At Fala Mains I spent three years and three months. Duiring the first half of that period I had charge of the cattle. During the last portion of my sojourn there I was ploughman. I enjoyed many happy hours beside my cows on the moors among the heather and the peats in the summer of 1829. During that year I read the whole Bible three times over. I suppose I had read the whole of it before repeatedly, but I wished to be able to say with certainty, "I have read the Bible, every word of it." This wish led me to read it the first time, and I believe I read it a second and a third time that year just because I had got into the habit of reading it. I very much fear my motives for the perusal of the sacred volume will not bear the light, but I feel assured that the reading of it benefited me greatly nevertheless.

In 1828-9 the nature of my avocations kept me as much confined on Sabbath as on any other day of the week. This was to me, at first, a great affliction. Many a bitter tear did I shed as I listened to the tinkling of the church bell on the sacred mornings, and saw bands of worshippers flocking over the hills to the sanctuary of God. At such times I often repeated, read, and sang Psalms 42nd and 63rd. By and by, however, I became quite indifferent to the matter, and when, in May 1830, I was promoted to the plough, and had the Sabbath at my disposal, I felt ashamed to go to church, I had been so long out of it. Thus does Satan deceive men to their ruin. While at Fala Mains I never was at church save three or four times at Ford on sacramental occasions. When attacked by my friends on the subject of my non-attendance at church, I frequently professed Unitarian and sometimes infidel sentiments in order to get rid of their importunities. Want of decent clothing sometimes kept me from church when I had opportunities of going; but after I had a suit of Sabbath clothes my bashfulness alone prevented me from attending the sanctuary. This I ought to have acknowledged to my friends, or else remained silent, instead of rebuffing or silencing them by arguments against the worship of the Three-One Jehovah drawn from a Unitarian pamphlet, or pretending that I could worship the Creator as acceptably in solitude under the open canopy of heaven, with His word in my hand and in my heart, as they could do in temples made with hands, etc., etc. Oh, the long-suffering and patience of God! Of Thy mercy—of Thy rich mercy, O Lord, will I sing.

In the winter of 1829-30 I perused a good many volumes belonging to Fala Library. Among other works, I read Rollin's Ancient History, Sir W. Scott's Tales of a Grandfather, all the Voyages Round the World, several Lives of Napoleon, Park's Travels, Paley's Works, Newton On the. Prophecies, Keith's Evidences of Christianity, and Pollok's Course of Time. The two last-mentioned works were particular favourites with me. But from all the volumes mentioned I received a great amount of information. They opened up new fields to my mental view. I was both delighted and amazed by the information communicated in Dick's Christian Philosopher. I thought I could unweariedly study astronomy for ever. Great was my joy when I could name Venus and Jupiter and Mars at sight, and great became my fame for lair among my simple companions. I could not only "name the stars" to them, but also tell them wonderful things about the air we breathe and the water we drink. From the time of my father's death till now, it appeared to me as if my mind had been confined in a dark dungeon. Now, books supplied his place, and greatly I rejoiced in the light which blazed around me.

I well remember my first introduction to Pollok. On a placid Sabbath afternoon in the summer of 1830, my friend Mr. William Peter brought to the spot where I was then herding the horses a book of poetry with which he said he had been much delighted, and told me that I might have it for a day or two if I liked. When he left me, I opened the book, saw it to be blank verse (of which I had never been very fond) looked at it suspiciously, thought it to be too long to be good, read a few lines, got interested, then delighted, then entranced, and could hardly work, eat, drink, or sleep, till I got to the end of the volume, which was The Course of Time.

I had not then read Milton's Paradise Lost, but got a perusal of it soon after from my warm friend, Mr. James Hope. [The following story has been told me in this connection. Anderson was anxious to read Paradise Lost, and Mr. Hope said he would lend it to him if William would promise to attend church. This Anderson was unwilling to do. One day Mr. Hope had brought the volume with him, and, in assisting to lift an animal which had been drowned in a pond, the volume fell out of his pocket. Anderson picked it up, and thus got possession of the coveted volume without having to give the desired promise.]

While at Fala Mains I took a deeper interest in political matters than I had ever taken previously, or have ever taken since. [But after his retirement in 1889 he became a keen politician, and contributed letters signed '• Octogenarian " to the newspapers.] Mr. Burton read the Scotsman newspaper, and he kindly allowed me to peruse it. I greedily imbibed the politics of that paper, advocated what was called "Catholic Emancipation," and even wrote a poem expressive of sympathy with the French Revolution of 1830. . . .

I did not abandon preaching at this place, and in addition to it I tried my hand at speechifying. Many a religious discourse did I deliver on Sabbath, as well as many a political harangue during the week, to the cows, the sheep, the peesweeps, and the whaups by the upper mill-dam, the "North Plantin'," the "Lang Cleuch," and near Fala Flow. In addition to this, however, I went over the Shorter Catechism to the two young men who slept in the stable beside me in the half-year commencing at Whitsunday 1829. My custom was to repeat a question with its answer just when we had all laid ourselves down for the night, and then to explain the answer at some length. One of my companions—David Crooks by name —declared himself benefited and instructed by the simple exercise. My acquaintance with Fisher's Catechism while at Ford Sabbath school was of much service to me during the delivery of this my first series of discourses to an audience of two. At the Martinmas term of that year one of my companions—William Pringle—left us. On the Sabbath before the term all three went in company to the Flow, where I read a portion of Scripture, and we all joined in singing the 2nd Paraphrase.

I had not been very long at Fala Mains ere my bookishness was pretty well known in the neighbourhood, and I was dubbed "the minister," which sobriquet had died out, however, before I left the place. Many a time while here did I implore the great King and Head of the Church to take me into His service. These prayers He has graciously answered. They were presented with strong desire yet feeble expectation of being answered.

I began to keep a Journal on January 1st, 1831.

The following extracts illustrate the social customs of the time:—

Saturday, Jan. 1.—Complied with old custom last night and this morning. Remained in company with my friend, Mr. John Symington, in the Tollhouse till it struck twelve midnight, then we went a "first-footing" the length of Mr. Wm. Peter's, where we remained above four hours.

The next extract gives a glimpse of the severity of the weather, and narrates the "heroic" method of clearing the "lade":—

Tuesday, Feb. 8.—We have had an awful week. When we separated on the morning of the 1st, the snow was about a foot deep, and falling heavily. It fell with unabated rapidity all the day. On Wednesday it drifted greatly. All that night, and Thursday, and Thursday night, the fall and drift were most appalling. On Sabbath we had to take hay on horseback to the hill for the poor sheep. Yesterday it was fresh. We wished to have the threshing-mill set agoing, but the water would not leave the water-wheel, owing to the arched run (or lade) being filled with drifted snow. I adopted a somewhat desperate measure to get it cleared. I stripped nearly naked, and crept through the snow and slush, and thus cleared the passage for the water. I was quite benumbed when I got through, and certainly had a taste of starvation. Mr. Burton was evidently glad of the result, but he did not approve of the means.

Considerable excitement in the parish just now, as "the schoolmaster is abroad" dispensing troublesome blessings in the form of militia schedules. Being now above eighteen years of age, I have been constrained to join our parochial club.

At Martinmas 1831 I left Fala Mains. While there I did my best to promote my master's interest. With all my bookishness, I was neither indolent nor inattentive to my work. But I never could plough well—indeed, I was a very bad ploughman, and, as was but just and reasonable, Mr. Burton wanted one who could produce better furrows than I could ever make.

My recollections of Fala Mains are, on the whole, of an interesting and agreeable kind. I left it with a heart rather sad on the morning of November 24th. I went to Dalkeith market the same day, rigged myself out for Sabbath as well as my £3 of wages would allow. Among other things, I bought a pocket Bible for church, for I had long determined to recommence churchgoing whenever I should leave Fala Mains, and wherever my lot might be cast. I returned to my aunt's house on that Thursday evening, uncertain as to my future procedure and provision, but casting myself once more on the care of Him who feeds ravens and sparrows. To Him I could present the prayer which my two companions and I had sung at Fala Flow two years before—

"Through each perplexing path of life
My wandering footsteps guide;
Give me each day my daily bread,
And raiment fit provide.

O spread Thy covering wings around,
Till all my wanderings cease,
And at my Father's loved abode
My soul arrives in peace."