CHAP, xviii. " THE DUKE " CALLS. 286 



some on business, but most from curiosity. He was 

 polite to everybody. In business no man could be more 

 civil. Sometimes people called when he was busy in 

 the bakehouse. His arms and hands were covered with 

 flour ; and when the batch was in, he could not leave 

 the oven. "You see," she said, "he had pounds and 

 pounds worth o' bread i' the oven. Had he left that and 

 come out to attend the visitors, the bread wud ha' been 

 burnt, and he wud ha' lost it a'. Wha wud ha 1 paid 

 him for that ? 



" The Duke o' Argyll ca'd ae day to see the maister. 

 He was thrang wi' his batch. The maister said to the 

 Duke that he couldna see him the noo, but if he wad 

 ca' again he wad show him the fossils. The maister 

 fix'd the time. He put oot the fossils and waited for a 

 hoor ayont the time. He tell't me, ' If the Duke come, 

 take him up ta the parlour ; I've taken oot the fossils 

 and laid them on the table.' The Duke cam after the 

 maister gaed oot, and looked at the fossils, but he didna 

 stop lang. The maister was aye very particular about 

 the time he fixed for visitors to see the fossils." 



Sir George Sinclair of Thurso Castle usually brought 

 his distinguished visitors to see Dick. Sir George had 

 a great admiration for the baker. When speaking of 

 his first visit to him, Sir George said : " I had myself 

 attended many courses of lectures at the Edinburgh 

 University, and had acquired some knowledge of the 

 various departments of Natural History ; but, in con- 

 ferring with my friend Dick, I soon discovered that all 

 my acquirements were shallow and superficial. On 



