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.

126 WAVERLEY NOVELS.
rax their thrapples that reft us o't!)'they sate dousely down and made
laws for a haill country and kinrick, and never fashed their beards about
things that were competent to the judge ordinar o' the bounds; but I think,'
said I,' that if ae kailwife pou'd aff her neighbour's mutch, they wad hae
the twasome o' them into the Parliament-House o' Lunnun. It's just,' said'
I,'amaist as silly as our auld daft laird here and his gomerils o' sons, wi'
his huntsmen and his hounds, and his hunting cattle and horns, riding
haill days after a bit beast that winna weigh sax punds when they hae
catched it."'
" You argued most admirably, Andrew," said I, willing to encourage him
to get into the marrow of his intelligence; " and what said Pate?"
" Ou," he said, " what better could be expected of a wheen pock-pudding
English folk? - But as to the robbery, it's like that when they're a', at the
thrang o' their Whig and Tory wark, and ca'ing ane anither, like unhanged
blackguards-up gets ae lang-tongued chield, and he says, that a' the north
of England were rank Jacobites (and, quietly, he wasna far wrang maybe),
and that they had levied amaist open war, and a king's messenger had been
stoppit and rubbit on the highway, and that the best bluid o' Northumberland had been at the doing o't — and mickle gowd ta'en aff him, and mony
valuable' papers; and that there was nae redress to be gotten by remeed of
law, for the first justice o' the peace that the rubbit man gaed to, he had
fund the twa loons that did the deed birling and drinking wi' him, wha but
they; and the justice took the word o' the tane for the compearance o' the
tither; and that they e'en gae. him leg-bail, and the honest man that had
lost his siller was fain to leave the country for fear that waur had come
of it."
" Can this be really true?" said I.
" Pate swears it's as true as that his ellwand is a yard lang - (and so it
is, just bating an inch, that it may meet the English measure)-And when
the chield had said his warst, there was a terrible cry for names, and out
comes he wi' this man Morris's name, and your uncle's, and Squire Inglewood's, and other folk's beside" (looking sly at me) -" And then another
dragon o' a chield got up on the other side, and. said, wad they accuse the
best gentleman in the land on the oath of a broken coward?- for it's. like
that Morris'had been drummed out o' the army for rinning awa in Flanders;
and he said, it was like the story had been made up between the minister
and him or ever he had' left Lunnun; and that, if there was to be a searchwarrant granted, he thought the siller wad be fund some gate near to St.
- James's Palace. Aweel, they trailed up Morris to their bar, as they ca't, to
see what he could say to the job; but the folk that were again him, gae
him sic an awfu' throughgaun about his rinnin' awa, and about a' the ill
he had ever dune or said for a' the forepart o' his life, that Patie says he
looked mair like ane dead than living; and they cou'dna get a word o'
sense out o' him, for downright fright at their growling and routing. IIe
maun be a saft sap, wi' a head nae better than a fozy frosted turnip- it
wad hae ta'en.a hantle o' them to scaur Andrew Fairservice out o' his
tale."
"And how did it all end, Andrew? did your friend happen to learn?"
"Ou, ay; for as his walk is in this country, Pate put aff his journey for
the space of a week or thereby, because it~wad be acceptable to his customers to bring'down the news. It's just a' gaed aff like moonshine irwater. The fallow that began it drew in his horns, and said, that tho,
he believed the man had been rubbit, yet he acknowledged he might
been mista'en about the particulars. And' then.the other chield g
and said, he cared na whether Morris was rubbed or no, provided itto'become a stain on ony gentleman's honour and reputation, espethe north of England; for, said he before them, I come frae tl
mysell, and I carena a boddle wha kens it. And this is what th',