186 NORTHERN MEMOIRS. 



Arn. Then Pie begin. Once upon a time 

 (for so I was told) within the walls of this little 

 corporation of Forfar, there lived an ancient 

 brewster wife, more eminent in her art for brew- 

 ing of good ale, than all the brewsters that lived 

 about her ; who, upon occasion of some solem- 

 nity, had boiled up a cauldron of stinging stuff, 

 to hum the noses of some jolly good fellows, 

 that by country-custom and rules of their own, 

 had made an appointment to meet there to 

 morrow ; which they punctually performed, but 

 were all disappointed, because not to meet with 

 what they came there for. 



Now you are to consider the custom of the 

 country, which in short was this. No sooner 

 the alewife brews her ale, but presently she ex- 

 poseth it to the open air, in certain vessels which 

 the people call coolers, (always provided it do 

 not rain,) though not so much to moderate the 

 heat of the liquor, as to ripen and prepare it for 

 a present draught ; which they fancy it does, 

 and fancy, you must know, surpasseth beauty. 



Theoph. Very good, pray, go on ; I fancy we 

 shall have a pleasant story. 



Arn. But so it hapned, that Moggy her maid, 

 was the person appointed to attend this liquor ; 

 whilst the guid awd wife was cumbring her self 

 to deft her house, and put it into order. Now 

 the careless lass steps casually aside, (whose ab- 



