If there was as little in your honours' wames as there is in Caleb Balderstone's, less caickling wad serve ye on sic a gravaminous subject." Caleb's blunt expression of resentment again awakened the mirth of the company, which, by the way, he regarded not only as an aggression upon the dignity of the family, but a special contempt of the eloquence with which he himself had summed up the extent of their supposed losses.

"A description of a dinner," as he said afterwards to Mysie, "that wad hae made a fu' man hungry, and them to sit there laughing at it!" "But," said Miss Ashton, composing her countenance as well as she could, "are all these delicacies so totally destroyed that no scrap can be collected ?" "Collected, my leddy! what wad ye collect out of the sute and the ass?
Ye may gang down yoursell, and look into our kitchen--the cookmaid in the trembling exies--the gude vivers lying a' about--beef, capons, and white broth--florentine and flams--bacon wi' reverence--and a' the sweet confections and whim-whams--ye'll see them a', my leddy--that is," said he, correcting himself, "ye'll no see ony of them now, for the cook has soopit them up, as was weel her part; but ye'll see the white broth where it was spilt.

I pat my fingers in it, and it tastes as like sour milk as ony thing else; if that isna the effect of thunner, I kenna what is.

This gentleman here couldna but hear the clash of our haill dishes, china and silver thegither ?" The Lord Keeper's domestic, though a statesman's attendant, and of course trained to command his countenance upon all occasions, was somewhat discomposed by this appeal, to which he only answered by a bow.
"I think, Mr.Butler," said the Lord Keeper, who began to be afraid lest the prolongation of this scene should at length displease Ravenswood--"I think that, were you to retire with my servant Lockhard--he has travelled, and is quite accustomed to accidents and contingencies of every kind, and I hope betwixt you, you may find out some mode of supply at this emergency." "His honour kens," said Caleb, who, however hopeless of himself of accomplishing what was desirable, would, like the high-spirited elephant, rather have died in the effort than brooked the aid of a brother in commission--"his honour kens weel I need nae counsellor, when the honour of the house is concerned." "I should be unjust if I denied it, Caleb," said his master; "but your art lies chiefly in making apologies, upon which we can no more dine than upon the bill of fare of our thunder-blasted dinner.

Now, possibly Mr.Lockhard's talent may consist in finding some substitute for that which certainly is not, and has in all probability never been." "Your honour is pleased to be facetious," said Caleb, "but I am sure that, for the warst, for a walk as far as Wolf's Hope, I could dine forty men--no that the folk there deserve your honour's custom.