conducted himself with the greatest propriety. It was no wonder, then,
that he became a general favourite in the family; and that, when he
carried the game-bag for the gentlemen, they purposely made long
detours, and met him again at an appointed spot, in order to give him
an hour at his book; for John always had a book in his pocket for a
spare moment. Once, indeed, this custom occasioned some annoyance to
his master, whom he had accompanied to a shooting-hut in the moors,
nicknamed 'Grouse Hall,' where the unfortunate laird was detained by
an intolerable fit of gout; a circumstance not apt to engender
patience and resignation, especially when, from the other side of the
cloth partition which divided the single apartment of the hut, he
heard bursts of laughter pealing forth in succession--for John Dickson
had managed to carry off a copy of Don Quixote to the moors.

When the younger sons of the family were sent to college in Edinburgh,
John was chosen to accompany them. Let us now see how he conducted
himself in this new and trying field; for trying it is. Country lads,
in coming to a large town, meet with many temptations, and by these,
hundreds of them fall. They cannot resist petty attractions to
amusement and misspending of time. They enjoy themselves while they
should work. They take to fun, instead of to labour. Well; to which
did our hero attach himself? To regular, hard work, to be sure. He had
the good sense to see, that here was his chance of getting on in the
world. While other lads were amusing themselves at the theatre, or
kicking their heels about the street, or hanging about the
auction-rooms in front of the college, John Dickson stuck hard to his
books. He also availed himself of other advantages connected with his
situation. The tutor of the family in which he was employed was John
Barclay, afterwards the celebrated anatomist, whose valuable museum
was bequeathed to the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, on