never make him a king; a very needless prayer, in my opinion, considering the reverend doctor's great simplicity of parts and talents in the way of policy.

At this time, I discerned a very clever and genteel manner of acting on the part of the Lord Londonderry, who was one of the grandest sights in the show. In marching up the Hall with the rest, he took his stance on the platform whereon the throne was placed, and in the wonderment of the time forgot to take off his cap of feathers, although then before the presence of the King's Majesty. Some friend at his Lordship's elbow observing this, gave him a jog, to put him in mind that it might be thought ill breeding. Any common body like me would have been sorely put out at committing such an oversight; but his Lordship, with great ready wit, shewing what a pawky diplomatic he is, instead of taking off his cap on the spot, feigned to have some turn to do on the other side of the platform; so he walked past in front of the King, and making his Majesty as beautiful a bow as any gentleman could well do, took off his cap, and held it, for the remainder of the time, in his hand.

The first part of the banquet being ended, the sound of an encouraging trumpet was heard-and in came the Champion on horseback, in the warlike apparel of polished armour, having on his right hand the Duke of Wellington, and on his left, the deputy of the Earl Marshal. But it does not accord with the humility of my private pen to expatiate on such high concerns of chivalry; and I was besides just tormented the whole time by Mrs Pringle, speering the meaning of every thing, and demonstrating her surprise, that the Duke of Wellington could submit to act such a playactor's part. Really it's a great vexation to have to do with either men or women of such unicorn minds as Mrs Pringle, where there is any thing of

a complexity of sense, as there is in that type and image of the old contentious times of the monarchy, shewn forth in the resurrection of a champion in a coat-of-mail, challenging to single combat.

In this conjuncture of the ploy, we were put to a dreadful amazement, by a lady of an Irish stock, as I heard, taking it into her head to be most awfully terrified at the sight of a Highland gentleman in his kilt, and holding his pistol in his hand. The gentleman was Glengarry, than whom, as is well known, there is not, now-a-days, a chieftain of a more truly Highland spirit; indeed it may be almost said of him, as I have read in a book, it was said of one Brutus, the ancient Roman, that he is one of the last of the chieftains, none caring more for the hardy mountain race, or encouraging, by his example, the love of the hill and heather.

Well, what does the terrified madam do, but set up a plastic to disarm Glengarry, thinking that he was going to shoot the King, and put to death all the blood royal of the Guelf family, making a clean job o't for the bringing in of the Stewarts again. Then she called to her a Knight of the Bath, and a young man of a slender nature, one of the servitors, and bade them arrest Glengarry. It was well for them all that the Macdonell knew something of courts, and the dues of pedigree, and bridled himself at this hobbleshow; but it was just a picture, and a contrast to be held in remembrance, to see the proud and bold son of the mountain-the noble that a King cannot make, for its past the monarch's power to bestow the honour of a chieftainship, even on the Duke of Wellington, as all true Highlanders well know ;-I say, it was a show to see him, the lion of the rock, submitting himself calmly as a lamb to those "silken sons of little men," and the whole tot of the treason proving but a lady's hysteric.*

glass of wine with me, when a bold duchess-looking lady laid hands on the darling Dagon, and carried it away to another part of the table, where she sat down triumphing among judges and other great personages, and expatiated over her prize. Poor Mrs Pringle was confounded, and turned up the white of her eyes like a dying doo with disappointment, and had not the courage to demand back her property, being smitten with a sense, as she afterwards said, of not having come very honestly by it; so the lady carried off the image, as her prize, to her chariot, and a proud woman I trow she was, demonstrating over its beauties to all her acquaintance, as she bore it along in her arms, and on her own great good luck in getting it.

As we were thus employed, Mrs Pringle gave me a nodge on the elbow, and bade me look at an elderly man, about fifty, with a fair gray head, and something of the appearance of a gausey good-humoured country laird."Look at that gentleman," said she. "Wha is't?" quo' I.-"That's the Author of Waverley," was her answer; a most comical novel, that the Doctor read, and thought was a true history book."

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Seeing myself so nigh to that great literary character, and understanding that there was some acquaintance between him and my friends, I sideled gradually up towards him, till he saw the mistress and the doctor, with whom he began to talk in a very conversible manner, saying couthy and kind things, complimenting the Doctor on his talents as a preacher, and sympathizing with Mrs Pringle, whose new gown had suffered great detriment, by reason of the stour and the spiders' webs that had fallen down, as I have rehearsed, from the rafters.

By this time some familiar interchange of the eye had taken place be tween him and me; and when he understood that my name was Duffle, and that I corresponded in a secret manner with Mr Blackwood, the bookseller in Edinburgh; he said that he had been just like to die at some of my writings, which I was very well pleased to hear; and then I speered at him if he was really and truly the author of Waverley. "Mr Duffle," said he, "I just hae as little to say to the book as you hae."-To the which I replied, "that if a' tales be true, that could be nae lie." VOL. X.

-" But we ken," cried Mrs Pringle, "that ye are the author, though ye may have reasons, in black and white, o' your ain, for the concealment.""Na," quoth the Doctor, "that's, I must say, a hame push; but, no doubt, when a decent man denies a charge o' the kind, it ought to be believed." In this easy manner we stood conversing for a season, and then we sat down on the steps leading up to the King's throne, and had some jocose talk anent what we had seen, and other sights and shows of regal pageantry, the which, by little and little, led us on to speak of past times, and the doings of Kings and Queens, who have long departed this life, till at last we entered upon the connection and pedigree of his Majesty with the old tyrannical House of Stuart; my new acquaintance, however, did not much relish the observe that I made concerning the prelatic nature of the princes of that line.

After this sederunt we rose, and the disappointment of the golden image was not the only dejection that Mrs Pringle was ordained to meet with that night:-Both the Doctor and her had forgotten to make proper regulations about Captain Sabre's carriage, which was to take them home; so that, after waiting till the Hall was almost skailed, and many of the lights out, we three, in all our finery, were obligated to walk out into the streets, and no hack→ ney was to be seen or heard of. What with the gravel hurting her feet, and the ruin it was of to her satin shoes, Mrs Pringle was at the greeting, and some drops of rain beginning to fall, her new gown was in the very jaws of jeopardy. But she is a managing wo man, and not often at a loss;-seeing the Doctor and me standing overcome with perplexity, and in a manner demented, she happened to observe a gentleman's carriage at a door, and, without more ado, she begged the servants to ask their master to allow them to take her home, which he very readily did, and thus extricated us all from a most unspeakable distress, for both the Doctor and me got into the chaise beside her, and arrived safe at Captain Sabre's, where there was a great assemblage of friends, and a wonderful speer and talk about what we had all seen that day at the Coro nation.

When we had rested ourselves a
D

short space of time, and taken some refreshment, the doctor and me (he having put off his gown and bands) went out by ourselves on our feet, it being no length of a walk from Baker-Street to Hyde-Park, to see the fire-works, things which the doctor had never seen, but which were no unco to me, as we have had sic-like at Glasgow, from riders and equestrian troops. But this, at that time of night, was not a very judicious adventure, considering that I was in my sky-blue court-dress, with a cockit-hat and a sword; for it brought the voices of the commonality. I, however, could have put up with them, but just as we got into the crowd, there was a great flight of sky-rockets, with a fearful rushing noise, which so terrified Doctor Pringle, that he thought it was a fiery judgment breaking out of the heavens upon London, for the idolatries of the day—and uttered such a cry of fright, that every body around us roared and shouted with laughter and derision; insomuch, that we were glad to make the best of our way homeward. But our troubles did not then end. Before we were well out of the Park, an even-down thunder-plump came on, that not only drookit the doc

tor to the skin, but made my sky-blue silk clothes cling like wax to my skin; and, in the race from the rain, the sword gaed in between my legs, and coupit me o'er in the glar of the causay with such vehemence, that I thought my very een were dinted out: the knees of my silk breeks were riven in the fall. Some civil folk that saw my misfortune, helped me in with the doctor to an entry mouth, till a hackney could be got to take me home. In short, the sufferings I met with are not to be related, and I had an experience of what it is to be stravaiging after fairlies at the dead hour of the night; for when I reached Mrs Damask's house, she was gone to bed, and nobody to let me in, dripping wet as I was, but an ashypet lassie that helps her for a servant. No such neglect would have happened with Mrs M'Lecket in the Saltmarket. She would have been up to see to me herself, and had the kettle boiling, that I might get a tumbler of warm toddy after my fatigues. But I was needcessitated to speel into my bed as well as I could, shivering with the dread of having got my death of cold, or of being laid up as a betheral for life, with the rheumateese.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

I PROMISED to write you from this boasted city, and my destined route having landed me in it at a most important juncture, I haste to fulfil my engagement. But this letter shall neither be about business, which you detest; nor the appearance of this small eastern metropolis, which you despise. No, sir: this letter, I am resolved, shall be about the men of genius here, the only thing worth notice in this their city, and the only article in which we cannot excel those who are destined to live in it. You are well aware that my attachment to literature, or rather to literary men, is such, that with unwearied perseve rance I have procured introductions to all such of them as verged on the circle of my uttermost acquaintance. But perhaps you do not know, that when I could in noways attain such intro

ductions, I made a piece of business with the gentlemen, put on a brazen face, and favoured them with a call. It is a fact, that I waited on Mr J-y with a political French novel in MS. written by a lady. He received me rather haughtily, with his back stretched up at the chimney, and his coat turned to one side; but I held him excused, for I perceived that he was thinking on something else. I made him a present of the work, however, and have been proud to see what use he has made of it. I also waited on Sir WS with a few Saxon coins, and two Caledonian brass javelins; on Mr C- -Nwith a song from Dr Scott; on Mr specimen of Glasgow ice, and the Gorbals weaver's theory on the mean temperature of the globe; on P-Wwith some verses to the moon, said to be written by Finlay; on G—— with

with a