Page:History of John Cheap the comical chapman.pdf/5

 wind follow with such force, as I thought made the stone on which I leaned to move, upon this I burst out a laughing immediately, up gets the wife and runs for it, and I followed hard after into the house and at entering the door, heard the goodman saying, Ay, ay, goodwife, what's a' the haste, ye rin sae.

No more passed until I addressed myself to the goodman for quarters ; when he answered, indeed lad, we have me beds but three for my wife and I, and the twa bits o' weans, Willie and Jenny; the twa lads, Willie Black and Tam Ploughgraith lys in anither, and Auld Maggy my mother, and the lass Jean Thrum lies the gither and fills them a’. O but says I, goodman, there is some of them fuller than others, you may let me lye with your mother and the lass, I shall lye heads and thraws wi’ them, and keep on my breeks ; a good keep me; quoth the lass, frae a temptation to sin, altho’ thou be gallant haith I’ll rather lye with Sannock Gard’ner, gae ’wa quoth the auld wife the poor lad may lye on a bottle o’ strae ayond the fire, na, na, cries the goodwife he’s nae be here the night, or I’se nae be here; dear goodwife, said I, what ails ye at me ? will you let me go where I please ? Ay, ay, said she, gang where ye like, then I got in beyond the goodman; now said I goodwife, I like to be here; a de’il be here, an ye be here this night, said she ; ho, ho, said I, but I'm here first, and first come first serv’d goodwife; but as the ill thief be a friend ol yours, you’ll have room enough for him ; tute, ye thief like woodyfu’, quoth she, are ye evening me to be fib to the de’il, it’s well kend I’m come of honest fouk. It may be so, goodwife, said I, but ye look rather the other way when ye wad lodge the de’il in your house rather than a poor chapman, that ye wad ca out to die in sie a stormy night as this. What do ye say, quoth she, there’s nae a bonnier night since winter came in nor this, O goodwife what ar ye saying,