230 JOHN DUNCAN, WEAVER AND BOTANIST. 



visit, and to return when he passed that way another 

 season. Many was the eager group that gathered round 

 this uncommon type of tramp, as he sat by the " cheek " of 

 the ample fire, in the great kitchen of any hospitable farm- 

 house he stayed at, to look at the plants he carried, hear 

 their names and properties, and examine his curious 

 horologe, with which he knew the hours. 



By such intellectual repayment, he gave ample return 

 for the kindness he received. He also conferred many an 

 obligation, by treating the folks for various diseases with 

 natural simples obtained from the plants, and by teaching 

 them how to make " teas " and " saws " and " syrups " for 

 the cure of their common ailments. 



John's experiences in these countless wanderings were 

 interesting, varied, and not seldom adventurous. He was 

 one day travelling amongst the hills when he lost his way, 

 and, darkness coming down, he was forced to ask for shelter 

 for the night at a small Highland hut. The sole inmates 

 were a young man and his wife, both well-favoured, healthy, 

 and bronzed with outdoor labour. They received him with 

 hearty kindness, their looks and manner saying more than 

 words, for they spoke little English, though fluent in an 

 unknown tongue, the Gaelic. Having walked all day, John 

 had tasted nothing except the crust he always carried in 

 his pocket, and he was famishing for food. He entreated 

 them to give him something to eat, a request they under- 

 stood. To his blank astonishment, they showed him that 

 there was not a particle of food in the house. 



The kindly pair were, however, more than equal to the 

 emergency. The good woman whispered something to her 



