Page:Fun upon fun, or, The comical merry tricks of Leper the taylor (2).pdf/3

 ing began, and the neighbours are called in, ſhe leaves her blood on poor Leper, and tells how ſuch an ho-neſt woman brought her ae bottle as another was done, and the murdering lown had ſtole it, and put in a bottle of poiſon inſtead of it. Leper took to his heels, but was purſued and carried before a Juſtice of Peace where he told all he had done, which made the Juſtice laugh heartily at the joke, and the Taylor’s wife was well purged both from her feigned ſickneſs, lazineſs, and curſed ill nature, for always when ſhe began to curle her noſe for the future, the Taylor had no more to ſay, ‘But Maggy, Maggy, mind the bottle.”

Leper was working with a maſter taylor in Glaſ-gow, who hungered his men, and one morning juſt as the breakfaſt was ſet on the table, in comes a gentleman to try on a ſuit of clothes, the Maſter be-ing obliged to rife, deſired the lads to ſay the grace themſelves, every one refuſed it, and put it to his neighbour, till Leper took it upon him, and ſaid as follows, with an audible voice, that the ſtranger gen-tleman might overhear him; “Oh, hoch, we are a parcel of poor beaſtly bodies, and we're as beaſtly guided, if we do not work we get nothing to eat, yet we are always eating and always fretting, ſidging and haif-faſting is like to be our fortune, ſcartings and ſcrapings are the moſt of our mouthfu's; we would ſain thank thee for our fulneſs if ever it were ſo, but the reſt of our benefactors are not worth the acknowledging, hech hey, Amen;" which made the gentleman laugh till he held his ſides, and gave Leper half a crown to drink.

Leper was net long done with his apprenticeſhip till he ſet up for himſelf, and got a journeyman and an apprentice, was coming into very good buſineſs, and