We soon found
Hogg, standing near the foot of the market, as he called it, beside
a great drove of paulies, a species of stock that I never heard of
before. They were small sheep, striped on the backs with red
chalk. Mr. L--t introduced me to him as a great wool-stapler,
come to raise the price of that article; but he eyed me with
distrust, and, turning his back on us, answered: "I hae sell'd
mine."
I followed, and, shewing him the above-quoted letter, said I was
exceedingly curious to have a look of these singular remains he
had so ingeniously described; but he only answered me with the
remark that "It was a queer fancy for a wool-stapler to tak."
His two friends then requested him to accompany us to the spot,
and to take some of his shepherds with us to assist in raising the
body; but he spurned at the idea, saying: "Od bless ye, lad! I hae
ither matters to mind. I hae a' thae paulies to sell, an', a' yon
Highland stotts down on the green, every ane; an' then I hae ten
scores o' yowes to buy after, an', If I canna first sell my ain stock,
I canna buy nae ither body's. I hae mair ado than I can manage
the day, foreby ganging to houk up hunder-year-auld-banes.
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