GUSING IN OLDEN TIMES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2565, 13 May 1903, Page 60

GUSING IN OL DEN TIMES.

(Concluded.)

Whan we got owre ooi fricht we swithered whether we wud gan? hame or try some it her place. There wis a hoose at the

"' back gret-n " whaur an auld leddie lived they cad Miss Bimie. We thoeht we wud try her. Nae leer o' a poker there. Sue doon we gaed an' liftit the sneck and stappit in, an' got in a raw, an' Tarn startit "Bonnie Chairlie." She lookit unco oueer at ferst, but whan wi a," jintd in the singin' she wis mair pleestd like, an' we feenished oor twa sangs. She wis awfu' anxius t- ken oor names, but we widna tell her. Onyway, she gkd us a penny each and a farle o' shortbrced. A graund wimmin wis Miss Binue. That wis three bawbees each we hed made that nicht, sac we thocht we wud gang hame. We gaed alang tae the pond ferst, an' washed the coom an' bleck aff oor faces, an' then we ]xtirted. I hed to gang into the coal hoosa an' shift my claes, but I managed a' richt, an' got slippit into my bed withoot onybodv kennin. Next day at the scliuil Turn, Jock, an' me made it up we wud try onithtr wey than singin' the next time we gaed oot. Th. veer afore we hed seed sum laddies actin' "Galashinn."," an' we thocht we wid try't. But we wid need tae practeese a bit fi.Tst. lam's faither wis a wiiclii.. an' l.c tliodit he cud gst twa bits •' lath that wid dae for swurd?. Sac cfi< r tlie sHiuil ■•■kelt we foregaithered lac nvik oor plans. Tain broclit the two laths. But whnfc sort o' claes wid we pit on? We s-eltUd thnt the twa fe chters wid h n .e paper hats wi' a peak afore an' ahint an' ? sark tied roond the middie an' hinain' lowse. Tarn an' me wis to bo the fechters, an' Jock wis to be the doctor. His clae = wis tae be different, but he didna ken richt hoo he wid manage vet. Tarn an' me lied a great arsruy barguin wha wis tae be killod. Tarn widna, sac I hed tae gie in. We practeesed a bit wi' oor swurds, an' I got killed three tunes, an' we thocht we cud manage the

next nicht. Sac we pairted, an' we wur tae meet at the Cross. Weel, the next nicht cam an' we met, but we did lauch whan we saw Jock. He hed on an auld swallow-tail o' his grandfaither's, wi' brass buttons ahint, an 1 a brim hat that only his nose keep it frae fain owre his face. We gaed up tae the boose on tap o' the hill, whaur there wur a lot o' weemin servints. The dougs barkit awfu 1 , an' we mindit Hector an' the bottom o' Tarn's breeks. Jock's coat tails wur unco neai the grand, an' they wid mak a fine grup for a doug. At length we got to the kitchin door. Ham open'd it an' gaed in, an' hegoud wi', "Here comes I, Galashinns ; Galashinns is my name ; my sword and buckler by my side, 1 hope to win the game " Then in I breenges, an' faces Tarn wi' my drawn swurd, an' says, " The game, sir ; the game, sir, is not within your power; I'D slash you all to pieces in less than half an hour." Then we fa' tae, an' at length an' lang I gets a stab that sends me tae the flair. "Whaur' s a doctor?" cries Tar n; whan in cums Jock. "Wha spiers 'for a doctor?" says he ; 'Tn> old Doctor Brown, the best old doctor in tlie town." "What can you cure?" says Tarn. "I ;an curs the rout, the gout, the ringworm, an' the scurvy." "Weel, see what you candae for that chiel on the flair." The doctor gied me a peel (feth, Jock, you'll catch* for the mixing o' that peel afore I gang hame). Then they carried me oot tae tho fresh air. Tarn an' Jock gaed in again, an' tell't the mnids that they thocht I wud cum roond. The peel had worked winders. They got a rhullin' frae the lassies to pey for mail pe-els. and they houped their maister widna' hear o' the stramush in his hoose that nicht. The paper man says he's got aneuch o' this stuff, as ht ca's it. I doot he's a quid bit like Sandy Forsyth, an' 1 dinna think he can be muckle o' a scholar. I'll beit ye he disna ken the meenin' o' "flech." Whan he can gu^ss that I'll maybe gie ye anither screed. GUISER.