BAILIE MACCONACHIE"S _CHEAP TEA! CHEAP TEA! CHEAP TEA!_
The three artists contained themselves till they came to the last "Cheap Tea!" then Jock knocked Bauldie down among the hay, and Speug fell on the top of them, and they rolled in one bundle of delight, arising from time to time to study the advertis.e.m.e.nt and taste its humour.
""Bankrupt stock!"" cried Bauldie, "and him an Elder of the Kirk!
That"ll learn him to be complaining of his windows."
""Poor people specially invited," and calls himself an Italian warehouseman. I would give half a dozen ginger-beer to see Lady Kilspindie there," stammered Jock with delight.
""Gla.s.s of whisky free!""--and Speug took a fresh turn in the hay--"it"s against law to drink whisky in a grocer"s shop--and him a magistrate!
He"ll no meddle wi" the Seminary again."
"Be early!"" chanted Jock, ""be early!" My word! They"ll be there, all the waufies of Muirtown; there"ll no be room in the street. "Gla.s.s of whisky free!"" and Jock wiped his eyes with his knuckles.
Upon Sat.u.r.day, at noon, just as the Bailie was going along the Terrace to his house and congratulating himself that on that day at least he was free from all annoyance by the way, another character of Muirtown had started out through a very different part of the fair city. London John was as well known in Muirtown as the Bailie himself, and in his way was quite as imposing. Tall and gaunt, without an ounce of superfluous flesh, and with an inscrutable countenance, dressed in a long frock-coat which he had worn for at least a quarter of a century, and a tall hat which he had rescued from an ashpit, with the remains of a pair of trousers, and something in the form of a shirt which was only seen when he laid aside the outer garment for active service, London John stalked with majesty through the streets of Muirtown. He earned his living as a sandwich man, or by carrying in coals, or by going errands, or by emptying ashpits. He could neither read nor write, but he remembered a number and never forgot what was due to him, and the solitary subject on which he spoke was the wonders of London, where it was supposed he had lost such reason as he had at once possessed. His coming was always welcome in the poorer parts of the town, for the sake of his discourse on London, but never had he received such an ovation before in the Vennel, which was largely inhabited by tramps and tinkers, unskilled labourers and casuals of all kinds. The cheap tea might not have aroused their enthusiasm, but at the mention of a free gla.s.s of whisky the deepest emotions of the Vennel were stirred.
"Tea at elevenpence halfpenny," cried Tinkler Tam, who jogged round the country with petty wares, which he sold in exchange for rabbit-skins, old clothes, and other debris of a house, "and a gla.s.s of whisky free!
Ma certes? let me get a sight o" that," and London John was brought to a standstill while Tam read aloud the advertis.e.m.e.nt to a crowd who could appreciate the cheapness of the tea, and whose tongues began to hang out at the very thought of the whisky.
"A lee!" cried the travelling merchant, touched at the suggestion of such deceit. "He daurna do sic a thing, else his shop would be gutted.
Na, na, it reads plain as a pikestaff; ye pay elevenpence halfpenny and ye get a pound of tea and a gla.s.s of whisky. I count it handsome o" the Bailie; and if they didna say he was a teetotaler! It"s awfu" how a man is abused."
"He gave me six days in the court," said Jess Mitch.e.l.l, who had had a difference of opinion with another lady in the Vennel and received the Bailie"s best attention from the Bench, "and if I hadna to hear him preach a sermon as long as my leg besides--confound him for a smooth-tongued, psalm-singin", bletherin" old idiot! But I bear him no grudge; I"ll hae a taste o" that whisky, though I"m no mindin" so much about the tea. The sooner we"re at the place the better, for I"ll be bound there"ll be more tea bought this day in Muirtown than a" the last year." And there was a general feeling that the Vennel had better make no delay, lest some other locality should obtain the first call.
As London John went on his way the news spread through the back streets and closes, and the Bailie"s generous invitation fell on responsive ears. And if any person was inclined to doubt there was the advertis.e.m.e.nt in plain terms, and over the board with its engaging news the austere and unmoved countenance of London John. That worthy could give no information about the remarkable placard, not even from whom he received it; but he was quite sure that he was to take it through the Vennel and neighbouring streets for two hours, and that he had received a shilling for his labour, which he proposed to spend at Bailie MacConachie"s when his task was done. He also explained that in London, where he used to reside, whisky ran like water, and tea could be had for the asking. But his hearers had no interest that day in London.
It struck the Bailie as he returned from midday dinner, and long before he reached St. Andrew"s Street, that something was happening, and he wondered whether they were changing the cavalry at the barracks. People looked curiously at him, and having made as though they would have spoken, pa.s.sed on, shaking their heads. When he turned into the familiar street, down which he was accustomed to parade with a double weight of dignity, an enlivening spectacle met his eyes. Every shopkeeper was out at his door, and would indeed have been along the street, had he not judged it wiser to protect his property, and the windows above the shop were full of faces. Opposite his own most respectable place of business the street was crammed from side to side with a seething mob, through which Mr. McGuffie senior was striving to drive a dogcart with slender success and complaining loudly of obstruction. Respectable working women were there, together with their husbands, having finished the day"s work; country folk who dropped into town on the Sat.u.r.day had been attracted to the scene; the riff-raff of Muirtown had come out from their dens and lodging-houses, together with that casual population which has nothing particular to do and is glad of any excitement. They were of various kinds and different degrees of respectability, but they were all collected in answer to Bailie MacConachie"s generous offer; they were also all ready to buy the tea, and a large number of them particularly ready for the whisky. The first to arrive on the scene had been Tinkler Tam, who put down elevenpence-halfpenny in copper money upon the counter with a crash, and informed the Bailie"s senior a.s.sistant that to save time he would just take the whisky while they were making up the tea, and was promptly ordered out of the shop for an impudent, drunken blackguard. Thomas, in the course of a varied life, was not unaccustomed to be called disrespectful names, and it was not the first time he had been requested to leave high cla.s.s premises; but for once, at least, he had a perfectly good conscience and a strong ground of complaint.
"Impident, am I, and drunken, did ye say, ye meeserable, white-faced effeegy of a counter-jumper? If I werena present on business I would put such a face on you that yir mother wouldna know you; but I"m here wi" my friends" (great applause from the doorway, where the crowd was listening to the interview) "for a commercial transaction. Div ye no ken, ye misshapen object, that we"re here on a special invitation of yir master, sent this mornin" to the Vennel?" (strong confirmation given under oath by Jess Mitch.e.l.l), "and I"ll juist give you the terms thereof, ye two-faced, leein", unprincipled wratch" (enthusiastic support from the street).
The amba.s.sador of the proletariat--whose const.i.tuency filled the outer part of the shop, pressed their faces against the window and swayed with impatience across the street, and also seized a lamp-post for purposes of observation--rehea.r.s.ed the terms of the advertis.e.m.e.nt with considerable accuracy and expounded them with various figures of speech, and then issued his ultimatum.
"Ye have heard the invitation sent oot by a magistrate o" Perth, and a man whom I"ve met on public occasions" (Tarn had been prosecuted before the Bailie under the Game Acts): "we"re here in response to a public advertis.e.m.e.nt in terms thereof, and my money is on the counter. I call these persons present to witness that I"ve fulfilled my side of the covenant, and I here and now before these witnesses demand the tea and the whisky as above stated" (howls from the crowd, who were greatly impressed by this judicial effort, and were getting every minute more thirsty).
"It"s maist extraordinary that the Bailie is no here himsel" to receive his friends; but what is done by the servant is done by the master--that"s good law" (vehement support from Jess Mitch.e.l.l, who at the smell of the shop was getting beyond control); "and I give ye two meenuts, my dainty young friend, and if the material be not forthcoming at the end of that time, the law will allow us to help ourselves, and gin ye offer ony resistance I"ll pit ye and yir neebour inside the sugar-cask." And it was fortunate for every person concerned that the police, who had been somewhat perplexed by the circ.u.mstances, arrived at the scene, and turned Tinkler Tam and his friends into the street and themselves stood guard over the shop. It was at this point that the Bailie arrived and was received with frantic applause and a Babel of appeal.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "BEFORE HIM STOOD LONDON JOHN BEARING THE SEDUCTIVE ADVERTIs.e.m.e.nT."]
"Hurrah for the Bailie! Come awa" man, quick, else yir shop will be wreckit. Where ha" ye been? The folk are cryin" oot for ye. It"s time ye started on the tea and the whisky. Make way for the Bailie. He"s coming to start the auction. Three cheers for Bailie MacConachie!" And the Bailie, limp and dishevelled, amazed and furious, was hustled through the crowd to see the Italian warehouse guarded by the police, and the mob of Muirtown clamouring for tea and whisky at his hand, while face to face with him stood London John, who had now been produced for the occasion, bearing on his back and breast the seductive advertis.e.m.e.nt.
"It"s a brazen lie!" And the enraged Bailie lost all self-control as he read the legend on the board. "A low, mean, dirty trick, a deliberately planned fraud. It"s perfectly iniquitous, in fact, juist--juist d.a.m.nable! Bankrupt--who is bankrupt? Is"t me?" And the veins on the Bailie"s neck swelled visibly. "Tea at elevenpence-halfpenny! I never had such trash in my shop. Three shillings is the lowest, and I never recommended it. Whisky!--there is not a drop in the shop. Who dare say I would turn this shop into a public-house? I"ll be at the bottom of this, though it cost me a thousand pounds. Who hired ye to carry round the board, ye peetiful creature? If ye don"t tell the truth I"ll commit ye to gaol this very meenute." And the Bailie turned the battery of his wrath upon London John, who was greatly flattered by his own prominent position, and not at all concerned about the Bailie"s threat.
"It was," replied the Mercury of the Vennel, with great composure, "a big, stout man like yirsel", Bailie, that gied me the boards and a shillin"; or, noo that I think about it, he wasna so big, he was a little man, and gey shilpit (thin) about the neck. Dod! I"m no very sure, though, but that it was a woman wi" a red face and a shepherd"s tartan plaid; at ony rate, if it wasna her it micht be a bit la.s.sie wi"
bare head and feet; and I"m thinkin" noo, Bailie, it was a bit la.s.sikie, for she said to me, "Have ye ever been in London?" Noo, Bailie, I would like to tell you about London." And if the police had not silenced London John, the Bailie at that moment would have had a fit of apoplexy, for it was evident that the trail was blind and there was no getting to the real person behind London John.
The crowd had listened with considerable patience and self-restraint to this conversation, but as soon as the hope of tea and refreshment died away, and they realised that some one had fooled them, they looked out for a victim, and settled upon the Bailie.
"Ye should be ashamed of yourself," and Tinkler Tam, standing out from the midst of the crowd, and sitting as it were upon the bench sentenced the Bailie in the dock. "It"s a fine business to be playing tricks on the poor folk o" Muirtown, wilin" them from their work to waste their time at your shop-door and sendin" them awa" empty-handed. If it had been the first o" April, and ye had been a laddie, I wouldna hev said much aboot it; but at your age, and you a magistrate, to play sic a trick, it"s perfectly disgraceful. Ye ought to get a month"s hard labour, but aye thing"s sure, ye"ll no long be a Bailie o" Muirtown. It was fearsome to hear ye askin" London John who gave him the shillin"
when he describit ye juist as ye are standing; then the puir body, when ye threatened him, brought in the la.s.sie. Man, though ye"re a Bailie and I"m naething but Tinkler Tam, I would scorn to make use of a poor natural that hasna his wits, juist to feed my vanity and gither a crowd round my shop." Then the crowd united in three long groans, and possibly might have shown their indignation in a still more p.r.o.nounced form, but the police, being still further reinforced, drove them along the streets, while the Bailie hid himself in the recesses of his shop.
Three minutes later Speug sauntered into the shop with Howieson and Bauldie, and demanded a pennyworth of peppermint drops. He also remarked to Jock, as they were being folded up, "If there be as mony o" the Bailie"s friends callin" at the shop on Monday, I doubt the police will no be able to spare a constable to keep order on the Terrace." And as a matter of fact the offensive patrol was withdrawn, and the Seminary resumed possession of the debatable ground.
THE FALL OF GOLIATH
XIII
Bailie MacConachie made a mistake when he risked a war with the boys of the Seminary, and it was colossal folly on his part to continue the war after his first defeat in the affair of the advertis.e.m.e.nt. No doubt it was humiliating to have his respectable place of business filled with the mob of Muirtown demanding whisky as a right, and threatening him with penalties as a covenant-breaker when they did not get it; he had also very good reasons for believing that the unholy inspiration which gathered the vagrants to his shop came from the Seminary. His best policy, however, would have been to treat the matter as a joke; and if the Bailie had stopped on his way to dinner, and told the boys plainly that he knew quite well they were at the bottom of the affair, that they were a set of confounded young rascals, that he had intended to hang six of them and send the rest to penal servitude, that he was going to forgive them for the sake of their unhappy parents, and because it had not been half bad fun after all, that there would be no more policemen before the Seminary, and there must be no more windows smashed in his (the Bailie"s) house--the Seminary, which always respected a fellow who took his licking with good humour and didn"t squeal, would have given the Bailie the best cheer he ever got in his public career, and a covenant of peace would have been made between him and the boys which would never have been forgotten. Had another pane of gla.s.s been broken by a Seminary ball, the value thereof in a packet of halfpence, with an expression of regret, would have been handed in before evening. The honorary freedom of the school would have been conferred on the Bailie, without any public ceremony, but with immense practical advantage, and although the Bailie was surfeited with civic honours, yet even he might have tasted a new pleasure as he pa.s.sed along the terrace to see the boys suspend a game for an instant to let him pa.s.s in stately walk, and to hear Speug cry, "Oot o" the Bailie"s road," and to receive a salute from tailless Highland bonnets that were touched to none outside the school, except to the Count and Dr. Manley. If Providence had given a touch of imagination to the Bailie, and his head had not been swollen by a position approaching that of the angels, he would have come to terms at once with the boys, in which case bygones would have been bygones, and he would have been spared much humiliation.
Unfortunately the Bailie allowed his temper to get the better of him, raging furiously in public places, and breathing forth threatenings about what he would do to the plotter, till all Muirtown, which otherwise might have pitied him, held its sides. He kept our single detective at work for a fortnight, who finally extracted from London John that the "boardies" containing the shameful advertis.e.m.e.nt had been given him by a man uncommonly like the detective himself and that the said "boardies" were not to be compared with those he used to carry in London. The detective also learned, on a somewhat risky visit to Mr.
McGuffie"s stables, that the Speug had spent the whole day of that historical Sat.u.r.day till the hour of two--when he called for peppermints at the Bailie"s shop--in cleaning out his rabbit-hutch and other domestic duties--this on the testimony of three of Mr. McGuffie"s grooms, each of whom was willing to swear the same anywhere, or fight the detective, with gloves or without gloves, in the stable-yard or any other place which might be agreed upon. The Bailie also, going from bad to worse, offered a reward of 5 for any information which would lead to the conviction of the offender, and received thirty letters--so many anonymous, attacking his character, public and private, and so many signed, from various cranks in Muirtown, in which the crime was a.s.signed to Irish Roman Catholics, to the Publicans, to the Morisonians, and to a tribe of gypsies camped outside the city. They were all annoying, but there were two which cut the Bailie to the quick.
One was written from the security of Glasgow, in which the writer promised, on receipt of the reward, to send a full account of the conspiracy, and, having got the money, replied briefly that he left the matter to the Bailie"s own conscience; and the second, which asked for no reward except the writer"s sense of having done his duty, and which hinted that if the Bailie put the question straight to his senior a.s.sistant, he might find he had been nourishing a viper in his bosom, and that a young man with such a smug appearance could be little else than a rascal. This letter, which was written in a schoolboy hand, and had five words misspelt, was signed, "An Elder of the Free Kirk." None of the letters seemed to help the matter forward, and life at the Bailie"s residence was very troubled during those weeks.
When news of the Bailie"s vindictive spirit spread through the Seminary, the boys were much pained, for it was sad to see an old man forgetting himself and harbouring a spirit of revenge. It seemed, indeed, as if all they had done for the Bailie was simply love"s labour lost, and that they must begin again to bring him to a proper state of mind. The Seminary loved peace and hated war, being a body of quiet, well-behaved, hard-working lads. Still, if war was forced upon them, and detectives set upon their track, it was a duty to themselves and their families to meet the situation bravely. Nothing could have been more successful than the last campaign; and, although Speug had never boasted, and none dared say that he had anything to do with it, there was a feeling in the Seminary that the conduct of the next campaign was safe in his hands. As it turned out, it was certainly safe, and one ought not to detract from genius, but there can be no doubt that Fortune played into the hands of Speug.
Much may be allowed to a broad sense of humour, and the walk of the Bailie was marvellous to behold; but it was rather poor business for Speug to walk half the length of the Terrace a yard behind the Bailie in an exact imitation of the magistrate"s manner, although the school was hugely delighted. If the Bailie had taken no notice, the score had been on his side; but when he turned round and gave Speug a sound box on the side of the head, he lost himself, and out of that single mistake, by a chain of consequences, arose the scandal which almost drove the Bailie from Muirtown. Speug could not have hoped for anything so good as that foolish blow, and the moment that it came he saw his opportunity. Many a stroke had he endured in his day, from his father and from the grooms, when his mischief was beyond endurance, and from Bulldog when he caught him red-handed, and from the boys in a fight, and there was no one of his age so indifferent to such afflictions. Had the hand been any other than that of Bailie MacConachie, Speug would have made derisive gestures and invited the second stroke. As it was, he staggered across the pavement and fell with a heavy thud upon the street, where, after one sharp, piercing cry of pain, he lay motionless, but his moans could be heard along the Terrace. His one hope was that, when he had seized the occasion with such dramatic success, the Seminary would not fail to play up and support his _role_, and, although they were cleverer at reality than acting they entered heartily into their opportunity.
"Are ye conscious, Peter?" inquired Howieson tenderly, as he stooped over the prostrate figure. "Div ye hear us speakin" to ye? Dinna moan like that, but tell us where ye"re hurt. What are ye gatherin" round like that for an keepin" away the air? Hold up his head, Bauldie? Some o" ye lift his feet out o" the gutter? Run to the lade, for ony"s sake, and bring some water in yir bonnets."
It was pretty to see Jock and Bauldie lifting the unconscious form of their beloved friend, and carrying him carefully across the pavement, and placing Speug in a sitting position against the railing, and then rendering what would now be called first aid to the wounded, while that ingenuous youth kept his eyes tightly closed and moaned occasionally, to show that he was still living. Never in his life had Providence given him a chance of playing so much mischief, and he was not going to be disobedient. They opened his shirt at the breast to give him air, they anxiously searched the side of his head for the wound, and washed away imaginary blood with very dirty pocket-handkerchiefs. They bathed his forehead with such profuseness that the water ran down his chest, whereat Speug expressed himself in low but stern tones, so Nestie advised them to stick to his head; and some of the smaller boys were only prevented from taking off his boots by a seasonable warning from Bauldie and a reasonable fear of consequences. The Seminary circle was reinforced by all the message-boys within sight, and several ladies who were coming home from the shops. Two maiden ladies, against whose railings Peter had been propped in the hour of his distress, came out--their hearts full of compa.s.sion and their hands of remedies. As Jock and Bauldie did not consider it safe that Peter should be moved at once, one maiden lady placed a cushion between his head and the railings, while the other chafed his forehead with scent, and both insisted that Dr. Manley should be sent for at once. This was the first suggestion which seemed to have any effect on Peter, for it would not at all have suited his plans that that matter-of-fact physician should have arrived on the spot. And when a bottle of ferocious smelling-salts was held to the patient"s nose, Speug showed signs of returning consciousness.
"Poor dear!" said one lady; "what a mercy he wasn"t killed. A blow behind the ear is often fatal. He"s coming round nicely. The colour is returning to his cheeks. Bailie MacConachie, did you say?" as Jock Howieson unfolded to the ladies in simple, straightforward, truthful words the story of the murderous attack. "I can"t believe that any man would so abuse a poor helpless child." (At this moment Peter, who had been reconnoitring the whole scene through his half-closed eyes, seized the opportunity to wink to the mourners with such irresistible effect as to prove once again the close connection between tears and laughter.) "And him a magistrate," concluded the sympathetic female. "He ought to be ashamed of himself; but if I were the laddie"s friends, I would make the Bailie hear about it on the deaf side of his head."
[Ill.u.s.tration: "A BOTTLE OF FEROCIOUS SMELLING-SALTS WAS HELD TO THE PATIENT"S NOSE."]
Upon a sign from Speug, who was getting a little weary of inaction, he was helped to his feet, and after one or two staggers seemed to come to himself, and submitted with agreeable humour to the attention of his friends, who dusted him from head to foot, under the superintendence of the ladies and to the huge delight of the message-boys, who were now entering into the meaning of the scene. His bonnet, which had been thoughtfully used as a water-can, was placed wrong end foremost upon his head, but Peter resisted the proposal to tie up his head in Bauldie"s handkerchief, partly because there was a limit even to his endurance, and because Bauldie"s handkerchief served many a purpose in the course of the day. The maiden ladies were anxious that he should rest in their house, but Speug indicated that he preferred to be taken home, where he could break the news himself to his anxious father. And so an impressive procession was formed, with so many boys in front to clear the way, and then Speug, upheld on the one hand by Nestie, and on the other by Jock, while Bauldie commanded the rearguard and kept the message-boys at a distance, in order to secure due respect for the sufferer. It was with difficulty that Speug could sustain his _role_ until he and his friends got safely within the shelter of the stable-yard, when they plunged into a straw-shed and rolled together in one heap of triumphant mischief.
"You"re a g-genius, Peter," said Nestie, "and it would be pure waste for you to be a h-horsedealer. You must go on the st-stage. The way you came whack on the pavement was j-just immense; and do you know, Peter, you looked quite nice when you lay f-fainting. One lady called you a pretty boy, and I was quite sorry you were unconscious."
"Ye"re a disgustin" liar, Nestie, besides being an impident young brat.
I heard every word, and she never said "pretty"; but," and Speug looked round thoughtfully, "if I knew which o" ye emptied the water down my breast, I"d give him something to remember. I"m wet to the skin," and Speug made a drive at Bauldie, who caught Howieson by the leg, who pulled down Nestie by the hair of the head, and they all fought together in high glee. Speug extricated himself and demanded news of the Bailie.
Then the three told Speug the story together in bits, one beginning where another left off.
"He was that astonished when ye coupit over that he couldna speak, and Jock cried, "The Bailie has killed Speug."" "He was wantin" to lift ye up, but Bauldie gets in afore him and dares him to strike ye a second time." "It would have done you good, Peter, to see the Bailie walking along to his house, just like an ordinary man, all the s-starch out of him, and taking a look back to see what was h-happening." "Aye, and he stoppit opposite the lade to get another look, and if Cosh didna empty a cupful of water on his legs by mistake! I didna think Cosh had the spirit." "He was ashamed to stand at the w-window, but I saw him p-peeping out behind the curtains, just to find out whether you were living." "If his servant la.s.s didna follow us across the meadow, and, my word, she"s back to the Bailie with a fine story." "He"s sweatin" the now for fear he be taken up for a.s.sault, and maybe manslaughter." "What w-would you say, Peter, just to die altogether, and we would gi-give you an A1 funeral? If you"ll just be g-good-natured and do it, I"ll write your l-life myself. It"s perfectly sc-scrummageous." And then Peter fell on Nestie, and Howieson on Bauldie, and they rejoiced together once more in the straw.
"You"re "avin" an "igh "ole time in "ere, young gentlemen," and Mr.
McGuffie"s English groom looked down on the boys; "but you"re missin"
the Derby, that"s what you are. Hold Pompous has come "isself, and if he ain"t been hexplainin" to the master "ow he "appened to knock Speug down. He"s out o" breath now, and the master he"s took up the runnin", and--my eye and Betty Martin--ain"t he talkin"! Not cussin"--no, not one swear word has he let go. Young gentlemen, upon my Alfred David, if the master ain"t preachin" for all the world as if he was a blessed beak on the Bench and old Pompous was a "habit and repute." It"s as good as a circus; you just go and "ear "im," and in exactly one and a quarter seconds the boys were an unseen audience when Mr. Peter McGuffie senior gave his opinion of the conduct of Bailie MacConachie, which he had been doing already for some time with much effect.
"Imitatin" ye, was he, and followin" ye along the street, walkin" as ye walk, and so ye knocked him down in open day? Why should he not be doing as ye did? Is yir walk protected by law, that n.o.body dare step the same way on the streets of Muirtown? Answer me that, if ye please. Bailies are pretty high and mighty in this town, they are; but I never heard yet that the street belonged to them, and that a laddie was in danger of death if he followed in their steps. That would be a fine pa.s.s. Aren"t boys always imitatin" somebody? Why, you stupid old fool, half the laddies in this district try to imitate me; and, as sure as ye"re standing there, I"ve seen half a dozen of them, each one with a straw in his mouth, and the bit legs of him straddled, and his bonnet on the side of his head, and the belly of him stuck out like a pillow, just the eemage of myself. What would ye think of me if I knockit one of them down, ye double-distilled old fool?
"I"m astonished at ye, for ye might be pleased to think that the laddies, instead of copying a horsedealer, are trying to be magistrates.
Didna the Provost tell the laddies the last time he gave the prizes to "take notice of my freend Bailie MacConachie, and try to be like him?"
And now, when one of them has taken his advice, if ye dinna turn round on the street and half kill him, till he had to be brought home half faintin" to his father"s house! Fine-like conduct for a magistrate! Ye bloodthirsty old ruffian!
"Came to make inquiries, did ye? Ye made enough inquiries, by all accounts, on the Terrace. Expression of regret, was it? We don"t want yir regret, ye hypocritical Pharisee! Present of a top? I wonder ye have the face! Ye break a laddie"s head and then offer him a top! I can buy tops myself for my family. Confound ye! to think ye"re standing there after manglin" a poor, defenceless, harmless, motherless laddie! Ye should be ashamed to show yir face in Muirtown; and if there was any public spirit in this town, ye would be drummed out o" the place!