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    attacks upoa bis person , there -was added an exciting and over-mastering impression that his house , and . especially : that museum , the fruit of so much care , which - was contained in a separate outer building , were exposed to the assault of burglars . He read all the recent stories of house robberies . He believed that ; one night lately an actual attempt to break in upon his museorn had been , made . Visions of ticket-of-lea-ve men pro-wling about his premises haunted him by day and by night . The revolver which lay nightly near him was not enough : a

    broad-bladed dagger was kept beside it , while behind him , at his bed-head , a claymore stood ready at hand . A week or so ago , a new and more aggravated feature of cerebral disorder showed itself in sudden au < l singular "r * 8 ations in his head . Tliey came on only after lengthened intervals . They did not last long , but were intensely violent . The terrible idea that his brain was deeply and hopelessly diseased , that his mind was on the verge of rain , took hold of him , and stood put before his eye in all that appalling magnitude in which such an imagination as his alone could picture it . "

    It was not until Monday -week that he mentioned anything about these head disturbances- He then called on Dr . Balfour at Portobello . " On my asking , " says that gentleman , in a communication to the Witness , " what tv-as the matter with him , he replied : — 'My brain is giving way . I cannot put two thoughts together to-day . I have had a dreadful night of it . I cannot face another such . I was impressed with the idea that my museum was attacked by robbers , and that I had got up , put on my clothes , and gone out with a loaded pistol to shoot tliem . Immediately after that I became "unconscious . How long that continued I cannot sayj . but when la-woke in the morning I was trembling all over , and quite confused in my brain . So thoroughly convinced was I that I must have been out through the night , that I examined my trousers * to see if they were-wet or covered with mud , but could find none . '"

    The next day , a consultation was held between Dr . 33 alfour and Professor toiler ( a relaitou we ^ presume ) , the result of which the latter thus communicates :- — " ~ Vv * e examined his chest , and found that unusually ¦ w ell ; but soon we discovered that it was head symptoms that made him uneasy . ' He acknowledged having beea night after night up till very late in the morning , working hard and continuously at his new took , ' which , ' with much satisfaction , he said , ' I have finished this day . ' He was sensible that his head had suffered in

    consequence , as evidenced in two ways—first , occasionally he felt as if a A ery fine poniard had been suddenly passed through and through his brain . The pain was intense , and momentarily followed by confusion and giddiness , and the sense of being very drunk , ' unable to stand or walk . He thought that a period of unconsciousness must have followed this , —a Idnd of swoon , but he had never fallen . Second , what annoyed him most , however , was a kind of nightmare , which for some nights , past had rendered sleep most miserable . It was no dream , he said ; he saw no distinct vision , and could remember nothing of what had passed accurately . It was a sense of vague and yet intense horror , with a conviction of being abroad in the night wind , and dragged through places as if by some invisible power . ' Last

    night , ' he said , 'I felt as if I had been ridden by a witch for fifty miles , and rose far more wearied in inind and body than when I lay down . ' Suffice it to say , " adds Professor Miller , " that we came to the conclusion that he Avas suffering from an over-worked , mind , disordering his digestive organs , enervating- his whole frame , and threatening serious head nflectiou . We told him thip , and enjoined absolute discontinuance of all worlc—bed at eleven , light supper ( lie hail all his life made that a principal meal ) , thinning the hair of the head , a warm sponging-bath at bed time , &c . To all our com mands he readily promised obedience . For fully an hour we talked together on these and other subjects , and 1 ^ left him with no apprehension of impending evil , and little doubting but that a short timo of rest and regimen would restore him to his wonted vigour . "

    Shortly afterwards , the servant-girl entered the dining-room , to lay the table , when" Sho found Mr . Miller in the room alono . Another of the paroxysms was on him . Ilia face was such a picture of horror that sho hhrank in terror from the sight . He flung himself on the sofa aii < l buried liia head , as if in agony , upon the cushion . Again , howovcr , the vision flitted by , and loft him in perfect health . Tlio evening was spent quietly with his family . During tea ho employed himself in reading aloud ( Jowper ' s ' Castnway , ' the ' Sonnet on Mary Unwin , ' ruul ono of liia

    more playful pieces , for the special pleasure of liia children . Having corrected nonio proofs of the forth-• trcauig volume he went up stair . s to his study . At tho ¦ ppoii . ted hour he had taken the bath , hut unfortunately liis nntunl and poculiar ropugnanco to pliyaie had in-Raced him to loavo untakon tho medicine tlmt had been proscribed . Ho had retired into Inn aleoping-room a anc all apartment opening out of his study ,, and which for aotiio time- past , in coiiHidurqlion of ( ho delicate stnto of Ma wile ' fi health and tho irregularity of his own hours of Btudy , ho occupied at ni ^ ht alone—and laid some tiaao upon tho bed . The horrible trance , more horrible

    than ever , must have retained . All that can now be known of what followed is to- be gathered from the facts , that next morning his body , half-dressed , "was found lying lifel « 39 on the floor , the feet upon the study rug , the chest pierced with the ball cf the revolver pistok which was found lying- in the bath that stood close by . The bullet had perforated the left lung , grazed the heart , cut through the pulmonary artery at its root , and lodged in the rib in the right side . Death must have been instantaneous . " The following lines addressed to his wife were found lying on the table beside the corpse : — " Dearest Lydia , —lly brain burns . I must have walked ; and a fearful dream arises upon me . I cannot bear the horrible thought . God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon me . Dearest Lydia , dear children , farewell . My brain burns as the recollection grows . My dear , dear wife , farewell . " Hugh Hiixer . " A post mortem examination of the body was made by Professor Miller and other medical gentlemen , who found the brain greatly di&eased , and they therefore signed a document stating their conviction " that the act was suicidal , under the impulse of insanity . " Another tragedy has arisen out of this lamentable event"We find it thus

    related—. : vi vn v * I m . \ */ . U . AAV * . IV VJLl LAO X dCVLv ^ VL m' ™ " After the judicial and medical inquiry on Friday ( the 26 tb ult . ) , Professor Miller took the pistol to the gunsmith from which it had been purchased by Mr . Miller in July , 1855 , in order to ascertain how many shots had been fired and-how many were still in the chamber . In the master ' s absence , the foreman , Thomas Leslie , an old and experienced workman , received the pistol from . Professor Miller , and unfortunately , instead of taking off the chamber , looked

    into the muzzle , holding the hammer with his fingers while he turned the chamber round to count the charges . The hammer slipped from his fingers , struck the cap , and the charge in the barrel exploded . Professor Miller , still standing outside the counter , exclaimed , ' That ' s a narrow escape ! ' but unhappily it was not so , for , as tbe smoke cleared away , he saw the poor man ' s head gradually droop , and his body fall lifeless on the floor . The charge bad entered bis right eva and

    nene-. . was a . steady , trustworthy man , and had been twenty-five years in his present employment . He has left a widow and a familv of eight chddren . The funeral of Mr . Miller took place on Tuesday , in the midst of an unusually large concourse . of spectators . The shops along the route irere for the most part closed , at the request of the jmxgistrates ; and very great respect was shown to the memory of the deceased geologist and pressman .

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    DINNER TO LORD PANMIJRE . Lord P _\ 5 jmure was entertained on Tuesday evening at a public dinner b y the county gentlemen of Forfar , to testify tlieir respect for his Lordship as Lord-Lieutenant of the county , and as an acknowledgment of his public services as Minister of War . To accommodate all parties in the district , Arbroath was selected as the most central place of meeting , and the new Markethall was elegantly decorated for the occasion . The building is constructed after the model of the nave of the Crystal Palace . Tho company assembled at four o ' clock , and occupied every scat on the ground-floor , while two hundred ladies filled the galleries . The chair

    was occupied by Sir John Ogilvic , Convenor of the county , supported oa the right hy Lord Paamure , Lord Kinnaird , the Hon . William Maule , Viscount Melville , Admiral Sir Houston Stewart , &c . ; and on the left by the Marquis of Breadalbane , tli e Earl of Southesk , the Earl of Kintore , Yiscount Duncan , M . P-, the Lord Advocate-, &c . Lord Panmure , in the course of his speech , alluded to the inquiry into the state of the English army in the Crimea , made by Sir John M'Neill and Colonel Xulloch , who had been sent out , not , as had been supposed , with any vindictive wish to punish the supposed guilty parties , but simply with a desire to collect information as to tie cause of the

    miahapsi The report of tho Commissioners , ho believed , had been made with great fidelity , and without a desiro to injure tho feelings of any British officers , but simply with a -wish to tell tho truth . Many of tho reforms in tho army for which he had received credit had been commenced under tho Duke of Newcastle "It was my lot , with the Jiid of my colleagues , to make a radical change—and 1 do not use the term offensively—in the constitution nncl command of tho British army . Already had tho Dnkeof Newcastle

    been establishing a distinct department which would manage tho affairs of war in this country . It is not only essential that such a department should exist in timo of war ; for , believe me , tlicre are matters sufficient for a very largo department even in times of the most profound peace . ( TjOwI cheers . ') I was accused of Applying too Htoutly to reform during a period of existing war ; but the fact was I found wo could not carry on tho war without the reform , nrul I determined , whatever tho risk , to accomplish the change . You will readily believe the necessity of this when I tell you that , till

    within a year and a few moHtfh * , the Commander-in-Chief had only the cavalry and tie infantry under his I charge . With the artillery he ha ^ Bothing- to do , and they were placed beside him on . tbe field or fa some camp adjoining . I have , with tne consent of my eol teagues , plaeed the artillery and engineers of tfek . eonntry , as they ought to he , under the immediate command of ? the Comanander-in-Chief . ( Applause . ) .... I will answer for it that , should due necessity arise , we eouH embark any number of soldiers this country may be called upon to provide , complete in all their equipments , ten days after the order had been given . " ( JLoud cheers . ' )

    The other chief speech of the evening was that of Mr . T . Steere , United States consul , -who made some remarks on the good effects of reciprocal free trade , and on the admirable effects of an untrammelled press . On the latter subject , he observed i— " He must be a superficial reasoner indeed who does not perceive , wrapt in the thunders of the Times , and the genial humour and flowing wit of Punch , principle and philosophy which is continually carrying them , as well as others , along towards a higher appreciation of truth , of others' rights , and universal justice , toward the aim and end of the press , the diffusion of truth , and the cultivation and advocacy of true manners and morals , and public virtue in . society and government . " . ( C&eej-y . )

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    ACCIDENTS AND SUDDEN DEATHS . A Mr . Edwaed ITkeeman ,. a retired tradesman , about fifty years of age , died suddenly at the North , and South American Coffeehouse , Threadneedle-street . There appeared to be some chest disturbance , and it was stated at the inquest that Mr . Freeman ' s father had died i » a similar way . A verdict of NaturaTDeath . was returned . An inquest has been held on , the bodies of the four men who were recently killed at one of the Blaenavoo

    coalmines . There had been a fire in the pit ; water was poured down to quench it ; the air was thus turned , back into the pit , and became unfit to breathe ; and subsequently a dam was put up across the drift , so as to keep the water in . The men were warned not to go into that part of the pit ; but four of them disregarded the caution , and paid the penalty with their lives . The man at -whose suggestion the dam was put up was among those who -were killed- The jury returned a verdict of Accidental Death .

    A dreadful death las happened in the "White Abbeysawmills , Bradford . "William Ellis , a sawyer , descended to the shafting with a lamp on Friday week , for the purpose of putting on a belt . He was surprised to observe a man named Mitchell , who had no business there , rise from a heap of sawdust where he had apparently been sleeping , and attempt to get out of sight . In so doing he stepped upon the boxing- at the base of the « nfenced horizontal shaft , which was revolving with great

    rapidity ; his apron was instantly caught ; he was whirled round with an awful velocity , and at each revolution of the shaft his body struck against a large wooden pillar only eleven inches and a half distant . Th . e engines were stopped in two minutes ; but , when the workmen proceeded to the place , the remains of the man presented a sad spectacle . Nearly every bone in his body was broken , his head was shattered in pieces , and his brains bespattered the adjacent machinery . It is thought lie was skulking from Us work .

    The driver of a Walthamstow omnibus was charged at Worship-street with having caused the death of a woman named Carroll , by running his vehicle over her body as she lay prostrate . A gentleman living at Walthamstow was riding home on the box of the omnibus , between four and five o'clock in the afternoon , and they had reached the eni of the Hackney-road , when they saw something black fall just in front of the horses , and afterwards felt the wheels jerk abruptly over some thick substance . It being nearly dark at tho time , they could not at first distinguish what it iras ; but the driver immediately drew up , and they then perceived that it was tho body of a woman , who was still ulive , but fearfully injured . Sho was at ouco taken to the London Hospital , and surgical aid was sent for as quickly as possible ; but the poor creature died befow she couhl bo got to the hospital . The omnibus man

    went to the station shortly after to make inquiries about her , and on being told tho result ho seemed greatly affected , and expressed much regret , saving ho had no conductor with him at tho time or he should have surrendered at once . The account he gave of tho occurrence was , that acab | was going in the opposito direction to hie , and that the woman , in stopping back and trying to save herself from tho cab , got confused and placed herself before hia leader , wliich knocked her down , jumped and sprang forward , and tho wheels went clear over hor body before he had time to pull up and prevent it . A pas-Bcngcr in the omnibus at tho time of tho occurrence gave the driver , whom he had known many years , an excellent character for honesty , sobriety , and genoral good conduct . Tho magistrate said that , as an inquest would he held on the body , lie should order tho accused to enter into his own recognizances to appear to answer any charge that might lie made against him .

    At tho commencement of hostilities with Russia , in 1854 , mi old Finland fisherman , namedKomanofl ' Mensehilcon " , underwent impressment into the English naval servico , mid served oa board tho IIccIh , Captain Hull .

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    Santtaby 3 , 1857 . } THE LEIBEB , 3

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 3, 1857, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2174/page/3/