Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-03-11
A VISIT TO HUGH M1LLgR

The recent suicide of this distineuisb.5 e.
dividual, which has thrilled with horror tn.
| hearts of thousands on both sides of the Az.
lantic, who have known, admired and reyered
him through the medium Of his writings.
| which have contributed 90 much 10 the sd-
vancement Of science, and betokened Q mind
OF extraordinary power, strongly imbued With
the spirit Of Christianity, has lett IN impress
sion upon the mind Of the writer Of this ar
tlcle which did not vanish with the first start
ing intelligence Of his self-destruction. To
one who, like myself, had seen and converssd
WIN MIN at his own home, such O piece OF In
'enlgence comes with much more unpleasant
enect tnan perhaps TO those who were not per-
sonally known to him, so irreconcilable is the
lues Oh sucn an act, with the impressions
"nicn MS appearance, manners. and conyer-
sation made upon my mind. All these indi-
Gated mind we'll poised, composed, enlarged
and benevolent, as one who had lived To p1r.
pose, and fulfilled the end of existence ss
one who had dived into the mysteries of crea-
tlon and learned the secrets which the eartb
reveals to scientific research, and whose n,ind
scared into regions Of thought far beyond the
ken OF ordinary mortals
L was solicited, or rather importuned, bv
Two American gentlemen. whilst in Edinburgh,
70 accompany them on a visit TO Hugh Miller
They had dipped into the science of geology.
and their ideas seemed to run in that channel
OF knowledge almost altogether, to the exclu-
sion OF almost all other branches At all events
they must see Hugh Miller before they left
Edinburgh, and 1 must 20 with them. The
elder OF the two promised to do all the talk
ing, whilst resolved to take refuge in silence
to conceal my deficiency in the silence of geol-
ogy, To which L had paid little attention We
accordingly hired an open carriage to take Us
10 Porto Belio, little town near Edinburgh
where the distinguished geologist resided. A
rlfe OF three miles upon a macsdsmised road
brought US 70 the place, and shortly the hack
nan drew up at a small door, set in a wall
opening on one of the streets We rang the
gate bell snd were received by servant, who
showed US into the parlor of a rather unim-
posing dwelling The room was not large but
the furniture was so well arranged and with
such an air CT comfort and ease, that eyery
appearance of stiffness seemed to have been
studiously avoided, whilst at the same time
elegance and taste were predominant features
in the arrangement. A verandah shaded the
windows of the apartment, and gave il that
subdued light which is most agreeable to the
eye.
We had not waited long before form Of
athletic proportions, with shoulders and head
OF Herculesn size, presented itself at the door
OF the apartment and entered the room, bow
Ing IN dlgnihed and polite manner, without
speaking, waiting for Us TO announce our
selves The senior Of the party made one Of
those commonplace introductions, in which be
signlhed that though unknown to the geologiS,
he was not unknown to US, and so forth.
After some remarks Of desultory character,
he took us to his cabinet of fessns, which was
small building in tho enclosure, separate
from the dwelling Here were ranged in sys-
tematic order, upon the shelves, the much
priced specimens of fossils and other curiosi.
ties, which he had collected with 60 much
care and pains in his geological researches.
as DE explained q q concise manner to us the
specimens as they came under his observation
In our progress round the room, and addressed
to US remarks suggested by each, connected
with the science of geology, and drew bis de-
ductions therefrom, in voice deep but mild,
bis benignsnt blue eye betokenipg the calm
dignity OF the mind within, his massive head
with profusion Of sandy hair, mixed with
gray and worn caTelessly, he seemed marvel
of chronological and intelleclual develop
ment, and left an impression not easily effaced
from my mind Amongst other things he
showed US mud fish, which he had in pre-
servatiop, a present TO him from Professor
Agassiz, and brought from Carolina He
priIed it as a specimen Of fish which in some
parts Of its formation resembled the extinct
tribes Of fish which lived in the earlier periods
of the earth formation.
As We left the cabinet and were crossing the
enclosure where there were platts of grass and
clover besprinkled with daisies and butter
cups, I stopped to gather some of the little
flowers as souvenirs Of the place, when he
plucked some Of the yellow butter cups and
told us he would show US how to distinguish
between the real and the counterfeit flower.
He then held the flower near the cheek OF one
of my companions, and though the sun was
not shining, it cast a rich yellow hue upon the
skin. Before we left. his house he gave US
each a pamphlet-his own production upon a
scientific subject, upon which he wrote, at my
request, his autograph.
In his dress he was very plain, wearing O
suit of brown mixed tweed cashmere, and
(what to me seemed in very bad taste) yellow
morocco slippers. His gait was rather un-
gainly, more like that of the working classes,
and his whole personal appearance seemed to
fit him for the blacksmith shop or the stone
Quarries where he worked in the earlier part
of his life. His face was rough, and seemed
to have the traces Of small pox, but his fea-
lures were good, and his brow very fine. He
was a self made man, but regarded by his
contemporaries in science, even the best Of
them, who had the best opportunities Of edu-
cation, as their equal in every respect rs 10
scientific attainments. However shocking the
manner of his death there is no doubt Of his
insanity at the time, from a note which be
addressed to his wife just before be saot him
self, from the incohercncy of his ideas as ex-
pressed in the note This is another instance
of the inscrutable ways of Providence, the
darkness of which our finite minds cannot
fsthom but the wisdom Of which Wa must