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Page 40
LETTER XXIII.[A]
[A] This letter is rather out of its proper place here. I had mislaid
the MS., and my distance from the printer prevented the matter being
rectified. In another edition, the transposition can be effected.
_Aberdeen--Passage by Steamer--Edinburgh--Visit to the College--William
and Ellen Craft._
I have visited few places where I found more warm friends than in
Aberdeen. This is the Granite City of Scotland.
Aberdeen reminds one of Boston, especially in a walk down Union Street,
which is said to be one of the finest promenades in Europe.
The town is situated on a neck of land between the rivers Dee and Don,
and is the most important place in the north of Scotland. During our
third day in the city, we visited among other places the Old Bridge of
Don, which is not only resorted to on account of its antique celebrity
and peculiar appearance, but also because of the notoriety that it has
gained by Lord Byron's poem of the "Bridge of Don."
An engagement to be in Edinburgh and vicinity, cut short our stay in the
north. The very mild state of the weather, and a wish to see something
of the coast between Aberdeen and Edinburgh, induced us to make the
journey by water.
On Friday evening, the 14th, after delivering a lecture before the Total
Abstinence Society, in company with William and Ellen Craft, I went on
board the steamer bound for Edinburgh. On reaching the vessel, we found
the drawing-room almost entirely at our service, and prejudice against
colour being unknown, we had no difficulty in getting the best
accommodation which the steamer could furnish. This is so unlike the
pro-slavery, negro-hating spirit of America, that the Crafts seemed
almost bewildered by the transition. I had been in the saloon but a
short time, when, looking at the newspapers on the table, I discovered
the _North Star_. It was like meeting with a friend in a strange land. I
looked in vain on the margin for the name of its owner, but as I did not
feel at liberty to take it, and as it appeared to be alone, I laid the
_Liberator_ by its side to keep it company.
The night was a glorious one. The sky was without a speck; and the
clear, piercing air had a brilliancy I have seldom seen. The moon was in
its zenith--the steamer and surrounding objects were beautiful in the
extreme. The boat got under weigh at a little past twelve, and we were
soon out at sea. The "Queen" is a splendid craft, and without the aid of
sails, was able to make fifteen miles within the hour. I was up the next
morning before the sun, and found the sea as on the previous night--as
calm and smooth as a mirror. It was a delightful morning, more like
April than February; and the sun, as it rose, seemed to fire every peak
of the surrounding hills. On our left, lay the Island of May, while to
the right was to be seen the small fishing town of Anstruther, twenty
miles distant from Edinburgh. Beyond these, on either side, was a range
of undulating blue mountains, swelling as they retired, into a bolder
outline and a loftier altitude, until they terminated some twenty-five
or thirty miles in the dim distance. A friend at my side pointed out a
place on the right, where the remains of an old castle or look-out
house, used in the time of the border wars, once stood, and which
reminded us of the barbarism of the past.
But these signs are fast disappearing. The plough and roller have passed
over many of these foundations, and the time will soon come, when the
antiquarian will look in vain for those places that history has pointed
out to him, as connected with the political and religious struggles of
the past. The steward of the vessel came round to see who of the
passengers wished for breakfast, and as the keen air of the morning had
given me an appetite, and there being no prejudice on the score of
colour, I took my seat at the table and gave ample evidence that I was
not an invalid. On returning to the deck again, I found we had entered
the Forth, and that "Modern Athens" was in sight; and, far above every
other object, with its turrets almost lost in the clouds, could be seen
Edinburgh Castle. After landing, a pleasant ride over one of the finest
roads in Scotland, with a sprinkling of beautiful villas on either side,
brought us once more to Cannon's Hotel.
In a city like Edinburgh, there is always something to keep the public
alive, but during our three days' stay in the town, on this occasion,
there were topics under discussion which seemed to excite the people,
although I had been told that the Scotch were not excitable. Indeed all
Edinburgh seemed to have gone mad about the Pope. If his Holiness should
think fit to pay a visit to his new dominions, I would advise him to
keep out of reach of the Scotch.
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