486 JOHN DUNCAN, WEAVER AND BOTANIST, 



hand and his weaver's lamp in the other. "Here ye are 

 again, John," said Charles, " and wi' yer lamp i' yer hand." 

 "Ay," replied John, with an arch gleam in his eye, "but I'm 

 no like the foolish virgins ; I hae my oil tae ! " He once 

 engaged to work with a friend near Woodside, who, as 

 market gardener, employed several hands. One of these 

 was a professional gardener from Ellon, whose incapacity 

 in his trade struck John very forcibly. " That Ellon man 

 o' yours," said he one day to his employer, " has been terribly 

 honest wharever he served his apprenticeship." " How ? "" 

 asked his master, not catching John's meaning. " 'Cass," 

 returned John, with a sly twinkle, " he has ta'en terrible 

 little wi'm ! " 



Sometimes his humour almost approached the grim. 

 He was speaking one day to a friend about some vigorous 

 botanists who, having gone a-plant-gathering on Sunday, 

 had on that account incurred public censure. "Weel," says 

 John, who sympathised with them in spite of his Sabbatarian 

 creed, " if yon chaps gang tae hell, they'll no be easy to 

 bin'; and the fiends 'ill need to dish them up in eyrons,* 

 and even then they'll float and stay the storm. A gey 

 fyow o' sick like wou'd mak' even hell bearable ! Mind on 

 Sodom, which e'en ten gweed men wu'd hae saved ! " 



Like all old Scotchmen of any individuality, John 

 always spoke in broad Scotch, except in reading a formal 

 paper, when technical terms required to be used, or in 

 talking on religious subjects, when Biblical or theological 

 language became appropriate. He used, of course, the 

 broad Aberdeen or Kincardine Doric, very recherche and 

 fine, with the genuine flavour of the old pure speech in 

 word and phrase. His expressions were always clear, 

 *. Irons; that is, in iron chains. 



