Lesson!.] INTRODUCTORY NARRATIVE. 69 



day to see a gentleman ride by my father's house, (which was close by a public road,) 

 I asked him what o'clock it then was ; he looked at his watch, and then told me. As he 

 did that with so much good nature, I begged of him to show me the inside of his watch; 

 and though he was an entire stranger, he immediately opened the watch, and put it 

 into my hands. I saw the spring-box, with part of the chain round it, and asked him 

 what it was that made the box turn round ; he told me that it was turned round by a steel 

 spring within it Having then never seen any other spring than that of my father's pun- 

 lock, I asked how a spring within a box could turn the box so often round as to wind all 

 the chain upon it He answered, that the spring was long and thin ; that one end of it 

 was fastened to the axis of the box, and the other end to the inside of the box ; that the 

 axis was fixed, and the box was loose upon it. I told him I did not yet thoroughly 

 understand the matter. ' Well, my lad,' says he, 'take a long thin piece of whalebone, 

 hold one end of it fast between your finger and thumb, and wind it round your finger: 

 it will endeavour to unwind itself; and if you fix the other end of it to the inside of 

 a small hoop, and leave it to itself, it will turn the hoop round and round, and wind up 

 a thread tied to the outside of the hoop.' I thanked the gentleman, and told him I 

 understood the thing very well." 



From the scanty information he had thus acquired, Ferguson constructed a watch 

 with wooden wheels, and made the spring of whalebone, enclosing the whole in a wooden 

 case, very little larger than a teacup ; but a clumsy neighbour, while looking at it, let 

 the watch fall, and while endeavouring to pick it up, crushed it all to pieces with his foot; 

 which discouraged him so much, that he never attempted to make such another machine 

 again, especially as he felt convinced that he could never make one that would be of 

 1 use. 



strength was sufficiently restored, hs carried his globe, clock, and copies 

 of some other maps, besides that of the world, to Sir James Dunbar, of Durn, who 

 lifed about seven miles from his fulu-r's cottage. Sir James was much pleased with 

 him, and desired that he would clean his clocks, which he did; and also paint* 

 Urge globular stones that stood on the top of the gate of Sir James's house, with oil 

 colours: the one representing a terrestrial, and the other a celestial globe. WhiK- at 



uc, he was introduced to Lady Dipple, sister to Sir James, and was requested to 

 draw patterns for needle-work for her; and, soon after this, he obtained plenty of such 



\ ment from other ladies in the country ; go that he was enabled, occasionally, 

 to supply the wants of his poor father. 



'1 his astronomical observations ; and, as Sir James's house was full 



ures and prints, he en : several of them with pen and ink ; and 



severing, he was enabled, through the interest of Lady Dipple, to set up as a 



urgh. 



irph. he studied anatomy, surgery, and physic, intending t.> Ix-romea 

 physician; but a visit to his native place put these thoughts nut of his head, u 



painting, which he followed for tu irs. He w< 



ness, and commenced his astr mlirA again ; this was in 1739, the year he was 



married, a > ,t; and, we may suppose, not w 



good reason, as he and his if< lu.-.l very unhappily togethrr. It i< related, that 

 whilst Ferguson was delivering a lecture in 1770, on astmi. 



Mid upset several pieces of 1m apparatus; but he merely 

 looked at her, and said, " Ladies and gentlemen, I have the misfortune to be married 



