The inhabitants of Wolf's Hope began to grumble, to resist, and at
length positively to refuse compliance with the exactions of Caleb
Balderstone. It was in vain he reminded them, that when the eleventh
Lord Ravenswood, called the Skipper, from his delight in naval matters,
had encouraged the trade of their port by building the pier (a bulwark
of stones rudely piled together), which protected the fishing-boats from
the weather, it had been matter of understanding that he was to have
the first stone of butter after the calving of every cow within the
barony, and the first egg, thence called the Monday's egg, laid by every
hen on every Monday in the year.
The feuars heard and scratched their heads, coughed, sneezed, and being
pressed for answer, rejoined with one voice, "They could not say"--the
universal refuge of a Scottish peasant when pressed to admit a claim
which his conscience owns, or perhaps his feelings, and his interest
inclines him to deny.
Caleb, however, furnished the notables of Wolf's Hope with a note of
the requisition of butter and eggs, which he claimed as arrears of the
aforesaid subsidy, or kindly aid, payable as above mentioned; and having
intimated that he would not be averse to compound the same for goods or
money, if it was inconvenient to them to pay in kind, left them, as he
hoped, to debate the mode of assessing themselves for that purpose.
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