184 MY LIFE AS A NATURALIST 



the consequence is the children have to play in the stone passage 

 leading to the various flats, or in the road or pathway adjoining. 

 True, there are nice open spaces to be found for the seeking. 

 There are several in the neighbourhood of Paisley (though not 

 nearly sufficient), and near Glasgow I visited the famous Rouken 

 Glen Park, and Queen's Park. 



Whenever I see the Scotch tenement children, they appear to 

 be eating. But it is not porridge that is being stowed away so 

 much as bread and jam. There are many little " stowaways " 

 among Scotch bairns, and they must love bread and jam. In 

 consequence, their faces often betray the unmistakable trade- 

 mark of jam or marmalade ! The men folk almost invariably 

 wear caps, and smoke clay pipes with metal tops. I do not 

 know why they favour the latter, and, as my host at Langcraigs 

 is not a devotee of " the weed that cheers," he has been unable 

 to enlighten me on the subject. 



The women folk rarely wear hats, just throwing a shawl over 

 the head and shoulders. The older women look jaded and care- 

 worn. The responsibility of domestic affairs seems to be writ 

 upon their brows, yet the children appear to be dirty and mostly 

 uncared for ! This does not apply to all of them, but the majority 

 of the tenement children thus appeared to me. 



Yet, in spite of this, the boys and girls seem to be happy. 

 If making a noise is anything to go by, they are indeed in 

 happyland. 



It is interesting to watch young Scotland in the making. 

 The great game here among the working classes is bowls, and 

 the way in which the greens are kept is very pleasant to witness. 

 I was much struck one Saturday afternoon when walking to 

 Langcraigs from Paisley Centre, for I had several examples of 

 the Scotchman's love of recreation and sport. 



At Ferguslie I watched Drumpellier give a good hiding at 

 cricket to the first-named team. It is a ripping ground, the 

 haunt of cricketers in Summer, and seagulls in Winter. 



Adjoining the cricket ground there are several tennis courts, 

 which were all occupied at the time of my visit, and, not far 

 away, I witnessed a football match, and in the next ground a 

 bowls match ! Just over the road, the elite of Paisley were 

 busily engaged playing golf, and the boys in the street were 

 engaged at marbles, or " bools." I like to watch these hard- 

 handed sons of toil playing bowls. One can see at a glance the 

 Scotchman's care and shrewdness. There is nothing hasty in 



