14
laughed till his sides were like to burst, and
gave Leper half-a-crown to drink.
Leper was not long done with his ap-
prenticeship till he set up for himself, and
got a journeyman and an apprentice, was
coming into very good business, and had
he restrained his roguish tricks, he might
have done very well. He and his lads be-
ing employed to work in a farmer's house,
where the housewife was a great miser, and
not very cleanly in making meat, and
sneeveled through her nose greatly when
she spoke ---In the morning, when she went
to make the potage, she made a fashion of
washing the pot, which to appearance seem-
ed to him to have been among the first that
had been made; then sets it before the fire
till she went to the well, in which time
Leper looking into it, sees two great holes
stapped with clouts, he takes up his goose
and holds it as high as his head, then lets
it drop into the pot, which knocked out the
bottom of it; presently in comes the wife
with the water, and pours it into the pot,
which set the fireside all in a dam, for still
as she poured in, it ran out: the wife being
short-sighted, or what they call sand blind,
looks into the pot, holds up both her hands
and cries, 'Losh preserve me, sirs, for the
grip atween the twa holes is broken.' Says
Leper, the pot was old enough; but do you
