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how he had frighted the deil frae being a bell man, sent for him to an ale-house, and drank with him very heartily, and told him he was sadly borne down by a spirit of jealousy against his wife, and a suspicion of her being too free with a servant lad he had before; and if he would keep it secret, and learn him to find it out, he would give his mother a load of meal, to which Leper agreed, and gave the poor supposed cuckold instructions how to behave. So hoe he goes, and finds himself very sick, and every day worse and worse; taking death to him, he blesses his three small children, and charges his wife, not to marry, until his children could do something for themselves. This hypocritical woman takes a roaring, ' Aha! marry, she should never marry! no, no, there should never a man lie by my side, or kiss my lips after thee, my ain dear Ian b, Johnny'-Then he act- ed the dead man as well as he possibly could; the neighbours were called in, and he's fairly o'erseen, as the old say.
