ving as a cushion between. Thus would he sit for hours,
gazing on the busy scene beneath, as if he knew what occupied the
bustling crowds, and directed their labours according to the impulse of
his will. We had passed and repassed each other in our walks for weeks,
before any approach to recognition took place between us. I was the
first to make an advance, by giving him a slight bow, as we passed; this
he returned, and an acquaintance soon ripened into intimacy. Under his
stiff and formal air, I found one of the most kind and communicative
hearts I ever communed with. It is long since I laid his head in the
grave; and I never visit the hill, but memory conjures up his
remarkable figure, as vividly as if we stood face to face, till I almost
think I may meet him at each turn, while I saunter along, lost in musing
on days that are gone. I may meet with new piles of stone and mortar
profaning the sacred spot; but, Sergeant Square I shall never meet there
again! But to proceed. It was on that day the 42d regiment marched into
Edinburgh, after their return from Egypt, that we were enjoying our
usual walk. It was a spirit-stirring time, and our talk was of war, and
the gallant exploits of our countrymen. His eye flashed; his gold-headed
cane rested on his shoulder as if it had been a musket; his walk became
a march; he was evidently thinking of the battles he had been in;
when, embracing the opportunity, I requested a short account of his
adventures. It was some time before he took any notice of my request,
so completely was his mind absorbed in his own recollections. We had
reached the north-east angle of the hill before he spoke. At length he
seated himself on the smooth green turf--I by his side; and, after a
pause--

"If you have the patience to listen to me," he said, "I do not care if I
do give you some account of what I have seen, suffered, and enjoyed in
this strange world."

[G] Palantine--a name given by the Americans and seamen, to
kidnapped individuals, or those who went out voluntarily to be indented,
for a time agreed upon, with any person in America willing to pay the
sum of money required by the captain for their passage out. The famous
Williamson, who first invented the penny-post and directories, obtained
damages from the magistrates of Aberdeen for suppressing his narrative,
in which he exposed them for this traffic.--ED.

"It is of small importance," he began, "where a man was born, or who