Biggar and the House of Fleming

44 BIGGAR AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMING.
spicuity, and with many happy illustrations, the deistical
doubts which are apt to arise in the mind of a young and
ardent inquirer ; and the telling and conclusive solution which
can be given to these doubts by a person of learning, experi-
ence, and religious convictions. His next work was a popular
" Exposition of Asiatic Cholera," which he delivered before
the Biggar Athenaeum, on the 20th March 1856. This
treatise contains a clear elucidation of the manifestations and
effects of this mysterious disease, the proofs which can be ad-
duced in support of the theory that it has its origin in a damp
and foul condition of the atmosphere, and the methods which
ought to be adopted for its prevention. This work called
forth very hearty commendations, both from medical men and
the public press. A third work of Dr Pairman's is a series of
four tracts on " Fever Poisons in our Streets and Homes,"
which were composed at the request of the Glasgow City Mission.
They have been extensively distributed, not merely by the
Society for which they were originally written, but by other
kindred institutions. For instance, the Ladies' Sanitary As-
sociation of Aberdeen, in the year 1859, circulated 2000
copies. Several passages from these tracts, that appeared in
a work by Miss Brewster, having attracted the attention of the
Committee of Council on Education, J. S. Lawrie, Esq., one
of the officials connected with that Committee, addressed a
communication to the author in 1858, requesting permission
to make extracts for educational purposes. To this request
the Doctor readily acceded, his great object in composing
them having been to lend his aid to the movement for the in-
struction and temporal elevation of the poorer classes of so-
ciety. This application must have been a source of gratifica-
tion to the worthy Doctor as well as to his friends, as it
showed that his labours were recognized and appreciated irj
the very highest quarters. The tracts are written in the Doc-
tor's usual clear, shrewd, earnest manner. They are divested
of 'all perplexing technicalities, so that all classes can read and
understand them with ease. They treat of themes of the
highest importance to the health, happiness, and social ameli-
oration of the community, and therefore deserve to be scat-
tered broadcast among all ranks,- the rich as well as the poor.
A little below Dr Pairman's establishment is the large build-
ing of the Commercial Bank erected in 1833.