REMINISCENCES O' A GLESCAS CALLANT.

Evening Star, Issue 7331, 1 October 1887, Page 1 (Supplement)

REMINISCENCES O' A GLESCAS CALLANT.

IV.—" DOON THE WATTER." Naebudy bit a wee Glesca callant can understan' whit hidden joys are contained in the magic words "I'm gaun doon the watter." Veesions o' wee boats, wulkgaitherin', fushin,' an' sic like wull rise in his mind faster than cream rises on Glesca mulk. It wis the custom in ma faither's tae shut up the hoose in the middle o' simmer fur a month or so, an' gang awa doon tae some o' the bonnie wee nooks on the islan' o' Bute fur a holiday. Deep wis the longin' we felt until we kenned the day we were gaun aff; an' I'm gey an' positeeve there wisna a callant I kenned but whit wis informed whitna boat we wir gaun wi, an' wha didna fur weeks afore tak pairt in discussin' the merits an' sea-gaun capabilities o' a' the Clyde boats. Aifter lang waitin', the day fur gaun aff drew near, an' ye may be share oor een wirna fashed wi' muckle sleep the nicht afore. By three o'clock in the mornin' we callants wad a' be up lang afore daylicht, fleyt that we micht sleep in, and waitin' anxiously for hauf-past sax an' the cab. At seven we wid fin' ooreelves on board the lona, or some ither o' the braw boats lyin' alangside the Broomilaw; an' sune aifter wir sailin' doon the Clyde, bound for Rothesay. At thae times ae skin seemed hardly eneuch tae haud a youngster the gither, fur I'm share we maist gaed daft wi' joy. First o' a' the boat had tae be inspeckit, tae see if there wis onybudy we kenned on board ; syne we had tae see the injins, and, lastly, spier at the man-at-the-wheel as tae the speed Bhe wis gaun at, returning tae wir mither wi' the edifying information that "she wis gaun seeventy knots an 'oor," accordin' tae that douce-lookin' sailor.

By-and-bye Bowling is reached, an' we a' crood roon the gangwey tae watch the folks comin' on, and mak' impident remarks as tae " whaur the're gaun," an' so on. Aff we go again, an' we sune come in sicht o' the auld Castle o' Dumbarton, famed fur its mony fechts, but maistly because it's auld. Whan we're passin' it I wad improve the occasion by tellin' a' the weans I hud gaither't roon aboot; a veesit I ance pey'd tae it, an' the awfu' things tae be seen aboot the guns and sodgers an* dunjins until the fear o' death wis on them till it wis left faur ahint. I wis ance telling them hoo the castle was ca'ed aifter Dumbarton road in Glesca, whan a cheekie wee chap that only cam' on at Bowlin' contradicket me, an' anger't me that sair that I hud tae gie him a clout on the lug. It's no sic a faur cry tae Greenock aifter a', an' we wirna lang reaching the dirty, stinkin' hole. Everybody kens it's aye rainin' there, an' if its no actually rainin', its jist gaunna come on. I thochtmysel' the reason o' this maun be, that if it wisna fur the muckle rain, the Greenock folks wad turn niggers wi' the dirt. I min' a story aboot a wee callan' that used to gang fishin' on the key, an' as ane' or twa wee chaps had fell in the water an' got drooned, this wee chap's mither tell't him he wisna tae gang doon ony mair, and if she fand him there he would get a skelpin'. Weel, puir wee callant, he couldna thole the temptation, an' ae fine day he gaed doon wi' a lot mair wee cadgers, an' wis soon busy fushin' awa' wi' his hook an' bit o' string rowed roon a pirn. Weel, when the Balmoral Castle was throwin' aff her ropes an' sailin' awa', ane o' them caught the wee billie by the leg an' jerked him in the watter. Hooever, a gallant sailor jumped in an' sune got him oot, pitin' him on the key tae come tae, an' there the poor callant lay lookin' like a drookit ciaw. Aifter a lot o' docterin' he came tae, an' glowerin' roun quite wud like, he says " Hech man, I'm maist awfu' gled ye got mo oot, fur if I hud been droondit ma mither wad hae gien me a maist awfu* skelpin'." Weel, I maun keep tae ma story, so aifter a short stey we left Greenock ahint; then the bonnie bit toons o' Kirn, Dunoon, an' Innellen were caed at, an' we were noo on the road straicht for Rothesay. By-an-by we could see its braw hills loomin' in the distance, an' no lang aifter the paddles stappit their splashin, the ropes wir flung ashore, and once mair we fand oorael's in " Rosa," as the toon is kenned by the auld folks, wha delicht tae ca' it their name Weel, whan we got a' landed safe we fand the fairmer's cairt that wis gaun tae carry the loggage, and, to oor great delicht, we youngsters were allood tae gang in it, while oor parents waited tae tak the 'bus tae Port Bannatyne. Whan we wun there they got intae the fairmer's gig, an' aff we a' went, and aifter a guid long hurl reached wir desteenation late at nicht—owre late tae dae onything but gang to bed. Whit joy toe get up in the mornin'an' gang wi' oor bare feet—the greatest pleesure amang a' the pleesures o' country life—an' awa doon tae the shore, whar we paidelt and played until breakfast, only tae gang back aifterward for a dook -in the saut watter.

Aifter a wee while we sune got acquainted wi' a' the fairmers' weans, wi' whijk we enjoyed mony a plisky. I min' ae day, wi'oot tellin' onybody, I quietly stole a pair o' oars belanging tae oor host's wee boat; and, inviting a lot o' lasses tae gang fur a sail, set aS fur the shore, an'here, aifter gettin' the boat shoved weel oot ower the braid sandy beach, we a' got intil't, and set oot fur a grand twa hours sail. By-an'-bye, as the gloamin' cam* on, we bethocht oorsel's o' gettin' hame again, an', turnin' the boat's heed towards the shore, we made gude progress, when a' o' a suddent we felt an awfu' stoun', an', on looking owre the side, fand oorsel's richt on a big sandbank, an', tho' 1 near bursted maseP in tryin' tae get her aff, I couldna move the boat a single inch, so there wis naething fur it but fur the hale five lasses tae get oot on the bank an' help tae shove her aff; an whit a shovein' I I'm shure it wis only the fear of waur evils befa'an us that gar't us get her aff at a'; onywey, we did manage, an' wan hame, gey late at nicht—late eneuch fur a wheen o' the auld folks tae be oot lookin* fur us, while we slither't in by the back door, an' sat dryin' wirsells at tho fire; an' by the time they got back we wir able to say: "Wewirhame a lang time ago, but had been dryin' oorsells afore we gaed ben." D'ye ken, they lasses wadna' believe in me aifter that day, an' aye kep teasin' me whan onythin' wis up, by yowlin' oot: " Jock, get oot an' shove." Sometimes on the gran' simmer nichts a wheen o' the auld folks wad gang oot tae the fuahin', an* whiles I wis- let gang wi them, but it wis.owre quiet- an amusement for me. A wheen auld carles sittin* wi' their lines hanging ower the boat's side, an' hardly onyboay speakin' a blessed word, but noo and again "Mon, I maist had a bite !" " Ech, mon, but they're awfu' kittle the nicht!"—the hale performance bein', tae ma min', mair like a funeral than onythin' else. Hooever, whan a fish wis caught they used tae gee it tae me tae kill, an' I wis rael pleased tae think that I aye managed tae daud it on the heed so'as tae kill it withoot hurtin' it, whilk wisa hantle mair than they could dae, fur they only flung them in the bottom o' the boat, an' left them tae dee.

I wis aye awfu' intrestet wi' the gipseys —or " tinkers," as we caed them—wha used tae bide in wee tents, an' leeve by mending pats and'pans, makin' tinnies, an by priggin' whitever they could lay their hauns on. Weel, I maun tell ye a wee sort o' adventure I had wi' them. Ae day when their tents wirna fanr frae whaur we wir stoppin' I gaed oot tae see them; an' aifter atari in' glowerin' at ' them, one of the weemun said: "Young gentleman, div ye think ye could get us the len' o' three spins tae sup wir kail, fur we're ower puir tae buy spins." "Oh ay," says I, an' aff I speel't away liame. By-an'-bye I oam' back an' tollt them " Ma mither'll no gie me ony spins. She says ye melt them a' doon tae mak' souther for mendin' pats." The tinkers said it wis a lee, an' that they only used them fur spae'in fortunes wi'; an' if I wad bring a' the pewter spins I could get the morn, they wad tell me maj fortune wi' them, an' gie me them back wi' me.' Weel, next nichtl gaither't a' the spins I could lay ma hauns on, an' took them doon,' whan they tellt me the fortune widna be ready tae the mornin', as the

spae-wifo had tae speir at the spins, so 1 wis tae como back next day. Weel, at parritchtime in the mornin' there wis an awfu' how-d'ye-do aboot a' the spins bein lost, which, whan I heard, I gaed oot tae the garden an' had a feed o' grosets, comin' in aifter a whilie; but I had nae suner cam' in than they a* yokit on me, wha of course couldna* imagine whit had cam ower thae spins. In the aifternun I tellt Rab, the ploughman, aboot ma fortune gaunna be spaed at nicht, He gan' awa an' tellt his mistress, wha sent him aff tae fin' the tinkers ; but the big, muckle keelies had skidadelt. Hooever, Rab got a horse an' fan' them oot aboot sivin miles awa, an' the leers said thev " hudna' seen ony wee laddie fur the last fo'wr days " ; but Rab says he kent it wis a doonricht lee, fur he saw a great big lump o' souther lying under a coat near some auld pats they wir mendin'. Ae day ane o' the fairmers' gigs wis gaun intae Rothesay, so ma faither and me got a. hurl in, an' whan he went tae dae his husiness I gaed tae see the sichts. First o' a' there wis the Castle. I don't think they let wee callants in by themsel's, so as I saw a big crood o' visitors gaun in, I ups an' walks in wi' them, an' the auld gouk at the gate jist thocht I wis "ane o' the pairty." So I gaed a' ower the Castle wi them, an' heard a' aboot it frae a man wha wis haudin' forth on the subjeck. I saw the moat an' the dnnjins, an' a room whar King Robert the Bruce dee'd, I think they said as weel as anither wee room supposed tae be where something happened, but I couldna' jist say whit it wis. Bit there wis ae thing I wis sair disappinted wi', an' that wis " The Bluidy Stairs." I lookit ower every step in the hale stair, an' couldna' see the least drap o' bluid o' ony kind; even whan the ither folks cleared oot I waited and gaed ower a' the steps, an' I cam' tae the conclusion that its a tak-in; I think, if its only fur the sake o' the wee laddies that gang tae see it, the folks in chairge should kill a cat or twa on the steps, so as no to disappint ither boys, as I wis, when they gang to look fur the bluid. I next gaed alang the shore ower by the Bogney tae see "The Mineral Well," an' as there wis a tinnie chained on tae it, I tuk a drink, an' a gude big mouthfu'. Mon, I near bouket! It jist tasted as if rotten eggs, tabacco, stinkin' beef, Gregory's mixture, an' water wir a' mixed thegither, pit doon a hole, an' ca'ed a "mineral wall." I'll guarintee to mak' as gude a well in ony toon ye like fur five shillin's, an' no poishen ony mair folks than the ane in Rothesay die. There's a wheen ither sichts tae be seen, bit I met a wee chap I kenned frae Glesca, so we gaed doon the key and fished till it wis time tae gang hame again. Weel I mind ae Saturday morning, a wheen o' us wee callants went doon tae the shore to bile some wulks, and jist when we had gaitheret a patfu' o' cokels, mussils, wulks, and sic like, a message cam' doon that I wis tae gang hame as fast as ever I could, for ma faither was gaun intae Rothesay in the gig, an' wis gaunna tak* me wi' him ; so aff I fits it like a Bhot, an' afore anither half hour we wir a' on the road to Rosa. Noo, I maun tell ye the special thing aboot this particular jant, an' that is that this wis the Glesca Fair Saterday, an' onybody that ever bided in Glesca, or within fifty miles o't, kens whit that means, We hadna cam' wi'in twa miles o' Port Bannatyne when we met the folks comin' in droves along the road, pittin' ye in mind o' a kirk skailin'. First o' a' wad come an hone3t Glesca workin' man dressed in his Sawbath claes, carryin' a yowlin' baby, then the mither comin' ahint haudin' a wee bairn by each haun' an' mebbe a wee chiel hingin' on tae his faither's coat tails. Syne we wid meet anither drove—the faither hurling a wee coach wi' twins in it, an' the mither about a hunder yairds on afore wi' aboot eight or ten bonnie bricht children, a' dancin' roon her, pu'in' gowans, blue bells, an' a' the ither wayside flowers that beautify this bonnie warl', but all alike baskin' an' playin' and' reveilin' in the freedom from toil, the novelty o' scene, an' the varied gorgeousness of God's bricht creation.

By-an'-by, as we wun intae town, I noticed whit an awfu' lot o' puir druken gowks we met in wi' lauchin' an' splutterin' aboot tae the great delicht o'the weans an' youngsters. I micht jist say here that fur a long while I use't tae be in doubt as tae the necessity or usefulness o' whusky, an' couldna' mak oot whitna gude en'it could ser'; but I'm noo o' the opeenion that its tae keep the race o' fools frae deein' oot a'thegither, fur, ye ken, if everybudy in the warl' was wise, it wad be hard wark leevin' at a'.

Weel, aifter this ye maun jist imagine we've been hurlin' a the time, so that we've bo got intae Rothesay, and upon ma word it's a wunner hoo ever we managed it wi'oot rinnin' ower twa or three dizzon folks. There the Glesca boats come roundin' the' Bogney Pint, rowin' frae side tae side, as if they wid coup owre a' thegither; still they keep brestin* the waves, an' we jist manage tae get doun the key in time tae watch three mair boatloads land—male,female, children, and every ither kin' o' folk ye can imagine. Weel, ye wad wunner whar they a' got places tae bide in; but this wis only whit the married folks and lasses thocht o', fur the lads an' young men wad sleep in the plantations and sheds, an' in fao' ony place, aslangas it wis oot o' Glesca. Aye, I've heard o' twa or three families a' sleepin' in ae wee room, an' the faithers sleepin' in the washing hoduses and by dyke sides an' sic like; they've even been ken't tae open the kirks in Rosa tae let them sleep on the seats. Of course, ye ken, this a' took place afore the town begude tae become a "fashionable watering place." I dinna ken hoo the braw auld toon has fared since this curse cam' upon it. I've min' o' a great hoo-d'ye'do ae Fair time, when the bread a' gaed dune, an' ye eouldna buy a loaf fur love or money, and the folks had tae leeve on onything they could get. Of coorse ye ken this wis only on the Fair Saterday or Sawbeth, fur the awfu' crood aye gaed aff bit by bit on the Monday an' Tuesday, so that on Wednesday ye could walk thro' the streets peaceably. Mon, its a wonnerfu' thing thae fair holidays, a wee speck o' sunshine in the lives o' the hard-worked Glesca workmen, for ae sax months. Them an' their bairns look back wi'delicht tae the twa-three days "at the coast"; an' fur the next sax months look furrit tee anither spell, wi' as muckle joy. I've a wheen mair I Wad like tae say, but I'll hae tae stop, for the same kin' a reason as the woman stoppit mulkin' her coo—because it dee't, an' me because ma space is tae'n up wi' whit I've said alreadist. Glesca Jock.