XXII 



house and assisted in various ways, on hearing the expression of a doubt 

 as to the benevolence of the Almighty for permitting him to undergo so 

 much trouble. Soon after he became Professor, he was on one occasion 

 giving evidence in a court of law on some scientific point connected with a 

 patent, when, during the cross examination, the Judge made a remark 

 which had the effect of questioning the veracity of the witness. Miller 

 felt this so keenly that he fainted, and had to be carried out of court. 

 After a short interval the Judge sent to inquire how he was. Miller said, 

 " I shall be better when his Lordship does me justice." On his return, 

 the counsel for the cross examination was proceeding to put questions 

 in the spirit of the objection, when the Judge stopped him, stating that 

 he had misunderstood the witness, and explained how. 



As a lecturer Miller was more successful in style and expression than as 

 a writer, for his written composition had some tendency to become in- 

 volved. One of the best specimens of his lectures is that on Spectrum 

 Analysis, given before the British Association at Manchester in 1861, 

 at the time when Kirchhoff's researches had made the subject more than 

 usually popular. One part of this lecture was devoted to an historical re- 

 view of that remarkable branch of chemico-physical research ; and so little 

 attention had been paid to this part of the subject that when a large 

 audience were collected to hear, as they supposed, an account of Kirchhoff's 

 discoveries, they were not a little surprised to find Kirchhoif occupying the 

 end of a long series of illustrious names, from Newton in 1/01 to Wollas- 

 ton in 1802 and Fraunhofer in 1815 ; while the various other names were 

 arranged after the fashion of a genealogical tree, under the four heads of 

 (1) Cosmical lines, (2) Absorption-bands, (3) Bright lines produced by 

 the electric spark, and (4) by coloured flames, the four branches uniting 

 in the names of Kirchhoff and Bunsen, 1860. On the morning of the day 

 appointed for that lecture, successful and brilliant as it was, Dr.' Miller 

 was seized with one of those bilious attacks to which he was subject, and 

 was so prostrated that he had to keep his bed nearly up to the time of the 

 lecture, and return to it immediately after its close. This gave occasion to 

 a little incident which deserves to be noted as illustrative of the cautious habit 

 of forethought of the man. In moving to the front of the crowded platform 

 with a bottle containing red nitrous fumes in his hand, in his weak state he 

 stumbled and fell, breaking the bottle in pieces. Immediately he sprang 

 to his feet, exclaiming "I have another !" on which a round of applause 

 caused him to remark, as if to himself, " I am too old a lecturer to rely upon 

 one bottle." 



This lecture was repeated before the Pharmaceutical Society of Lon- 

 don on the evening of the 1 5th January, 1862, and printed in the Society's 

 Journal for February of that year. The historical details given in it have 

 been largely used by subsequent writers, presenting, as they do, in a very 

 clear manner, the results obtained by the earlier workers on the Spectrum. 

 It was on returning from this lecture to his house at Tulse Hill, with his 



