dinna like to say that yer boxmaster is under the
kindly care and protection o' his guidwife. Now, as to the first, I
leave it in yer ain hands; but as to the second, I will free ye frae
a' delicacy and difficulty, for I here acknowledge and declare, wi'
pride and pleasure, that Mrs Jean Todd is my counsellor and adviser in
a' my affairs, baith public and private; and mony a time she has kept
me frae that ruin whilk my ain wit and wisdom never could hae saved me
frae. I dinna need to say that it was that admirable woman wha saved
the incorporation-box: the thing is already owre the town, and
dootless kenned to ye a', and, I warrant ye, also to yer wives. Why,
then, should I accept o' honour I never wrocht for, and couldna hae
merited by a' the power and skill o' my puir abilities? 'The labourer
is worthy o' his hire.' 'Honour to him to whom honour is due.' I
therefore move that the thanks ye intended for me should be offered to
Mrs Jean Todd--to whom also, wi' your permission, I would suggest that
the piece o' silver-plate should be presented."

This speech produced much laughter throughout the hall. Some humorous
member relished the idea, and, standing up, seconded the boxmaster's
motion.

"A' our difficulty has vanished," he began; "and glad am I to see that
the honour we intended for the _real_ conservator o' our
corporation-box may be, through the noble spirit o' our _nominal_
boxmaster, communicated without the intervention o' a deputy. I second
Mr Todd's motion, because I admire his spirit, and because I rejoice
in an opportunity of doing justice to thae great conservators o' our
sex--the strong-minded, gaucy, thrifty, and loving wives o' Scotland,
to whom our very nation (if it were kenned) awes the character it has
acquired owre the face o' the earth, for its prudence, its honesty,
and its trustworthiness. Weel do I ken that the dear craturs hae
suffered for their exertions in the cause o' our sex, and their
authority has been attempted to be put an end to by drunken caitiffs,
wha, wantin the nobility o' mind to admire and _serve_ wham they canna
equal, blaw up their pot-companions against petticoat authority, by
dubbin them _henpecked_, forgettin, the wretched craturs, that that
very hen supplies often the egg, at least clocks to preserve it for
future increase. The very men the dear craturs feed, and clothe, and
protect, and cherish, sing in the pot-houses that they want their
liberty--

'Becaus their