Page:History of John Cheap the comical chapman.pdf/16

 and cut a large bramble of prickles, which I carried in my left hand, and my sturdy staff in my right, and as I came near the house, Mr. Youler comes out roaring upon me like a lion, he being a tyke of monstrous size frighted me so that I ran back, but he pursued me so hard that I was obliged to face about, and holding out the briar to him, which he gripped in his mouth, and I stripped it through his teeth, and gave him a hearty blow upon the lug with my rung, which made him come tumbling toward's his matter’s door, then he would fight no longer, his mouth being so full of prickles by his biting the briar, which made him go youling end rubbing his mouth with his foot; the people of the house came running out to fee what was the matter. I then shewed them the briar, and telling them the dog came, meaning to bite me, but my briar had bitten him ; then they called him in and fell to picking the prickles out of his tongue.

On Saturday’s night thereafter, I was like to be ill aff for quarters, I travelled until many people were gone to bed, at last I came into a farmers house, and asked what they would buy, naming twenty fine things which I never had and then asked for quarters, which they very freely granted, thinking I was some gentle chapman with a rich pack, but being weary with travel, could take little or no supper; and being permitted to lye in the closet beside the goodman’s bed ; the goodwife being very dull of hearing, she thought that every body was the same ; when she went to bed, she cried out, O Harry, is na yon a braw moderate chapman we hae here the night, he just took seven soups o’ our sowens and that filled him fu’. A dear Andrew turn ye about and take my cauld a-e in your bosom. On the morrow I went to the kirk, with the goodman, and missing him about the kirk-door, Went into the middle of the kirk, but could see no