244 BENIGN EXPLANATION. 



he laid fast hold of the bottle, and filling the quaigh to 

 the brim, f Here goes," said he, " to the lousy stranger." 

 After he had drunk, and mended his draught, he kept the 

 bottle in his own custody with a pretty smart allowance 

 in it, in the character of residuary legatee. I had an 

 account, however, to settle with him ; for being the only 

 stranger in company, I fancied his toast meant a re- 

 flection upon my cleanliness. What did he mean by 

 the dirty and degrading epithet? This I demanded, 

 advancing with a warlike countenance, and leister in the 

 rest ; and had not Tom been in a very benign humour, 

 this book might never have been inflicted on the public, 

 for the man was well armed and resolute, and might 

 have leistered me according to art. But putting on his 

 sweetest smile, he assured me that by the f lousy 

 stranger " he meant a newly run fish with tide lice on 

 it, "which," said he, " are far the best, ye ken." This I 

 well knew, though the application did not occur to me at 

 the moment. And here, by the way I beg to observe, 

 however odd it may seem, that you may know the best 

 clean fish, by their having tide lice upon them. 



" All hands to the boat again. Come, Rob, give us a 

 merry blaze ; never spare the tar barrel : well done, 

 Vulcan ! Now we have a splendid light on the water, 

 and can see well enough to read small print at the bot- 

 tom of it," 



" Sandy Trummel, ye great bear, what gars ye 

 stamp and scream at that rate ? " 



Sandy in fact not only stamped and screamed, but 

 swore that he was dreadfully brunt with the pieces of 

 charcoal and drops of flaming pitch which insinuated 



