curred yesterday in the shop of Mr. Thomson, gunmaker. In the
beginning of July, last year, Mr. Hugh Miller bought a six-shot
revolving chamber pistol, size of ball ninety-two to the pound, from the
late firm of Messrs. Alexander Thomson & Son, gunmakers, 16 Union Place.
A few days after, he called and said he thought it a little stiff in its
workings, and got it made to revolve more readily. The pistol has not
been seen by Mr. Thomson since then; but in his absence a few minutes at
dinner yesterday, Professor Miller called about twenty minutes from two,
and asked Mr. Thomson's foreman how many of the six shots had been
fired. He added, 'Mind, it is loaded.' The foreman, instead of removing
the breech or chamber to examine it, bad incautiously turned the pistol
entire towards his own person, and lifting up the hammer with his
fingers, while he counted the remaining loaded chambers, he must have
slipped his fingers while the pistol was turned to his own head. It
exploded, and the ball lodging in the angle of his right eye, he fell
back a lifeless corpse. The pistol is a bolted one, which permits of
being carried loaded with perfect safety. Having been wet internally,
rust may have stopped the action of the bolt. It is a singular fact that
Hugh Miller dropped the pistol into the bath, where it remained for
several hours. This may account for the apparent incaution of Mr.
Thomson's foreman."

[3] See _ante_, p. 9.

[4] The horizontal lines in this diagram indicate the divisions of the
various geologic systems; the vertical lines the sweep of the various
classes or sub-classes of plants across the geologic scale, with, so far
as has yet been ascertained, the place of their first appearance in
creation; while the double line of type below shows in what degree the
order of their occurrence agrees with the arrangement of the botanist.
The single point of difference indicated by the diagram between the
order of occurrence and that of arrangement, viz., the transposition of
the gymnogenous and monocotyledonous classes, must be regarded as purely
provisional. It is definitely ascertained that the Lower Old Red
Sandstone has its coniferous wood, but not yet definitely ascertained
that it has its true monocotyledonous plants; though indications are not
awanting that the latter were introduced upon the scene at least as
early as the pines or araucarians; and the chance discovery of some
fossil in a sufficiently good state of keepin