HIS EARLY LIFE AS A COUNTRY WEAVER. 85 



and which became a pleasant alterative to his sedentary 

 life. 



He generally settled down for some time wherever 

 he got weaving. He was reckoned a very good workman, 

 and his employers often gave him a higher rate of wages 

 than common. As Mr. Adams, of Rothie Mill, wrote him 

 in 1841 : "There are several who do not give this rate of 

 wages, but I want good work, and I know you can give 

 me that. Only, what I make for myself is one penny 

 under the above rates." His simple tastes, quiet in- 

 dustrious habits, general intelligence, and unobtrusive 

 well-regulated life always made him a favourite ; so that 

 he was generally asked to return, and was written for, if 

 any particular kind of cloth was wanted. 



Moreover, he set himself, with his usual earnestness 

 and intelligence, to be a thorough master of his craft, both 

 practically and theoretically. He studied the mechanics 

 of the loom, and followed the rapid progress made in 

 these through the extension of machinery. With this aim, 

 he purchased at an early date, "Essays on the Art of 

 Weaving," in two parts, by a namesake of his own, " in- 

 ventor of the patent tambouring machine," published in 

 Glasgow in 1807-8; "The Weaver's Assistant," by 

 Alexander Peddie, published in 1817; and "Murphy on 

 Weaving," a learned treatise with engravings, published 

 in 1831, which he afterwards got strongly bound for regular 

 use. 



