THE OLD EED SANDSTONE; 



OR- 



NEW WALKS IN AN OLD FIELD. 



BY HUGH MILLER. 



FEOM THE FOURTH LONDON EDITION I L L II S T R A T 



A writer, in noticing Mr. Miller's "First Impressions of England and the People," in 

 the New Englander, of May, 1850, commences by saying, "We presume it is not neces- 

 sary formally to introduce Hugh Miller to our readers ; the author of ' The Old Eed Sand- 

 stone ' placed himself, by that production, which was first, among the most successful 

 geologists, and the best writers of the age. We well remember with what mingled emotion 

 and delight we first read that work. Rarely has a more remarkable book come from the 

 press. . . . For, besides the important contributions which it makes to the science of Geol- 

 ogy, it is written in a style which places the author at once among the most accomplished 

 writers of the age. ... He proves himself to be in prose what Burns has been in poetr.v. 

 We are not extravagant in saying that there is no geologist living who, in the descriptions 

 of the phenomena of the science, lias united such accuracy of statement with so much 

 poetic beauty of expression. What Dr. Buckland said was not a mere compliment, that 

 ' he had never been so much astonished in his life, by the powers of any man, as he had 

 been by the geological descriptions of Mr. Miller. That wonderful man described these 

 objects with a felicity which made him ashamed of the comparative meagreness and pov- 

 erty of his own descriptions, in the Bridgewater Treatise, which had cost him hours and 

 days of labor.' For our own part we do not hesitate to place Mr. Miller in the front raiik 

 of English prose writers. Without mannerism, without those extravagances which give a 

 factitious reputation to so many writers of the day, his style has a classic purity and ele- 

 gance, which remind one of Goldsmith and Irving, while there is an ease and a naturalness 

 in the illustrations of the imagination, which belong only to men of true genius." 



"The excellent and lively work of our meritorious, self-taught counti rman, Mr. Miller, 

 is as admirable for the clearness of its descriptions, and the sweetness of its composition, 

 as for the purity and gracefulness wnich pervade it." Edinburgh Review. 



" A geological work, small in size, unpretending in spirit and manner; itj contents, the 

 conscientious narration of fact; its style, the beautiful simplicity of truth; and altogether 

 possessing, for a rational reader, an interest superior to that of a novel." Dr. J. Pye Smith. 



"This admirable work evinces talent of the highest order, a deep and healthful roora. 

 feeling, a perfect command of the finest language, and a beautiful union of philosophy and 

 poetry. No geologist can peruse this volume without instruction and -delight." Silli- 

 mari's American Journal of Science. 



"Mr. Miller's exceedingly interesting book on this formation is just the sort of work to 

 render any subject popular. It is written in a remarkably pleasing style, and contains a 

 wonderful amount of information." Westminster Review. 



" In Mr. Miller's charming little work will be found a very graphic description of the Old 

 Redfishes. I know not of a more fascinating volume on any branch of British geology." 

 Manteirs Medals of Creation. 



SIR RODERICK MURCHISON, giving an account of the investigations of Mr. Miller, spoke 

 in the highest terms of his perseverance and ingenuity as a geologist. With no other advan 

 tages than a common education, by a careful use of his means, he had been able to give 

 himself an excellent education, and to elevate himself to a position which any man, in any 

 sphere of life, might well envy. He had seen some of his papers on geology, written in a 

 style so beautiful and poetical as to throw plain geologists, like himself, in the shade. 



GOULD AND LINCOLN, PUBLISHERS, BOSTON. 



