EARLY BOTANICAL RAMBLES. l8l 



fat's tauld ye, man ? " The son completed the measure 

 of his father's contempt by saying that he did not believe 

 a word of what John had been saying. Taking from his 

 mouth his cutty-pipe which he had till then been smoking 

 and clearing his throat by spitting fiercely on the ground, 

 while he gazed with evident anger on the round, rubicund, 

 meaningless face of his son, the disgusted old man shouted 

 out, " Do ye no ken fat the man says yet ? It's Scotch 

 larcJda Joseph's ear ! ye stupid gowk * that ye are, 

 speering at John sae afen." Thinking that he had 

 solved the problem once and for all, and silenced his son, 

 he turned and entered the house, with a look of scorn 

 at such stupidity being exhibited by a child of his. 



The young man was speechless, awed by the learning 

 of his father and rebuked by his angry disdain. No 

 further questions were asked. The plants were speedily 

 gathered up again, and the two botanists passed onwards, 

 to ruminate and talk over the odd encounter, John 

 laughing more than usual on the way homewards. When 

 he called at Whitehouse that night, according to custom, 

 to show the plants he had found, he told Charles the story 

 "with great birr." f He never afterwards forgot the scene. 



It is but a specimen of numberless similar encounters 

 with his neighbours. They seldom got the best of it, 

 however ; though the apparent simplicity of the weaver 

 was a never-failing provocative to bucolic wit and con- 

 temptuous ignorance. 



* Gowk is the Scotch for cuckoo, of which it is the first syllable 

 a little changed. 



t Strength and glee combined. Another form of the word is virr, 

 which suggests some possible relation to the root of the Latin vis, 

 strength, and vir, a strong man. 



