Page:Comical history of Simple John and his twelve misfortunes (10).pdf/3

Rh ed; he had but ae ſiſter, and ſhe had as little ſenſe as himſel, she was married on Sleeky Willie the wylie weaver, his mither was a rattling rattle-ſoul’d wife, and they lived a' in ae houſe, and every body held them as a family of fools. When John came to man's ſtate, to the age of twenty-one years, he tell'd his mither, he would hae a wife of ſome ſort, either young or auld, widow or laſs, if they had but head and hips, tongue and tail, he ſhou'd tak them, and weel I wat mither, quoth he, they'll get a lumping pennyworth o' me, tak me wha will.

His mither tells hlni o' the black butcher on Ti'ot ſide, who had three dochters, and every one of them had ſomething, there was Kate, Ann, and Girzy, had hunder merks the piece, Kate and Ana had baith baſtards. Girzy the eldeſt had a hump back, a high breaſt, baker legged, a ſhort wry neck, thrawn mouth and goggle ey'd, a perfect Æſop of the female kind, with as many crooked conditions within as without, a very lump of lounlike ill nature, row'd a' together, as if