Page:A Companion and Useful Guide to the Beauties of Scotland.djvu/151

Rh many large fields of that vegetable here and there, all the way. I was very agreeably surprised, on arriving at the Ferry, that I was not too late for the tide, of which I had some fears. There is no cause for fears of that sort; for I soon learnt that the tide will serve almost at any hour. Now and then, indeed, at spring tides, it may happen that a carriage must wait an hour or two.

The contrivance they have for hoisting carriages in and out of the ferry-boats, is very clever: my chaise was drawn out pretty far upon a stone pier, and in a very few minutes it was laid safe upon deck; and in as short a time relanded, as soon as the ferry-boat touched the shore on the opposite side. I took the precaution of not suffering any brute animals to be on board with me, as they are always troublesome, and sometimes dangerous. Nothing could be more fortunate than I was in my passage; I timed it to a minute. The morning was gloriously fine when I set out from Edinburgh, but it began to cloud and darken for some time before I reached the Ferry: the clouds, however, supported their burden, and Eolus kept close his bags, until I was within ten yards of the end of my passage. It began to rain as I landed, and I had not been in the inn on