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 ANTIQUARY. 125
as he has about maist things, if he ken'd only about the place. But
whether it was made for man's devices or God's service, I have seen ower
muckle sin done in it in my day, and far ower muckle have I been partaker
of — ay, even here in this darl[ cove. Mony a gudewife's been wondering
what for the red cock didna craw her up in the morning, when he's been
roasting, puir fallow, in this dark hole-And, ohon! I wish that and the
like o' that had been the warst o't! Whiles they wad hae heard the din
we were making in the very bowels o' the earth, when Sanders Aikwood,
that was forester in thae days, the father o' Ringan that now is, was gaun
daundering about the wood at e'en to see after the laird's game-and whiles
he wad hae seen a glance o' the light frae the door o' the cave, flaughtering
against the hazels on the other bank; —and then siccan stories as Sanders
had about the worricows and gyre-carlins that haunted about the auld
wa's at e'en, and the lights that he had seen, and the cries that he had
heard, when there was nae mortal ee open but his ain; and eh! as he wad
thrum them ower and ower to the like o' me ayout the ingle at e'en, and as
I wad gie the auld silly carle grane for grane, and tale for tale, though I
ken'd muckle better about it than ever he did. Ay, ay- they were daft
days thae; -but they were a' vanity, and waur, - and its fitting that they
wha hae led a light and evil life, and abused charity when they were
young, suld aiblins come to lack it when they are auld."
WVhile Ochiltree was thus recounting the exploits and tricks of h's earlier
life, with a tone in which glee and compunction alternately predominated,
his unfortunate auditor had sat down upon the hermit's seat, hewn out of
the solid rock, and abandoned himself to that lassitude, both of mind and
body, which generally follows a course of events that have agitated both.
The efect of his late indisposition, which had much weakened his system,
contributed to this lethargic despondency. " The puir bairn 1" said auld
Edie, "an he sleeps in this damp hole, he'll maybe wauken nae mair, or
catch some sair disease. It's no the same to him as to the like o' us, that
can sleep ony gate an anes our wanes are fu'. Sit up, Maister Lovel, lad!
After a's come and gane, I dare say the captain-lad will do weel eneughand, after a', ye are no the first that has had this misfortune. I hae seen
mony a man killed, and helped to kill them mysell, though there was nae
quarrel between us-and if it isna wrang to kill folk we have nae quarrel
wi', just because they wear another sort of a cockade, and speak a foreign
language, I canna see but a man may have excuse for killing his ain mortal
foe, that comes armed to the fair field to kill him. I dinna say it's rightGod forbid-or that it isna sinfu' to take away what ye canna restore, and
that's the breath of man, whilk is in his nostrils;-but I say it is a sin to be
forgiven if it's repented of. Sinfu' men are we a'; but if ye wad believe an
auld grey sinner that has seen the evil o' his ways, there is as much promise
atween the twa boards o' the Testament as wad save the warst o' us, could
we but think sae."
With such scraps of comfort and of divinity as he possessed, the mendicant thus continued to solicit and compel the attention of Lovel, until the
twilight began to fade into night. "Now," said Ochiltree, "-I will carry ye
to a mair convenient place, where I hae sat mony a time to hear the howlit
crying out of the ivy tod, and to see the moonlight come through the auld
windows o' the ruins. There can be naebody come here after this time o'
night; and if they hae made ony search, thae blackguard shirra'-officers and
constables, it will hae been ower lang syne. Od, they are as great cowards
as ither folk, wi' a' their warrants and king's keys *- I hae gien some o'
them a gliff in my day, when they were coming rather ower near mae-But,
lauded be grace for it! they canna stir me now for ony waur than an auld
man and a beggar, and my badge is a gude protection; and then Miss
~' The Sing's keys are, in law phrase, the crow-bars and haunmers used to force doors and locks,'n extsution of the king's warrant.
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