Page:History of John Cheap the comical chapman.pdf/8

 the Bible, and the rest crying Sandy, Sandy, is't true the de’il was i’ the barn, na, na, quoth he, it’s but a chapman, but poor Jock has got a fleg with him— They laughed heartily at the sport, and took me to breakfast with them: but by this time poor Jock was gone to bed very sick.

After this I travelled up to the water of Clyde, near the foot of Tintock hill, where I met a sweet companion who was older in the trade than me, and gave me more information how to blow up the goodwife, and as we travelled down the Tweed, towards the border, we being both hungry, and could get nothing to buy for the belly, he came to a wife who was kirning butter, but she would give nothing, nor sell us a halfpenny worth of her four milk, ha ha, says she, I’ll neither sell butter, bread, nor milk, it’s little enough to fair my ain family, ye that’s chapmen may drink water, ye dinna work hard; ay,but goodwife, said I, but we have been at Temple bar, where we were sworn never to drink water when we could get better: what do ye say about Temple-bar ? a town just about three miles and a bittock frae this a thief a ane was to swear you if it wasna auld Willie Rottenend the cobler, the thief anither, minister nor magistrate ever was in’t a’.

Ay, but says the other lad, the Temple bar that he means is at London. Yea, yea, lad, if ye be com’d frae London ye’re little worth. London said he, is but at hame to the place he comes from. Dear man quoth she, and where in a’ the world comes he frae ? A’ the way from Italy, where the Pope of Rome dwells, says he ; ah, sweet be wi’ us! quoth she, for the lowks there awa is a’ witches, warlocks, de'ils, brownies an’ fairies. Weel a wat that’s true said I and that thou shalt know, thou hard hearted wretch who would have people to starve, or provoke us to steal ; with that I rose and lifted up two long straws, after calling two or three knots