50 The Naturalist of Cumbrae. 



limestone, to uncover the limestone for the operations 

 of the quarrymen. The soil had to be wheeled away 

 in barrows to a distance of about thirty yards. This 

 length was divided into three stages. One man filled 

 the barrow, another took it the first ten yards, another 

 the next ten, and a fourth the remainder. The object 

 of this arrangement was to prevent any waste of time 

 between the filling of a barrow and the emptying of 

 it. As David's hands had become much softened at 

 weaving, by the end of the first day of the new work 

 there were several blisters on them. It was the 

 custom at such places, when a new hand was en- 

 gaged, for all the workmen to do their utmost to 

 overload and oppress him so as to force him to leave. 

 In the case of a young hand they often gained their 

 point. 



By the end of the third day all David's fingers on 

 both hands were a mass of sore blisters. In the 

 morning, and after meal times, freshly taking hold of 

 the barrow was, he found, like taking hold of a red 

 hot iron, leaving the handle of the barrow marked 

 with blood. After the first pressure the pain, how- 

 ever, became much less. But the more his sufferings 

 were seen, the more he was loaded, especially by a 

 big soft navvy, when it was his turn to fill the barrow, 

 for all the men changed places once between each 

 meal. There were occasional hints that David might 

 last out till Saturday, while some were willing to 

 bet that Friday would not see him on the ground. 

 These remarks only determined him the more not to 

 give in. He had had blistered hands before without 

 stopping work on that account. Saturday night came, 



