Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF WILLIE SMITH. If I thocht the world would tak the least interest in the matter, I wad tell it the where an’ the when o’ my birth, in conformity wi’ auld use an’ wont in the case o’ biographical sketches; but, takin it for granted that the world cares as little about me as I care about it?an’, Gude kens, that’s little aneuch, thanks to the industry o’ my faither, that made me independent o’t!?I shall merely say, wi’ regard to the particulars above alluded to, that I was born in a certain thrivin, populous bit touny in the south, an’ that I am, at this present writin, somewhat aulder than I was yesterday. I dinna choose to be mair particular on the point, because I dinna see that my age has onything mair to do wi’ my story, than the ages o’ witnesses hae wi’ their evidence. Bein born in the usual way, in the usual way was I christened?(Anglice, baptised); but hereon hangs a tale, or rather a dizzen o’ them. My faither’s name was Willie Smith, my paternal grandfather’s name was Willie Smith, I had an uncle whase name was Willie Smith, an’ twa cousins whase names were Willie Smith; an’ it was determined that I should be a Willie Smith too, in order, I suppose, to mak sure o’ perpetuatin that very rare an’ euphonious family name. But, oh, that they had ca'ed me Nebuchadnezzar, or Fynmackowl, or Chrononhotionthologos, or ony name in the sma'est degree distinctive, an’ no that confounded ane, that seems to me to belang to every third man I meet. It wad hae saved me a world o’ misery, an’ disappointment, an’ suffering o’ a’ sorts. It’s just incredible the mischief that simple circumstance has wrought me?I mean, the ca'in me Willie Smith. It may appear, I dare say, a harmless aneuch thing to you, guid reader, but, my feth, ca’ ye yersel Willie Smith just for ae twel…