354 JOHN DUNCAN, WEAVER AND BOTANIST. 



steek o' cla'es to cover their backs wi' till I tak' their wabs 

 tae them." " Are you not often wearied, doing the same 

 thing over and over again ? " " Ow, na," briskly returned 

 he. " The wark wud be gey an' wearisome gin the min' 

 were tied till't. But the min's free like the shuttle, and sae 

 it can rin aboot here and there, back and fore, ding dang." 



Here Mr. Williams mentioned the names of the greatest 

 African traveller and a distinguished Aberdeen philosopher, 

 who had either been weavers or connected with weaving in 

 their early days, and thereby shed honour on the loom. 

 " Just sae," consented the old weaver, proud of his trade, 

 " oor wark mak's us greater by ord'nar' ; or a gey sicht less." 

 " And you have turned to plants and flowers," pursued Mr. 

 William, " to keep your mind green ? " John brightened 

 up at the mention of his favourites, but with his usual 

 deprecation of personal praise, quietly assented ; " the 

 smell and sicht o' them drives the dust o' the shoppie oot 

 o' the lungs, nae doo't." " I wish I knew as much about 

 Botany as you do, John," vainly sighed the young man. 

 " Ye micht soon ken a hantle * mair ner me, gin ye wu'd 

 set yerseF till't. Thae lang names pit me oot files, but ye 

 wu'd ken the meanin's o' them and min' them better." 

 " The scientific terms and meanings are almost of no use," 

 rightly remarked his friend, " until the things meant are 

 known." "Weel, weel," wisely and encouragingly urged 

 the real educationist John was ; " pu' and look, read and 

 speir, and never fear ! " 



He then began to show Mr. Williams some of his 

 favourite plants, " bits o' floories " as he called them. " This 

 .ane," he went on to explain, " I got at A," mentioning the 

 * Literally a hanfK\i\, hence a considerable quantity. 



