QO MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 



and mother, and perhaps the brothers and sisters, 

 of this couple; and, further on, at the end, was 

 the habitation of the old people. These places 

 had always garths and gardens adjoining, with 

 peat stacks and other fuel at hand for the 

 winter; and the whole was enlivened with 

 numbers of ducks, chickens, c. On my getting 

 some refreshment of whey or milk in such places 

 as these, I always found it difficult to get 

 payment made for anything, as it seemed to 

 give offence; and, when I could get any money 

 slipped into the hands of the children, I was 

 sure to be pursued, and obliged to accept of a 

 pocket full of bannocks and scones. 



On one occasion, I was detained all day and 

 all night at a house of this kind, in listening to 

 the tunes of a young man of the family who 

 played well upon the Scottish pipes. I, in turn, 

 whistled several Tyneside tunes to him; so that 

 we could hardly get separated. Before my 

 departure next dav^ I contrived by stealth to 

 put some money into the hands of the children. 

 I had not got far from the house till I was 

 pursued by a beautiful young woman, who 

 accosted me in "badish" English, which she must 

 have got off by heart just before she left the house, 

 the purport of which was to urge my acceptance 

 of the usual present. This I wished to refuse ; 

 but, with a face and neck blushed with scarlet, 

 she pressed it upon me with such sweetness 

 while I thought at the same time that she invited 

 me to return that (I could not help it) I seized 

 her, and smacked her lips. She then sprang 

 away from me, with her bare legs, like a deer, 

 and left me fixed to the spot, not knowing what 



