ollier, at Pencaitland, and engaged at an early age in
putting the coals to his father; and when he was fit for full
collier-work, in 1831, he was employed at the same coal-work. He was a
tall, well-formed, robust young man, and not at all liable to chest
affection. For some time he wrought, as a coal-hewer, but latterly was
induced, (1834), for higher wages, to become a stone-miner in the same
coal-pit, where gunpowder was used extensively in the operations. About
six months after he commenced stone-mining, he became affected with a
short tickling cough, expectoration of pearly tenacious phlegm, hurried
breathing, tightness across the chest, frequent pulse (95), heat of skin
during the night, and occasional throbbing in the head. Being young, and
fearless of any danger from the occupation, although warned of the
consequences, he continued to prosecute it, and twelve months (May 1835)
after he first began, the cough had increased much in severity. The
expectoration was diminished, and had become more difficult to void from
the bronchi, and the breathing was more oppressive, accompanied by a
painful tightness across the chest in the morning. The body was
considerably reduced in bulk to what it previously had been. The pulse
ranged from 80 to 90; the appetite was impaired, and there was in the
morning a tendency to retching. The nocturnal heat of skin continued,
without any moisture, though his body was drenched with a clammy sweat
during the hours of labour. The respiratory murmur was harsh and
extensive at the upper part of both lungs, while the sibilant ronchus
was heard occasionally in the lower lobes. The heart's action was
regular, but impulse strong, on applying the hand to the cardiac region.
The remedies resorted to were blisters, bleeding (at an early stage),
expectorants, and tonics, which, to a certain degree, relieved the more
urgent symptoms.

In October 1835, the disease having made rapid progress, all the
symptoms had become more marked. The cough, from its frequency and
severity, was extremely exhausting, and the expectoration had become
more copious, and of a semi-black colour. The mucous rale was evident in
the upper part of both lungs, while the inferior lobes were dull to the
ear, and on percussion. The heart's action, at this stage, was less
strong, but no peculiarity in its function could be discovered. The
cardiac region exhibited every indication of effusion into the
pericardium. His body was now