STUDIES AND FRIENDS AT AUCHLEVEN. 2$l 



higher parts of Astronomy, but his knowledge of the descrip- 

 tive portion of the subject was great. 



He gave lessons on it to a young friend of his, John 

 Mackay, son of the proprietor of the mill, now Dr. Mackay, 

 of Strathkinness, in Fife. He showed him also how to 

 construct a telescope. They were able to complete it with 

 the help of Dr. Thomas Dick's work on the " Solar System/' 

 which was then, along with the " Christian Philosopher " 

 by the same author, one of the first and best of popular 

 scientific text-books. The two had many a peep through 

 this home-made instrument at the moons of Jupiter, the 

 rings of Saturn, and the surface of our own satellite. 



John read some papers on Astronomy before the 

 Mutual Instruction Class that met in the village. One of 

 these discourses was given in the carpenter's house, on the 

 moon and the tides, and Mrs. Emslie remembers how he 

 was "sadlies put tilFt, because he cu'dna get them tae 

 understan' him, in spite of all he cu'd say." When the 

 Class held a soiree on entering into more comfortable 

 quarters, John was in "grand trim," and came out quite 

 strongly on Astronomy, as Dr. Mackay tells, though, with 

 such celestial themes, it was feared he soon shot beyond the 

 comprehension of his rustic audience. His cognomen of 

 "Johnnie Meen " was now less used, however, than at his 

 first stay in Auchleven. Dr. Mackay recalls how, on bright 

 starry nights after the Class dismissed, led by John, they 

 used to stand for hours gazing into the heavens and 

 discussing the deepest problems in regard to man's future 

 destiny such as whether the planets were inhabited, 

 with which of them the future state was connected, and 

 similar abstruse but ever interesting themes, which have 



