Glasgow Courier. — 1853-03-22 (Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland)

SCOTCH DISH OUT OP PLACE.  'Welt,' asked my housekeeper, 'bow much will you charge for singeing a sheep's head? The man put his right hand to his head, as people in a quandry, or as the Yankees say a fix, generally do, and drawing it desperately through his hair, as if in deep cogitation, slowly responded, 'lt will depend, ma'am, on the nature of the work, and the time it will take. I should say, ma'am, it could not be done for leas than a matter of—say, three shillings.' 'Three shillings ! Mercy on us screamed the astounded woman,' why, you stupid! in Scotland it only costs one halfpenny! 'Perhaps so, ma'm,' said the smith, now more convinced of her insanity, and anxious to get rid of her; 'you are not in Scotland but in London, which makes all the dia. ference. Besides, to tell you the candid truth, I never saw or heard of such an operation being performed on a sheep's head before.' The housekeeper brought home the unlucky head, resolving as it cost so much, and, naturally enough, having doubts as to its being properly done, when such an enormous sum was charged for it, to singe it herself. But here a new annoyance awaited her. 'As how?' inquired the lieutenant. 'lsis a very easy operation,l should think, the singeing of a sheep's bead' only, it creates such an intolerable and detestable stench.' Precisely so, and hence her new troublemeut. She had the tub placed in the middle of the kitchen floor, fall of boiling water, and with red-hot poker in hand, like Bailie Nicol Jerrie in the Highland inn, was, with the aid of the servant, an English girl, busily employed in applying it to the woolly-head, when lo !a ring at the door-bell, with a peal as loud as the Trot on a Sunday. The girl hastened to answer it, when she found the servant next door to the right with her missus' compliments, and she was sent to see if the kitchen-vent was not on fire, there was such a smell of horning? No wonder,' replied the military youth. 'Egad lam surprised that the whole street was not alarmed.' Our girl assured her it was nothing bat the singeing of a sheep's head, and she went away as wise as she came. On her departurethe singeing was resumed with increased vigour, when another dreadful pull at the bell, accompanied by a violent rat-tat at the knocker—it was 'knock . and ring' o ith a vengeance, I assure you; and this time it was the gentleman, our neighbour on the left, sent to inquire what the devil was ado in our house that such an abominable stink was coming out of it. After getting rid of this interruption, the important business,.on which our dinner depended, was proceeded with, and was no sooner 11n1sbe4 and,the head, now completely sung, made ready to be boiled, than a pill at the bell, and a knock at the door, ten times louder than before, wan beard, and the housekeeper deemed it necessary to answer the summons herself this time. As she proceeded op stain to do so a din of many voices saluted her ear; and, cm opening the lobby door, there stood half the neighbourhood, all threatening to indict the house as a nuisance. 'Get away with you,' said she. 'One would think that a murder had been committed, instead of only a sheep's-head being sung.' The crowd, thinking she was making fun of them, only grew the more vociferous ,• and a policeman having arrived, they insisted that he should search the house, for they were certaiq that some illicit work was going on within, such as scetp.making or the like. . . .  Fortunately, the policeman was himself 'a native,' no long time caught, and smelled what was what at once. Be bade the crowd disperse, remarking to the housekeeper, after they had done no, that the English were puir, ignorant, benighted creatures, that ken naething about the singeing o' sheep's head, God help them; and then in a lower and more confidential tone, ' Od, woman, I haena tasted sheep's-head broth since I left Glasgow, twa years ago. This was a hint too broad to be misunderstood • shot too direct not to bit the mark— especially after the service he had rendered her. Of course, she could not do less than invite him to come back and get a plateful, when ready, of the delectable stuff which, altogether unknown to English palates, is even mete than the haggis itself, the 'wale of Scotia's food.'  MARKETS, SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE, km