"WILLIE WASTLE."
When Oliver Cromwell was at Haddington, he sent a summons to the governor of Hume Castle, ordering him to surrender. The governor answered,
"That he, Willie Wastle, stood firm in his castle,
That all the dogs of his town should not drive Willie Wastle down."
This anecdote gave rise to the amusement of Willie Wastle among children.
When the Irish Union was effected in 1801, the Ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir John Parnell, was the reigning toast. Being one evening in a convivial party, he jocularly said that by the Union he had lost his bread and butter. "Ah, my dear sir," replied a friend, "never mind, for it is amply made up to you in toasts."