300 THE JOURNEYMAN. 



the following selection from his letters of the period 

 addressed to Miss Fraser. Whenever Miller left 

 Cromarty, whether for Inverness or elsewhere, he com- 

 menced writing to Miss Eraser, and seems to have 

 carried a pen and ink-horn along with him, so that he 

 might put his impressions into black and white for con- 

 veyance to his mistress at every resting-place on the way. 



' Inverness, 10 o'clock at night. 



' Your criticisms, my Lydia, came rather late, but 

 when I receive my proof-sheets I shall bring them you that 

 we may talk over them. You are a skilful grammarian, 

 but in some points we shall differ, you know we can 

 differ and yet be very excellent friends. I might try 

 long enough ere I could find a mistress so fitted to be 

 useful to me ; so little of a blue-stocking and yet so 

 knowing in composition. I am glad you are better, and 

 that you slept so well last night, even though your 

 slumber abridged your letter. I saw you to-day as I 

 passed your mother's. You were standing in the door 

 with a lady, and looked, I thought, very pale. O my 

 own Lydia, be careful of yourself. Take little thought 

 and much exercise. Read for amusement only. Set 

 yourself to make a collection of shells, or butterflies, or 

 plants. Do anything that will have interest enough to 

 amuse you without requiring so much attention as to 

 fatigue. I was sadly annoyed in the steam-boat to-night 

 by a sort of preaching man, one M , a Baptist. He 

 has little sense and no mariners, and his religion seems 

 to consist in finding fault. Of all nonsense, my Lydia, 

 religious nonsense is the worstT of all uncharitableness, 

 thatoTthe sectary is the bitterest. We too often speak 

 of intolerance as peculiar to classes who chance to have 

 the power of exercising it, as inseparably connected 



