hen he intended
to represent his party as persons of no importance, used the expression,
"We are bits o' Glasgow bodies."

An admirable Scotch expression I recollect from one of the Montrose
ladies before referred to. Her niece was asking a great many questions
on some point concerning which her aunt had been giving her
information, and coming over and over the ground, demanding an
explanation how this had happened, and why something else was so and so.
The old lady lost her patience, and at last burst forth: "I winna be
_back-speired_ noo, Pally Fullerton." Back-speired! how much more pithy
and expressive than cross-examined! "He's not a man to ride the water
on," expresses your want of confidence and of trust in the character
referred to. Another capital expression to mark that a person has stated
a point rather under than over the truth, is, "The less I lee," as in
Guy Mannering, where the precentor exclaims to Mrs. MacCandlish, "Aweel,
gudewife, then the less I lee." We have found it a very amusing task
collecting together a number of these phrases, and forming them into a
connected epistolary composition. We may imagine the sort of puzzle it
would be to a young person of the present day--one of what we may call
the new school. We will suppose an English young lady, or an English
educated young lady, lately married, receiving such a letter as the
following from the Scottish aunt of her husband. We may suppose it to be
written by a very old lady, who, for the last fifty years has not moved
from home, and has changed nothing of her early days. I can safely
affirm that every word of it I have either seen written in a letter, or
have heard in ordinary conversation:--

"_Montrose_, 1858[69].

"My Dear Niece--I am real glad to find my _nevy_ has made so
good a choice as to have secured you for his wife; and I am
sure this step will add much to his comfort, and we _behove_
to rejoice at it. He will now look forward to his evening at
home, and you will be happy when you find you never _want_
him. It will be a great pleasure when you hear him in the
_trance_, and wipe his feet upon the _bass_. But Willy is not
strong, and you must look well after him. I hope you do not
let him _snuff_ so much as he did. He had a sister, poor
thing, who died early. She was remarkably clever, and well
read, and most intelligent, but was always uncommonly
_silly_[70] In the au