4O The Naturalist of Cumbrae. 



officers to wait till morning, when they would be able 

 to see where they were being taken, as otherwise it 

 was possible they might intentionally be led into a 

 quagmire and be plundered in the dark. 



During the night both soldiers and excisemen were 

 taking a " wee drap " to keep them cheery, and the 

 night passed with friendly jokes on both sides, what- 

 ever the prisoners may have thought inwardly about 

 the humour of the whole affair. 



As soon as daylight appeared, the two excisemen 

 went to procure a horse and cart, and were directed 

 to a farm where they were not the most likely to 

 obtain what they wanted on the shortest notice, the 

 prisoners having some obscure hope that something 

 might yet be saved. As the officer in command of 

 the soldiers had received strict charge, when the 

 excisemen left, to take care of the prisoners, these 

 had no hope of making their own escape. In the 

 absence of the excisemen, the officer was careful of 

 what spirits he himself took, and did what he could 

 in an easy way to make his men equally careful ; but 

 the drinking-measure the end of a cow's horn- 

 was an ample one, and the spirits were stronger than 

 the men were used to drink, and these things had 

 their effect. 



In the mean time the smugglers very civilly offered 

 to give their assistance in carrying their confiscated 

 goods and chattels some little distance out to a place 

 which the cart could approach. Their offer being 

 accepted, they had the opportunity to roll "the 

 valuables" into a deep ditch where they were not 

 easily to be seen. The soldiers, it was clear, had 



