Page:Fun upon fun, or, The comical merry tricks of Leper the taylor (1).pdf/7

 corpſe; poor Sandy went home with a ſkinful of ter- tor, and a ſorting of ſore bones, took a ſore ſever, and died in a few days after, lo he got quit of his cockler; and Leper's mother got her meal.

Leper's mother was a careful induſtrious wife, but as the by-word is, 'A working mother makes a daly 'daughter,' and ſo it happened here, for ſhe had two idle glaket ſluts of daughters, that would do nothing but ly in their bed in the morning, till (as the ſaying is) 'The ſun was like to burn a hole in their back- ſides;' the old woman being at this time buſy bleaching ſome cloath, was very early at work in the mornings, and Leper's patience was worn out with the lazineſs of his two ſiſters, and he reſolved to play a trick on them for their reformation; ſo he goes and gets a mortcloth and ſpreads it on the bed above them, and ſends the dead bell thro' the town, inviting the people to his ſiſter's burial the next day, at four o'clock afternoon, for they had died ſuddenly; this brought all the neighbour-wives in, who one after another lifted the mortcloth, and ſaid with a great ſigh, They're gone to their reſt, a ſudden call indeed!' Their aunt hearing of this ſudden news, came running in all haſte, and coming through the green where the jades mother was at work, who was ignorant of the ſtory, ſhe cries out; 'Fy upon you woman, fy upon you,' ſays ſhe, What's the matter ſiſter? What's the matter ! "I think ye may let your work ſtand for ae day, when your daughters are lying corpſe.' My bairns corpſe ! I am ſure they went to bed heal and fiar laſt night. But I tell you (ſays the other) the dead bell has been through the town, warning the folk to the burial, then the mother cries out, 'O the villain, O the villain that he did not ſend me word.' So they both ran, and the mother as ſoon as ſhe entered the