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18 THE

STRANGE ADVENTURES

OF

TAM MERRILEES

A True Story. SOME years ago there dwelt in the south side of the gude town of Edinburgh a wight of the name of Tam Merrilees, who, saving that he occasionally took rather more of “strong waters" than he could walk steadily under, generally got the name of an honest, industrious, hard-working man. It happened one evening that Tam, in go- ing home, met with an old crony of his, who ve- hemently pressed him to adjourn to a favourite haunt of their's to wit a well frequented taproom in the neighbourhood. As Tarn had an unfor- tunate weakness of never being able to withstand the pressing solicitations of a friend “ to tak a gill wi him," he was in the present instance con- strained to accept Jock Thomson's invitation, more especially as Jock declared that he would stand the damage himsel". Whether they ex- ceeded the original stipulation of just one gill" or Tam had been previously refreshing himself I cannot say, certain it was that when the