The calamity of the storm opened and disposed the hearts of the
whole town to charity; and it was a pleasure to behold the manner in
which the tide of sympathy flowed towards the sufferers. Nobody
went to the church in the forenoon; but when I had returned home
from the shore, several of the council met at my house to confer
anent the desolation, and it was concerted among us, at my
suggestion, that there should be a meeting of the inhabitants called
by the magistrates, for the next day, in order to take the public
compassion with the tear in the eye--which was accordingly done by
Mr Pittle himself from the pulpit, with a few judicious words on the
heavy dispensation. And the number of folk that came forward to
subscribe was just wonderful. We got well on to a hundred pounds in
the first two hours, besides many a bundle of old clothes. But one
of the most remarkable things in the business was done by Mr
Macandoe. He was, in his original, a lad of the place, who had gone
into Glasgow, where he was in a topping line; and happening to be on
a visit to his friends at the time, he came to the meeting and put
down his name for twenty guineas, which he gave me in bank-notes--a
sum of such liberality as had never been given to the town from one
individual man, since the mortification of fifty pounds that we got
by the will of Major Bravery that died in Cheltenham, in England,
after making his fortune in India. The sum total of the
subscription, when we got my lord's five-and-twenty guineas, was
better than two hundred pounds sterling--for even several of the
country gentlemen were very generous contributors, and it is well
known that they are not inordinately charitable, especially to town
folks--but the distribution of it was no easy task, for it required
a discrimination of character as well as of necessities. It was at
first proposed to give it over to the session. I knew, however,