22 DICK A JOURNEYMAN. CHAF. in. 



I daresay I might pick up a plant or a stone with very 

 different feelings from those I felt in the days of old. 

 But let them go ! There is no use in repining." 



Again, when writing to a fellow botanist, who 

 doubted whether Digitalis purpurea was a native of 

 Caithness, he said, " I have seen more of the plant in 

 Caithness than I ever saw about Stirling, Alloa, or on 

 the Ochil hills, more than I ever saw in the woods of 

 Tullibody." 



Eobert Dick found a journeyman's situation at Leith, 

 where he remained for six months. His life there was 

 composed of the usual round of getting up early in the 

 morning, kneading, baking, and going about the streets 

 with his basket on his head, delivering bread to the cus- 

 tomers. It was a lonely life ; and the more lonely, as he 

 was far away from Nature and the hills that he loved. 



From Leith he went to Glasgow, and afterwards to 

 Greenock. He was a journeyman baker for about three 

 years. His wages were small ; his labour was heavy ; 

 and he did not find that he was making much progress. 

 He continued to correspond with his father, and told 

 him of his position. The father said, " Come to Thurso, 

 and set up a baker's shop here." There were then only 

 three bakers' shops in the whole county of Caithness, 

 one at Thurso, one at Castleton, and another at Wick. 



In that remote district " baker's bread " had scarcely 

 come into fashion. The people there lived chiefly on 

 oatmeal and bere,* oatmeal porridge and cakes, and 



* Bere or bar (Norwegian) a commoner kind of barley. 

 " I sing the juice Scotch bear can make us. " BURNS. 



