at Mr Cailimanky's on Hogmanay, and it was arranged that we should keep up the evening as well as we could, till it was time to march with a het-pint to the Misses M'Guffies. Sandy, a boy of about ten years of age, was to be my companion, and Mr Callimanky himself was to be of the party. My friends, Miss Jean and Miss Margaret, were also anxious to go; but their mother put a direct negative on this proposal. "Deed no-ye're no to gang a fit. Do ye think that ane o' my dochters is to be kissed in the street by every drunken fallow she meets?— nae sic thing. Ye dinna ken wha meets you in a crowd; and if I had my will, the fallows should get leave to kiss ane anither."-"Hoot, but mother; it's no far awa to Mrs M'Guffie's," said Miss Margaret, in a persuasive tone; " and I'll put on Aunty Betty's hood and her brown cloak, and Jean will take your Katy Fisher bonnet, and muckle coat, and then they'll no ken but we're auld wives, and no fash wi' us." "Eh yes, mother, that'll do nice," said Miss Callimanky; " and we'll gang between my father and Mr Columbus."-" Ne'er a fit ye'll stir ower the door this blessed night; sae nae mair's to be about it; and the gudeman himsel' might hae been as weel at hame in his ain warm bed, as galravaging through the streets at this time o' night, if he thought it."-" Hoots, my dear," said Mr Callimanky, "ye ken I canna let Mr Christopher gang his lane wi' Sandy; and it wad be a pity no to let them to the M'Guffies, after promising."-" Weel, weel!them that will to Cupar, will to Cupar," said the displeased matron, as she reluctantly prepared the caudle on the parlour fire, for the materials were too attractive to be entrusted to the discretion of kitchen self-denial.

The kettle was on a stand before the fire; buns and shortbread on the table, with two decanters of currant-wine, and a bottle labelled, "Cherry-brandy;" and we were all seated round, waiting with anxious expectation for the clock striking twelve. At last the wished-for hour began to strike."Ane, twa, three, four," said Mr Callimanky, counting the number by beating upon his knee till twelve was completed; then starting up, seized the hand of his wife, and gave her a salute, with, "I wish you a gude new year! and mony of them, my

dear ;-the same to you, Betty, and mony may ye see;" and he thus went over the whole, while I commenced in the same manner with Mrs Callimanky, and performed the same ceremonies. When the hubbub was over, and the first congratulations past, we sat down till the mistress of the house. did the honours of the caudle, or hetpint, of which a tumblerfull was served out to each person, with renewed congratulations. "Eh, mamma, this is gude, gude," said little Johnny, as he sucked over the potation with the wary caution of one who wished to prolong the pleasure; "this is far better than parritch and sour milk," said he, as he exhibited his allotment of the bun, stuck full of raisins. Misy was now called ben from her domicile in the kitchen, and she approached with a large piece of cake in her hand. "Come awa, lass," said Mr Callimanky, as he strode across the room to meet her-" Come awa,-I wish ye a good new year, my woman," and he saluted the maiden; and I did the same; and Mrs Callimanky did not fail; and all the family passed Mrs Misy through the gauntlet of kindness. An humble condition fortunately does not deprive one of the taste of pleasure, and Misy was soon as happy in the enjoyment of the het-pint as her master.

Now," said Mr Callimanky to the younger part of the family, "ye'll a' gang to your beds like gude bairns, but Jean, and Bess, and Margaret, wha may sit up till I come back again." He put on his cocked-hat, and a handkerchief was rolled with care round his neck, "for fear," as his wife said, " he should get cauld." The boiling kettle was entrusted to my care; the buns and shortbread, with the exception of a few little bits in our hands, were consigned to his greatcoat pocket, and Sandy was the bearer of a horn tumbler tipt with silver. We descended the scale-stair, (for Mr Callimanky occupied the fifth floor,) rejoicing in the noise of " A gude new year!" sounded from a thousand throats, and with the intention of adding our voices to the uproarious festivity. We had gone down two pair of stairs, when the sound of steps approaching us was heard, and the clanking of glasses shewed they were on the same errand. "Wha's that coming?" said Mr Callimanky ;—" I wish you a gude new year!" The wish was re

peated from three or four mouths, and a kind of scramble for hands to shake, took place in the dark. "It's desperate mirk," said my friend; " rin back, Sandy, and tell Misy to bring us a light."-"That's my master," whispered a voice; "that's Mr Callimanky."-" -" Gude guide us!" said another voice, "I've burnt my hand on the kettle." A light appeared." Ou, Charlie Tait, is this you! I wish ye a gude new year, man; ye maun tak a toot o' my horn," said the old gentleman, "before ye gang up ;" and I performed the office of Ganymede to Mr Callimanky's shopboys and their companions.

We now cleared the head of the close, and hastened down the street towards Mrs M'Guffie's, whose house was situated in Bailie Fyfe's Close. But so many bands of people were met by us, that our progress was none of the most expeditious. I now discovered that my old friend, to leave himself at perfect liberty, had cunningly devolved the duty of carrying the teakettle on me; for, on a party of about half a dozen, three or four of them women, approaching, Mr Callimanky, who seemed to have acquired new agility at the sight of the busy crowd, instantly leaped forward, and taking one of the females by the hand, saluted her warmly with, "I wish ye a gude new year, my dear!-And you, too, my sweet thing," said he, as he took the same liberty with a second. The ladies were habited in cloaks, or mantles, with the hoods drawn over their heads, so that it was impossible to exercise much choice in the singling out of a proper subject for the accustomed mode of salutation. "Hoot, man," said the second voice, "dinua fash me, I'm ower auld for kissing." Mr Callimanky was a little disappointed at this answer, for he had expected the ruddy cheek of a younger damsel; but, with a gallantry warmed, if not inspired, by the het-pint, and so forth, he replied, repeating the salutation, "Auld wives are aye the best kissers; practice makes perfiteness, ye ken, gude woman.""'Deed, sir, I think you and I had better been at hame the night," answered the gentlewoman.

I must not forget to mention, that I, Christopher, was obliged, out of courtesy to the maidens, more than from inclination, to go through the same operation; so, taking the tea

kettle in my left hand, I shaked hands cordially, and saluted the ladies, who very kindly pitied my situation, by yielding a little of their coyness to one who had only a single free hand for an accolade. One of the girls, however, happened to be rather tall for me; and unfortunately, in my attempt on tiptoe to discharge the duty of the evening, I had accidentally raised the kettle to one side, and the het-pint began to run out without bidding, into the young lady's shoe. The pain or alarm excited by this, soon banished all loving ideas from the young woman's mind; and as I, with one hand upon her shoulder, was going to reap the reward of my unusual elevation, and looking kindness itself, my cheek was met by a slap, given with a force of which I did not believe a fair hand capable. The exclamation of, “Oh my foot!-this man's plottit me !" accompanied the blow. As soon as I understood the reason of my unexpected repulse, I set down the tea-kettle on the street, and made the requisite apologies for my blundering. To my comfort there was not much harm done; and the lady who was the matron of the party, seeing it was a mere accident, proposed an exchange of kindness, in the mutual tasting of our respective het-pints. "Ye might hae lootit down a wee to the young man, Isabella, woman; there's nae need for being sae skeigh on a night like this," said the old gentlewoman." They should stay at hame that winna conform to auld use and wont," remarked Mr Callimanky, as he was swallowing a glass of the hot cordial to the health additional of the party. "Mak it up wi' Christopher yet, lassie; let me tell you, it's no every ane that he wad tak sae muckle trouble wi'. Kiss her, Kit, and that'll pit awa the sooing." I did as I was desired; we parted on the most friendly terms imaginable, and forthwith proceeded on our route.

Our progress, however, was interrupted by shaking hands, kissing and drinking at every step. My old friend seemed quite overjoyed at the scene; and he passed no ladies particularly without levying the usual toll. At the corner of the North Bridge, we were arrested by something like a dispute or fight. Two gentlemen escorting two ladies home from a supper party, were shewing their valour in protecting their charge from the

rude salutations of the passing crowd, and were demonstrating the incivility and indecency of the practice. The chief assailants were said to be students, of whom numbers were to be seen on the streets at this time, backed by a number of inferior note. Mr Callimanky approached; and his cocked hat, and altogether magisterial air, led the gentlemen in charge of the ladies to appeal to him. "'Deed, sirs, ye're far wrang to gang against an auld custom; if thae's your sisters, or your sweethearts, and if ye did not want them to be kissed, ye shouldna brought them here-they should hae been at hame. If my ain wife were here, man, they might kiss her that liket. Haud up your head, ma dow," said he to one of the ladies, "I wish ye a gude new year! There nae; what the waur are ye o' that, or what the waur am I either? it's just auld use and wont.""Well done, old cock," cried out one of the young gentlemen, as he followed the example. The friends of the ladies saw it was folly to resist; and we left them, with the exhortation from my friend, to behave peaceably, "for that naebody in their senses wad willingly hurt a lady."

We arrived, without farther obstruc tion, at Mrs M'Guffie's, in Bailie Fyfe's Close. "Now, Sandy, my man, ye ken ye're to be Mrs M'Guffie's first fit. Haud your hand," said my old friend, as he handed his son a large piece of bun from his pocket; " and ye ken, whaever opens the door, ye'll pit it in their hand, and loup up and gie them a kiss. If it is Mrs M'Guffie hersel', and I am sure she expects ye, she'll no hain the buns and shortbread, lad." With these directions and encouragement, we made the knocker resound. The pattering of feet was heard along the passage, or trance, as Mr Callimanky termed it, and a voice succeeded, calling out from within," Wha's there?" It's me, Mrs M'Guffie, and our Sandy, come to be your first fit. I hope naebody's been before us?" The chain was removed -the bolt was withdrawn-the sneck lifted; and in we rushed, like an irruption of unwived Romans on the defenceless Sabine ladies. Sandy leapt upon the neck of the old fat lady, who opened the door, in defiance of the burning candle which she held in her hand; his father, who was second, had the elder Miss M'Guffie in his arms, in

an instant after, and before I could de posit my tea-kettle in a corner, and affect the same raptures with the younger Miss M'Guffie. An exchange of buns and shortbread, of salutes and wishes for a good new year now took place, all at once, in the passage, after which we were ushered into the parlour.

"Weel, ma wee man," said Mrs M'Guffie, clapping Sandy on the head; "I'm unco glad to see ye here as my first fit; and I'm muckle obliged to your mother for letting you out at this time o' night; and to you too, sir," continued she, addressing my friend; "it was very kind o' you to come, and your young friend there. We're gay an dowie here oursells, Mr Callimanky, since the auld gudeman died; and we hae but little ongoings sic as we used to hae, in the time o the elections, and in the daft days, when he was living;" and she sighed at the recollections of departed plea sures. "But come awa and taste our het-pint, and let us mak ourselves happy while we dow," concluded she, in a resigned tone. We drew in our chairs. "Ye're to taste mine first," said Mr Callimanky; "a' thing maun be done in order, ye ken;" and the het-pints went round in double progression.

"Let me see your pouches, ma wee man," said Mrs M'Guffie to Sandy, "tak thae pieces o' shortbread and buns hame to your brothers and sis ters; and tell them a' to come down the morn-the day I mean-and I'll gie them a glass of my currant wine, and as muckle as they can eat. And I'll be very glad if Mrs Callimanky will come down along wi' them." "The bairns will come, nae doubt," answered my friend, "wi' great gude will; but, as for the gudewife, she canna weel leave the house; for we're to have a bit party at dinner time, and she insists upon you and the twa lasses coming up at three. I'll tak nae denial," said Mr Callimanky, laying his hand persuasively on her shoulder; "I'll tak nae denial; for Mr Christopher here's to be there, and a sister's son o' my wife's; and we're to hae a dance to the piano, and ye're to be my partner, MrsM'Guffie." "Ye're very good, sir, naething am sure could gie us mair pleasure-but"- "There's to be nae buts about the matter-ye're to be up at three preceesely," urged the old gentleman.

"What a terrible noise we hear!"

bid you good morning." "Hout, inan, diuna gang awa sae soon; come up and see the lasses again, and tak a Welsh rabbit wi' John and me." I was deaf to his entreaties, however, and ran off amidst cries of," Mind the morn -the day I mean and come ower soon."

The streets in Edinburgh on Newyear's-day, all the working-classes being idle, were filled with people of both sexes, on parties of pleasure or visits of kindness. All the children were taken to visit their relatives or friends, and share in the spoils of cake and sweetmeats, which even the lowest provided on this occasion. The water-carriers and milk-women, in their daily visits to their customers, were treated with a dram, and cheese and bread or buns; but, as the innumerable glasses offered could not be contained in one stomach, they were in use to carry bottles for the reception of the superabundant liquor. The joyous look of the people, most of them in their Sunday clothes, might have told a stranger it was a season of gladness; and though not a few, whom prudence had not taught to measure their potations by their ability to carry the intoxicating load, were reeling here and there, yet even these lost not their general character for sobriety by a New-year's day excess. The forenoon, spent in visiting, was succeeded by family-dinners, where those whom nature has connected together drew the ties of friendship and affection still closer round the little circle, by mutual wishes for mutual success. I visited Mrs Callimanky in the forenoon, to ask for my old friend, whom a slight headache had put out of order; and went punctually at three to dinner, where I met Mrs M'Guffie and her daughters, and formed an acquaintance with Mr John Gimmerpet, the young man whom his uncle had rescued from the clutches of the town-guard;-the consequence of which was an invitation to Windlestrawlee, along with Mr and Mrs Callimanky, to repeat the pleasures of the time in the enjoyment of Auld Handsel Mununday, as aunty Betty was pleased to term it, in the country.

Such were the New-year's-days of Edinburgh in former times, and such they continued to be for very many

years. But a change has taken place in the morals and manners of the common people, not less striking than that which those who remember Edinbargh fifty years ago must have remarked in the accommodation and habits of the higher ranks of this metropolis. To what cause this change for the worse in a people hitherto accounted singularly correct in moral and religious duties is to be attributed, it is for the philosopher and political econemist to judge. Want of that education which a Scottish father, however poor, was accustomed to give to his offspring, I should, without hesitation, set down as one of the most prominent; for certainly the same anxiety is not now exhibited by parents in the lower classes of society, to suffer privations that their children may enter on the world with advantages superior to their own. But, be that as it may, the New-year's day rejoicings in Edinburgh got a check on the 31st of December, 1811, which will deter many from appearing in the streets on similar occasions. Depravity had been making a slow and silent, but perceptible advance, and it burst out on that night with tremendous consequences. A combination had been formed by a number of young men and boys of the lowest rank and most depraved habits, to take advantage of the unsuspecting confidence with which the citizens of Edinburgh had been accustomed to walk the streets on the last evening of the year. They had provided themselves with bludgeons from the neighbouring shrubberies, and at the hour of eleven the streets presented a scene little inferior in horror to that of a city taken by storm. Every well-dressed person was surrounded by parties of this band, and, whether resisting or not, was knocked down and robbed. One unfortunate policeman, whose general activity marked him out as an object of vengeance, was murdered with circumstances of great cruelty; and a gentleman from Leith died of the injuries he received a few days after. Numerous others were severely hurt in the attempt to defend themselves and their property; and the savage band continued to keep possession of the streets, in defiance of the civil power, till four o'clock next morning. How they were allowed to carry on their depredations on the peaceable