The celebrated geologist, and editor of the _Witness_ newspaper, Hugh
Miller, was born at Cromarty on the 10th October 1802. In his fifth year
he had the misfortune to lose his father, who, being the captain of a
small trading vessel, perished in a storm at sea. His widowed mother was
aided by two industrious unmarried brothers in providing for her family,
consisting of two daughters, and the subject of this Memoir. With a
rudimentary training in a private school, taught by a female, he became
a pupil in the grammar school. Perceiving his strong aptitude for
learning, and vigorous native talent, his maternal uncles strongly urged
him to study for one of the liberal professions; but, diffident of
success in more ambitious walks, he resolved to follow the steps of his
progenitors in a life of manual labour. In his sixteenth year he
apprenticed himself to a stone-mason. The profession thus chosen proved
the pathway to his future eminence; for it was while engaged as an
operative stone-hewer in the old red sandstone quarries of Cromarty,
that he achieved those discoveries in that formation which fixed a new
epoch in geological science. Poetical composition in evening hours
relieved the toils of labour, and varied the routine of geological
inquiry. In the prosecution of an ornamental branch of his
profession--that of cutting and lettering grave-stones--he in 1828
proceeded to Inverness. Obtaining the friendship of Mr Robert
Carruthers, the ingenious editor of the _Inverness Courier_, the columns
of that journal were adorned by his poetical contributions. In 1829
these were issued from the _Courier_ office, in a duodecimo volume, with
the title, "Poems Written in the Leisure Hours of a Journeyman Mason."
By the press the work was received with general favour; and the author,
in evidence that his powers as a prose-writer were not inferior to his
efforts as a poet, soon re-appeared in the columns of the _Courier_, as
the contributor of various letters on the Northern Fisheries. These
letters proved so attractive that their republication in the form of a
pamphlet was forthwith demanded.
The merits of the Cromarty stone-mason began to attract some general
attention. Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, who had an occasional residence in
Morayshire, afforded him patronage; and the venerable Principal Baird of
Edinburgh, to whom he was introduced, recommended him to quit the
mallet, and seek literary employment in the capital. Such gratifying
encouragement and friendly counsel, though not immediately acted upon,
were not without advantage in stimulating his enterprise. Before
relinquishing, however, a craft at which he could at least earn a
sufficiency for his immediate wants, he resolved to test his
capabilities as a writer by a further literary attempt.
Cromarty and its vicinity abounded in legends of curious interest,
respecting the times of religious persecutions, and of the rebellions in
the cause of the Stuarts, and these Miller had carefully stored up from
the recitations of the aged. The pen of Scott had imparted a deep
interest to the traditions of other localities; and it seemed not
unlikely that the legends of Cromarty, well told, would attract some
share of attention. Success attended this further adventure,
proportioned to its unquestionable merit--the "Scenes and Legends of the
North of Scotland," which emanated from the publishing house of the
Messrs Black of Edinburgh, confirmed and widely extended the reputation
of the author.
From handling the workman's tools, a sudden transition to the constant
use of the pen of the _litterateur_ is, under the most favourable
circumstances, not to be desired. It was the lot of Hugh Miller to
engage in an intermediate employment, and to acquire, in a manner
peculiarly appropriate, that knowledge of business, and acquaintance
with the transactions of life, which are so necessary to those who,
through the medium of the press, seek to direct public opinion. Shortly
after the publication of his "Scenes and Legends," a branch of the
Commercial Bank was opened at Cromarty, and the accountantship was
offered to him by the agent. Entering on the duties, after a short
preliminary training in the Bank's offices at Edinburgh and Linlithgow,
he subsequently added to his domestic comfort by uniting himself in
marriage with Miss Lydia Fraser, a young lady of literary tastes, to
whom he had for some time borne an attachment. His official emoluments
amounted to nearly a hundred pounds a-year; these were considerably
augmented by his contributing legendary tales for _The Tales of the
Border_, and writing occasional articles to _Chambers' Edinburgh
Journal_. The _veto_ controversy was now extensively agitating the
Established Church, and, having long supported the popular view, he at
length resolved to come forward more conspicuously as the advocate of
what he strongly regarded as the rights of the people. He embodied his
sentiments in the shape of a letter to Lord Brougham, and, having
transmitted his MS. to Mr Robert Paul, the manager of the Commercial
Bank, it was by that gentleman submitted to Dr Candlish. Perceiving the
consummate ability of the writer, that able divine not only urged the
publication of his letter, but recommended his immediate nomination as
the editor of the _Witness_ newspaper, which had just been projected by
some of the Edinburgh clergy. The offer of the editorship was
accordingly made, and, being accepted, the first number of the newspaper
was, early in 1840, issued under his superintendence.
As a controversial writer, and the able exponent of his peculiar views
of ecclesiastical polity, Hugh Miller at once attained a first rank
among contemporary editors. Many persons who were unconcerned about the
Scottish Church question, or by whom his sentiments on that subject were
disapproved, could not withhold an expressed admiration of the singular
power with which his views were supported, and of the classic style in
which they were conveyed. For some years prior to undertaking the
editorship, he had devoted much of his spare time to the preparation of
a geological work; and he now, in the columns of his newspaper, in a
series of chapters, presented to the public that valuable contribution
to geological science, since so well known as his work on "The Old Red
Sandstone." To the scientific world, by opening up the fossil treasures
of a formation hitherto understood to be peculiarly destitute of organic
remains, this publication claimed an especial interest, which was
enhanced by the elegance of the diction. His subsequent publications
fully sustained his fame. A work on the physical and social aspects of
the sister kingdom, entitled "First Impressions of England and its
People," was followed by "The Footprints of the Creator," the latter
being a powerful reply to the work entitled "Vestiges of the Natural
History of Creation." In 1854 he published a most interesting narrative
of his early struggles and experiences, with the title, "My Schools and
Schoolmasters." "The Testimony of the Rocks," a work on which he
bestowed intense labour, and which may be regarded as his masterpiece,
was published in March 1857, about three months subsequent to his
demise; but all the sheets had undergone his final revision.
For some years his health had been declining; in early manhood he
suffered severely from a pulmonary affection, known as the "mason's
disease," and he never thoroughly recovered. A singular apprehension of
personal danger, inconsistent with the general manliness of his
character, induced him for many years never to go abroad without
fire-arms. He studied with pertinacious constancy, seldom enjoying the
salutary relaxations of society. He complained latterly that his sleep
was distracted by unpleasant dreams, while he was otherwise a prey to
painful delusions. The eye of affection discovered that the system had
been overtaxed; but eminent medical counsel deemed that cessation from
literary toil would produce an effectual cure. The case was much more
serious; a noble intellect was on the very brink of ruin. On the night
of the 24th December 1856, he retired to rest sooner than was his usual,
as the physician had prescribed. With redoubled vehemence he had
experienced the distractions of disordered reason; he rose in a frenzy
from his bed, and, having written a short affectionate letter to his
wife, pointed his revolver pistol to his breast. He fired in the region
of the heart, and his death must have been instantaneous. The melancholy
event took place in his residence of Shrub Mount, Portobello, and his
remains now rest in the Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh. As a geologist it is
not our province to pronounce his eulogy; he was one of the most elegant
and powerful prose-writers of the century, and he has some claims, as
the following specimens attest, to a place among the national poets.