 necessary and legal: a Scottish law phrase.
 
15 Weid, a feverish cold; a disorder incident to infants and to females, is so
called.
 
16 Monetæ Scoticæ, scilicet.
17 Taking up his abode.
 
18 The raid of Caleb Balderston on the cooper's kitchen has been universally
considered on the southern side of the Tweed as grotesquely and absurdly
extravagant. The Author can only say, that a similar anecdote was communicated
to him, with date and names of the parties, by a noble Earl lately deceased,
whose remembrances of former days, both in Scotland and England, while they were
given with a felicity and power of humour never to be forgotten by those who had
the happiness of meeting his lordship in familiar society, were especially
invaluable from their extreme accuracy.
Speaking after my kind and lamented informer, with the omission of names only,
the anecdote ran thus: - There was a certain bachelor gentleman in one of the
midland counties of Scotland, second son of an ancient family, who lived on the
fortune of a second son - videlicet, upon some miserably small annuity, which
yet was so managed and stretched out by the expedients of his man John, that his
master kept the front rank with all the young men of quality in the county, and
hunted, dined, diced, and drank with them, upon apparently equal terms.
It is true, that as the master's society was extremely amusing, his friends
contrived to reconcile his man John to accept assistance of various kinds under
the rose, which they dared not to have directly offered to his master. Yet, very
consistently with all this good inclination to John, and John's master, it was
thought among the young fox-hunters, that it would be an excellent jest, if
possible, to take John at fault.
With this intention, and, I think, in consequence of a bet, a party of four or
five of these youngsters arrived at the bachelor's little mansion, which was
adjacent to a considerable village. Here they alighted a short while before the
dinner-hour - for it was judged regular to give John's ingenuity a fair start -
and, rushing past the astonished domestic, entered the little parlour; and,
telling some concerted story of the cause of their invasion, the self-invited
guests asked, their landlord if he could let them have some dinner. Their friend
gave them a hearty and unembarrassed reception, and, for the matter of dinner,
referred them to John. He was summoned accordingly - received his master's
orders to get dinner
