40 



JAMES CLERK MAXWELL. 



[CHAP. ii. 



was supposed that the devil had come after the Crea- 

 tion, with the riddlings of the universe, and had begun 

 " couping his creels " at Screels,till creel and all fell at 

 Criffel. Tor-holm, Tor-knows, Tor-brae, Paddock Hall, 

 Knock-vinney, the Doon of Urr, High Craigs of 

 Grlenlair such were some of the immediately sur- 

 rounding names, sorting well with the homely, yet 

 unusual scenery, and with the picturesque Gallo- 

 wegian dialect, which, like everything that struck the 

 boy's fancy, laid a strong and lasting hold upon his 

 mind. 



In speaking of his own childish pursuits, it is 

 impossible not to recall the ready kindliness with 

 which, in later life, he would .devote himself to the 

 amusement of children. There is no trait by which 

 he is more generally remembered by those with whom 

 he had private intercourse ; and, indeed, in this also 

 it appears that the boy was father to the man. Behold 

 him at the age of twelve, with his father's help, good- 



