Sentence The Twohundredandninetyninth
Which was when one of the other bacchants glanced out of the window and let out a whoop; all eyes turned, first towards Goldy Brevity and then in the direction she was pointing, towards the window, beyond which could be seen the white of a snowstorm; “huv ye na seen snaw afore?” asked Owd Boab, a long-retired shepherd, who was seated on a great chest in the corner, while his great-grandson slept oblivious nearby, his favourite adder stone held in his soft hand: “why ah mind the nicht ah wis trapped upon the Three Brethern wi twa hunnert yows, an the snaw wis knee deep in eleeven minnits, we aw hud tae huddle close fur warmth and we wis covered in aboot a quarter oor, we steyed lik thon fur three days till Auld Rab dug us oot, man, ah tell ye, that wis real snaw in them days!” which was when Auld Rab, who had been quietly reading his newspaper, piped up: “ha, Boab! yer a bairn, ye wisnae aboot in the great storum o '37 when the snaw covert up ma hoose, an a hud tae dig a tunnel aw the wey past Bowden an up the shoulder o Cauldshiels an doon intae Melrose, man THAT wis
Snaw!” and a thin reedy voice came out of a chair, facing the fireplace, and Auld Reekie, pipe still stuck between his teeth in contravention of the No Smoking Laws, puffed and spoke without ever taking the pipe from between his teeth: “Ah wis shepherdin up Langshaw in '28 jist a boay mind, when the snaw fell sae thick and fast, in a hauf oor 'twis ower the Tower an we hud tae dig tunnels atween aw the cottages, there wis nae daylicht fur a munth, we hud a wee openin doon by Langlee an anither up ahint Earlston, an they wis the only wey in an oot, an we'd a relay collecting messages fur aw the fowk that coodnae manage oot theirsels, an when the thaw cam, the Tweed wis a mile wide in places and sae deep that sumpuous steamboats even cam up fae Berwick wi sicht-seers tae view a aince* in a lifetime spectacle, an we wis aw took tae Buckingham Palace tae see the King an Queen an gien medals fur wir bravery, an ah still wear mine, though tae us North Britons, whae're natterilly cryophilic, a pickle snaw's nae hardship” and he waved a medal on a ribbon and Goldy took it from his outstretched hand and studied it before handing it back, and she turned and said: “it's absolutely troo – he dus hae a medal, wi Mickey Moose on yin side an Donal Duck on tither!” and the assembled customers gave Auld Reekie a cheer for telling the tallest tale and he was given a free glass of his favourite tipple by Rusty Irons, the resident barman.
(Editor's note: pronounced yince)
Which was when one of the other bacchants glanced out of the window and let out a whoop; all eyes turned, first towards Goldy Brevity and then in the direction she was pointing, towards the window, beyond which could be seen the white of a snowstorm; “huv ye na seen snaw afore?” asked Owd Boab, a long-retired shepherd, who was seated on a great chest in the corner, while his great-grandson slept oblivious nearby, his favourite adder stone held in his soft hand: “why ah mind the nicht ah wis trapped upon the Three Brethern wi twa hunnert yows, an the snaw wis knee deep in eleeven minnits, we aw hud tae huddle close fur warmth and we wis covered in aboot a quarter oor, we steyed lik thon fur three days till Auld Rab dug us oot, man, ah tell ye, that wis real snaw in them days!” which was when Auld Rab, who had been quietly reading his newspaper, piped up: “ha, Boab! yer a bairn, ye wisnae aboot in the great storum o '37 when the snaw covert up ma hoose, an a hud tae dig a tunnel aw the wey past Bowden an up the shoulder o Cauldshiels an doon intae Melrose, man THAT wis
Snaw!” and a thin reedy voice came out of a chair, facing the fireplace, and Auld Reekie, pipe still stuck between his teeth in contravention of the No Smoking Laws, puffed and spoke without ever taking the pipe from between his teeth: “Ah wis shepherdin up Langshaw in '28 jist a boay mind, when the snaw fell sae thick and fast, in a hauf oor 'twis ower the Tower an we hud tae dig tunnels atween aw the cottages, there wis nae daylicht fur a munth, we hud a wee openin doon by Langlee an anither up ahint Earlston, an they wis the only wey in an oot, an we'd a relay collecting messages fur aw the fowk that coodnae manage oot theirsels, an when the thaw cam, the Tweed wis a mile wide in places and sae deep that sumpuous steamboats even cam up fae Berwick wi sicht-seers tae view a aince* in a lifetime spectacle, an we wis aw took tae Buckingham Palace tae see the King an Queen an gien medals fur wir bravery, an ah still wear mine, though tae us North Britons, whae're natterilly cryophilic, a pickle snaw's nae hardship” and he waved a medal on a ribbon and Goldy took it from his outstretched hand and studied it before handing it back, and she turned and said: “it's absolutely troo – he dus hae a medal, wi Mickey Moose on yin side an Donal Duck on tither!” and the assembled customers gave Auld Reekie a cheer for telling the tallest tale and he was given a free glass of his favourite tipple by Rusty Irons, the resident barman.(Editor's note: pronounced yince)
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