338 JOHN DUNCAN, WEAVER AND BOTANIST. 



be no benefit in that sense ; but they took up his mind, and 

 he thought that, if it had not been for them, he would have 

 gone wrong altogether. We now know something of what is 

 implied in that answer ; and it surely, in itself, is a reply 

 more than sufficient to silence the everlasting query that 

 assailed his ears " Fat's the eese o't ? " 



But is it not sad that this question, good and right and 

 wise as it is when truly viewed, should be asked and 

 answered on the poor level on which it generally is ? Is 

 it not time that our educators of all kinds, in the school, 

 the pulpit and the book, should try more earnestly and 

 actively to raise the standard of judgment, of the applica- 

 tion of this true experimentum crucis of all work and study ? 

 Is it not a grave censure upon our boasted educational and 

 ecclesiastical agencies, that this question should so long 

 and so late have remained on the low platform on which it 

 still stands ? 



