THE CASTLE--A FATHER'S INQUIRIES--SCOTCH LANGUAGE--A DETERMINATION--BUI
HIN DIGRI--GOOD SCOTCHMAN--DIFFERENCE OF RACES--NE'ER A
HAGGIS--PUGNACIOUS PEOPLE--WHA ARE YE, MAN?--THE NOR' LOCH--GESTURES
WILD--THE BICKER--A WILD-LOOKING FIGURE
It was not long before we found ourselves at Edinburgh, or rather in the
Castle, into which the regiment marched with drums beating, colours
flying, and a long train of baggage-waggons behind. The Castle was, as I
suppose it is now, a garrison for soldiers. Two other regiments were
already there; the one an Irish, if I remember right, the other a small
Highland corps.
It is hardly necessary to say much about this Castle, which everybody has
seen; on which account, doubtless, nobody has ever yet thought fit to
describe it--at least that I am aware. Be this as it may, I have no
intention of describing it, and shall content myself with observing that
we took up our abode in that immense building, or caserne, of modern
erection, which occupies the entire eastern side of the bold rock on
which the Castle stands. A gallant caserne it was--the best and roomiest
that I had hitherto seen--rather cold and windy, it is true, especially
in the winter, but commanding a noble prospect of a range of distant
hills, which I was told were 'the hieland hills,' and of a broad arm of
the sea, which I heard somebody say was the Firth of Forth.
My brother, who, for some years past, had been receiving his education in
a certain celebrated school in England, was now with us; and it came to
pass, that one day my father, as he sat at table, looked steadfastly on
my brother and myself, and then addressed my mother:--'During my journey
down hither, I have lost no opportunity of making inquiries about these
people, the Scotch, amongst whom we now are, and since I have been here I
have observed them attentively. From what I have heard and seen, I
should say that upon the whole they are a very decent set of people; they
seem acute and intelligent, and I am told that their system of education
is so excellent that every person is learned--more or less acquainted
with Greek and Latin. There is one thing, however, connected with them,
which is a great drawback--the horrid jargon which they speak. However
learned they may be in Greek and Latin, their English is execrable; and
yet I'm told it is not so bad as it was. I was in company, the other
day, with an Englishman who has resided here many years. We were talking
about the country and the people. "I should like both very well," said
I, "were it not for the language. I wish sincerely our Parliament, which
is passing so many foolish acts every year, would pass one to force these
Scotch to speak English." "I wish so, too," said he. "The language is a
disgrace to the British Government; but, if you had heard it twenty years
ago, captain!--if you had heard it as it was spoken when I first came to
Edinburgh!"'
'Only custom,' said my mother. 'I daresay the language is now what it
was then.'
'I don't know,' said my father; 'though I daresay you are right; it could
never have been worse than it is at present. But now to the point. Were
it not for the language, which, if the boys were to pick it up, might
ruin their prospects in life,--were it not for that, I should very much
like to send them to a school there is in this place, which everybody
talks about--the High School I think they call it. 'Tis said to be the
best school in the whole island; but the idea of one's children speaking
Scotch--broad Scotch! I must think the matter over.'
And he did think the matter over; and the result of his deliberation was
a determination to send us to the school. Let me call thee up before my
mind's eye, High School, to which, every morning, the two English
brothers took their way from the proud old Castle through the lofty
streets of the Old Town. High School!--called so, I scarcely know why;
neither lofty in thyself nor by position, being situated in a flat
bottom; oblong structure of tawny stone, with many windows fenced with
iron netting--with thy long hall below, and thy five chambers above, for
the reception of the five classes, into which the eight hundred urchins
who styled thee instructress were divided. Thy learned rector and his
four subordinate dominies; thy strange old porter of the tall form and
grizzled hair, hight Boee, and doubtless of Norse ancestry, as his name
declares; perhaps of the blood of Bui hin Digri, the hero of northern
song--the Jomsborg Viking who clove Thorsteinn Midlangr asunder in the
dread sea battle of Horunga Vog, and who, when the fight was lost and his
own two hands smitten off, seized two chests of gold with his bloody
stumps, and, springing with them into the sea, cried to the scanty relics
of his crew, 'Overboard now, all Bui's lads!' Yes, I remember all about
thee, and how at eight of every morn we were all gathered together with
one accord in the long hall, from which, after the litanies had been read
(for so I will call them, being an Episcopalian), the five classes from
the five sets of benches trotted off in long files, one boy after the
other, up the five spiral staircases of stone, each class to its
destination; and well do I remember how we of the third sat hushed and
still, watched by the eye of the dux, until the door opened, and in
walked that model of a good Scotchman, the shrewd, intelligent, but
warm-hearted and kind dominie, the respectable Carson.
And in this school I began to construe the Latin language, which I had
never done before, notwithstanding my long and diligent study of Lilly,
which illustrious grammar was not used at Edinburgh, nor indeed known.
Greek was only taught in the fifth or highest class, in which my brother
was; as for myself, I never got beyond the third during the two years
that I remained at this seminary. I certainly acquired here a
considerable insight in the Latin tongue; and, to the scandal of my
father and horror of my mother, a thorough proficiency in the Scotch,
which, in less than two months, usurped the place of the English, and so
obstinately maintained its ground, that I still can occasionally detect
its lingering remains. I did not spend my time unpleasantly at this
school, though, first of all, I had to pass through an ordeal.
'Scotland is a better country than England,' said an ugly, blear-eyed
lad, about a head and shoulders taller than myself, the leader of a gang
of varlets who surrounded me in the play-ground, on the first day, as
soon as the morning lesson was over. 'Scotland is a far better country
than England, in every respect.'
'Is it?' said I. 'Then you ought to be very thankful for not having been
born in England.'
'That's just what I am, ye loon; and every morning, when I say my
prayers, I thank God for not being an Englishman. The Scotch are a much
better and braver people than the English.'
'It may be so,' said I, 'for what I know--indeed, till I came here, I
never heard a word either about the Scotch or their country.'
'Are ye making fun of us, ye English puppy?' said the blear-eyed lad;
'take that!' and I was presently beaten black and blue. And thus did I
first become aware of the difference of races and their antipathy to each
other.
'Bow to the storm, and it shall pass over you.' I held my peace, and
silently submitted to the superiority of the Scotch--_in numbers_. This
was enough; from an object of persecution I soon became one of patronage,
especially amongst the champions of the class. 'The English,' said the
blear-eyed lad, 'though a wee bit behind the Scotch in strength and
fortitude, are nae to be sneezed at, being far ahead of the Irish, to say
nothing of the French, a pack of cowardly scoundrels. And with regard to
the English country, it is na Scotland, it is true, but it has its gude
properties; and, though there is ne'er a haggis in a' the land, there's
an unco deal o' gowd and siller. I respect England, for I have an auntie
married there.'
The Scotch are certainly a most pugnacious people; their whole history
proves it. Witness their incessant wars with the English in the olden
time, and their internal feuds, highland and lowland, clan with clan,
family with family, Saxon with Gael. In my time, the schoolboys, for
want, perhaps, of English urchins to contend with, were continually
fighting with each other; every noon there was at least one pugilistic
encounter, and sometimes three. In one month I witnessed more of these
encounters than I had ever previously seen under similar circumstances in
England. After all, there was not much harm done. Harm! what harm could
result from short chopping blows, a hug, and a tumble? I was witness to
many a sounding whack, some blood shed, 'a blue e'e' now and then, but
nothing more. In England, on the contrary, where the lads were
comparatively mild, gentle, and pacific, I had been present at more than
one death caused by blows in boyish combats, in which the oldest of the
victors had scarcely reached thirteen years; but these blows were in the
jugular, given with the full force of the arm shot out horizontally from
the shoulder.
But the Scotch--though by no means proficients in boxing (and how should
they box, seeing that they have never had a teacher?)--are, I repeat, a
most pugnacious people; at least they were in my time. Anything served
them, that is, the urchins, as a pretence for a fray, or, Dorically
speaking, a _bicker_; every street and close was at feud with its
neighbour; the lads of the school were at feud with the young men of the
college, whom they pelted in winter with snow, and in summer with stones;
and then the feud between the old and new town!
One day I was standing on the ramparts of the Castle on the south-western
side which overhangs the green brae, where it slopes down into what was
in those days the green swamp or morass, called by the natives of Auld
Reekie the Nor' Loch; it was a dark gloomy day, and a thin veil of mist
was beginning to settle down upon the brae and the morass. I could
perceive, however, that there was a skirmish taking place in the latter
spot. I had an indistinct view of two parties--apparently of
urchins--and I heard whoops and shrill cries: eager to know the cause of
this disturbance, I left the Castle, and descending the brae reached the
borders of the morass, where were a runnel of water and the remains of an
old wall, on the other side of which a narrow path led across the swamp:
upon this path at a little distance before me there was 'a bicker.' I
pushed forward, but had scarcely crossed the ruined wall and runnel, when
the party nearest to me gave way, and in great confusion came running in
my direction. As they drew nigh, one of them shouted to me, 'Wha are ye,
man? are ye o' the Auld Toon?' I made no answer. 'Ha! ye are o' the New
Toon; De'il tak ye, we'll moorder ye'; and the next moment a huge stone
sung past my head. 'Let me be, ye fule bodies,' said I, 'I'm no of
either of ye, I live yonder aboon in the Castle.' 'Ah! ye live in the
Castle; then ye're an auld tooner; come gie us your help, man, and dinna
stand there staring like a dunnot, we want help sair eneugh. Here are
stanes.'
For my own part I wished for nothing better, and, rushing forward, I
placed myself at the head of my new associates, and commenced flinging
stones fast and desperately. The other party now gave way in their turn,
closely followed by ourselves; I was in the van, and about to stretch out
my hand to seize the hindermost boy of the enemy, when, not being
acquainted with the miry and difficult paths of the Nor' Loch, and in my
eagerness taking no heed of my footing, I plunged into a quagmire, into
which I sank as far as my shoulders. Our adversaries no sooner perceived
this disaster, than, setting up a shout, they wheeled round and attacked
us most vehemently. Had my comrades now deserted me, my life had not
been worth a straw's purchase, I should either have been smothered in the
quag, or, what is more probable, had my brains beaten out with stones;
but they behaved like true Scots, and fought stoutly around their
comrade, until I was extricated, whereupon both parties retired, the
night being near at hand.
'Ye are na a bad hand at flinging stanes,' said the lad who first
addressed me, as we now returned up the brae; 'your aim is right
dangerous, mon, I saw how ye skelpit them, ye maun help us agin thae New
Toon blackguards at our next bicker.'
So to the next bicker I went, and to many more, which speedily followed
as the summer advanced; the party to which I had given my help on the
first occasion consisted merely of outlyers, posted about half-way up the
hill, for the purpose of overlooking the movements of the enemy.
Did the latter draw nigh in any considerable force, messengers were
forthwith despatched to the 'Auld Toon,' especially to the filthy alleys
and closes of the High Street, which forthwith would disgorge swarms of
bare-headed and bare-footed 'callants,' who, with gestures wild and
'eldrich screech and hollo,' might frequently be seen pouring down the
sides of the hill. I have seen upwards of a thousand engaged on either
side in these frays, which I have no doubt were full as desperate as the
fights described in the _Iliad_, and which were certainly much more
bloody than the combats of modern Greece in the war of independence: the
callants not only employed their hands in hurling stones, but not
unfrequently slings; at the use of which they were very expert, and which
occasionally dislodged teeth, shattered jaws, or knocked out an eye. Our
opponents certainly laboured under considerable disadvantage, being
compelled not only to wade across a deceitful bog, but likewise to
clamber up part of a steep hill, before they could attack us;
nevertheless, their determination was such, and such their impetuosity,
that we had sometimes difficulty enough to maintain our own. I shall
never forget one bicker, the last indeed which occurred at that time, as
the authorities of the town, alarmed by the desperation of its character,
stationed forthwith a body of police on the hillside, to prevent, in
future, any such breaches of the peace.
It was a beautiful Sunday evening, the rays of the descending sun were
reflected redly from the grey walls of the Castle, and from the black
rocks on which it was founded. The bicker had long since commenced,
stones from sling and hand were flying; but the callants of the New Town
were now carrying everything before them.
A full-grown baker's apprentice was at their head; he was foaming with
rage, and had taken the field, as I was told, in order to avenge his
brother, whose eye had been knocked out in one of the late bickers. He
was no slinger, or flinger, but brandished in his right hand the spoke of
a cart-wheel, like my countryman Tom Hickathrift of old in his encounter
with the giant of the Lincolnshire fen. Protected by a piece of
wicker-work attached to his left arm, he rushed on to the fray,
disregarding the stones which were showered against him, and was ably
seconded by his followers. Our own party was chased half-way up the
hill, where I was struck to the ground by the baker, after having been
foiled in an attempt which I had made to fling a handful of earth into
his eyes. All now appeared lost, the Auld Toon was in full retreat. I
myself lay at the baker's feet, who had just raised his spoke, probably
to give me the _coup de grace_,--it was an awful moment. Just then I
heard a shout and a rushing sound; a wild-looking figure is descending
the hill with terrible bounds; it is a lad of some fifteen years; he is
bare-headed, and his red uncombed hair stands on end like hedgehogs'
bristles: his frame is lithy, like that of an antelope, but he has
prodigious breadth of chest; he wears a military undress, that of the
regiment, even of a drummer, for it is wild Davy, whom a month before I
had seen enlisted on Leith Links to serve King George with drum and
drumstick as long as his services might be required, and who, ere a week
had elapsed, had smitten with his fist Drum-Major Elzigood, who, incensed
at his inaptitude, had threatened him with his cane; he has been in
confinement for weeks, this is the first day of his liberation, and he is
now descending the hill with horrid bounds and shoutings; he is now about
five yards distant, and the baker, who apprehends that something
dangerous is at hand, prepares himself for the encounter; but what avails
the strength of a baker, even full grown?--what avails the defence of a
wicker shield?--what avails the wheel-spoke, should there be an
opportunity of using it, against the impetus of an avalanche or a
cannon-ball?--for to either of these might that wild figure be compared,
which, at the distance of five yards, sprang at once with head, hands,
feet and body, all together, upon the champion of the New Town, tumbling
him to the earth amain. And now it was the turn of the Old Town to
triumph. Our late discomfited host, returning on its steps, overwhelmed
the fallen champion with blows of every kind, and then, led on by his
vanquisher, who had assumed his arms, namely, the wheel-spoke and wicker
shield, fairly cleared the brae of their adversaries, whom they drove
down headlong into the morass.