THE CRUISE OF THE BETSEY; OR, A SUMMER RAMBLE AMONG THE FOSSILIFEROUS WITH RAMBLES OF A GEOLOGIST; OR, TEN THOUSAND MILES OVER THE FOSSILIFEROUS BY HUGH MILLER, AUTHOR OF THE OLD RED SANDSTONE," "MY SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL- MASTERS, EDINBURGH: THOMAS CONSTABLE AND Co. MDCCCLVIII. PREFACE. NATURALISTS of every class know too well how HUGH MILLER died,—the victim of an overworked brain; and how that bright and vigorous spirit was, abruptly quenched for ever. During the month of May (1857) Mrs Miller came to Malvern, after recovering from the first shock of bereavement, in search of health and repose, and evidently hoping to do justice, on her recovery, to the literary remains of her husband. Unhappily the excitement and anxiety naturally attaching to a revision of her husband's works proved over much suffering under such recent trial, and from an affection of the brain and spine which ensued; and, in consequence, Mrs Miller has been forbidden, for the present, to engage in for one Under these circumstances, and at Mrs Miller's request, I have undertaken the editing of "The Cruise of the Betsey, or a Summer Ramble among the Fossiliferous Deposits of the Hebrides," as well as "The Rambles of a Geologist," hitherto unpublished, paper. save as a series of articles in the "Witness" news The style and arguments of HUGH MILLER are so |