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How to be
good at
maths
 T O
1

H
+

÷
W L
5 1

×
5g

90°

0°
How to be
good at
maths
Peter Clarke, Caroline Clissold, Cherri Moseley
Editorial consultant Peter Clarke

Senior editor Peter Frances
Senior art editor Mabel Chan
Editors Shaila Brown, Salima Hirani,
Sarah MacLeod, Steve Setford, Rona Skene
Designers Tannishtha Chakraborty,
Louise Dick, Alison Gardner, Mik Gates,
Tessa Jordens, Shahid Mahmood,
Peter Radcliffe, Mary Sandberg, Jacqui Swan,
Steve Woosnam-Savage
Illustrator Acute Graphics
Managing editors Lisa Gillespie, Paula Regan
Managing art editor Owen Peyton Jones
Senior producer, pre-production
Nikoleta Parasaki
Senior producer Mary Slater
Jacket editor Claire Gell
Jacket designers Mark Cavanagh,
Dhirendra Singh
Senior DTP designer Harish Aggarwal
Managing jackets editor Saloni Singh
Design development manager Sophia MTT
Publisher Andrew Macintyre
Art director Karen Self
Design director Phil Ormerod
Publishing director Jonathan Metcalf
First published in Great Britain in 2016 by
Dorling Kindersley Limited
80 Strand, London, WC2R 0RL
Copyright © 2016 Dorling Kindersley Limited
A Penguin Random House Company
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
001–192676–July/2016
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in or introduced into a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form, or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise), without the prior
written permission of the copyright owner.
A CIP catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-0-2411-8598-8
Printed and bound in China
A WORLD OF IDEAS:
SEE ALL THERE IS TO KNOW
www.dk.com
Contents
Foreword ..................................7
1
Numbers
Number symbols.................... 10
Place value ............................. 12
Sequences and patterns ........ 14
Sequences and shapes ......... 16
Positive and negative
numbers ............................. 18
Comparing numbers ............ 20
Ordering numbers ............... 22
Estimating.............................. 24
Rounding ............................... 26
Factors ................................... 28
Multiples ................................ 30
Prime numbers ..................... 32
Prime factors ........................ 34
Square numbers ................... 36
Square roots .......................... 38
Cube numbers ...................... 39
Fractions ................................ 40
Improper fractions and
mixed numbers ................. 42
Equivalent fractions ............... 44
Simplifying fractions ............. 46
Finding a fraction of
an amount ......................... 47
Comparing fractions with
the same denominators .... 48
Comparing unit fractions ...... 49
Comparing non-unit
fractions ............................. 50
Using the lowest
common denominator ....... 51
Adding fractions .................... 52
Subtracting fractions ............. 53
Multiplying fractions .............. 54
Dividing fractions .................. 56
Decimal numbers.................. 58
Comparing and ordering
decimals ............................ 60
Rounding decimals ................ 61
Adding decimals ................... 62
Subtracting decimals ............ 63
Percentages .......................... 64
Calculating percentages ....... 66
Percentage changes ............. 68
Ratio ...................................... 70
Proportion............................... 71
Scaling ................................... 72
Different ways to describe
fractions ............................. 74
2
Calculating
Addition ................................. 78
Adding with a number line ... 80
Adding with a number grid ... 81
Addition facts ........................ 82
Partitioning for addition ........ 83
Expanded column addition... 84
Column addition ................... 86
Subtraction ............................ 88
Subtraction facts ................... 90
Partitioning for subtraction .... 91
Subtracting with a
number line ....................... 92
Shopkeeper’s addition .......... 93
Expanded column
subtraction......................... 94
Column subtraction............... 96
Multiplication ......................... 98
Multiplication as scaling ......100
Factor pairs ...........................101
Counting in multiples ...........102
Multiplication tables .............104
The multiplication grid .........106
Multiplication patterns
and strategies .................. 107
Multiplying by 10, 100,
and 1000 ...........................108
Multiplying by multiples
of 10 ..................................109
Partitioning for
multiplication .....................110
The grid method ...................112
Expanded short
multiplication ....................114
Short multiplication ...............116
Expanded long
multiplication .....................118
Long multiplication ...............120
More long multiplication .....122
Multiplying decimals ............124
The lattice method ...............126
Division .................................128
Dividing with multiples .........130
The division grid ....................131
Division tables ......................132
Dividing with factor pairs .....134
Checking for divisibility.........135
Dividing by 10, 100,
and 1000 ...........................136
Dividing by multiples of 10 ... 137
Partitioning for division ........138
Expanded short division.......140
Short division ........................142
Expanded long division ........144
Long division ........................146
Converting remainders ........148
Dividing with decimals .........150
The order of operations .......152
Arithmetic laws ...................154
Using a calculator ................156
3 Measurement
Length...................................160
Calculating with length ........162
Perimeter ..............................164
Using formulas to find
perimeter ..........................166
Area ......................................168
Estimating area ....................169
Working out area with
a formula .......................... 170
Areas of triangles................. 172
Areas of parallelograms ...... 173
Areas of complex shapes .... 174
Comparing area
and perimeter................... 176
Capacity ............................... 178
Volume ................................. 179
The volumes of solids ..........180
Working out volume with
a formula ...........................181
Mass .....................................182
Mass and weight .................183
Calculating with mass .........184
Temperature .........................186
Calculating with
temperature .................... 187
Imperial units .......................188
Imperial units of length,
volume, and mass............190
Telling the time .....................192
Dates ....................................194
Calculating with time ...........196
Money ..................................198
Using money ........................199
Calculating with money ...... 200
4
Geometry
What is a line? ..................... 204
Horizontal and vertical
lines ................................. 205
Diagonal lines ..................... 206
Parallel lines ........................ 208
Perpendicular lines ..............210
2D shapes ............................212
Regular and irregular
polygons ...........................213
Triangles ...............................214
Quadrilaterals ......................216
Naming polygons ................218
Circles .................................. 220
3D shape ............................. 222
Types of 3D shape .............. 224
Prisms .................................. 226
Nets ..................................... 228
Angles ................................. 230
Degrees ................................231
Right angles ....................... 232
Types of angle ..................... 233
Angles on a straight line ..... 234
Angles at a point................. 235
Opposite angles .................. 236
Using a protractor ............... 238
Angles inside triangles ....... 240
Calculating angles
inside triangles ................ 242
Angles inside
quadrilaterals .................. 244
Calculating angles inside
quadrilaterals .................. 245
Angles inside polygons....... 246
Calculating the angles
in a polygon..................... 247
Coordinates ......................... 248
Plotting points using
coordinates...................... 249
Positive and negative
coordinates...................... 250
Using coordinates to
draw a polygon ................251
Position and direction ......... 252
Compass directions ............ 254
Reflective symmetry ............ 256
Rotational symmetry ........... 258
Reflection ............................. 260
Rotation ............................... 262
Translation ........................... 264
5
Statistics
Data handling ..................... 268
Tally marks .......................... 270
Frequency tables .................. 271
Carroll diagrams ................. 272
Venn diagrams ................... 274
Averages ............................. 276
The mean ............................ 277
The median ......................... 278
The mode ............................ 279
The range ............................ 280
Using averages ....................281
Pictograms .......................... 282
Block graphs ...................... 284
Bar charts ............................ 285
Drawing bar charts ............. 286
Line graphs ......................... 288
Drawing line graphs ........... 290
Pie charts............................. 292
Making pie charts ............... 294
Probability ........................... 296
Calculating probability ........ 298
6
Algebra
Equations............................. 302
Solving equations................ 304
Formulas and sequences ... 306
Formulas ............................. 308
Glossary ...............................310
Index.....................................314
Answers ...............................319
Acknowledgments .............. 320
 Foreword
Our lives wouldn’t be the same without maths. In fact, everything would stop
without it. Without numbers we couldn’t count a thing, there would be no money,
no system of measuring, no shops, no roads, no hospitals, no buildings, no … well,
more or less “nothing” as we know it.

For example, without maths we couldn’t build houses, forecast tomorrow’s weather,
or fly a plane. We definitely couldn’t send an astronaut into space! If we didn’t
understand numbers, we wouldn’t have TV, the internet, or smartphones. In fact,
without numbers, you wouldn’t even be reading this book, because it was created
on a computer that uses a special number code based on 0s and 1s to store
information and make thousands of calculations in a second.

Understanding maths also helps us to understand the world around us. Why do
bees make their honeycombs out of hexagons? How can we describe the spiral
shape formed by a seashell? Maths holds the answers to these questions and
many more.

This book has been written to help you get better at maths, and to learn to love it.
You can work through it with the help of an adult, but you can also use it on your
own. The numbered steps will talk you through the examples. There are also
problems for you to solve yourself. You’ll meet some helpful robots, too. They’ll give
you handy tips and remind you of important mathematical ideas.

Maths is not a subject, it’s a language, and it’s a universal language. To be able
to speak it gives you great power and confidence and a sense of wonder.

Carol Vorderman
2
3 4
56 NUMBERS
Numbers are symbols that we use to count
and measure things. Although there are just
ten number symbols, we can use them to
write or count any amount you can think of.
Numbers can be positive or negative, and
they can be either whole numbers or parts
of numbers, called fractions.
10 NUMBERS • NUMBER SYMBOLS

Number symbols The 10 symbols we us

make up all numbers
called digits.
e to
are

Since the earliest times, people have used numbers

in their daily lives – to help them count, measure,
tell the time, or to buy and sell things.

Number systems Numbers were invented

to count amounts of
A number system is a set of symbols, called numerals, that things such as apples
represent numbers. Different ancient peoples developed
different ways of writing and using numbers.

This chart shows the

0 1 2 3
system we use, called
the Hindu-Arabic system,
compared with some other
ancient number systems. Hindu-Arabic numerals Many people think the Ancient
are used all over the Egyptian symbols for 1 to 9
world today represented fingers
Of all these number
systems, only ours has a
ANCIENT ROMAN I II III
symbol for zero. We can also ANCIENT EGYPTIAN
see that the Babylonian and
BABYLONIAN
Egyptian systems are similar.

Roman numerals
Symbols after a
This chart shows the Roman number system, which puts
larger symbol are
different letters together to make up numbers. added to it

Ones I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Tens X XX XXX XL L LX LXX LXXX XC

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Hundreds C CC CCC CD D DC DCC DCCC CM

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900

Thousands M MM MMM IV V VI VII VIII MX

1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000

Look at the symbol for six. It’s a V Now look at the symbol for nine. Symbols before a
for 5, with I after it, for 1. This This time, the I is before the X. larger symbol are
means “one more than five”, or 5 + 1. This means “one less than ten” or 10 − 1. subtracted from it
 NUMBERS • NUMBER SYMBOLS 11

REAL WORLD MATHS

Zero the hero

Zeros help us
Not all number systems have a symbol for zero

09:06
read the time
(0) as we do. On its own, zero stands for “nothing”, correctly on a
but when it’s part of a bigger number, it’s called the 24-hour clock
place holder. This means it “holds the place” when
there is no other digit in that position of a number.

4 5 6 7 8 9
The Babylonian number system is The Romans used letters as
more than 5000 years old symbols for numbers

IV V VI VII VIII IX

Reading long numbers and dates TRY IT OUT

To turn a long Roman number or date into a Hindu-Arabic

Name the date
number, we break it into smaller parts then add up the parts.
Today, we sometimes see dates written
in Roman numerals. Can you use what
Let’s work out the
number CMLXXXII.
CM L X X X II you’ve learned to work out these years?
First, we break it into “C” before “M” means What’s this year?
four sections. “100 less than 1000”
MCMXCVIII
Next, we work out CM = 1000 − 100 = 900 +
the values of the Now have a try at writing these
different sections. When L = 50 years as Roman numerals:
we add the values
XXX = 3 × 10 = 30
together, we get the
answer: 982.
1666 2015
II = 2×1 = 2
982 Answers on page 319
12 NUMBERS • PLACE VALUE

Place value The amount a digit is

worth in a number
is called its place va
lue.
In our number system, the amount a digit
is worth depends on where it’s placed in a
number. This amount is called its place value.

What is place value? The 10 tens are

Let’s look at the numbers 1, 10, and 100. They are made of the same exchanged for
digits, 1 and 0, but the digits have different values in each number. one hundred

Ones Tens Ones Hundreds Tens Ones

The 10 ones
are exchanged
for one ten

The 1 on its
own has
1 The 1 is now in 1 0 1 0 0
the tens column,
a place so it has a place The zero holds the The 1 now has a place
value of 1 value of 10 ones’ place to show value of 100
there are no ones.
Let’s start with the number 1. We can put up to nine dots We can show up to 99
We’re going to represent it in the ones column. When using two columns. When
by making a ones column and we get to 10, we exchange the we reach 100, we exchange
putting a single dot in it. 10 dots in the ones columns for the 10 tens for one hundred.
one in the new tens column.

Thousands H T O Th H T O

5 7 6 5 0 7 6

Now let’s put numbers in our columns instead
of dots. We can see that 576 is made up of:
5 groups of 100, or 5 × 100, which is 500
7 groups of 10, or 7 × 10, which is 70
6 groups of 1, or 6 × 1, which is 6.
When the number 5067 is put into columns,
we find that the same digits as in Step 4 now
have different place values. For example, the 5 is
now in the thousands column, so its value has
gone up from 500 to 5000.
 NUMBERS • PLACE VALUE 13

How place value works

Let’s look at the number 2576 and think some
more about how place value works.

Th H T O Th H T O

2 5 7 6 2 5 7 6
2 thousands 2 0 0 0 2000
5 hundreds 5 0 0 500
7 tens 7 0 70
The value of 2
6 ones in this number
is 2000 because 6 + 6
of its position
2576
When we put the digits into When we write this again with Now, if we add up the four
columns, we can see how numbers, using zeros as numbers, we get 2576, our
many thousands, hundreds, place holders, we get four original number. So, our place
tens, and ones the number is separate numbers. value system works!
made of.

Ten times bigger or smaller

When we divide by 10,
Each column in the place-value system increases or decreases digits move one place
the value of a digit by 10. This is really useful when we multiply value to the right
or divide a number by 10, 100, and so on. ÷10 ÷10 ÷10 ÷10

Let’s look at what happens to 437 Tenths

Th H T O
when we multiply or divide it by 10.

4 3 7 Decimal point
If we divide 437 by 10, each digit
moves one column to the right. When we
The new number is 43.7. A dot, called
a decimal point, separates ones from
4 3 . 7 multiply by
10, digits
numbers 10 times smaller, called tenths.
move one
place value
To multiply 437 by 10, we move to the left
each digit one column to the left. 4 3 7 0
The new number is 4370, which is
437 × 10.
×10 ×10 ×10 ×10
14 NUMBERS • SEQUENCES AND PATTERNS

Sequences
and patterns
A sequence is a set
of numbers, called
set
terms, that follow a
pattern, called a le.
ru
A sequence is a series of numbers, which we call terms, listed in
a special order. A sequence always follows a set pattern, or rule,
which means we can work out other terms in the sequence.

Look at this row of houses.
The numbers on the doors
are 1, 3, 5, and 7. Can we find
a pattern in this series?
We can see that each
number is two more than
the one before. So, the rule for
this sequence is “add two to
each term to find the next term.”
If we use this rule, we can
work out that the next terms
are 9 and 11. So, our sequence
is: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, ... The dots
show that the sequence
carries on.

The rule for this sequence is

“add two to the previous term”

+2 +2 +2

1 3 5
1ST TERM 2ND TERM 3RD TERM

Each number in a sequence is called a term

 NUMBERS • SEQUENCES AND PATTERNS 15

Simple sequences
There are lots of ways to make sequences. For example, they The dots show that
can be based on adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing. the sequence continues

+1 +1 +1 +1 +1
In this sequence, we add
one to each term to get
the next term. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, …
RULE: ADD 1

×10 ×10 ×10 ×10

Each term is multiplied
by 10 to get the next
term in this sequence. 1, 10, 100, 1000, 10 000, …
RULE: MULTIPLY BY TEN

Sometimes, a rule can have +1 ×2 +1 ×2 +1

more than one part. In this
sequence, we add one, then
multiply by two, then go back
8, 9, 18, 19, 38, 39, …
to adding one, and so on. RULE: ADD ONE, THEN MULTIPLY BY TWO

+2 TRY IT OUT

Spot the sequence

Can you work out the next two terms in
each of these sequences? You’ll have to
work out the rule for each sequence
first – a number line might help you.

22, 31, 40, 49, 58, ...

4, 8, 12, 16, 20, ...

7 ? 100, 98, 96, 94, ...

4TH TERM 5TH TERM 90, 75, 60, 45, 30, ...

The fifth term in the Answers on page 319

sequence will be 7 + 2
16 NUMBERS • SEQUENCES AND SHAPES

Sequences and shapes

Some number sequences can be used to create shapes by using the terms
in the sequence to measure the parts of a shape, such as the lengths of its sides.

Triangular numbers We can show the

triangular sequence
One sequence that can be by using shapes
shown as shapes is the triangular
number sequence. If we take a
whole number and add it to all The sequence starts When we add 2,
the other whole numbers that are with 1, shown as a we can arrange the
less than that number, we get single shape. shapes in a triangle.
this sequence: 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, … 1+2=3
Each of the numbers can be
shown as a triangle.

Each new number

adds a new row to
the triangle’s base

Adding 3 makes a new Now we add 4 to make Adding 5 creates a fifth

triangle. a fourth triangle. triangle, and so on.
1+2+3=6 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 15

Square numbers
If we multiply each of the numbers 1, 2, The fourth square
3, 4, 5 by themselves, we get this number is 16
sequence: 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, ...
We can show this number sequence
as real squares.

1×1=1 2×2=4 3×3=9 4 × 4 = 16 5 × 5 = 25

 NUMBERS • SEQUENCES AND SHAPES 17

Pentagonal numbers Each pentagon has

The sides of these five-sided shapes, Each pentagon shares one five sides with equal
called pentagons, are made up of corner, called a vertex, numbers of dots
equally spaced dots. If we start with with the other pentagons
one dot, and then count the dots in
each pentagon, we see this
sequence: 1, 5, 12, 22, 35, ...
These numbers are called
pentagonal numbers.

1 dot 5 dots 12 dots 22 dots 35 dots

REAL WORLD MATHS

The Fibonacci sequence

One of the most interesting sequences in maths is the Fibonacci sequence, named
after a 13th-century Italian mathematician. The first two terms of the sequence are 1.
Then we add the two previous terms together to get the next term. Add the
Sequence previous two
1+1 1+2 2+3 3+5 5+8 8+13 13+21
starts at 1 terms to find
the next term
1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 ...
We can use the number sequence to
make a pattern of boxes like this
When we connect
the boxes’ opposite
corners, we draw
a spiral shape

21
34
5
3

13
1 2
1
We often find
8 Fibonacci spirals,
like this shell,
in nature
18 NUMBERS • POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE NUMBERS

Positive and Negative numbers

negative numbers
.
have a ‘−’ before them
Positive numbe rs
usually have no sign
in front of them.
Positive numbers are all the numbers that are greater
than zero. Negative numbers are less than zero, and
they always have a negative sign (−) in front of them.

What are positive and negative numbers?

Move left to
count down
from zero −10 −9 −8 −7 −6 −5 −4 −3 −2 −1
NEGATIVE NUMBERS

If we put numbers on a line called a number Negative numbers are numbers

line, like the line on this signpost, we see that less than zero. In calculations, we
negative numbers count back from zero, while put negative numbers in brackets, like
positive numbers get larger from the zero point. this (−2), to make them easier to read.

Adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers

Here are some simple rules to remember when we add and subtract
positive and negative numbers. We can show how they work on a simple
version of our numbers signpost, called a number line.
To add a positive number,
Adding a positive number we move to the right
When we add a positive number, we
move to the right on the number line.
2+3=5 −5 −4 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4 5

To subtract a negative number,

we move to the right
Subtracting a negative number
To subtract a negative number,
we also move right on the number line.
So, subtracting −3 from 2 is the same −5 −4 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4 5
as 2 + 3.
2 − (−3) = 5
 NUMBERS • POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE NUMBERS 19

REAL WORLD MATHS TRY IT OUT

Ups and downs Positively puzzling

We sometimes use positive and Use a number line to work out
negative numbers to describe these calculations.
the floors in a buillding. Floors
below ground level often have 7 − (−3) = ? 7 + (−9) = ?
negative numbers.
−4 + (−1) = ? −2 − (−7) = ?
-2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Answers on page 319

Move to the right to count up from zero

0 1 2 3 4 5 6
POSITIVE NUMBERS
7 8 9 10

Zero (0) is not positive or We don’t usually put any sign

negative. It’s the separation in front of positive numbers.
point between the positive and So, when you see a number
negative numbers. without a sign, it’s always positive.

To subtract a positive
number, move to the left
on the number line

Subtracting a positive number

Now let’s try subtracting a positive
number. To subtract 3 from 2, we move
to the left to get the answer. −5 −4 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4 5
2 − 3 = −1
To add a negative number, move
to the left on the number line

Adding a negative number

When we add a negative number, it
gives the same answer as subtracting a
positive one. To add −3 to 2, we move left
−5 −4 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3 4 5
on the number line.
2 + (−3) = −1
20 NUMBERS • COMPARING NUMBERS

Comparing We use comparison

symbols

numbers to show the relations

between two numbe
hip
rs.

We often need to know if a number is the same as, smaller than,

or larger than another number. We call this comparing numbers.

More, less, or the same?

When we compare amounts in everyday life, we use words like more,
less, larger, smaller, or the same as. In maths, we say numbers or The number of
amounts are greater than, less than, or equal to each other. cakes in each row
is the same

Equal
Look at this tray of
cupcakes. There are five EQUAL
cakes in each row. So, the
number in one row is
equal to the number in
the other.

There are more cakes

in the top row
Greater than
Now there are five GREATER
THAN
cakes in the top row and
three in the bottom one.
So, the number in the top
row is greater than the
number in the bottom one.

There are fewer cakes

in the top row
Less than
This time, there are LESS
THAN
five cakes in the top row
and six in the bottom
row. So, the number in the
top row is less than the
number in the bottom.
 NUMBERS • COMPARING NUMBERS 21

Using symbols to compare numbers

We use these signs, called comparison symbols, The narrowest
when we compare numbers or amounts. part of the
symbol points to
the smaller
number

Equals Greater than Less than

This symbol means This symbol means This symbol means
“is equal to”. “is greater than”. “is less than”.
For example, 90 + 40 = 130 For example, 24 > 14 means For example, 11 < 32 means
means “90 + 40 is equal to 130”. “24 is greater than 14”. “11 is less than 32”.

Significant digits TRY IT OUT

The significant digits of a number are the digits that influence

Which symbol?
the value of the number. When we compare numbers,
significant digits are very useful. Complete each of these
Third examples by adding one of
Most significant
This number has significant the three symbols you’ve
digit learned.
four digits. The
most significant digit is
the one with the
digit
1404
Here’s a reminder of the three
highest place value, symbols you’ll need:
and so on, down to the Second Least
least significant digit. significant significant Equals
digit digit
Is greater than
Let’s compare 1404 Th H T 0
and 1133. The place Is less than
value of the most
1 4 0 4
significant digits is the
same, so we compare
1 1 3 3
the second most
5123 ? 10 221
The most significant
significant digits.
digits are the same
−2 ? 3
The second most
significant digit 1404 1133 71 399 ? 71 100
of 1404 is larger than it
is in 1133. So, 1404 is The second
significant digit is
20 – 5 ? 11 + 4
the larger number.
larger in this number

Answers on page 319

22 NUMBERS • ORDERING NUMBERS

Ordering Xoon
912
numbers votes

Sometimes we need to compare a whole series

Cybertown has held
of numbers so that we can put them in order. an election for mayor.
To do this, we use what we know about place We need to put the
candidates in order of
values and significant figures.
the votes they received.

TTh Th H T O TTh Th H T O

Xoon 9 1 2 Krog 1 0 4 2 3
Zeet 4 5 The first
Moop 5 2 3 4 significant
figure is the
Flug 4 4 4 one furthest
Krog 1 0 4 2 3 to the left
Jeek 5 1 2 1
First, we put the candidates’ votes Let’s look at the most significant digits. Only
into a table so we can compare the Krog’s total has a digit in the ten thousands
place value of their most significant digits. column. So, his vote total is the highest and we
can put it first in a new table.

TTh Th H T O TTh Th H T O

Krog 1 0 4 2 3 Krog 1 0 4 2 3
Moop 5 2 3 4 Moop 5 2 3 4
Jeek 5 1 2 1 VOTE Jeek 5 1 2 1
KROG!
Xoon 9 1 2
Flug 4 4 4
Zeet 4 5
When we compare second significant digits, We carry on comparing digits in the
we see Moop and Jeek have the same digit in place-value columns until we have put
the thousands. So, we compare third significant the whole list in order, from largest to smallest
digits. Moop’s digit is greater than Jeek’s. numbers. Krog is the new mayor!
 NUMBERS • ORDERING NUMBERS 23

Zeet Flug
45
Moop
444 Krog Jeek
votes votes
10 423 5121
5234 votes
votes votes

Ascending and descending order TRY IT OUT

When we put things in order, sometimes we want to put
the largest number first, and sometimes the smallest.
All in order
Practise your ordering skills by putting
In a maths test, this list of ages in ascending order. Why
there were 100 98 not make an ordered list based on your
questions. Amira got own friends and family? You could
94 correct; Bella got 45; 94 31 order them by age, height, or the day
Claudia got 61; Danny of the month of their birthday.
got 35; Ethan got 98;
Fiona got 31; Greta got 81 35 Answer on page 319
70; and Harry got 81.
DESCENDING ORDER

ASCENDING ORDER

70 45 NAME
AGE
9
Jake (me!)
When the scores 61 61 Mum
37
are listed from
1
the highest to the Trevor the gerbil
lowest, we call it 45 70 40
Dad
descending order. 67
Grandpa
35 81 7
Buster the dog
68
31 Grandma
When we order the 94 Uncle Dan
35
scores from lowest 13
Anna (my sister)
to highest, we call it 98 Bella the cat
3
ascending order.
24 NUMBERS • ESTIMATING

Estimating Estimation is finding

something that is clo
to the correct answer
se
.

Sometimes when we’re measuring or calculating, we

don’t need to work out the exact answer – a sensible
guess, called an estimate, is good enough.

Approximately equal
Equal Approximately equal
We’ve already learned This is the symbol we use for things
the symbol to use for that are nearly the same. In maths, we say
things that are equal. they are approximately equal.

Quick counting
In everyday life, we often don’t need to count something exactly. Compare the baskets to
It’s enough to have a good idea of how many things there are or estimate which one has the
roughly how big something is. most strawberries in it

These three baskets of strawberries

all cost the same, but they contain
different numbers of strawberries.

We don’t actually have to count to

see that the third basket contains
more strawberries than the other two.
So, the third basket is the best bargain.

Any or
f
basket
£1
 NUMBERS • ESTIMATING 25

Estimating a total The flower bed is

Sometimes we estimate because it would take too divided roughly
long to count or calculate the exact answer. into nine squares

Let’s look at this Another way to

bed of tulips. We estimate the total
want to know roughly is to divide the bed
how many there are, into rough squares.
without having to If we count the flowers
count them, one in one square, we can
by one. estimate the number
in the whole bed.

There are nine

horizontal rows

The tulips aren’t There are 12 tulips

in exact rows, in the bottom right
but we can count 11 square. So, the total
flowers in the front number is approximately
row. There are nine 12 × 9, which is 108.
rows, so we can
say there are about There are 12 flowers in
11 × 9 flowers, which the bottom right square
is 99.
Our two estimates have come up with
answers of 99 and 108. In fact, there are
There are 11 flowers
in the front row 105 tulips, so both estimates were pretty close!

Checking a calculation
Sometimes, we work out what we expect an answer We estimate that the answer
to be by simplifying, or rounding, the numbers. will be approximately 7000

2847 + 4102 = ? 3000 + 4000 = 7000 2847 + 4102 = 6949

Let’s add together 2847 and
4102. We make an estimate
first so that if our answer is very
different, we know that we might
have made a mistake.
The first number is slightly
less than 3000, and the
second is slightly more than
4000. We can quickly add 3000
to 4000, to get 7000.
When we do the actual
calculation, the answer we
get is very close to our estimate.
So, we can be confident that our
addition is correct.
26 NUMBERS • ROUNDING

Rounding
The rounding rule is that for
Rounding means changing a number to another digits less than 5, we round
number that is close to it in value, but is easier to down. For digits of 5 or
more, we round up.
work with or remember.

Digits 5 or more are

Rounding up and rounding down rounded up
Digits less than 5
are rounded down

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

We round Look at 24 Now let’s look at What about 25?

numbers “up” or on this number 28. It’s nearer to It’s exactly halfway
“down”, depending line. It’s closer to 30 than 20, so we between 20 and 30.
on where they are on 20 than to 30, so we round it up to 30. The rounding rule is
the number line. round it down to 20. to round it up to 30.

Rounding using place value

The ones digit is The ones digit is
When we round numbers, we use the
3, so we round 9, so we round
place values of a number’s digits.
down to 80 up to 90
Rounding to
the nearest ten
We use the ones digit to
decide whether to round
up or down to the nearest 80 83 85 89 90
ten. Let’s round 83 and 89.

The tens digit is 3, The tens digit is

Rounding to the so we round down 7, so we round
to 300 up to 600
nearest hundred
To round to the nearest 100,
we look at the tens digit and
follow the rounding rule.
300 337 400 500 572 600
Let’s round 337 and 572.
 NUMBERS • ROUNDING 27

Rounding to different place values TRY IT OUT

Rounding to different place values will give us Estimating height

different results. Let’s look at what happens to 7641
This robot is 165 cm tall.
when we round it to different place values.
What is his height rounded
The rounded number to the nearest 10 cm?
is very close to the
original
ROUNDED TO THE 7640 What is his height rounded
to one significant digit?
NEAREST 10
(See below.)

165 cm
7641 ROUNDED TO THE 7600
NEAREST 100
ORIGINAL NUMBER

The higher the place

value we round to, the
more different the ROUNDED TO THE 8000
result could be to the NEAREST 1000
original number
Answers on page 319

Rounding to significant digits In a four-digit number, rounding to the

We can also round numbers to one or most significant digit is the same as
more significant digits. rounding to the nearest 1000

Let’s look at the number 6346. The

most significant digit is the one with
the highest place value. So, 6 is the most
6346 6000
ROUNDED TO ONE
significant digit. The digit after it is less We round using SIGNIFICANT DIGIT
than 5, so we round down to 6000. this digit This is the second
significant digit
The second significant digit is in the
hundreds. The next digit is less
than 5, so when we round to two
6346 6300
We use this ROUNDED TO TWO
significant digits, 6346 becomes 6300. SIGNIFICANT DIGITS
digit when
This is the third
rounding
significant digit
The third significant digit is in
the tens column. If we round our
number to three significant digits, it
6346 6350
We round with ROUNDED TO THREE
becomes 6350. this digit SIGNIFICANT DIGITS
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of From ploughshare to
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Title: From ploughshare to pulpit

A tale of the battle of life

Author: Gordon Stables

Release date: November 1, 2023 [eBook #71997]

Language: English

Original publication: London: James Nisbet & Co, 1895

Credits: Al Haines, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed

Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FROM

PLOUGHSHARE TO PULPIT ***
 TOWN AND GOWN.—Page 155. Frontispiece.

FROM PLOUGHSHARE TO
PULPIT
A Tale of the Battle of Life
BY

GORDON STABLES, M.D., C.M.

(Surgeon Royal Navy)

AUTHOR OF “THE CRUISE OF THE SNOWBIRD,” “JUST LIKE JACK,”

“CHILDREN OF THE MOUNTAIN,” ETC. ETC.

“Who walked in glory and in pride,

Following his plough along the mountain-side”

SECOND EDITION.

London
JAMES NISBET & CO.
21 BERNERS STREET

Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co

At the Ballantyne Press

TO

MY OLD PROFESSOR
 SIR WM. D. GEDDES
PRINCIPAL OF ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY

This Book is Dedicated

WITH SUNNY MEMORIES OF AULD LANG SYNE

BY

THE AUTHOR
 CONTENTS
BOOK I.

THE STUDENT AT HOME.

CHAP. PAGE
A DEATH THE MOST DREADFUL LOOMED BEFORE
I. HIM 3
II. AT THE OLD FARM OF KILBUIE 11
III. THE PLOUGHMAN-STUDENT AT HOME 21
IV. AN IDYLLIC LIFE 30
SORROW NEVER COMES SINGLY—CHRIST-LIKE
V. CHRISTIANITY 39
VI. SMASHING A BULLY—GENTLE WILLIE MUNRO 49
VII. THE LOVE-DARG—THE BALL AT KILBUIE 61
VIII. THE STORM—SNOWSHOES—A SLEIGH-RIDE 70
IX. THE ADVENTURE AT BRUCE’S CAVERN 81

BOOK II.

UPS AND DOWNS OF UNIVERSITY LIFE.

I. THE GREAT COMPETITION 93
II. VICTORY—POOR HERBERT GRANT 104
III. HARD WORK AND EARNEST STRUGGLES 114
IV. A STRANGE DUEL—BAD BOYS’ PRANKS 126
V. AMONG THE WHITE HARES—HOGMANAY NIGHT 137
VI. IN SNOW-TIME—A TOWN AND GOWN 147
VII. THE INSTALLATION RIOT 158
VIII. BACK AT THE DEAR OLD FARM 168
IX. WISE WEE JOHN AND WITTY EPPIE 178
X. LIFE AT JOHN’S COTTAGE—THE FISHING 185
XI. SINKS BEFORE THE VERY EYES OF THOSE ON SHORE 195
XII. A STRANGE TERROR CREEPS OVER SANDIE’S HEART 205

BOOK III.

FAR, FAR AT SEA.

I. “NAE POSSIBLE!” SAID TIBBIE 217
II. “REMEMBER, REMEMBER THIS FIFTH OF NOVEMBER” 227
“WE HAVE BEEN AS BROTHERS: WE ARE BROTHERS
III. STILL” 237
IV. THE DANGER AND DIFFICULTY WAS TO COME 247
V. FIGHTING THE FIRELANDERS 257
VI. THE LAST OF THE BRAVE BARQUE “BOO-BOO-BOO” 267
VII. AFLOAT ON A DERELICT SHIP 273
VIII. CRUSOES—PREPARED FOR ANYTHING 281
IX. “O MY POOR, DEAR FATHER!” CRIED SANDIE 291
X. HOW IT ALL ENDED 302
 BOOK I

THE STUDENT AT HOME

FROM PLOUGHSHARE TO PULPIT

CHAPTER I

A DEATH THE MOST DREADFUL LOOMED BEFORE

HIM
There was something well calculated to raise the spirits of such a man as
Mackenzie on this balmy spring morning. Mackenzie was the minister of
the parish of Belhaven, a parish that lies far up the winding Don, in a
country that combines all the beauties of Lowland vegetation and treescape
with the wilder scenery of the true Scottish Highlands.
Mac had been called to this parish when very young, but had remained
here ever since, and he was now over forty, hale, handsome, and as straight
as the ramrod of the old muzzle-loader he used when shooting rabbits;
cheery also to a degree, and he seldom moved around anywhere without
singing some old Scotch lilt or merry jig. Well, the fact is Mac’s life was a
very easy one. His Church was the Established, not the Free Kirk, and he
therefore was to all intents and purposes independent. He had not to depend
upon the whims and caprices of the people for his salary, nor upon the state
of the crops at harvest-time. Not only had he a good stipend “bound to his
head,” as his parishioners phrased it, but a bonnie stretch of glebe land,
quite a farm, in fact, that extended for over a mile along one bank of the
river.
 On this fair day in May, with its blue, blue sky and its fleecy cloudlets,
against which, like little dots of darkness, the laverocks quivered and sang,
the corn braird was waving green on the braes; the fields, in which sleek-
coated kine were roaming, were yellow with buttercups, and starred over
with gowans or mountain daisies—Burns’s “wee, modest, crimson-tippèd
flower”—and a cool soft breeze went sighing through the lofty pine-trees.
Here cawed the busy rooks, here the magpies chattered, and the cushats
croodled and moaned; but elsewhere birds were seen and heard in every
direction. In the thickets of spruce the blackbird and the mavis had their
nests, and their musical rivalry was delightful to listen to, while high up in
the lordly rowan-tree by the minister’s gate, the merry bold chaffinch
chanted loud and long, and would not be denied. But it was away across the
minister’s hill, perhaps, where spring was seen in its greatest beauty to-day.
It was a heather hill and a blaeberry[1] hill, and it was gilded over here and
there by great patches of golden whins or furze. These were now all in
compact masses of bloom, and the rich delicious odour from their blossoms
—Ah! surely there is no finer perfume in nature—filled the air on every
side.
There would have been silence up there to-day, save for the plaintive
bleating of lambs, the occasional barking of the shepherd’s collie, the hum
of bees among the whins, and the sweet tender notes of the rose-linnet
perched on a thorn twig above them.
Yes, it was indeed a day to raise the spirits of any one possessed of a
soul, and that is just one thing that Mackenzie had, and a very sensitive one
too. Not that he was ever much cast down, even in the gloomiest or
murkiest of weather, but when the sun glinted in silver radiance off the river
that went singing past the old-fashioned manse, with its old-fashioned front
garden, and its gate-posts made out of a whale’s jaw-bones;—when the sun
was bright, I say, and warm balmy western winds were blowing, then,
whether in his study or out of doors, Mackenzie could no more help singing
than could the mavis on the lawn, or the starling on the one solitary poplar-
tree.
Mac’s life was not a very busy one. He bothered himself far less in
visiting even his sick parishioners, and praying with them or talking good
things to them, than English parsons invariably do; for most of this sort of
thing he could with confidence leave the honest elders of his kirk to
perform. But on this particular morning it happened that one of those very
elders was lying ill and must be visited. So soon after breakfast, Mac had
ordered out the Shetland pony and the little four-wheel trap.
Few who have not seen these ponies in their own wild homes in
Shetland, the sea-girdled peat-mosses of the Northern seas, nor seen them in
the Highlands of Aberdeenshire, which county seems congenial to the
development of their health and powers, could believe the strength they are
able at times to put forth, and the self-willed determination they exhibit
when they take an idea into their hirsute little noddles.
Larnie, the minister’s pony, was no exception. But indeed he never had
been thoroughly broken, since bought for a five-pound note out of a drove
at Alford market. Stuart, the minister’s orra man, or, in plain English, man-
of-all-work, had pretended to break in the beastie, but Stuart hadn’t really
done anything of the kind, and Mackenzie himself was easy-going and far
too apt to take things for granted.
But soon Larnie with his little trap was on the gravel in front of the
porch, and looking full of life and spirit, despite the fact that Stuart held
him not only by the bridle but by the snout as well; and the little animal
casting sharp sidelong glances towards the house, kept scraping up the
gravel as if impatient to be off.
“Maggie May! Maggie May! are ye coming?” shouted the minister as he
strolled out. “It’s a heavenly morning, my lassie.”
Maggie May had appeared in the porch for just a moment in answer to
the summons.
A sweet-faced girl of little over twelve, but tall for her years, with blue
eyes, an intelligent face, and a wealth of brown hair flowing loose over her
shoulders. A slight shade of sadness seemed natural to her, but rather
increased than detracted from her singular beauty.
But a smile lit up that bonnie face of hers when she went to smooth and
cuddle Larnie.
“Come,” Larnie appeared to say, if ponies’ eyes can speak, “kissing is all
very well, but I want some more substantial proof of the affection you
pretend to have for me.”
Back to the house ran Maggie May, and next minute had returned with a
delicious slab of well-baked white oatcake, and Larnie was happy for once.
“Yes, father, I will gladly go with you; I have merely my cloak to put on.”
 . . . . . .
The day was so truly delightful that Mackenzie would have been glad to
drive quite leisurely in order to enjoy the sweet spring scenery. But Larnie
took another view of the matter. He scented oats at the other end of the
journey, and determined to push on and have the business over.
The flowers were nodding in dingle and dell; the young crimson-
tasselled larch-trees brightened many a hillside; the rich yellow primroses
peeped coyly up at their feet; the silver-stemmed birch-trees were drooping
on the braelands, their sweet-scented foliage still weeping with the dews of
night; but nothing of all this saw Larnie—his thoughts were on oats intent.
Many a strange and beautiful wild bird made wood and welkin ring with
his glad notes, but Larnie heard not the songs. Up yonder in a green corn
patch a hare pauses in the act of washing his face, that he may sit up and
stare curiously at the fast flying equipage—Larnie takes no heed. Rabbits in
little groups of five or six scurry here and there among the boulders on bare
hillsides, but Larnie takes not the slightest notice. Oats alone absorb his
thoughts, so on he flies.
The road was a very winding one. It kept well away from the river,
though sometimes approaching it. It was up hill and down dell too, and
Larnie was wise enough to get up extra speed when rushing down a hill, so
that the momentum might carry the vehicle half-way up the next hill. This is
the Highland plan of driving, and in some ways is sensible enough.
But now they were within half-a-mile of the most dangerous part of all
the road, for here there was a terribly steep descent, with a high precipice
and sharp curve right at the bottom. More than one fatal accident had
already taken place at this place, so Mackenzie set himself to the task of
immediately restraining the impetuosity of his Shetland steed. This he
might have succeeded in doing without much difficulty, but for once fate
seemed against him, for just at that moment a hare suddenly bounded from
a bush of broom, and crossed the path almost among Larnie’s feet. So
startling an apparition caused the nervous little animal to lose all control
over himself. Larnie felt as if under the influence of some dreadful
nightmare, and I am convinced this is precisely how horses do feel under
such circumstances, and off he dashed at a speed that was perfectly
uncontrollable by his driver, and which would have been so even had he
been a younger and stronger man.
 Death, and a death the most dreadful, loomed before him and his little
daughter. When they should make the descent and reach the precipice,
nothing on earth could save them!
The ground beneath goes rushing past like a grey bewildering mist, the
bank at each side, with its greenery of ferns and its wild flowers yellow and
crimson, glides by like a lovely rainbow. Maggie May sits quiet and pale,
holding on to the side of the trap; Mackenzie himself has almost ceased his
futile endeavours to rein up, and abandoned himself to fate, yet his lips are
moving in prayer.
And now they are within a hundred—seventy—fifty yards of the
dreaded brae that has death at its foot.
Soon all will be over for ever and for aye.
. . . . . .
But see, while still within thirty yards of the hill, a stalwart young figure,
who has been reading by the bush-side, takes cognisance of the situation at
a glance. He drops the book, and next moment has sprung into the road.
Will he succeed in catching the reins? That is the momentous question.
And if he catches them, will all his young strength suffice to restrain the
speed of that equine demon? He has but a moment to brace himself for
action. Next instant he has sprung like catamount upon its prey.
Brave lad! The attempt so manfully made has succeeded. Yes, he is
successful, but the trap is overturned, and he himself has been dragged and
is sadly stunned.
What matters that? we may say. He has saved two precious lives, for
both Mackenzie and his little daughter are unhurt—intact.
But who is the hero? Who is this bold yet unfortunate stranger?

CHAPTER II

AT THE OLD FARM OF KILBUIE

The farm of Kilbuie was by no means of large dimensions, though it was a
farm, and not merely a croft. Nor was it, at the time our story commences,
in very flourishing conditions, for only one year ago more than twenty head
of fat cattle had been taken dead from the byres, a sad and almost
irreparable loss to honest Farmer M‘Crae, or “Kilbuie,” as he was more
often called, according to the custom of the country.
That last summer and autumn had been a disastrous one all through, for
besides the loss in fat cattle, a cow had succumbed in calving, a splendid
horse had died; then in the autumn, ere the corn was cut, but when it was all
ablaze and ready for the scythe, there had come a terrible storm of wind and
hail, and the destruction to the standing crop was pitiable. There was lost at
least as much seed as would have sufficed to sow the ground twice over.
“The hand of the Lord is against me,” said the farmer sadly and piously.
And he tried to remember what sins he had been guilty of, that he might
“repent,” as he phrased it, in “sackcloth and ashes.”
But there were really many far worse and more wicked men in the world
than honest Farmer M‘Crae. He hadn’t a neighbour all around who would
not have trusted him with their uttermost farthing. Indeed, every Friday,
when he took his butter, eggs, and milk to the far-off city of Aberdeen by
train, to dispose of in the New Market, his neighbours sent with him large
sums of money to bank, and gave him many important commissions
besides.
Then, as far as the internal economy and discipline of the farm and farm-
steading were concerned, everything was as complete as could be desired.
Kilbuie lay some miles from the river, well into the quiet, still, beautiful
country indeed, and at the foot of a highish hill, around whose lower
portions grew the golden furze and the bonnie yellow broom, but on whose
braes in autumn the heather bloomed purple and crimson. It was a romantic
kind of a spot, because there was also not far off a pine wood of tall weird
trees, branchless till near their summits, and with no undergrowth, though
the ground was soft carpeted with the withered fir-needles of many a long
year. This wood was dark even by daylight, and gazing into it from the
fields on a summer’s day gave one the idea one was looking into some
gloomsome pillared cave. This wood was the home, par excellence, of the
cushat or wild pigeon, whose mournful croodling could be heard all day
long. But here hares also dwelt, and the cony had many a well-arranged and
comfortable burrow. On the whole, although the wood occupied more than
a score of acres of the farm, it paid its way after a fashion, for it required no
cultivation, it afforded excellent sport, and it kept the larder full when the
purchase of meat would have been entirely out of the question, for more
reasons than one.
The live stock and working plant of Kilbuie farm consisted of two pairs
of sturdy horses and an orra beast. There is no word in the English language
that could do duty for the term “orra.” An orra horse is one, say, about
thirteen or fourteen hands high, and perhaps half-blooded. He is capable of
doing duty either in a gig or a single harrow, or he will pull a large roller;
you can ride on him to church or market, mill or smithy; and so long as he
has enough to eat and drink, he is by no means particular as to the quality.
He will eat good oats with relish, but he won’t refuse poor hay or even
thistles, and I have known one drink sour beer or butter-milk, and smack his
lips after it. He is generally good-natured and willing to do anything to
oblige, and I do believe he likes his orra life and his constant change of
employment.
Well, as there was an orra beast or horse, so there also was an orra man,
and his were odd jobs also. To be sure, he did not milk the cows or kye—
the indoor servant lassie Jeannie did that—but he fed and attended to them;
he took them out in the morning and in at night, and he also attended well to
the orra horse, did work in the garden, ran errands, and did everything he
was told, like the willing and honest lad his master called him. He was up
with the lark in the morning, and in summer-time to bed with the mavis at
night.
His name was Geordie Black. But nobody ever thought of putting the
Black to his Christian name. Geordie was just Geordie to all and sundry,
and nothing more.
There being two pairs of horses, two horsemen were necessary. The first,
or best pair, was worked by a tall, hardy, and handsome young fellow, as
smart as some ancient Norseman, as tough as an old sea-king. He rejoiced
in the simple name of Jamie Duncan, and took the greatest pride possible in
his tall and handsome horses. He spared no pains in grooming them, so that
what with the brush and the currycomb, and an occasional wash, there were
no horses in all the countryside whose hides glittered and glanced as did
Jamie’s. When Jamie marched them to the distant smithy to get their shoes
seen to, riding sideways on one of them, and singing to himself some old
Scotch lilt, the animals elicited universal praise and encomiums. Then
Jamie was a happy man indeed.
 Nearly all his spare time of an evening was devoted to cleaning the
harness of his pets, till the black became like polished jet, and the brass like
burnished gold.
Oh, I am not going to say that Jamie had not a sweetheart that he went to
see at times, but I do aver that not even for her did he ever neglect the
comfort of his horses.
Well, the other pair of horses were worked and seen to equally well by
the farmer’s only son, while the only daughter, a blithe and intelligent lassie
of sixteen, assisted her mother and Jeannie with the household work, the
making of butter and cheese, cooking and cleaning. Jeannie was always
cheerful, always merry, never frivolous. Like every one else in this book,
she is a character from the real life, and while writing about her, I cannot
possibly banish from my mind a bonnie old Scottish song, one verse of
which I may be allowed to give, because it paints Jeannie herself. It is
called—

THE NAMELESS LASSIE.

There’s nane may ever guess or tell

My bonnie lassie’s name;
There’s nane may ken the humble cot
My lassie ca’s her hame.
Yet, though my lassie’s nameless,
Her kin o’ low degree,
Her heart is warm, her thoughts are pure,
And oh! she’s dear to me!

The farm-steading of Kilbuie lay fully four miles back from the river,
into the interior of the wild and beautiful country, a country but little known
to the wandering Englishman, but romantic enough in all conscience, and
rendered famous if only from the fact that here Robert the Bruce lay long in
hiding before he made his grand and successful attempt to secure his
kingdom and free his land from the tyranny of the Saxon invader. It is a
country of hills and dells, of wood and water, lochs and roaring streams; a
country almost every acre of which has been in days long gone by a battle-
field; and hardly can you walk a mile here without stumbling upon the ruins
of some feudal castle. Could these strongholds but speak, what tales we
should have to listen to—tales that would cause our very heart’s blood to
tingle, and nervous cold to run down our spines!
Although four miles from the river and about the same distance from a
railway station, the farm was not over a quarter of a mile from a main road,
being connected therewith by a level straight road, with a ditch at each side,
called the “long loanings.” On each side the fields, level and green, were
spread out, and all were surrounded by sturdy stone fences called dikes. A
dike in England means a ditch, in Scotland it signifies a wall of loose stones
—that is, stones built up without any lime.
The fields around Kilbuie were not, however, all level. By no means.
There were hills on the farm so steep that it taxed all the ingenuity of the
men to plough or harrow them.
A word about the steading itself. There was in front the square-built
unpretentious square house, with bow windows below, and a good old-
fashioned garden in front, a garden in which grew vegetables of all kinds,
bar potatoes, and whose borders round about were filled with gooseberry
and rose trees time about, with fine old-fashioned flowers between. Behind
the house was the steading proper, and which was similar to those we see in
England, with one most important exception, a dirty dunghill did not lie
between the living house and the cattle houses. This is an unsanitary
arrangement never beheld in Scotland. Such places are kept well away from
the stable, byre, and dwelling-house.
It spoke well, I think, for Farmer M‘Crae’s kindliness of heart and
manner, that none of his servants had left him for the last four years, nor
were thinking of leaving him even now. You see, he never was a tyrant, and
he as often as not took Jamie into consultation before carrying out any plan
or beginning any new piece of work. Farmer M‘Crae was not much over
forty, though his son was eighteen. He had married very young, but it seems
never had had reason to repent it, for he was always happy and cheerful,
even in situations where other men might have been much cast down, as
during his recent terrible losses of cattle and corn. There were just two
things, however, that Kilbuie insisted on: one was the presence of all the
servants and family in the best room every evening to family worship; a
chapter read from the Book of Books; a prayer and short dissertation from
Norman Macleod’s book. That was all, short and simple, and every one felt
the better for it. The son’s name was simple enough in all conscience. It was
Sandie.
There were few more handsome lads in all the parish round than Sandie.
You might have taken him to be two-and-twenty from his build and general
deportment, and from the incipient whisker on his cheek and hair on his
upper lip. His cheeks and lips were the rosiest ever seen, while his very blue
eyes sparkled with ruddy health. Yet had he many ways that might have
been called almost childish.
That evening, for instance, before the accident to the minister’s trap,
Sandie entered the best room, where, near to the fire—the evenings are cold
even in May in the far north of Scotland—his gentle mother sat knitting.
He took a low stool, and, seating himself by her knee, laid his head in
her lap.
He had a little book in his hand, a Latin classic, Virgil to wit; but though
his forefinger retained his place, he was not looking at it now. He was
gazing at the fire. He gazed thus for some time, while his mother smoothed
his brow with her soft hands.
“Is my laddie tired?”
“I dinna know, mother. Sometimes I’m happy and hopeful that I’ll take a
bursary,[2] at other times I’m dull and wae and think I won’t.”
“Weel, laddie, you maun keep up your heart and pray.”
“Oh, yes, of course, mother, but I must work as well as pray. I think
you’d better do the principal part of the praying, and I’ll do the work. The
Lord is more likely to listen to you, mother, than to sinful me.”
“Whisht! Sandie; whisht! laddie. But pray I do, mornin’, noon, and
nicht. Ay, and my boy is clever, too. I’ll hear him preachin’ yet in one of the
best pulpits in a’ broad Scotland. And oh! Sandie, that will be a happy,
happy day to me.”
The thoughts of it caused the tears to flow to the good lady’s eyes, and a
lump to rise in her throat that for the time being effectually arrested speech.
“Well, mother, you see it’s like this. Work as I may, I come upon bits o’
hitches here and there that I can’t get over. I have nobody to help me, and
can’t afford a tutor. Again, you see I have nobody else to compare my
knowledge with. In the parish of Drumlade here, our minister is too old; I
wouldn’t think of worrying him, and I don’t know Mackenzie of Belhaven,
though they do say he is very clever, and was in his day a first bursar at
King’s College in Auld Aberdeen.”
“Well, live in hope, my boy, and work awa’.”
“That is just what I mean to do.”
“And may be the Lord will raise you up a frien’.”
“Who can tell?”
Sandie was silent for a while. Then he raised himself up till his glance
could meet that of his mother.
“O mother, dear,” he said gleefully, “won’t it be nice when I’m a
minister, and when I get a call! It must be to some bonnie country parish,
mother. I couldn’t stand the noisy town. I must hear the wild birds sing, see
the wild flowers bloom, and listen to the winds sighing through the pine-
trees. I must be near a stream where on bonnie summer evenings I can fish
and read. My manse must be a bonnie one, too, surrounded by trees and fine
old-fashioned gardens. Mother, I already can hear the church-bell ringing
on the Sabbath morn, and I can see you and father—for, of course, you both
will live with me—coming arm in arm through the auld kirkyard to the
church-door, and slowly up the passage to your pew beneath the pulpit
stairs. Oh, it will be a happy life! But now, mother, I’m off to my study, to
struggle another hour or two with Virgil. I’ll be in again in time for supper.
Ta-ta, mother.”
And off strode Sandie, and his mother resumed her knitting, the tear,
however, still glancing in her eye.

CHAPTER III

THE PLOUGHMAN-STUDENT AT HOME

Sandie M‘Craw’s study was unique in its way. To get to it he had to enter
the stable first, then scramble up a straight ladder fastened against the wall,
and so through a trap-door. This landed him in a large granary and straw
loft. There was a window at the far end, and around this window Sandie,
with his own hands, had boarded off a portion about ten feet square. Here
were a table, a chair, and some rough book-shelves, and this was Sandie’s
study.