Guy Mannering.

70) WAVERLEY NOVELS.
live, Mr. Mannering, by the shore-side, at Annan, and a
mair decent, orderly couple, with six as fine bairns as ye
would wish to see plash in a salt-water dub; and little
curlie Godfrey-that's the eldest, the come o' will, as I
may say-he's on board an excise yacht; I hae a cousin
at the board of excise-that's Commissioner Bertram;
he got his commissionership in the great contest for the
county, that ye must have heard of, for it was appealed
to the House of Commons: now I should have voted
there for the Laird of Bahruddery; but ye see my father
was a jacobite, and out with Kenmore, so he never took
the oaths; and I ken not weel how it was, but all that I
could do and say, they keepit me off the roll, though my
agent, that had a vote upon my estate, ranked as a good
vote for auld Sir Thomas Kittlecourt. But to return to
what I was saying. Luckie tHowatson is very expeditious, for this lass "Here the desultory and long-winded narrative of the
Laird was interrupted by the voice of some one ascending
the stairs from the kitchen story, and singing at full pitch
of voice. The high notes were too shrill for a man, the
low seemed too deep for a woman. The words, as far as
Mannering could distinguish them, seemed to run thus:
Canny moment, lucky fit;
Is the lady fighter yet?
Be it lad or be it lass,
Sign wi' cross and sain wi' mass.
"It's Mieg BMerrilles, the gipsy, as sure as I am a sinner," said Mr. Bertram. The Dominie groaned deeply,
uncrossed his legs, drew in the huge splay foot which his
former posture had extended, placed it perpendicularly,
and stretched the other limb over it instead, puffing out
between whiles huge volumes of tobacco-smoke. "What