26 THE BANK ACCOUNTANT. 



not read ? " A few evenings after, the Doctor and Mr 

 Turpie called on me at my lodgings. The former is a 

 metaphysician, and he had come to me apparently with 

 the intention of discussing what may be termed the 

 metaphysics of phrenology ; its connection, for instance, 

 with the grand question of liberty and necessity, and 

 the doctrines of the will. I communicated to him my 

 ideas on the subject as clearly as I could; met his 

 objections when they could be met; and showed him, 

 I should rather say strove to show him, the 

 boundaries of that horizon of darkness which, closing 

 round the human intellect in this direction, renders 

 many of them unanswerable, not because they are power- 

 ful as arguments, but because they cannot be understood. 

 We parted very well pleased with each other. " The 

 Doctor," said Mr Turpie to me a few days after, " can find 

 no line long enough to measure you by ; he has just met 

 with a Dr Baird, a nephew of the Principal, who tells 

 him that his uncle is quite enthusiastic regarding you, 

 and deems you equal to anything." But enough of this. 

 Never in my life before did I write* anything so re- 

 dolent of conceit as the last page and a half ; but with 

 you, my lassie, I know I am more than safe. Remem- 

 ber, too, I give you full liberty to laugh at me as much 

 as you please. 



' My own dearest Lydia, I must hear from you once 

 yet ; and to make up for the briefness of your former 

 letters, do write me on a double sheet. Tell me much 

 about yourself, what you are doing, and saying, and 

 thinking, and seeing, and feeling ; on a theme so inter- 

 esting you cannot be tedious/ 



Miss Eraser's answer to this is dated Cromarty, 8th 

 January, 1835. An extract from it will tend to eluci- 

 date Miller's next letter. The manse of Alness, men- 



