He haunted all the shops and foundries in the neighborhood, making friends with the skilled workmen and absorbing the mysteries of foundry work, forging, hardening and tempering, and those arts which were handed down from man to man. Speaking of Patterson’s old shop, Nasmyth says: “To me it was the most instructive school of practical mechanics. Although I was only about thirteen at the time, I used to lend a hand, in which hearty zeal made up for want of strength. I look back on these days, especially to the Saturday afternoons spent in the workshops of this admirably conducted iron foundry, as a most important part of my education as a mechanical engineer. I did not _read_ about such things; for words were of little use. But I saw and handled, and thus all the ideas in connection with them became permanently rooted in my mind.... “One of these excellent men, with whom I was frequently brought into contact, was William Watson. He took special charge of all that related to the construction and repairs of steam engines, waterwheels, and millwork generally. He was a skillful designer and draughtsman and an excellent pattern maker. His designs were drawn in a bold and distinct style, on large deal boards, and were passed into the hands of the mechanics to be translated by them into actual work.”[85] [85] _Ibid._, p. 92. After telling of various workmen, Nasmyth says: “One of the most original characters about the foundry, however, was Johnie Syme. He took charge of the old Boulton & Watt steam engine, which gave motion to the machinery of the works.... Johnie was a complete incarnation of technical knowledge. He was the Jack-of-all-trades of the establishment; and the standing counsel in every out-of-the-way case of managing and overcoming mechanical difficulties. He was the superintendent of the boring machines. In those days the boring of a steam engine cylinder was considered high art _in excelsis_! Patterson’s firm was celebrated for the accuracy of its boring. “I owe Johnie Syme a special debt of gratitude, as it was he who first initiated me into that most important of all technical processes in practical mechanism--the art of hardening and tempering steel.”[86] From another of his friends, Tom Smith, Nasmyth picked up the rudiments of practical chemistry, as it was then understood. [86] _Ibid._, p. 93.