I Strolled The Next Morning To The Green,
A Spacious Open Ground That Stretches Along The Clyde.
One part of it was
occupied with the booths and temporary theatres and wagons of showmen,
around and among which a vast throng was assembled, who seemed to delight
in being deafened with the cries of the showmen and the music of their
instruments.
In one place a band was playing, in another a gong was
thundering, and from one of the balconies a fellow in regal robes and a
pasteboard crown, surrounded by several persons of both sexes in tawdry
stage-dresses, who seemed to have just got out of bed and were yawning and
rubbing their eyes, was vociferating to the crowd in praise of the
entertainment which was shortly to be offered them, while not far off the
stentor of a rival company, under a flag which announced a new pantomime
for a penny, was declaiming with equal vehemence. I made my way with
difficulty through the crowd to the ancient street called the Salt Market,
in which Scott places the habitation of Baillie Jarvie. It was obstructed
with little stalls, where toys and other inconsiderable articles were
sold. Here at the corner of one of the streets stands the old tower of the
Tolbooth where Rob Roy was confined, a solid piece of ancient
architecture. The main building has been removed and a modern house
supplies its place; the tower has been pierced below for a thoroughfare,
and its clock still reports the time of day to the people of Glasgow.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 166 of 396
Words from 44794 to 45055
of 107287
