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Vadim V. Silberschmidt is Chair of Mechanics of Materials and Head of the Mechanics of Advanced Materials
Research Group, Loughborough University, United Kingdom. He was appointed to the Chair of Mechanics of Materials
at the Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at Loughborough University, United Kingdom in
2000. Prior to this, he was a Senior Researcher at the Institute A for Mechanics at Technische Universität München in
Germany. Educated in the USSR, he worked at the Institute of Continuous Media Mechanics and Institute for
Geosciences [both—the USSR (later—Russian) Academy of Sciences]. In 199394, he worked as a visiting researcher,
Fellow of the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation at Institute for Structure Mechanics DLR (German Aerospace
Association), Braunschweig, Germany. In 201114, he was Associate Dean (Research). He is a Charted Engineer,
Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and Institute of Physics, where he also chaired Applied Mechanics
Group in 200811. He serves as Editor-in-Chief (EiC) of the Elsevier book series on Mechanics of Advanced
Materials. He is also EiC, associate editor, and/or serves on the board of a number of renowned journals. He has
coauthored four research monographs and over 550 peer-reviewed scientific papers on mechanics and micromechanics
of deformation, damage, and fracture in advanced materials under various conditions.
Thomas Böhlke is Professor and Chair of Continuum Mechanics at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT),
Germany. He previously held professorial positions at the University of Kassel and at the Otto-von-Guericke
University, Magdeburg, Germany. His research interests include FE-based multiscale methods, homogenization of
elastic, brittle-elastic, and visco-plastic material properties, mathematical description of microstructures, and
localization and failure mechanisms. He has authored over 130 peer-reviewed papers and has authored or coauthored
two monographs.
David L. McDowell is Regents’ Professor and Carter N. Paden, Jr. Distinguished Chair in Metals Processing at Georgia
Tech University, United States. He joined Georgia Tech in 1983 and holds a dual appointment in the GWW School of
Mechanical Engineering and the School of Materials Science and Engineering. He served as the Director of the
Mechanical Properties Research Laboratory from 1992 to 2012. In 2012 he was named Founding Director of the
Institute for Materials (IMat), one of Georgia Tech’s Interdisciplinary Research Institutes charged with fostering an
innovation ecosystem for research and education. He has served as Executive Director of IMat since 2013. His research
focuses on nonlinear constitutive models for engineering materials, including cellular metallic materials, nonlinear and
time-dependent fracture mechanics, finite strain inelasticity and defect field mechanics, distributed damage evolution,
constitutive relations, and microstructure-sensitive computational approaches to deformation and damage of
heterogeneous alloys, combined computational and experimental strategies for modeling high cycle fatigue in advanced
engineering alloys, atomistic simulations of dislocation nucleation and mediation at grain boundaries, multiscale
computational mechanics of materials ranging from atomistics to continuum, and system-based computational materials
design. A Fellow of SES, ASM International, ASME, and AAM, he is the recipient of the 1997 ASME Materials
Division Nadai Award for career achievement and the 2008 Khan International Medal for lifelong contributions to the
field of metal plasticity. He currently serves on the editorial boards of several journals and is coeditor of the
International Journal of Fatigue.
Zhong Chen is a Professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University,
Singapore. In March 2000, he joined Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore as an Assistant Professor
and has since been promoted to Associate Professor and Professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering.
Since joining NTU, he has graduated 30 PhD students and 5 MEng students. He has also supervised over 200
undergraduate research projects (FYP, URECA, etc.). His research interest includes (1) coatings and engineered
nanostructures for clean energy, environmental, microelectronic, and other functional surface applications and (2)
mechanical behavior of materials, encompassing mechanics and fracture mechanics of bulk, composite and thin film
materials, materials joining, and experimental and computational mechanics of materials. He has served as an editor/
editorial board member for eight academic journals. He has also served as a reviewer for more than 70 journals and a
number of research funding agencies including the European Research Council (ERC). He is an author of over 300
peer-reviewed journal papers.
Elsevier Series in Mechanics of Advanced
Materials
Mechanics of Materials in
Modern Manufacturing
Methods and Processing
Techniques
Edited by
Vadim V. Silberschmidt
Wolfson School of Mechanical,
Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering,
Loughborough University,
Loughborough, United Kingdom
Elsevier
Radarweg 29, PO Box 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, United Kingdom
50 Hampshire Street, 5th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
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Notices
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Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN: 978-0-12-818232-1
3 Mechanics of hydroforming 71
Christoph Hartl
3.1 Introduction 71
3.2 Modeling of plastic deformation in tube hydroforming 74
3.2.1 Rotationally symmetrical tube expansion 74
3.2.2 Hydroforming of polygonal cross sections 81
3.2.3 Hydroforming of tube branches 85
3.3 Determination of forming limits in tube hydroforming 89
3.3.1 Necking and bursting 89
3.3.2 Wrinkling and buckling 95
3.4 Design of loading paths 98
3.5 Conclusion 101
References 102
Index 445
This page intentionally left blank
List of contributors
Maik Linnemann Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology,
Chemnitz, Germany
J.C. Outeiro Arts & Metiers Institute of Technology, Campus of Cluny, Cluny,
France
Verena Psyk Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology,
Chemnitz, Germany
Editor-in-Chief
Vadim V. Silberschmidt is Chair of Mechanics of Materials and Head of the
Mechanics of Advanced Materials Research Group, Loughborough University,
United Kingdom. He was appointed to the Chair of Mechanics of Materials at the
Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at Loughborough
University, United Kingdom in 2000. Prior to this, he was a Senior Researcher at
the Institute A for Mechanics at Technische Universität München in Germany.
Educated in the USSR, he worked at the Institute of Continuous Media Mechanics
and Institute for Geosciences [both—the USSR (later—Russian) Academy of
Sciences]. In 199394, he worked as a visiting researcher, Fellow of the
Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation at Institute for Structure Mechanics DLR
(German Aerospace Association), Braunschweig, Germany. In 201114, he was
Associate Dean (Research). He is a Charted Engineer, Fellow of the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers and Institute of Physics, where he also chaired Applied
Mechanics Group in 200811. He serves as Editor-in-Chief (EiC) of the Elsevier
book series on Mechanics of Advanced Materials. He is also EiC, associate editor,
and/or serves on the board of a number of renowned journals. He has coauthored
four research monographs and over 550 peer-reviewed scientific papers on mechan-
ics and micromechanics of deformation, damage, and fracture in advanced materials
under various conditions.
Series editors
David L. McDowell is Regents’ Professor and Carter N. Paden, Jr. Distinguished
Chair in Metals Processing at Georgia Tech University, United States. He joined
Georgia Tech in 1983 and holds a dual appointment in the GWW School of
Mechanical Engineering and the School of Materials Science and Engineering. He
served as the Director of the Mechanical Properties Research Laboratory from 1992
to 2012. In 2012 he was named Founding Director of the Institute for Materials
(IMat), one of Georgia Tech’s Interdisciplinary Research Institutes charged with
fostering an innovation ecosystem for research and education. He has served as
Executive Director of IMat since 2013. His research focuses on nonlinear constitu-
tive models for engineering materials, including cellular metallic materials, nonlin-
ear and time-dependent fracture mechanics, finite strain inelasticity and defect field
mechanics, distributed damage evolution, constitutive relations, and microstructure-
sensitive computational approaches to deformation and damage of heterogeneous
alloys, combined computational and experimental strategies for modeling high
xviii About the Series editors
1.1 Introduction
Manufacturing of a product by plastic deformation of metals has been performed
for ages. Plastic deformation can be accomplished with or without heating the
metal. Accordingly, two broad categories of metal forming processes are hot metal-
working and cold metalworking. A more refined classification includes warm met-
alworking in between hot and cold metalworking. In most of the metal forming
processes, deformation is carried out by the application of a mechanical load; the
role of heat is limited to reducing the flow stress (required to start the plastic defor-
mation of the metal). However, there are processes, where the plastic deformation
is achieved by the heat alone; an example is laser bending, where a sheet is bent by
laser irradiation that creates a sufficient amount of thermal stresses to bend the
sheet [1].
Based on raw material, desired final product and metal flow pattern, the metal
forming processes are classified into bulk and sheet metal forming processes. Bulk
metal forming processes deform high volume-to-surface area ratio raw materials
resulting in a change of surface area. In the sheet metal forming processes, the raw
material has a low volume-to-surface area ratio, and material deformation does not
intend to change the surface area implying that the sheet thickness remains more or
less unaltered. Recently, another category, namely, sheet-bulk metal forming has
been introduced [2]. In sheet-bulk metal forming processes, the bulk deformation of
sheet is carried out that invariably brings out the intended changes in the thickness
as well. Some examples of bulk metal forming are forging, rolling, extrusion, and
wire drawing. Sheet metal forming processes include deep drawing, bending, and
spinning [3]. Coining, flow forming, and ironing are examples of sheet-bulk metal
forming.
Modeling of metal forming started since the beginning of the 20th century [4].
Initial attempts were directed to estimate the load required for plastic deformation.
Prominent methods were slip-line field method, slab method, and upper bound
method. These methods involved several assumptions and were incapable of provid-
ing detailed information about stressstrain distribution in the material. The tech-
nique of visioplasticity was introduced in the late 1950s to get detailed information
about the deformation. In a visioplasticity method a time-dependent velocity field is
Mechanics of Materials in Modern Manufacturing Methods and Processing Techniques.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-818232-1.00001-1
Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 Mechanics of Materials in Modern Manufacturing Methods and Processing Techniques
calculated based on a series of photographs of a grid pattern on the metal being pro-
cessed. Analytical and/or numerical techniques are used to estimate the stress
strain distribution and other derivative information. The decade 195060 saw the
emergence of finite element method (FEM). A number of articles were published in
the 1970s and 1980s on the modeling of metal forming processes. These methods
were perfected in the 1990s, and nowadays, there are several commercial FEM
packages dedicated to modeling of metal forming processes. Since the last two dec-
ades, there have been attempts to develop advanced FEM techniques and several
meshless methods. However, the requirement of huge computational time is a hin-
drance in the popularization of these methods.
Some developments have taken place in carrying out microstructural modeling
of metal forming processes. Classical plasticity theory could account for distinct
material behavior based on microstructural features. Molecular dynamics simula-
tions (MDSs) and crystal plasticity are two recently developed methods for realistic
simulation of metal forming processes, particularly for modeling of microforming.
However, these methods are still at a nascent stage of development for solving
metal forming problems, and there are several computational difficulties to be
overcome.
This chapter provides an overview of modeling of well-known metal forming
processes. Capabilities and limitations of various modeling techniques are
highlighted. Finally, the directions for further research are provided.
1.2.1 Forging
Forging is a process of plastically deforming the metal by pressing and hammering.
It may be performed in cold, warm, or hot state of the metal. There are mainly two
types of forging processes: (1) open die or free forging and (2) closed die or
impression die forging. Open die forging is the process of deforming the metal
between multiple dies that do not completely enclose the material. It is often
Modeling of metal forming: a review 3
employed to preform material for subsequent metal forming. There are several dif-
ferent types of open die forging processes. Fig. 1.1 shows schematic diagrams of
three types of open die forging—upset forging or upsetting, cogging, and orbital or
rotary forging. In upsetting the complete or partial portion of the workpiece is com-
pressed between a fixed die and moving ram in order to increase the cross section
of the desired portion. In Fig. 1.1A, a rod is being upset forged to make a head. In
Fig. 1.1B, cogging process is being carried out in order to make a stepped bar. It is
basically an incremental forming; a portion of the workpiece is compressed between
the dies, dies retract, and the workpiece is advanced axially for next compression
operation. Fig. 1.1C depicts upsetting of a workpiece by orbital forging. Here the
lower die is fixed. The upper die rotates about an axis slightly inclined to work-
piece-axis; hence, at a time it compresses only a small portion of the workpiece.
This is also an incremental forming and load requirement gets reduced.
In the closed die forging or impression die forging, metal is compressed in the
enclosed dies. In this process the metal is fully compacted to acquire the shape gov-
erned by the die cavities. Excess material comes out as flash and is trimmed.
Die
Force
Ram
Workpiece
Gripping die Workpiece Force
(A) (B)
2° Upper die
Workpiece
Lower die
(C)
Figure 1.1 Open die forging: (A) upsetting, (B) cogging, (C) orbital forging.
4 Mechanics of Materials in Modern Manufacturing Methods and Processing Techniques
Force
Moving die
Flash
Workpiece
Fixed die
Usually, the mass of flash can be as much as 20%. Fig. 1.2 shows a schematic of
closed die forging with flash generation. Flash-less forging is also possible but
requires a careful tooling design.
In forging process, strain rate may lie in the range 10231022 s21, depending
on whether it is press forging or hammer forging. In the cold forging the effective
Coulomb’s coefficient of friction ranges from 0.05 to 0.15 and 0.1 to 0.5 in hot
forging. In most of the cases, Coulomb’s friction model is inappropriate. Frictional
behavior may change from sticking to sliding while moving outwardly from center
in a direction normal to the load.
Estimation of forging load has been the focus of attention in forging. Another
interest is to find outflow patterns in order to design dies. Forging process suffers
from various defects that need to be controlled. Surface cracking may occur due to
thermomechanical effects. Poor material flow may cause folding or overlapping of
one region of metal onto another causing cold shut. It may also result in underfill-
ing of die cavities. Surface may get roughened due to the deformation of coarse
grains, which is called orange peel defect. Although forging load estimation techni-
ques are sufficiently refined, prediction of defects is still a challenging task.
The simplest open die forging, namely upsetting is often used as a benchmark test
for studying the material and friction behavior. In a typical compression test the spec-
imen is compressed between two lubricated platens to find out the deformation
behavior of metals. In a ring compression test a hollow cylinder specimen is com-
pressed between two plates and friction is estimated based on the change in the hole
diameter. In the cylindrical specimen of a ring compression test, typically the hole
diameter is half of the outer diameter and height is one-third the outer diameter.
1.2.2 Rolling
Rolling shapes materials by passing it between counterrotating rolls. It has been in
wide use since the 14th century. In this process, slabs, billets, blooms, or rods are
Modeling of metal forming: a review 5
Back tension
Front tension
Strip
Work-roll
Backup-roll
rolled into plates, sheets, strips, rods, and tubes. The profiles can also be produced
by rolling. Because of the limitation of the maximum possible reduction in one
pass, usually multipass rolls with a number of stands in series are employed. This is
called tandem rolling and is schematically depicted in Fig. 1.3. It has three stands;
in each stand, there are two work-rolls and two backup rolls to prevent work-roll
deflection. Rolling can be employed with or without front and back tensions.
Rolling process looks deceptively simple. However, a realistic simulation needs
to focus on the following three complex tasks:
1. proper elasticplastic modeling of the material to be processed,
2. modeling of friction behavior with a proper assessment of neutral zone in which the direc-
tion of frictional stresses changes from facilitating the movement of the material to oppos-
ing it, and
3. application of elasticity theory for estimating the roll flattening and roll deflection.
A proper model of rolling process estimates the roll torque, roll separating force,
and roll pressure distribution accurately. The common defects in rolling process are
edge cracking, wavy edge, central burst, and alligatoring. Edge cracking refers to
cracking at the edges of the rolled products and occurs because of nonhomogeneous
deformation due to wrong design of rolls or improper management of friction.
Wavy edge occurs mainly because of roll deflection. Due to nonuniform roll gap,
edges tend to elongate more than the center. To maintain continuity, edges get com-
pressed and produce a wavy pattern. Central burst is a ductile fracture that initiates
from a void at the center. In alligatoring a crack forms along the central plane and
splits the ends. Excessive front or back tension may cause the tearing of the sheet.
Many times, rolling process is employed for improving the material properties.
Asymmetric sheet rolling, in which the surface speed of rolls or friction differs on
the two sides of the sheet, has been used to improve the microstructure [5,6]. In
temper or skin-pass rolling, 0.5%4% reduction in the sheet thickness is carried
out to provide a degree of hardening to sheet, to prevent stretcher strains or Lüders
band, and to improve the surface integrity of the sheet [7]. Accumulative roll bond-
ing is a severe deformation process [8]. In this process a sheet is passed between
two counterrotating cylinders to impart 50% reduction to it. Elongated sheet is cut
into two pieces of equal length and stacked together to make it of same dimension
6 Mechanics of Materials in Modern Manufacturing Methods and Processing Techniques
as the original sheet. It is further passed through the roll to impart 50% reduction.
The procedure is repeated several times, which results in properly bonded thin
stacked sheets with a large accumulated strain. With this procedure, grain size gets
reformed, and strength gets improved.
Af
Ai Die
lubricant is coated on the wire before entering the die. In the wet drawing, die and
wire are submerged in the lubricants. It is also important to control the residual
stresses in the wire by proper design of the die and process. Recently dieless draw-
ing of wires and tubes is also gaining importance [10].
1.2.4 Extrusion
In extrusion process the raw material is compressed through a die to reduce the
cross-sectional area of the material or to generate special profile of the cross sec-
tion. Theoretically, there is no limit to the maximum possible reduction in extru-
sion. The extrusion can be performed in cold, warm, or hot state of the metal.
There are a lot of variants of the extrusion process. In the forward or direct
extrusion the metal flows in the direction of ram motion. Fig. 1.5 shows a sche-
matic diagram of the process. To avoid sticking of ram with raw material, a dummy
block is inserted in between. Movement of material through the container causes a
lot of friction between the container wall and raw material. To alleviate this prob-
lem, backward or indirect extrusion is used, in which the ram and extruded material
move in different directions as shown in Fig. 1.6; however, the ram needs to be hol-
low, which weakens it. In lateral extrusion, material flows sideways, usually per-
pendicular to ram motion; it helps to reduce the frictional losses. A schematic
diagram is shown in Fig. 1.7, where lateral extrusion is taking place from both
sides, but it can take place from one side as well. In impact extrusion, material is
extruded with the impact force of the ram. Fig. 1.8 shows a schematic of impact
extrusion used to make a thin-walled tube open at one end. In hydrostatic extrusion
(Fig. 1.9) the raw material is placed in a sealed chamber containing liquid and a
moving ram pressurizes the liquid; the raw material is forward extruded by the pres-
sure of the liquid. Hydrostatic extrusion reduces the friction and also enhances the
ductility of the raw material. In the multi-hole extrusion (Fig. 1.10) the die has
more than one opening, causing more than one product to be extruded
Force
Extruded rod
Flow lines
Die
Ram
Workpiece
Container
Load
Ram
Dummy block
Container
Workpiece
Die hoder
Extruded part
simultaneously. Multihole extrusion reduces the extrusion force, but improper die
design can lead to poor mechanical properties [11].
Prominent defects in extrusion are piping, surface cracking, and internal crack-
ing. In the piping defect, also known as fishtailing, tailpipe, or extrusion defect,
metal flow tends to draw surface oxide and impurities toward the center of the
product like a funnel. It occurs at the end of the extruded product and can be elimi-
nated by controlling the flow pattern or using a proper dummy block. Surface
cracking occurs due to thermal stresses and friction. Internal cracks are in the form
Modeling of metal forming: a review 9
Load
Workpiece
Ram
Die
Container Die
Force
Ram
Extruded part
Fluid Workpiece
of chevron cracking or central burst; high die angles and low reduction promote
this defect [12].
Apart from forming a desired shape, extrusion is also used for improving the
microstructure and mechanical properties of the product. Equal-channel angular
extrusion (ECAE), invented by Segal in 1972, is widely used for producing ultra-
fine grained structures due to dynamic recrystallization (DRX) [1315]. Other
names for ECAE are equal-channel angular forging and equal-channel angular
pressing. Fig. 1.11 depicts a schematic of ECAE. Here a billet is passed through
two equal sized channels intersecting at an angle ϕ, which induces a lot of shear in
the billet; however, the final size of the billet remains the same as before. The billet
again passes through the cannels to undergo further straining. After several passes
through the channels, the billet gets heavily strained, and its grain sized is
10 Mechanics of Materials in Modern Manufacturing Methods and Processing Techniques
Load
Ram
Dummy Block
Workpiece
Container
Multiple-hole die
Die holder
Extruded
product
Force
Billet
Die
j
significantly refined resulting in the enhancement of its strength and sometimes the
ductility as well.
CHAPTER I
“Why, Geordie, man!” cried Sandie, “is it as bad as that with you?”
Geordie sprang up as if shot, and grew as red as a beet. He tried to hide
the slate.
“Don’t trouble, Geordie; I’ve read it all, and really there is an anguish
displayed in the first line of that last verse that is quite touching.
You come to a splendid climax with that last Tibbie. Shall I show it to
my friend Willie?”
“Losh! man, no!”
“Or to Tibbie herself?”
“Loshie me! man, what can ye be thinkin’ o’?”
“But, Geordie, you don’t mean to say that verses containing so much
sweetness and pathos as these are going to waste their sweetness in the
desert air? I question if Bobbie Burns himself would have written anything
like them.”
Geordie blushed again, and after much persuasion he agreed to write
them out—when Sabbath came round—and permit Sandie to present them.
“Of course,” said Sandie, somewhat mischievously, “when I give Tibbie
the poem, I will just brush the dew from her lips.”
“Oh, weel,” said Geordie resignedly, “I canna help that. You’ll do as you
like about it.”
The dinner-hour in the hairst (harvest) field was the most delightful of
all. The somewhat weary workers lay on the ground, or leant their backs
against the stocks. Mrs. M‘Crae herself, with Elsie and Geordie, brought the
dinner, and there was no want of appetite. The milk was of the creamiest,
the mashed potatoes like snow, the oatcakes crisp and delicious, and the
herrings done to a turn. Then there was curds and cream by way of dessert,
to say nothing of “swack” cheese, and potato-scones to finish up with.
The happy harvesters felt like giants refreshed, and there would still be
half-an-hour to rest.
That half-hour, however, was not spent in drowsy listlessness or sleep
itself. No, for the laugh and the joke went round; then Willie or Sandie
would always raise a song, a song with a chorus, and it was sweet to hear
the girlish voices of Tibbie and Jeannie chiming musically in with this
chorus.
Willie would have been nobody if he couldn’t have indulged in his joke,
and there was one song he sang, the chorus of which, it will be admitted,
was very witty indeed—that is, if brevity be the soul of wit.
Every line ended with the words—
Chorus—“Plaidie awa!”
But the song made everybody laugh all the same, and so some
considerable good was accomplished by it.
. . . . . .
As far as the weather was concerned, the harvest was a delightful one,
for the sun shone brightly every day, and there blew a gentle breeze to help
to dry and “win” the corn.
As a crop, too, the yield was average, so Farmer M‘Crae was hopeful
and happy.
Then came the day when “kliack” would be taken, that is, when the last
or kliack sheaf would be cut.
As they neared the last “bout” cried Sandie, “Look out now, Geordie, for
the kliack hare!”
It is very strange, but true, that a hare very frequently starts off from the
last “bout” of corn that is cut on the harvest-field. This time was no
exception.
A splendid long brown-legged beast darted off for the woods.
Up to his shoulder went Geordie’s old gun.
Bang!
The echo rang back from the woods, and went reverberating away
among the rocky hills, but puss was intact. She gave her heels an extra kick,
took to the forest, and was seen no more.
So the hare was declared to be a witch, and no more was said about it.
But now comes Elsie herself, and Willie runs to meet her and lead her
forward by the hand. Right bonnie she looks in her dress of silken green
with poppies in her hair.
She has come to cut the kliack sheaf. Right deftly she does it too, and
binds it also with her own fair fingers.
Then cheers arise, three times three, that seem to make the welkin ring.
Harvest is done, kliack is taken, and every heart rejoices.
By-and-bye, when the stooking is quite finished, all march merrily
home.
Now, mark you this, reader, no vinous stimulant of any kind has been
used while harvest work was in progress.
But now, in the kitchen, all hands, each with a spoon, surround a big
table on which stands an immense basin of what is called meal and ale. I
will tell you its composition: about half a gallon of oatmeal, mixed with
good ale, sweetened with syrup, and fortified with a pint of the best Scotch
whisky.
And hark! somewhere in that dish was Mrs. M‘Crae’s marriage-ring. So
every mouthful had to be carefully examined by the tongue previous to
swallowing, and the person who was lucky enough to find that ring would
be married before the year was out.
When all this strange dish of brose was finished, and everybody averred
he or she had seen nothing of the ring, everybody began to cast suspicious
glances at everybody else.
But at long and last, noticing a strange light in Geordie’s eyes, Sandie
jumped up, and seizing him by one ear, pulled it till the rustic poet’s eyes
began to water.
“You’ve got it, Geordie! You’ve got it!”
Then, blushing like a beggar at a “bap” or a bun, Geordie confessed.
Everybody shook hands with him, and he felt the happiest man in all the
parish.
But greater happiness still was in store for Geordie.
After the meal and ale, in some sly way or other, Sandie succeeded in
obtaining private audience of winsome Tibbie.
“I’ve something to show you, Tibbie,” said Sandie.
“Nae possible!” said the artless lassie.
“Ah! but it’s fact. Geordie Black is in love with you, and he wrote you
these beautiful verses. Come nearer and I’ll read them.”
“Nae possible!” said Tibbie.
While he slowly, and with much emotion, read these verses, Sandie
encircled Tibbie’s waist with one arm.
I am not quite certain that this was necessary.
Tibbie blushed as Sandie read.
“Now,” said Sandie, “I’ll let you have them to keep for a kiss.”
“Nae possible!” said Tibbie. But the bargain was concluded all the same.
Next evening all the lads and lasses in the countryside gathered at
Kilbuie to the kliack-ball, and if Geordie danced once that evening with
artless Tibbie, he danced with her fifty times.
Geordie was in the third heaven.
Tibbie was kind.
CHAPTER II
For the life of him the douce Provost could not help laughing, as they
went filing past his carriage.
Willie went with Sandie to his attic, and Sandie’s little busybody of a
landlady placed before them a delicious supper of mashed potatoes, stewed
tripe, and fragrant coffee.
“Glad we’ve got safe home,” said Sandie. “Aren’t you, Willie?”
“Oh, delighted, but I must say I enjoyed myself immensely. That bonfire
was a beauty. I hope my dear old father won’t catch cold. And the soldiers
will have nothing to do, if they do come, but drown out the dying embers of
the fire.”
. . . . . .
The great prize of sixty pounds, tenable for two years, was to be
competed for at the end of the present session. There were in reality two,
one for Greek, the other for higher mathematics, but it was to the latter
Sandie determined to bend all his energies, as he thought the competition
would not here be so great.
Next to Sandie, if not indeed superior in this branch of the curriculum,
was a Highland student of the name of Maclean, with whom I must now
make the reader better acquainted.
Sandie, by the way, had made quite enough at the herring-fishing to
render him independent of his dunderheaded pupil for one session at least;
and for this he felt he could not be too thankful.
Maclean and he one day, while sauntering arm-in-arm along Union
Street, deep in the mysteries of x + y, entered into a compact to study
together. One evening it was to be in Sandie’s garret, and the next in
Maclean’s diggings, as he termed his lodgings.
The first grind took place in our hero’s attic. At one o’clock, when both
parted for the night, they each agreed that the evening had been most
profitably spent.
Next night, at eight o’clock, Sandie, after some difficulty, found his way
to Maclean’s door. The house in which the lodgings were was a somewhat
cheap and unsavoury thoroughfare off George Street.
The stairs were sadly rickety, the house itself was not a sweet one. From
a room on the ground-floor issued the scraping of a vile old fiddle,
accompanied by the scuffling of feet, and every now and then an eldritch
shriek of laughter. But Sandie went onwards and upwards, and on the top
floor of all a door was suddenly thrown open, and Maclean held out his
hand to welcome him in.
A great oil lamp was burning on a table at one end of the long room.
This lamp served for heat and light both, for there was no fire. In fact, these
students—of whom there were four in all living in this one room—could
not afford fire except to cook.
“You are right welcome, Mr. M‘Crae,” said Maclean.
Then he pointed to another young man who sat book in hand by the
table.
“My brother,” he said; “he is at the grammar-school, but he won’t disturb
us. Now,” he continued, “look around you, and I’ll put you up to our
domestic economy and household arrangements. To begin with, you know
we are all as poor as rats, though all bursars, and we all mean to study for
the Church, or to be teachers at least. Yonder, in that bed, are the brothers
Macleod. They come from our parish. Well, you see, they go to bed—we
only have one—at seven and sleep till one. My brother and I study till one,
then we have the bed and they begin their studies, though often enough they
curl up in their plaids and have a few more hours on the floor.”
“Yes, I understand, and I don’t blame them.”
“Well, we have no landlady. The few sticks of furniture you see are all
hired, except the frying-pan and other cooking utensils. These we bought.
We are not going to invite you to dinner, Mr. M‘Crae, because our fare is
far too meagre.
“You see those barrels? Well, two contain herrings, salt and red, one
contains nice oatmeal, and the small one pease-flour. And with the addition
of milk that is brought to us every morning, and now and then an egg, and a
bit of butter, with always a nice sheep’s head and trotters on Sunday, I can
assure you we live like fighting-cocks. Don’t we, Donal?”
“That we do,” said Donal, looking smilingly up from Xenophon’s
Anabasis.
And poor though an Englishman would consider fare like this, it must be
confessed that the two Macleans were as hard and brown as hazel-nuts upon
it.
“And now then, my friend, if you are ready, let us begin the grind.”
And the “grind” was commenced accordingly. And hardly did those
earnest plodding students lift head except to address each other in low
monotones, till forth from the great steeple of the East Church peeled the
solemn stroke of one.
Then Maclean closed his books with a bang and jumped joyfully up.
“Turn out the Macleods,” he shouted as loud as he could. “One o’clock,
my hearties. Turn out! Turn out! There, Donal! pull the blankets off them
while I see Mr. M‘Crae safely down the rickety old stairs.”
He lit match after match for this purpose.
“Don’t lean on the bannisters,” he said, “else over you go.”
Sandie was safe in the street at last, and bade his friend good-night, just
as every watchman in the city with stentorian lungs was bawling—
“Past one! Pa-a-ast one-n-n,” with a long ringing musical emphasis on
the “n” of the one.
Sandie went homewards happy enough, and just a little tired and sleepy,
but he had found out one truth, namely, that poor though he himself might
be, he was not, by a long way, the poorest student at the great Northern
University.
Sandie and his friend Maclean kept up their mathematical studies
together in the most friendly way till the very last day. Everybody knew that
the prize lay between these two hard-working students, and it came to pass
that when the day of competition arrived at last, and Sandie and Maclean
found their way to the class-room where the papers were to be given out,
they only found two other opponents there, and both left within an hour
without handing in a paper.
The Professor looked up from his desk and smiled.
“When Greek meets Greek,” he said, “then comes the tug of war.”
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER IV