The Highland monthly - National Library of Scotland

Social Life of the Borders. 305
THE SOCIAL LIFE AND LITERATURE
OF THE BORDERS.
ONE
By Dr AITKEN.
of the most strikini^ figures in Border literature
is John Leydcn, the son of a small farmer, born at
the picturesque valle}' of Denholm on the Te\iot. Gaining
his preliminary education with difficult}', he was sent to
Edinburgh to qualify for the ministr\-. There the lad was
at first distinguished by his ungainh' manner, and his lo\e
of learning, and when he first stood up to read his Greek
€xerci.^, his dress, harsh \oice, and broad provincial Teviot-
dale accent fairl}- overcame both Professor and students.
But, underneath this uncouth exterior there were genuine
qualities, and a consuming desire for knowledge. Intensely
interested in philolog}', he made himself, in addition to the
learned languages, familiar \'ith French, Spanish, Italian,
German, Icelandic, Hebrew, Arabic, and Persian. In
science also and mathematics he was equally devoted, and
to those who objected to a want of concentration in his
when you ha\e the
studies he used to answer, " Man I
scaffolding read}' }-ou can run up the masonry when }'ou
please!" and the ad\'antage of his following this maxim
bore good fruit afterwards. At last, he qualified for the
ministry, but in this, the first object of his ambition, he was
not satisfied. As a child he had read the " Arabian Nights,"
and the impression made upon his mind was never removed.
His imagination, fired also b}- the traxels of Mungo Park,
who- came from the same district, awoke again the slumber-
ing desire to visit the Kast. The only possible way of
doing this was by becoming an assistant surgeon, and in
20