r fou.

Scots Song.

The night which sunk down on the sickbed of Ramorny was not doomed to be
a quiet one. Two hours had passed since curfew bell, then rung at seven
o'clock at night, and in those primitive times all were retired to rest,
excepting such whom devotion, or duty, or debauchery made watchers; and
the evening being that of Shrovetide, or, as it was called in Scotland,
Fastern's E'en, the vigils of gaiety were by far the most frequented of
the three.

The common people had, throughout the day, toiled and struggled at
football; the nobles and gentry had fought cocks, and hearkened to the
wanton music of the minstrel; while the citizens had gorged themselves
upon pancakes fried in lard, and brose, or brewis--the fat broth, that
is, in which salted beef had been boiled, poured upon highly toasted
oatmeal, a dish which even now is not ungrateful to simple, old
fashioned Scottish palates. These were all exercises and festive dishes
proper to the holiday. It was no less a solemnity of the evening that
the devout Catholic should drink as much good ale and wine as he had
means to procure; and, if young and able, that he should dance at the
ring, or figure among the morrice dancers, who, in the city of Perth,
as elsewhere, wore a peculiarly fantastic garb, and distinguished
themselves by their address and activity. All this gaiety took place
under the prudential consideration that the long term of Lent, now
approaching, with its fasts and deprivations, rendered it wise for
mortals to cram as much idle and sensual indulgence as they could into
the brief space which intervened before its commencement.

The usual revels had taken place, and in most parts of the city were
succeeded by the usual pause. A particular degree of care had been
taken by the nobility to prevent any renewal of discord betwixt their
followers and the citizens of the town, so that the revels had proceeded
with fewer casualties than usual, embracing only three deaths and
certain fractured limbs, which, occurring to individuals of little
note, were not accounted worth inquiring into. The carnival was closing
quietly in general, but in some places the sport was still kept up.

One company of revellers, who had been particularly noticed and
applauded, seemed unwilling to conclude their frolic. The entry, as it
was called, consisted of thirteen persons, habited in the same manner,
having doublets of chamois leather sitting close to their bodi