194 Notes and Sketches. 



nock cap, a long square-tailed coat, with heavy flaps 

 and spreading collar, a waistcoat of corresponding 

 expanse, knee breeches, and shoes with buckles. 



Dr. Anderson, who, it must be said, does not seem 

 to have looked upon the prophet with any excess of 

 respect, expressly says that Adam had " remarked 

 with what a superstitious veneration the ignorant 

 people around him contemplated that uncouth figure 

 he inherited from nature, and shrewdly availed him- 

 self of this propensity for obtaining a subsistence 

 through life." To this end he " affected an uncommon 

 reservedness of manner ; pretended to be extremely 

 studious, spoke little, and what he said was uttered 

 in half sentences with awkward gesticulations and an 

 uncouth tone of voice, to excite consternation and elude 

 detection." Rather a remorseless analysis of the ele- 

 ments of the prophet's influence it must be allowed. 



In those days the fairies played queer antics ; nor 

 was the quiet region of Bethelnie exempt from their 

 operations. And thus it was that when Adam Donald's 

 mother gave birth to a fine boy the " gweed neibours" 

 whipt the child away to Elfland, and left the poor cottar 

 and his wife a mere changeling in his place a sallow 

 mis-shapen unthriven creature. How then could Adam 

 Donald be like other bairns mentally or physically ? 

 The defects of his ill-compacted body prevented him 

 gaining a livelihood by hard physical labour ; and he 

 thus amongst other things took to amusing himself in 

 his earlier years with such books as chance enabled 

 him to obtain ; " and though he could scarcely read 

 the English language, yet he carefully picked up books 

 in all languages that fell in his way." Dr. Anderson 

 says he had in his possession books bought at the sale 

 of the prophet's effects after his death in French, Latin, 

 Greek, Italian, and Spanish. " He delighted chiefly 

 in large books that contained plates of any sort ; and 

 Gerard's large Herbal, with wooden cuts, might be 

 said to be his constant vade mecum, which was dis- 



