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rent in kind-they aye feed mine very ill; Luckie Finniston sent up three that were a shame to be seen only last week, and yet she has twelve bows sowing of victual; indeed her goodman, Duncan Finniston-that's him that's gone-(we must all die, Mr Mannering; that's ower true)-and, speaking of that, let us live in the meanwhile, for here's breakfast on the table, and the Dominie ready to say the grace."

The Dominie did accordingly pronounce a benediction, that exceeded in length any speech which Mannering had yet heard him utter. The tea, which of course belonged to the noble Captain Hatteraick's trade, was pronounced excellent. Still Mannering hinted, though with due delicacy, at the risk of encouraging such desperate characters: "Were it but in justice to the revenue, I should have supposed"

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Ah, the revenue-lads"-for Mr Bertram never embraced a general or abstract idea, and his notion of the revenue was

personified in the commissioners, surveyors, comptrollers, and riding officers, whom he happened to know-" the revenue-lads can look sharp eneugh out for themselves -no ane needs to help them-and they have a' the soldiers to assist them besides -and as to justice-you'll be surprised to hear it, Mr Mannering,-but I am not a justice of peace ?"

Mannering assumed the expected look of surprise, but thought within himself, that the worshipful bench suffered no great deprivation from wanting the assistance of his good-humoured landlord. Mr Bertram had now hit upon one of the few subjects on which he felt sore, and went on with some energy.

"No, sir,-the name of Godfrey Bertram of Ellangowan is not in the last commission, though there's scarce a carle in the country that has a plough-gate of land, but what he must ride to quarter sessions, and write J. P. after his name. I ken fu' weel wha I am obliged to-Sir Thomas Kit

tlecourt as gude as tell'd me he would sit in my skirts, if he had not my interest at the last election, and because I chose to go with my own blood and third cousin, the Laird of Balruddery, they keepit me off the roll of freeholders, and now there comes a new nomination of justices, and I am left out and whereas they pretend it was because I let David Mac-Guffog, the constable, draw the warrants, and manage the business his ain gate, as if I had been a nose o' wax, it's a main untruth; for I granted but seven warrants in my life, and the Dominie wrote every one of them-and if it had not been that unlucky business of Sandy Mac-Gruthar's, that the constables should have keepit twa or three days up yonder at the auld castle, just till they could get conveniency to send him to the county jail-and that cost me aneugh o' siller-But I ken what Sir Thomas wants very weel-it was just sick and sicklike about the seat in the kirk o' Kilmagirdle-was I not entitled to have

the front gallery facing the minister, rather than Mac-Crosskie of Creochstone, the son of deacon Mac-Crosskie the Dumfries weaver ?"

Mannering expressed his acquiescence in the justice of these various complaints. "And then, Mr Mannering, there was the story about the road, and the fauld dike-I ken Sir Thomas was behind there, and I said plainly to the clerk to the trus tees that I saw the cloven foot, let them take that as they like.-Would any gentleman, or set of gentlemen, go and drive a road right through the corner of a faulddike, and take away, as my agent observed to them, like twa roods of gude moorland pasture? And there was the story about chusing the collector of the cess'

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Certainly, sir, it is hard you should meet with any neglect in a country, where, to judge from the extent of their residence, your ancestors must have made a very important figure."

"Very true, Mr Mannering-I am a

plain man, and do not dwell on these things; and I must needs say, I have little memory for them; but I wish ye could have heard my father's stories about the auld fights of the Mac-Dingawaies-that's the Bertrams that now is-wi' the Irish, and wi' the Highlanders, that came here in their berlings from Ilay and Cantireand how they went to the Holy Land -that is, to Jerusalem and Jericho, wi' a' their clan at their heels-they had better have gaen to Jamaica, like Sir Thomas Kittlecourt's uncle-and how they brought hame reliques, like those that catholics have, and a flag that's up yonder in the garret-if they had been casks of Muscavado, and puncheons of rum, it would have been better for the estate at this day -but there's little comparison between. the auld keep at Kittlecourt and the castle o' Ellangowan-I doubt if the keep's forty feet of front-But ye make no breakfast, Mr Mannering; ye're no eating your meat; allow me to recommend some of the kip

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