126 SPECIMENS OF DEATH. 



natural shakes on every note for the wind blew keen, and they were 

 nearly naked 



Father's dead, and mother's bad, 

 Sister Jane is raving mad, 

 Bible's pawned, and medal too, 

 Father won at Waterloo 

 We are little fellows ! 



Dr. Bott and his party heard this : they hemmed and haaed, and 

 tried to speak, but the words stuck in their throats; arid Dr. Bott, 

 feeling the infliction to be unpleasant, told his butler who looked as 

 though it was impossible that his coat could contain him above another 

 day to give the impostors a penny, if they'd promise to go away, and 

 not come under his windows again. 



The bloated menial " a man of many feasts" had scarcely waddled 

 to the street-door, when a strange hurly-burly was heard in the passage, 

 and a footman rushed in his nose bedabbled with soup, hastily licked 

 from a plate, in its transit from parlour to kitchen and announced that 

 a booted and begrimed countryman had felled the colossal porter, carried 

 the hall by the rude arguments of his oak staff, and stood on the stair- 

 case, vociferating his determination to see the doctor, in spite of the 

 devil and all his works. 



" An impudent scoundrel !" said Dr. Zebedee ; " I will so appal the 

 vagabond ! who is he?" 



" He says his name is Rug, and he comes from down-along." 



" Rug, eh? Oh! true! Honest Rug ! an orthodox, stultified, good 

 sort of a farmer. He owes me twenty pounds for tithes ; which, if 

 you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I'll just step into the next room and 

 receive ; but not without a lecture, you may depend, on the burly 

 rogue's impertinence. With our money in their pockets, these fellows 

 presume but I'll teach him !" 



Throwing one arm over the shoulder of his footman, and the other 

 over that of his bursting butler, who had now returned, breathless, from 

 the task of dismissing the ballad-singer, Dr. Zebedee hobbled out of the 

 dining-room, and held the following colloquy withFarmer Rug. 



" Well, Rug, what now, eh ?" said he, as soon as his servants had 

 placed him in a chair, and retired ; " Come to pay up, eh ? Raised 

 the twenty pounds, eh ? Sold your brood mare and foal, eh ? Brought 

 the money, of course, honest Rug, eh ?" 



" Noa, doctor, I han't." 



" Why, scoundrel ! how dare you ? Such rudeness I never wit- 

 nessed ! Not brought the money! What! d'ye think I'll sit down 

 quietly, and see the church defrauded of her dues ? You've been read- 

 ing some of the traitorous publications ; and you'll be damned, as sure 

 you're born. I'll second the designs of Providence, by ruining you, 

 rascal, to begin with I will, if I live." 



"Hush! hush! doantee be noisy: bide quiet, and listen. I've 

 had a dream." 



" D n your dream! I was going to say. What do you come tome 

 for, with a cock-and-a-bull story of a dream, and what not ? I'm in 

 such a rage !" 



" Zo I do zee, but that doa'nt daunt me. I ha' got zummut awful to 



