The Waverley novels, by Sir Walter Scott, complete in 12 vol., printed from the latest English ed., embracing the author's last corrections, prefaces & notes.

THE HEART OF MID-LOTHIAN. 603
It happened, a day or two after Butler's departure, that, while she was
engaged in some domestic duties, she heard a dispute among the young
folk, which, being maintained with obstinacy, appeared to call for her
interference. All came to their natural umpire with their complaints.
Femie, not yet ten years old, charged Davie and Reuben with an attempt
to take away her book by force; and David and Reuben replied, the elder,
"That it was not a book for Femie to read," and Reuben, " That it was
about a bad woman."
"Where did you get the book, ye little hempie?" said Mrs. Butler.
"How dare ye touch papa's books when he is away?"
But the little lady, holding fast a sheet of crumpled paper, declared, "It
was nane o' papa's books, and May Iettly had taken it off the muckle
cheese which came from Inverara;" for, as was very natural to suppose, a
friendly intercourse, with interchange of mutual civilities, was kept up from
time to time between Mrs. Dolly Dutton, now Mrs. MacCorkindale, and her
former friends.
Jeanie took the subject of contention out of the child's hand, to satisfy
herself of the propriety of her studies; but how much was she struck when
she read upon the title of the broadside-sheet, "The Last Speech, Confession, and Dying Words of Margaret MacCraw, or Murdockson, executed on
Hiarabee-Hill, near Carlisle, the - day of -- 1737." It was, indeed, one
of those papers which Archibald had bought at Longtown, when he monopolized the pedlar's stock, which Dolly had thrust into her trunk out of
sheer economy. One or two copies, it seems, had remained in her repositories at Inverary, till she chanced to need them in packing a cheese, which,
as a very superior production, was sent, in the way of civil challenge, to
the dairy at Knocktarlitie.
The title of this paper, so strangely fallen into the very hands from which,
in well-meant respect to her feelings, it had been so long detained, was of
itself sufficiently startling; but the narrative itself was so interesting, that
Jeanie, shaking herself loose from the children, ran up stairs to her own
apartment, and bolted the door, to peruse it without interruption.
The narrative, which appeared to have been drawn up, or at least corrected, by the clergyman who attended this unhappy woman, stated the
crime for which she suffered to have been " her active part in that atrocious
robbery and murder, committed near two years since near Ilaltwhistle, for
which the notorious Frank Levitt was committed for trial at Lancaster
assizes. It was supposed the evidence of the accomplice Thomas Tuck,
commonly called Tyburn Tom, upon which the woman had been convicted,
would weigh equally heavy against him; although many were inclined to
think it was Tuck himself who had struck the fatal blow, according to the
dying statement of Meg Murdockson."
After a circumstantial account of the crime for which she suffered, there
was a brief sketch of Margaret's life. It was stated, that she was a Scotchwoman by birth, and married a soldier in the Cameronian regiment - that
she long followed the camp, and had doubtless acquired in fields of battle,
and similar scenes, that ferocity and love of plunder for which she had been
afterwards distinguished-that her husband, having obtained his discharge,
became servant to a beneficed clergyman of high situation and character in
Lincolnshire, and that she acquired the confidence and esteem of that honourable family. She had lost this many years after her husband's death, it
was stated, in consequence of conniving at the irregularities of her daughter
with the heir of the family, added to the suspicious circumstances attending
the birth of a child, which was strongly suspected to have met with foul
play, in order to preserve, if possible, the girl's reputation. After this, she
had led a wandering life both in England and Scotland, under colour sometimes of telling fortunes, sometimes of driving a trade in smuggled wares,
but, in fact, receiving stolen goods, and occasionally actively joining in the