SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR S LIFE. 7 



have those dear years ! We find few written records 

 of them too. They were too early for our best 

 working-class autobiographers, Hugh Miller and 

 Soinerville. When John Younger' s autobiography 

 is given to the world we will have the right idea how 

 the poorer families fared. His share in it was not 

 small, for he had nearly perished from the long want 

 of sufficient sustenance. He has described himself 

 as the member of the family, who, with his natural 

 shiftiness, was selected to seek credit at the corn 

 mills in the neighbourhood where meal was sold. 

 When he had procured a supply he set off at full 

 speed (for he knew the household was at the starving 

 point), running over the dreary fields with the pock 

 under his arm. Temptation would assail him, and 

 he would untwist the neck of the bag, and gulp down 

 with hungry hurry the dry meal, and then, lest he 

 should be tempted again, he would twirl up the neck 

 beyond ready reach, and run with additional speed. 

 What a picture of the times is here presented ! The 

 Scottish people may well cherish the memory of 

 the period with pride, for they endured the trial 

 nobly. The sensitiveness as to accepting parochial 

 relief even survived the crisis. John Younger' s 

 account may enable even statesmen to compare 

 the different ways in which the Scotch and the 



