xviii CONTENTS. 



serene death ; the scene in the room ; the scene without ; the state of the 

 workshop ; the flowers placed on his body ; the author's last sight of it ; 

 the funeral ; ceremony at the cottage and churchyard ; monument at his 

 grave and its inscription. 

 1881. Pages 453 467 



CHAPTER XL. 

 DUNCAN'S CHARACTERISTICS AND CHARACTER. 



His constitution ; appearance ; head ; countenance ; short-sight and its effects ; 

 ' simple fare ; keen appetite ; John at dinner at James Black's ; eats pickle 

 whole and its results ; excessive estimate of money ; spends it on books, 

 his one luxury ; command of temper ; kindliness of heart ; John and the 

 hare ; John and the idiot ; John and the coals ; obliging helpfulness ; 

 delight in sharing his knowledge ; gratitude for benefits ; rigid honesty ; 

 orderliness in all things ; tidiness in person and dress ; extreme retiring- 

 ness ; backwardness in company ; secretiveness ; want of emotive utter- 

 ance ; manner in meeting friends ; style of shaking hands ; his feelings 

 deep and strong ; causes of his apparent callousness ; John in the field 

 with a friend ; innocent simplicity of his nature ; John and the madman ; 

 his mother- wit and humour ; " damn the riddle ! " ; cloth "with a bone 

 in it " ; siller and its potency ; sarcastic replies ; John and his oil bottle ; 

 the terribly honest gardener ; the botanists in hell ; his recherche Doric ; 

 its poetry ; the songs he sang ; his opinion of Robert Burns ; his deficiency 

 of poetic feeling ; its real nature ; his non-perception of the artistic ; his 

 capacity for high friendship ; his wonderful love of Charles Black ; 

 religiousness of his nature ; its depth and character. 



468493 



CHAPTER XLI. 



THE SECRET? 



The school did nothing for Duncan; his mother's extreme poverty; the 

 extraordinary disabilities under which he lived ; his remarkable successes ; 

 John's opinion of these disabilities and the value of learning ; his love of 

 knowledge, a true scientific thirst ; Botany in its relation to culture ; his 

 wise union of intellectual and humanitarian studies ; his practical use of 

 all knowledge ; his glimpses of higher philosophy ; his opinion of his 

 achievements in study ; the effects of early influences on Duncan's life ; 

 their vital importance in every life ; the value of natural pursuits in youth ; 

 Duncan's poor and hard lot and serene contentment ; the character of his 

 happiness ; his simple tastes ; the wisdom of plainness ; his opinion of 

 outside pity : his cultivation of " the internals " ; his study of Natural 

 Science ; the felicity he extracted from it ; his very happy life under 



