Tales Of My Landlord - Vol I: Old Mortality

TALES OF MY LANDLORD. dfirst Jtarto, Hear, Land o Cakes and brither Scots, Frae Maidenkirk to Jonny Groats, If theres a hole in a your coats, I rede ye tent it A chiels amang you takin notes, An faith hell prent it BURKS. VOL. IX. Ahora bien, duo il Cura, traedme, senor huesped, agvesos li bros, que las quiero ver. Q. ue me place, respondi6 el, y enlrando, en su aposento, sac6 del una maletilla vieja cerrada con una ca denilla, y abrifadola, hall6 en ella tres hbros grandes y unos pa peles de muy buena letra escritos de mano. DON QUIXOTE, Parte I. Capitulo 32. It is mighty well, said the priest pray, landlord, bring me those books, for I have a mind to see them. With all my heart, answered the host and going to his chamber, he brought out a little old cloke-bag, with a padlock and chain to it, and open ing it, he took out three large volumes, and some manuscript papers written in a fine character. JARVISS Translation. TALES OF MY LANDLORD. COLLECTED AND REPORTED BY JEDEDIAH CLEISHBOTHAM, SCHOOLMASTER AND PARISH-CLERK OF GANDERCLEUOH. INTRODUCTION. As I may, without vanity, presume that the name and official description prefixed to this Proem will secure it, from the sedate and re flecting part of mankind, to whom only I would be understood to address myself, such atten tion as is due to the sedulous instructor of youth, and the careful performer of my Sab hath duties, I will forbear to hold up a candle to the daylight, or to point out to the judicious those recommendations of my labours which they must necessarily anticipate from the per IV INTRODUCTION TO usal of the title-page. Nevertheless, I am not unaware, that, as Envy always dogs Merit at the heels, there may he those who willwhisper, that albeit my learning and good principles cannot lauded he the heavens he denied hy any one, yet that mysituation at fiamlri rlnrjji hath been more favourable to my acquisitions in learning than to the enlargement of my views of the ways and works of the present generation. To the which objection, if, per adventure, any such shall be started, my an swer shall be threefold First, Gandercleugh is, as it were, the cen tral part the navel si fas sit dicere of this our native realm of Scotland so that men, from every corner thereof, when travelling on their concernments of business, either towards our metropolis of law, by which I mean Edin burgh, or towards our metropolis and mart of gain, whereby I insinuate Glasgow, are fre quently led to make Gandercleugh their abi ding stage and place of rest for the night. And it must be acknowledged by the most scepti cal, that I, who have sat in the leathern arm chair, on the left-hand side of the fire, in the common room of the Wallace Inn, winter and summer, for every evening in my life, during TALES OF MY LANDLORD. V forty years bypast, the Christian Sabbaths only excepted, must have seen more of the manners and customs of various tribes and people, than if I had sought them out by my own painful travel and bodily labour. Even so doth the tollman at the well-frequented turn pike on the Wellbrae-head, sitting at his ease in his own dwelling, gather more receipt of custom, than if, moving forth upon the road, he were to require a contribution from each person whom he chanced to meet in his jour ney, when, according to the vulgar adage, he might possibly be greeted with more kicks than halfpence. But, secondly, supposing it again urged, that Ithacus, the most wise of the Greeks, acquired his renown, as the Roman poet hath assured us, by visiting states and men, I reply to the Zoilus who shall adhere to this objection, that, de facto, I have seen states and men also for I have visited the famous cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, the former twice, and the latter three times, in the course of my earthly pil grimage...