Page:Scott - Tales of my Landlord - 3rd series, vol. 2 - 1819.djvu/257

Rh na aff,—crying to me, that had scarce as much wind left as serve the necessary purpose of my ain lungs, "Sound, you poltroon! sound, you damned cowardly villain, or I will blow your brains out!" and, to be sure, I blew sic points of war, that the scraugh of a clockin-hen was music to them."

"Well, sir, cut all this short," said Ravenswood.

"Short!—I had been like to be cut short mysell, in the flower of my youth, as scripture says; and that's the very thing that I compleen o'.—Weel! in to the water we behoved a' to splash, heels ower head, sit or fa'—ae horse driving on anither, as is the way of brute beasts, and riders that hae as little sense,—the very bushes on the ither side were ableeze, wi' the flashes of the whig guns; and my horse had just taen the grund, when a blackavised westland carle—I wad mind the face o' him a hundred years yet,—an ee like a wild falcon's, and a beard as broad as my shovel, clapped the end o' his lang black gun