Page:History and comical transactions of Lothian Tom (6).pdf/9

 9 to the old woman, for the loſs of her dearly cow. However the employs Tom to go to a fair that was near by, and buy her another, gives bin three pounds which Tome accepts of very thankfully, and promiſes to buy one as like the other as poſibly he could get; then he gets a piece of cnalk, and brays It as ſmall as meal, and ſteeps it in a litde water, and therewith rubs over the cow's face and back, which made her baith brucket and rigget : So Tom, in the morning, takes the cow to a public houſe, within a little of the fair and left her till the fair was over, and then drives her home before him; and as ſoon as they came home, the cow began to rout as ſhe used to do, which made the old woman to rejoice, thinking it was her own black cow, but when ſhe ſaw her white face, ſighed and ſaid Alas! thou'll ne'er be like the kindly brute, my Black lady, and yet routs as like her as ony ever I dild hear. But ſays Tom to himſelf, 'Tis a mercy you know not what the ſays, or all would be wrong yet. So in two or three days the old woman put forth her bra' rigget cow in the morning with the set of her neighbour's cattle but it came on a fore day of heavy rain, which waſhed away all the white from her face and back; ſo that the old woman' Black lady came home at night, and her rigget cow went away with the ſhower, and