SETTLEMENT AND WORK AT DROUGHSBURN. 283 



John continued to carry on Mr. Watt's work, and to 

 board in the house, till Mrs. Watt left for Aberdeen, in June, 

 1853, when the business was wound up and the effects sold 

 off. He had previously purchased the contents of the 

 weaving shop, by private bargain, and with these he carried 

 on work till the end. The house without the croft was now 

 occupied by Mrs. Inverarity, a widow whose husband had 

 been grieve on the neighbouring farm of Dorsell,* and with 

 her John boarded for nine years. When the croft and 

 cottage were taken, in 1862, by John Allanach, Mrs. 

 Inverarity removed to a house by the roadside close by the 

 burn, called Droughsbridge, where John lodged with her for 

 six months. He then returned to Droughsburn, after a 

 settlement had been come to with Mr. Allanach, and there 

 he remained till his death. 



For the first time in his life since leaving Aberdeen, 

 John had at last settled down, in his fifty-ninth year, in a 

 " hoose and haddin', " or holding, of his own. He rented 

 the shop from Allanach for ^"i a year, and paid so much 

 for his meals. He soon established himself as home-weaver 

 for the district, and became quickly known as a first-rate 

 workman. He produced the usual varieties of fabrics 

 made by " customer- weavers," as already described, and 

 had the further and not very common advantage of being 

 equally able to do linen and woollen goods, having learnt 

 both branches of the trade. He supplied himself "the 

 warp " for the cloth, " the weft," or what was woven into it 

 with the shuttle, being provided by the customers employ- 

 ing him. He sometimes got his "pirns" filled by a 

 neighbour, but latterly he filled them himself. He also 



* Pronounced Dor-zell\ with accent on the second syllable. 



