CHAPTER VII.

She does no work by halves, yon raving ocean; Engulfing those she strangles, her wild womb Affords the mariners whom she hath dealt on, Their death at once, and sepulchre. _Old Play._ There were ten "lang Scots miles" betwixt Stourburgh and Jarlshof; and though the pedestrian did not number all the impediments which crossed Tam o' Shanter's path,--for in a country where there are neither hedges nor stone enclosures, there can be neither "slaps nor stiles,"--yet…