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nights reſt, nor days peace thinking about you: an'
if you will not ſend me a favourable anſwer, I believe
I will gang daſt a' the gither for I am deeper in love
with you now than ever I was: l will come to you
within five days, and ſet our marriage day, for I lang
greatly to be in bed with you, my dear, and ye will
be free from your maſt'er at the term of Whitſunday,
and we ſhall be married very ſoon: No more from
your dear love,WILLIAM LAWSON.
May 13 th, 1793.
HER ANSWER.
Dear William,
YOU need not ſend more letters, you may come.
yourſel, as you ſaid in your letter, if your af-
fection be as great as you ſay ; for I will not diſap-
point you: I will be free with my maſter within ſe-
ven days, and we ſhall many very ſoon: No more
from your love, BESSY GIBB, May 13th, 1793.
Willie receives the anſwer of his letter, and tells
his mither: Indeed, quoth Willie, I’ll gang till her
myfel, and let the marriage-day; but mither, tell me
this, will I meddle wi’ her the firſt night, think ye?
Mither. Indeed Willie, ony thing at ye like: But
if ye di meddle wi’ her, for my bleſſing gi’e her a
guid rattle, ſhe will like you a’ the better man.
About three days after, Willie goes back, and ſets
the marriage day, and bought his ſweet-heart home
with him twa days before the marriage: they were
neither to ha’e piper or fidler at their wedding, but
three men to gang in before the minſter with them;
for, ſaid Willie, we needna mak’ n eat to a parcel o’
idle fouk we dinna ken ſat we may need yet: fools
makes feaſts, an’ wife fouks eat them
So they were three times cried upon Sunday, and
married on Monday morning, and nae body at the
bedding but themſelves upon Monday night.
But next morning, Tricky Tam the town’s taylor
played them a ſad trick, by taking about a chapin of
warm thick barm and broke open Willie’s door, and
laid the barm on upon the under sheet: between the
bride and the bridegroom’s hips: Willie began to
