An autobiography : My schools and schoolmasters; or, The story of my education. Hardcover - 1854

Boston, Gould and Lincoln, 59 Washington Street, 1854, 1854. Book. Fair. Hardcover. 1st Edition. [1st edition, 1st printing]; xiv, 537 p. front. (port.) 20 cm. ; LC: QE22.M5; LA651.7; Dewey: B ; OCLC: 2575760 ; LCCN: e 15-2671 ; dark green blind stamped cloth with gold lettering ; "Curiosity must be awakened ere it can be satisfied; nay, once awakened, it never fails in the end fully to satisfy itself; and it has occurred to me, that by simply laying before the working men of the country the "Story of my Education," I may succeed in first exciting their curiosity, and next, occasionally at least, in gratifying it also. They will find that by far the best schools I ever attended are schools open to them all,-that the best teachers I ever had are (though severe in their discipline) always easy of access,-and that the special form at which I was, if I may say so, most successful as a pupil, was a form to which I was drawn by a strong inclination, but at which I had less assistance from my brother men, or even from books, than at any of the others. There are few of the natural sciences which do not lie quite as open to the working men of Britain and America as geology did to me." ; Partial Contents: The little boy of the farm-house.-His early education.-Enters the navy.-A mutfay, and its happy termination.-Instance of great physical strength.-Quits the service.-Subsequent adventures.-Enters the coasting trade.-The master's home.-Unhappy accidents.-The curate of Nigg.-Vessel lost in a storm.-Jack's narrative of the shipwreck.-A second marriage.-Terrible anger of a good-natured man-My birth and parentage.-Mythologic character of the recollections of early childhood.-My father lost in a storm on the sea.-An apparition.-A dreary season-Stanzas.-My early education and reading.-Donald Roy.-Supernatural element in the religious character of the Highlanders.-Donald become a Seceder-Some account of his descendants.-My two uncles-Blind Harry's " Wallace," and Its effects upon me.-Enter the grammar school-Early Individual development correspondent with an early national one-Lessons learned at the grammar school.-Bellicose peat expeditions.-The parish schoolmaster.-My progress in Latin.-Development of a talent for story telling.-Became a sort of favorite with the master.-Old Francle, the retired clerk, and his curious collections.-Lessons learned on the sea-shore.-The black mica and garnet crystals of Cromarty.-Exploration of Cromarty Hill.-Curious anecdotes of crabs and lobsters.-Notices of the lump-fish.-Amphitrites and their masonry.-Dye fish and beautiful exolic shells.-Superstition of the townspeople.-An apparition.-Clan stories and legends-Work In the Cromarty quarries.-Curious property of Flounders.-Libellula-Symbolism of ancient Celtic sculpture.-** Poor lame-Resolve to seek my fortune among the stone-cutters of Edinburgh.-Thoughts of a home In the backwoods of America.-Robert Chambers and his journal.-Ichthyotitic deposits of the old red sandstone,-these have no representative among recent fishes.-Mr. Dinkel's alleged restoration of the Cephalaspeans disproved.-Cheiracanthus and Cheirolepsis.--Evening excursions to Moray Frith.-Triumph of the Liberals over Presbyterlal bigotry.-An ability of efficient squabbling proved to be a very marketable one.-Memoir of William Forsyth.-A sad bereavement-Critical position of the Church,-It is defended In a letter to Lord Brougham,-great success of the pamphlet.- Reflections on the past ; foxing ; binders label on back endpapers ; "Born in Cromarty, he was educated in a parish school where he reportedly showed a love of reading. At 17 he was apprenticed to a stonemason, which, led him to the study of geology. In 1829 he published a volume of poems, and soon afterwards became involved in political and religious controversies. in 1856, Miller suffered severe headaches and mental distress, and the most probable diagnosis is of psychotic depression. He committed suicide, shooting himself in the chest with a revolver, fearing that he might otherwise harm his wife or children."--wikipedia ; FAIR.