The Right Stuff | Page 2

least five minutes

before the advertised time;
(c) To refrain from lending money to, or otherwise countenancing the
advances of, persons of insinuating address who would doubtless
accost him in the streets of Edinburgh.
The Dominie had said--
"When in doubt, mind that practically everything in an examination
governs the subjunctive.
"If there is a viva voce, be sure and speak up and give your answers as
though you were sure of them. They may be wrong, but on the other
hand they may be right. Anyway, the one thing the examiners will not
thole is a body that dithers.
"Take a last keek at that Proposition--they may call them Theorems,
though--about the Square on the Hypotenuse. It hasn't been set for four
years.
"If you are given a piece of Greek Testament to translate, for mercy's
sake do not be too glib. Dinna translate a thing until you are sure it is
there. They have an unholy habit of leaving out a couple of verses some
place in the middle, and you're just the one to tumble head-first into the
lacuna. (I ken ye, Robbie!)
"And whatever ye do, just bear in mind it's your only chance, and grup
on tae it! Post est occasio calva, laddie! And dinna disappoint an auld
man that has taught ye all he kens himsel'!"
Much of his mother's advice was of a kind that could not be expressed
so concisely, but two salient items remained fixed in Robert's mind:--
"If ye canna think o' the richt word, pit up a bit prayer.
"For ony sake see that your collar is speckless a' the time."
Robert's first impressions of Edinburgh were disappointing. Though
extensive enough, the city was not so great or so imposing as he had

expected. It was entirely roofed with glass,--a provision which, though
doubtless advantageous in wet weather, militated against an adequate
supply of sunlight and fresh air. The shops, of which Robin had heard
so much, were few in number; and the goods displayed therein (mainly
food and drink, newspapers and tobacco) compared unfavourably in
point of variety with those in the window of Malcolm M'Whiston, the
"merchant" at home. The inhabitants all appeared to be in a desperate
hurry, and the noise of the trains, which blocked every thoroughfare,
was deafening. Robert Chalmers was just beginning to feel thoroughly
disappointed with the Scottish capital, when it occurred to him to
mount a flight of stairs which presented itself to his view and gave
promise of a second storey at least. When he reached the top he found
he had judged Edinburgh too hastily. There was some more of it.
His horizon thus suddenly enlarged, Robert Chalmers Fordyce began to
take in his surroundings. He now found himself in a great street, with
imposing buildings on one side and a green valley on the other. On the
far side of the valley the ground ran steeply upward to an eminence
crowded thickly with houses and topped by a mighty castle.
The street was alive with all sorts of absorbingly interesting traffic; but
for the present Robert was chiefly concerned with the Cable Cars. It
was upon one of these majestic vehicles, which moved down the street
unassisted by any apparent human or equine agency, that he had been
bidden to ride to his destination. He was not to take the first that came
along, nor yet the second--they went to various places, it seemed; and if
you were taken to the wrong one you had to pay just the same--but was
to scan them until he espied one marked "Gorgie." This would carry
him down the Dalry Road, and would ultimately pass the residence of
Elspeth M'Kerrow, a decent widow woman, whose late husband's
brother had "married on" a connection of Robert's mother. Here he was
to lodge.
At first sight the cars appeared to be labelled with nothing but Cocoa
and Whisky and Empire Palaces of Varieties Open Every Evening; but
a little perseverance discovered a narrow strip of valuable information
painted along the side of each car. The first that caught our friend's eye

was "Pilrig and Braid Hills Road." That would not do. Then came
another--"Murrayfield, Haymarket, and Nether Liberton." Another
blank! Then, "Marchmont Road and Churchill." Foiled again, Robert
was beginning to feel a little sceptical as to the actual existence of the
Dalry Road, when a car drew up opposite to him labelled "Pilrig and
Gorgie." It was going in the right direction too, for his father had
warned him that his destination lay to the west of the town; and you can
trust a Scotsman to know the points of the compass with his eyes shut.
(They even talk of a man sitting on the north or south side of his own
fireplace.)
Robert clambered