The Foot Race. 27 



them one by one, as he got them, upon his jacket for 

 buttons. These buttons were regularly inspected to 

 see that all was right, and, in fact, he had richer 

 buttons on, his coat than any one in the countryside. 

 They were always taken off at term-time and added 

 to his fee, that is to say, at the half-yearly paying of 

 his wages, to be spent on clothes and other small 

 necessaries. There was generally a small surplus 

 left over, which was invariably sent home to his 

 mother, who, on her part, never accepted it without 

 anxious inquiry whether it could really be spared. 



About this time David went with his master to a 

 fair, held in a small village called Darvel, in Ayrshire. 

 The sports were chiefly jumping, racing, and throwing 

 the stone. One of the races was for boys of about 

 his own age, which was then twelve years. The 

 boys had to run stripped of coat and trousers, the 

 entry-money was a shilling, and the first prize a 

 sovereign. Mr. Young said that he would pay the 

 shilling if David would run. He accepted the offer, 

 and in due time thirty boys bounded off for three 

 times round a green field. Before the first round 

 was quite finished about half a dozen had dropped 

 off; by the time the second round was ended, more 

 than half had given up, and before the winning-post 

 was gained, four only were running and all pretty 

 close together. In the end David won by about a 

 dozen yards, the other three being so close together 

 that, to use a conventional expression, they might 

 have been almost or altogether covered by a sheet. 



Upon his arrival at home, there was a consultation 

 what was to be done with his pound. His mistress 



