ould have wished.

"Provost," said he to the chief magistrate, who was then present with
them, "though thir honest men be concerned in a fret against the King's
government, they're no just iniquitous malefactors, and therefore it
behoves us, for the little time they are to bide here, to deal
compassionately with them. This is a damp and cauld place. I'm sure we
might gi'e them the use of the council-chamber, and direk a bit spunk o'
fire to be kindl't. It's, ye ken, but for this night they are to be in
our aught; and their crime, ye ken, provost, was mair o' the judgment
than the heart, and therefore we should think how we are a' prone to do
evil."

By this sort of petitionary exhorting that worthy man carried his point,
and the provost consented that the prisoners should be removed to the
council-chamber, where he directed a fire to be lighted for their
solace.

"Noo, honest men," said their friend the deacon, when he was taking
leave of them, after seeing them in the council-room, "I hope you'll
make yoursels as comfortable as men in your situation can reasonably be;
and look ye," said he to my brother, "if the wind should rise, and the
smoke no vent sae weel as ye could wis, which is sometimes the case in
blowy weather when the door's shut, just open a wee bit jinkie o' this
window," and he gave him a squeeze on the arm--"it looks into my yard.
Heh! but it's weel mindet, the bar on my back-yett's in the want o'
reparation--I maun see til't the morn."

There was no difficulty in reading the whumplet meaning of this
couthiness anent the reeking o' the chamber; and my brother and Esau,
when the door was locket on them for the night, soon found it expedient
to open the window, and next morning the kind counsellor had more
occasion than ever to get the bar o' his back-yett repaired; for it had
yielded to the grip of the prisoners, who, long afore day, were far
beyond the eye and jurisdiction of the magistrates of Paisley.

They took the straight road to Kilmarnock, intending, if possible, to
hide themselves among some of my brother Jacob's wife's friends in that
town. He had himself been dead some short time before; but in the course
of their journey, in eschewing the high-road as much as possible, they
found a good friend in a cottar who lived on the edge of the Mearns
moor, and with him they were persuaded to bide till the day of that
night when we met in so remarkable a manner on the sands of Ardrossan;
and the c