Page:History and comical transactions of Lothian Tom (3).pdf/4

 ( 4 ) It happened one day that Tom went a fiſhing, and brought home a few ſmall fiſh, which his grandmothr's cat ſnapt up in the dark; ſo Tom, to have juſtice of the eat for ſo doing catches her, and pats her into a little tub or cogboin, then ſets her a drift into the mill dam, ordering her to go a fiſhing for herſelf: then lets two or three dogs upon her, where a moſt terrible ſea-fight enſued, as ever was ſeen on freſh water: for if any of the dogs essayed to board her, by ſetting in over their noſe, baderens came flying to that quarter to repulſe him with her clows, ſo that the veſſe was like to overſet by the weight of herſelf, that ſhe had to flee to the other, and finding the ſame there, from thence to the middle, where, ſhe mewings always turned herſelf about, and combed her roſe with her foot. The old woman being informed of the den- gerous ſituation of her dearly beloved cat come run- ning with a long pole to beat off the dogs und haul her aſhore. What now, ſays Tom, if you be going to take part with my enemies, you shall have part of their reward: then gives the old woman ſuch p:th that She tumbled into the dam, over head and cars, beſide her beloved eat, and would there have undoubtedly periſhed in the water, had not ſome of the people who were there, looking at the diverſon, come to her relief. After this Tom was ſent to the ſchool, to keep his hand out of an ill turn; and having an old cankered crab witted fellow for his dominic, they were always at variance, for if Tom got his whips, which he often deſerved, he was ſure to be revenged upon his muſter again for it. So when Tom perceiving his matter had a cloſe tool in a little cloſet within the ſchool, where he went and eaſed himſelf, when need was, Tom gets a pennyworth of gun powder, and ſtriekled it enthe ground, direly before the feet, and lays