John Cheap, the Chapman's Library. Vol. 1: Comic and Humorous: The Scottish Chap Literature of Last Century, ClassifiedGraham, Dougal
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John Cheap, the Chapman's Library. Vol. 1: Comic and Humorous: The Scottish Chap Literature of Last Century, Classified
Graham, Dougal
Chapbooks, Scottish; English literature -- 18th century; Graham, Dougal, 1724-1779; Popular literature -- Scotland
This they desired him to explain into English, which he
immediately did. Now, said they one to another, we need not proceed
any farther. What, says George, are you butchers? I’ll sell you a
few sheep. To this they made no answer, but went away shamefully,
and said, they believed the Scots had been through all the nations
in the world for their education, or the devil had taught them.
Now, when George had ended this dispute with the bishops, he
stripped off his shepherd’s dress, and up through England he goes,
with all the haste imaginable, so that he arrived at the place from
whence they set out, three days before the judges, and went every
day asking if they were come, so that he might not be suspected.
As soon as they arrived, all that were concerned in the dispute,
and many more, came crowding in, to hear what news from the
Scottish shepherds, and to know what was done. No sooner had the
three gentlemen declared what had past between the bishops and the
shepherds, whom they found on the Scots border, but the old bishop
made answer, and think you, said he, that a shepherd could answer
these questions? It has been none else but the devil; for the Scots
ministers themselves could not do it; they are but ignorant of such
matters, a parcel of beardless boys. Then George thought it was
time to take speech in hand. Well, my lord bishop, says George, you
call them a parcel of ignorant beardless boys. You have a great
long beard yourself, my lord bishop, and if grace were measured
by beards, you bishops and the goats would have it all, and that
will be quite averse to Scripture. What, says the bishop, are you
a Scot? Yes, says George, I am a Scot. Well, says the bishop,
and what is the difference between a Scot and a sot? Nothing at
present, says George, but the breadth of the table, there being a
table betwixt the bishop and George. So the bishop went off in a
high passion, while the whole multitude were like to split their
jaws with laughter.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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