.-The Theatre.

This day I, Omai, was a great man ; for it was the foundation of the Parthenon Church on the Hill of Calton; and I, Omai, being a mason, and a grand proxy man for the lodge of Otaheite, it could not be done without me, Omai. And all the proxy men are grand men, for they are the Grand Lodge, and the King is the chief, and the great Duke man he is the next chief or Master Mason.

And the Parthenon, if I, Omai, am asked what it is-it is a true church,

with pillars, for I have seen its picture in the Theatre-house; and it is a grand church, because it is the National Monument. And all the lodges, from all the islands, were there, with little aprons of leather, and flags and sashes of silk across the body. This is what I, Omai, wore, and it is becoming. And soldiers on horses guarded the road to the hill of foundation. And I, Omai, marched to the sound of music, that is the tune of the masons' anthem or apron, and the streets were crowded to look upon me, Omai, and my brother masons, as if it had been the King, for all masons are brothers; and the King he is a mason, and a brother to me, Omai. And the great stones for the foundation they were on the top of the hill, and a lifting machine to lift them. And the King sent Erees from Waterloo to see the stones properly placed, and they marched with Omai and the Grand Lodge to the hill; and the number of people was immense-no man could count them in a year.

And the Grand Lodge was so great and many, that I, Omai, could not see it all done, only money and bottles were put in a hole, and a great stone let down; and the Duke man knocked upon it, and it was done, only there was speeching and praying, as masons do. And so it was left, and all the masons went away to dinner, and the King's Erees went away to their Waterloo house.

The same day, in the evening, the Great King wanted to go to the Theatre-house, where plays are played. And I, Omai, knew that he was to go, for it was printed in a playbill paper that the King wished to see Rob Roy,and the master of the playermen he would not refuse so good a King ; and he put up a palace box for him, and a throne chair. And I, Omai, went early with the Captain; and the place where we sat that was called boxes; and it was high up, for there were boxes below and boxes above, and all these boxes were full of ladies, beautiful with feathers, as at the Ball dancing. And the galleries where the common people are, the people in them were very noisy at the music men, for it is not the custom to make the play till the King came.

And then there was a noise of the King coming; and he came, and all the people hurraed the hurra of joy;

with Captain Smith; so I, Omai, thought that it would be better for me to go to the sea-place where the King's canoe was. So I, Omai, went there, and saw the Grey Scots horse soldiers who wait upon the King.

And a green road of cloth was made for the King, that he might get to his canoe; and he was not long of coming, for his coach rides faster than other coaches, and there is no stopping it. And when he came out of the coach when it stopped, the King walked out and went with his chief Erees, and shook hands with them like a man, and not like a King. And I, Omai, could not resist it; so I stept forward among the Erees, and held out my hand, and said the word of Farewell. And the King looked and saw I was a chief, and shook me, Omai, by the hand, and said, "Farewell,-Good bye."These were the words of the great King to me, Omai. And the great Eree, called my Lord of Fife, he was there, and saw me, Omai, (he is to send me grouse and deer flesh to eat,) and spoke of me, Omai, to the King, and laughed, and the King looked back and bowed again to me, Omai, and I waved my hat, and gave the hurra cry. And there was a great cry of hurra for

the King; and when the King hears hurra, he must always take off his hat, that is the custom. And it was not a hat the King wore, but rather a cap, and his dress was different, for a King in this country has many dresses. And I, Omai, made the noise of hurra when he went into the canoe, and cannons on the hills fired their fires, and made a great noise of joy. And the great Eree called Thane, or little King, he went with the King in the canoe-boat, for he is the great chief of the Highlanders of Fife Island. And this was all I, Omai, saw of the King this day, for I rode home in a coach with the Captain, like an Eree and the son of a chief; and heard no more cannon fires till the evening, when another firing told the people that the King was away in his ship upon the great sea. So I, Omai, that men of Otaheite may know that I, Omai, saw the great King of the island of Edinburgh, wrote this all down in my book of white paper, that it may be known to King Pouree, and the Kings of all the islands, and that they may be friends of the wise people of the island of Edinburgh.

GOD SAVE THE KING!

"SAWNERS M'AUSLAN," said the mistress, as soon as she had stretched herself in the bed beside him, "Sawners M'Auslan, are you sound already?"

"I'm no sleeping," replied the skipper, a little gruffly, still remaining with his face towards the wall.

"Gin ye're no sleeping, tak tent, I hae something to say."

"I can hear you-what is it ?" "Ye ken, Sawners, that ye hae lang promis't me a jaunt, and every bodie's gaun intil Edinburgh.-Dinna ye think a jaunt to see the King would be a real fine ane-Na, as I'm to be trustit, the man's snoring in a dead sleep.say, Sawners M'Auslan !"

I

"I'm no sleeping."

"Then, what were the last words I said?"

"I say, Sawners M'Auslan." In

saying which, he roused up a little, and Mrs M'Auslan resumed the thread of her discourse.

"I had begood to say, that as every body's gaun to see the King, it's our duty to gang likewise; and considering how lang it is sin' ye promis't to tak' me to Embro', I'm sure ye might do waur than mak' it out noo.'

"A' that's vera true, Leizy, my dear, but times were times when I made that promise.-Ye should reflek, that sin' I gied up the sea at the peace, the parts both of the America and the Kilmun hae scarcely brought in a black bawbee."

"But for a' that, we hae reason to be thankful for our mercies-for the parts o' the steam-boats hae been just a coining," replied the lady, somewhat coaxingly.

"It's a' that ye ken," said the Cap

tain, gravely," the trade's over-done; they hae been gaun to leeward a' last year.'

Then, for gudesake, before a' gangs to a', let us take our pleasure o't."

"It's easy, Leizy, for you to speak; but thir's no times for gallanting. The ballast o' every business has shifted; and there's no a merchant amang us that's no hogged mair or less."

"They should hae taen better care, and keepit the grip when they had it: for ye see noo, that ye ought to hae follow't my advice, and been done wi' trade when ye left aff the sea-as I'm sure ye hae lost siller by your parts o' vessels. As for the steam-boats, they're shoogly things, and I hae nae broo o' them,-meikle better would it hae been for our family had ye biggit, as I wantit you, a neat bit house on Cartsdyke-brae in the park, where Jenny Galbraith has set down her Legacy-hall-and I wish ye would sell your parts, and do't yet. But ye will aye take your own bullhorn't way, Sawners, and I wouldna wonder, for a' your lang promises to the contrarie, that ye'll no tak my advice, and gang to see the King as weel as the lave.I wouldna gie a snuff for a man that winna bide by his word."

"It's ill getting a breek aff a Hielanman, and ye shouldna need to be tell't, Leizy, that this is no weather for setting the top-gallant sails."

"Ay, that's what ye aye say when I want onything; and I'll never believe but ye're a real hard nigger after this."

"Leizy, my dear! Leizy, ye should consider.'

were baith rookit and herrit. It's a slighting o' the mercy to be continually willy-waing about your losses, and it's a sinfu' thing no to tak the santified use o' what we hae gotten. However, I'm glad to hear that ye can afford to bigg a house; and I hope it will be something out o' the common, -so before casting away the cost, I would seriously advise you to take a look weel about you,-and for this, if there were no other cause, I would gang intil Embro', for they say the houses in the New-town are most convenient."

"It's no the jaunt," replied the relenting skipper, "that I grudge, but the outfit and new rigging.

"Noo, Sawners, that's like yoursel," said Mrs M'Auslan, caressingly ;" and since ye hae consented to take me to see the King, it wouldna be fair o' me to be overly severe on your purse. I'll seek nae mair than a pelisse and bonnet, although I hear that Miss Menie M'Neil has had down frae London some real beautiful gowns."

"Miss Menie Devil!"-growled the apprehensive husband at the name of cheap and tasteful Miss Menie.

Mrs M'Auslan, however, followed up the advantage which she had thus gained, that in the end succeeded not only in obtaining the Captain's consent to take her to meet his Majesty on his arrival, but also that she might pay Miss Menie a visit in the morning, in order to be properly rigged out to appear before royalty neighbourlike.

Whether there is any truth in the allegation of the Glasgow people, that nothing walks in the middle of the street, but cows or Greenock folk, we shall for the present suppress our natural inclination to investigate the causes of a subject so interesting to philosophy, and proceed to state the important fact, that soon after breakfast next morning, Mrs M'Auslan was seen picking her steps along the crown of the causeway towards Miss Menie M'Neil's emporium of fashion. For the day was wet, as the weather always is at Greenock, except when it happens to snow, and the sidepavement was much in the same state as it was in the days of a certain learned clerk, who commenced his celebrated remonstrance to the magistrates on the subject, by saying, that "In Rome and in Athens, and

in all well-regulated cities," &c. thereby exhorting the bailies of Greenock to imitate the Roman Consuls and the Athenian Archons, and to recal to mind how Tarquinius Priscus constructed the cloace of the Eternal City, how Provost Pericles built the Parthenon, and with what dignity Epaminondas performed his duty as a bailie, even with respect to the common-sewers and dunghills of Thebes. -But, notwithstanding the eloquence and erudition of the clerk, the sidepavements of Greenock seem still to have a natural predilection to continue in the same state; and no better proof of the fact need be adduced, than the incident to which we have alluded, namely, that Mrs M'Auslan was eschewing the plainstones, where herring heads and other odoriferous substances emulated the sights and scents of the Canongate of Edinburgh, and the streets of Paris. But although Mrs M'Auslan was, for the reasons delicately alluded to, compelled to keep the middle of the street, yet she rather conformed to the general custom of the town, than acted under any constraint of necessity; for, in common with the Greenock ladies, she kept two carriages, vulgarly called pattens; and elevated on them, in passing the square, she fell in with Mrs Goroghan, returning from the market.

After a few sympathetic reciprocities relative to the state of the weather, their conversation naturally turned on the universal topic of the time, the King's visit.

"Ye'll be gaun intil Embro', nae doubt ?" said Mrs Goroghan.

"We're swithering,' replied Mrs M'Auslan, "for the gudeman's unco

sweart.'

"It's weel for them to gang that can afford it," was the answer. The admonitory hint implied in this expression, we have some reason to believe, was not altogether dictated by the most charitable feeling, but was, in truth, somewhat spiced with envy. For Mrs Goroghan, like her neighbour, had plied all her blandishments to induce her husband to be neighbour-like on the royal occasion, but without equal success. Had we, however, any doubt of the animus by which she was actuated in the observation, it would certainly have been removed by what followed.

"I'm sure," said she, "I wis you muckle gude o' the jaunt ; but there will be a real gathering. The whole clanjamphry o' the kintra's running to Embro'. I won'er what ye'll a' see -the King's but a man, and the cat may tak a look at the King ony day. But dinna let me deteen you in the wat, Mrs M'Auslan, for this is a sore morning, and I fin' ane o' my shoon lets in.'

With this they separated, Mrs M'Auslan, pursuing her journey to the milliner's, suffering some degree of excitement from the subtractive congratulations of Mrs Goroghan, who, goaded by what she had heard, and none doubting that the M'Auslans would, during their jaunt, indulge in all the loyal revellings of the capital, quickened her steps towards home, where she found her husband engaged in reading a long letter which he had received that morning by the post from the master of one of his ships.

"What will I no tell you, gudeman?" said she, as soon as she entered the room, seating herself without throwing off her tartan plaid-" isna that extravagant woman Mrs M'Auslan gaun galloping in till Embro' to see the King? But she's weel affshe has a man that kens what it is to keep out a station o' life-you'll no hear what I'm saying."

"Weel," replied the ship-owner, folding up the letter, "this is no sae bad-the freight frae the Mediterranean to Liverpool should clear the out-fit and men's wages; and this charter to Savannah, as things go, is as good as could be looked for."

"Wha's that letter frae ?" inquired the lady, somewhat interested by understanding that it contained profitable intelligence.

"Captain Bunten,” replied Mr Goroghan-" he's in at Liverpool frae Malta and Sicily wi' a cargo o' brimstane, and has got a charter to carry a load of crockery-ware to Savannah."

66

Crockery-ware! heh, but that's a brittle cargo !" said his wife, a little merrily, adding, "but ye didna heed what I was telling you-Wha wad hae thought it? But Captain M'Auslan and his wife are going on a jaunt to Embro' to see the King. I'm sure I didna think they were in a circumstance at this time for ony sic show. But she's an upsetting woman, and