'Tis a great thing, the Traivel;
I'll thank ye tae find

Its equal for openin' the poors o' the mind.

It mak's a man polished, an' gies him, ye ken,

Sic a graun' cosmypollitan knowledge o' men!

I ne'er was a stay-at-hame callant ava,

I aye must be rantin' an' roamin' awa',

An' far hae I wandered, an' muckle hae seen

O' the ways o' the warl' wi' ma vara ain een.

I've been tae Kingskettle wi' Wullie an' Jeames,

I've veesited Anster an' Elie an' Wemyss,

I've walked tae Kirkca'dy an' Cupar an' Crail,

An' I aince was awa' tae Dundee wi' the rail.

Losh me, sir! The wonnerfu' things that I saw!

The kirks wi' their steeples, sae bonny an' braw

An' publics whauriver ye turned wi' yer ee—

'Tis jist a complete eddication, Dundee!

Theer's streets—be the hunner! An' shops be the score!

Theer's bakers an' grocers an' fleshers galore!

An' milliners' winders a' flauntin' awa'

Wi' the last o' the fashions frae Lunnon an' a'.

An' eh, sic a thrang, sir! I saw in a minnit

Mair folk than the toun o' Kinghorn will hae in it.

I wadna hae thocht that the hail o' creation

Could boast at ae time sic a vast population!

Ma word, sir! It gars ye clap haun' tae yer broo

An' wunner what's Providence after the noo

That he lets sic a swarm o' they cratur's be born

Wham naebody kens aboot here in Kinghorn.

What?—Leeberal minded?—Ye canna but be

When ye've had sic a graun' eddication as me.

For oh, theer is naethin' like traivel, ye ken,

For growin' acquent wi' the natur' o' men.