Page:Memoirs of the late John Kippen, cooper, in Methven, near Perth.pdf/13

 and said, Sir, my shoes are very bad, I believe they will not carry me to Perth, I would be much obliged to you, if you would exchange shoes, as I see yours are very good. O yes, said the Farmer, and immediately pulled off his shoes. John was held so hard by the officers at this time, that he had no alternative but press his own shoes off his feet by placing the toe of the one, against the heel of the other; however, when his master's shoes were off, he pressed down, and got one in each hand, and then put a hand in each shoe, as it to try their wideness, at same time he clenched his fists in the inside, and by a sudden jerk, not only disentangled his arms, but struck down the officers by a powerful from each shoe, which were very weighty, being full of iron in the bottom. He then sprung from his guards like lightning, and did not appear until his friends obtained a settlement for him, and restored his [sic] freedom. The poor officers had to