'
'O, I was well grounded in my youth by an old gentleman, a friend
of my family, and I may say my guardian,' said I; 'but I have
forgotten it since. God forbid I should delude you into thinking
me a herald, sir! I am only an ungrammatical amateur.'
'And a little modesty does no harm even in a herald,' says my new
acquaintance graciously.
In short, we fell together on our onward way, and maintained very
amicable discourse along what remained of the country road, past
the suburbs, and on into the streets of the New Town, which was as
deserted and silent as a city of the dead. The shops were closed,
no vehicle ran, cats sported in the midst of the sunny causeway;
and our steps and voices re-echoed from the quiet houses. It was
the high-water, full and strange, of that weekly trance to which
the city of Edinburgh is subjected: the apotheosis of the Sawbath;
and I confess the spectacle wanted not grandeur, however much it
may have lacked cheerfulness. There are few religious ceremonies
more imposing. As we thus walked and talked in a public seclusion
the bells broke out ringing through all the bounds of the city, and
the streets began immediately to be thronged with decent church-
goers.
'Ah!' said my companion, 'there are the bells! Now, sir, as you
are a stranger I must offer you the hospitality of my pew.
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