Chapter VIII (2)

1. "That it is the wish of the Society to communicate to the Irish public, in the most extended manner consistent with the other engagements of the Society, the knowledge of a Science so intimately connected with the improvement of Agriculture and the Arts, which it is their great object to promote; and that, with this view, it appears to them extremely desirable to obtain the fullest information respecting the recent discoveries made by Mr. Davy, in Electro-chemical science.

2. "Resolved, That application be made to the Royal Society, requesting that they will be pleased to dispense with the engagements of Mr. Davy, so far as to allow the Dublin Society to solicit the favour of his delivering a course of Electro-chemical Lectures in their new Laboratory, as soon as may be convenient after their present course of chemical lectures shall have been completed by their Professor Mr. Higgins.

3. "That the sum of four hundred guineas be appropriated out of the funds of the Society, to be presented to Mr. Davy, as a remuneration for the trouble and expense which they propose he should incur, and as a mark of the importance they attach to the communication which they solicit."

Mr. Leslie Foster having stated to the Dublin Society that the "Farming Society of Ireland" were desirous of availing themselves of this opportunity to apply to Mr. Davy to repeat before them the six lectures on the application of chemistry to agriculture, which he delivered this year (1810) to the Board of Agriculture in England, and that they requested the Dublin Society would accommodate them with the use of their Laboratory for that purpose, all the members of the Dublin Society having free admission to such lectures--

The following Resolutions were passed by the Dublin Society:--

"That in the event of Mr. Davy coming over to Ireland, and consenting to deliver the Course referred to, the Farming Society shall be accommodated with the use of the Laboratory, according to their request.

"That it be referred to the Committee of Economy to consider on what terms, and under what regulations, it may be expedient to issue tickets of admission to the Electro-chemical Course, so as to reimburse to the Society the expenses attendant on the arrangement; and that, in order to give the fullest effect to such regulations, the members of the Society renounce any claim to gratuitous admission to this course."

A letter having been addressed to Mr. Davy by the Secretary of the Society, inviting him to Dublin, for the purpose of delivering courses of lectures, in conformity with the foregoing resolutions, the following answer was received from him:--

TO JOHN LESLIE FOSTER, ESQ. M. P. SECRETARY TO THE DUBLIN SOCIETY.

May 30, 1810.

SIR,

I had the honour of communicating your letter to the President
and Council of the Royal Society, who have desired me to express
to you, Sir, and through you, to the Dublin Society, the lively
interest they feel in the prosperity of that useful public body,
and the desire that they have to promote its important object.

On these grounds, they have been pleased to permit me to be absent
from the meetings of the Royal Society, during the period that may
be necessary for delivering a Course of Lectures at the Laboratory
of the Dublin Society, in the month of November next.

Be pleased to express to the Dublin Society my grateful
acknowledgments for the honour they have done me in making such a
proposition; and assure them that I shall use my best exertions
to promote their views for the extension of Chemical Science, and
every other species of useful knowledge.

I beg to be permitted to thank you, Sir, for the flattering manner
in which you had the goodness to convey to me their proposal.

I am, Sir, with great respect,

Your obliged and obedient servant,

H. DAVY, SEC. R. S.

On the commencement of the Course, on the 8th of November 1810, three hundred and seventy-one admission tickets had been issued; and the Committee of Chemistry having expressed their opinion to the Society, that the lecture-room would not afford accommodation for a greater number of persons, the Assistant Secretary was directed to limit his tickets to that number. On the 15th instant, however, the number was increased to four hundred, without inconvenience.

At the close of the Course, on the 29th of November, the Dublin Society passed the following Resolutions:--

"Resolved, That the thanks of the Society be communicated to Mr. Davy for the excellent Course of Lectures which, at their request, has been delivered by him in their Laboratory; and to assure him that the views which led the Society to seek for these communications, have been answered even beyond their hopes;--that the manner in which he has unfolded his discoveries has not merely imparted new and valuable information, but further appears to have given a direction of the public mind towards Chemical and Philosophical enquiries, which cannot fail in its consequences to produce the improvement of the Sciences, Arts, and Manufactures in Ireland.

"That the thanks of the Society be communicated to the Royal Society for their ready compliance with our request, in dispensing with the engagements of Mr. Davy, during the last six weeks.

"That Mr. Davy be requested to accept the sum of five hundred guineas from the Society."[96]

[96] There were four hundred tickets issued for the Course, sixty
of which were honorary; the produce of the remainder amounted to
672_l._ 5_s._ 3_d._ Davy received 525_l._; and the surplus went
to officers and servants, and for the discharge of incidental
expenses.

The following letter appears, from the date, to have been written about a week before his arrival in Dublin.

TO THOMAS POOLE, ESQ.

October 12, 1810.

MY DEAR POOLE,

Upon every occasion your recommendation, or opinion, would have
great weight with me.

Amongst the candidates for the office of Clerk to the Royal
Society, there is one Mr. W----, that I am well acquainted with,
and who was formerly attached to the Royal Institution. He appears
to me, as well from his scientific character, as from his habits
and pursuits, to be admirably fitted for the situation. I advised
him nearly two months ago, in consequence of a conversation with
Sir Joseph Banks, to offer himself for the situation. I cannot
therefore interest myself for any other person who does not possess
superior qualifications.

Sir Joseph's maxim, which I hope will be adopted by all the
members, is--"let it be given to the most worthy." I have no doubt
that Mr.---- would fill the situation with credit, and that he
is a very worthy man; but, from all that I can learn, his claims
are much inferior to those of W----. We want not merely a civil,
gentlemanlike, honest man, but a man a little accustomed to
calculation, to astronomical observation, and to experiment.

I am in a delightful country here--the Valley of the Tyne--enjoying
a few days' leisure after a rather hard chemical campaign, and
preparing health and spirits for another in Ireland, where I am
going next week.

I hope to be in London by the first week in December. I intend next
summer to go into Cornwall--God willing; and I will not go through
without seeing you, and telling you that, under all circumstances,
I shall always think of you with the warmest esteem, and shall
always be

Your sincere friend,

H. DAVY.

In the following year, Davy was again solicited by the Dublin Society to deliver lectures in their laboratory; and at a meeting of the members on the 13th of June 1811, a series of resolutions were passed, by which he was empowered to procure copies of many of the geological sketches referred to in a course of lectures he had delivered on Geology at the Royal Institution; and also to superintend the construction of a large Voltaic battery, for the illustration of the proposed lectures.

In compliance with this request, Davy delivered two distinct courses; one on the Elements of Chemical Philosophy, the other on Geology, for which he received the unanimous thanks of the Society, and as a more substantial testimony of their gratitude, the sum[97] of seven hundred and fifty pounds; the receipt of which Davy acknowledged by the following letter.

[97] These Courses were more numerously attended than those in
1810, there having been issued about five hundred and twenty-five
tickets; the proceeds of which were 1101_l._ 2_s._

TO B. MAC CARTHY, ESQ. ASSISTANT SECRETARY TO THE DUBLIN SOCIETY.

Dublin, December 9, 1811.

SIR,

I have received your letter, inclosing a draught for seven hundred
and fifty pounds Irish.

I am very much gratified by the thanks of the Dublin Society, for
the courses of lectures which I had the honour of delivering in
their laboratory; and I am proud of their opinion, that they will
be useful to the Irish public.

The attention, candour, and indulgence with which they were
received by the audience, I shall remember with the warmest
feelings of gratitude as long as I live.

I have the honour to be, Sir, with much esteem, your obliged and
obedient servant,

H. DAVY.

Before he quitted Dublin, the Provost and Fellows of Trinity College conferred upon him the honorary degree of LL.D., as an expression of the high admiration which his eminent scientific merits had so universally commanded.

In the month of August, in the same year, his opinion was requested by a committee, as to the best method to be adopted for ventilating the House of Lords; to which circumstance he alludes in the following note to his friend Mr. Pepys.

August 10, 1811.

MY DEAR PEPYS,

I find that I am engaged on Wednesday, to meet Lord Liverpool, at
the House of Lords, to consider a mode of ventilating it.

This business, most unluckily, will prevent my accompanying you;
but I shall be glad to go with you on some other day, and to touch
up the trout at Cheynies, and afterwards to proceed to Serge Hill.

Very affectionately yours,

H. DAVY.

This undertaking, it must be allowed, was on Davy's part a most complete failure: whether he had miscalculated the diameter and number of the apertures necessary for establishing a current, it is difficult to say, but it was obvious that the stream of fresh air thus introduced was by no means adequate to the demand for it.[98]

[98] In February 1812, he exhibited a model, in one of his
lectures at the Royal Institution, in illustration of his plan;
from which it appeared that the air deteriorated by respiration
was conducted through three copper pipes, terminating in a single
tube, to the roof of the building; and by means of ventilators
below, there was a constant supply of fresh air, the circulation
of which was promoted by a furnace.

The failure, so vexatious to Davy, became to others a fertile source of pleasantry, and numerous epigrams, not exactly of a character to meet the public eye, were very generally circulated, and which, in recording the miscarriage of science, displayed the triumph of wit.

The scientific renown of Davy having attracted the attention of his late Majesty, at that time Prince Regent, he received from his Royal Highness the honour of Knighthood, at a levee held at Carlton House, on Wednesday, the 8th of April 1812; and it may be remarked, that he was the first person on whom that honour had been conferred by the Regent.

On the day following this occurrence, Sir Humphry delivered his farewell lecture before the members of the Royal Institution; for he was on the eve of assuming a new station in society, which induced him to retire from those public situations which he had long held with so much advantage to the world, and with so much honour to himself. How far such a measure was calculated to increase his happiness I shall not enquire; but I am bound to observe, that it was not connected with any desire to abandon the pursuit of science, nor even to relax in his accustomed exertions to promote its interests. It was evident, however, to his friends, that other views of ambition than those presented by achievements in science, had opened upon his mind: the wealth he was about to command might extend the sphere of his usefulness, and exalt him in the scale of society: his feelings became more aristocratic, he discovered charms in rank which had before escaped him, and he no longer viewed Patrician distinction with philosophic indifference.

On the 11th of April 1812, Sir Humphry married Mrs. Apreece, the widow of Shuckburgh Ashby Apreece, Esq. eldest son of Sir Thomas Apreece: this lady was the daughter and heiress of Charles Kerr, of Kelso, Esq. and possessed a very considerable fortune.

Immediately after the celebration of the marriage, Sir Humphry and his bride proceeded to the hospitable mansion of Sir John Sebright, and afterwards made a tour through Scotland, receiving wherever they went the most flattering marks of attention.

During their excursion, Davy wrote various letters to his scientific friends, several of which I shall introduce; but, in order that those to Mr. Children may be understood, it will be necessary that the reader should be made acquainted with a transaction which occurred in the year 1811.

In consequence of some conversation on gunpowder, during which Davy observed that its composition might be greatly improved by rendering it less _hygrometric_, a proposition was started, that he should join Mr. Children and Mr. Burton in establishing a manufactory for its preparation upon chemical principles. Whether Davy considered himself, in the strict commercial sense, a partner, or merely a chemical adviser, it is perhaps not easy to determine; but it is quite clear that both Mr. Children and Mr. Burton considered him in the former light, although it is an act of justice to those gentlemen to state, that the very moment Davy expressed his disinclination to such an arrangement, they immediately, without the slightest hesitation, released him from all responsibility. This I am enabled to assert, after a most careful investigation of all the correspondence that passed upon the occasion.

TO JOHN GEORGE CHILDREN, ESQ.

Harewood House, July 14, 1812.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

I am very sorry that I missed you the day before I set out on my
journey. You will have learnt from your solicitor that I signed the
articles. I still think I shall return before any powder will be
made, at least if you do not make it till December, for our present
intention is to be in town early in that month.

I sent to you an imperfect copy of my book,[99] in which there were
no engravings, and in which one cancel was not inserted, thinking
that you would prefer a copy sent in that way: the cancelled
leaf, which you have not, contains a correction for the quantity
of nitrous acid gas and water to form the crystalline compound,
which is the base of oil of vitriol. Three parts nitrous acid gas
condense four parts sulphurous gas.

I have my little apparatus, which will enable me to pursue my
experiments on gunpowder. There is one conclusion very obvious
resulting from the new facts,--a _perfect_ gunpowder ought to
contain no more charcoal than is necessary to convert the oxygen of
the nitre into carbonic acid. Sulphur forms from nitre just as much
elastic fluid as charcoal, _i. e._ if similar quantities of nitre
be entirely decomposed, one by charcoal, and one by sulphur, and
if the sulphurous gas and the carbonic acid gas be compared, their
volumes will be equal. The advantage of forming carbonic acid gas
is, that it is more readily disengaged from the alkali. Now it is a
question, whether sulphur will decompose _sulphate_ of potash,--it
will decompose the carbonate; of this we are sure.

There ought, then, to be just as much sulphur as will form
sulphuret of potash with the potash: 191 of nitre, 28·5 of
charcoal, and 30 of sulphur, are the true proportions for forming
nothing but sulphuret of potash and elastic matter.

Pray send me some cards to circulate; address to me, Post Office,
Edinburgh. I hope you got Cavendish's balance.

I have been here for two days:--it is a very magnificent place:
good fishing for pike, trout, and grayling. Lady D. desires her
kind remembrances.

I am, my dear friend,

Most affectionately yours,

H. DAVY.

[99] "Elements of Chemical Philosophy," to be presently noticed.

TO THE SAME.

Dunrobin Castle, near Golspie, August 21.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

I hope you are making progress in our manufactory. I shall expect,
on my return, to find your powder the best and strongest, and to
make trial of it. I wish I had some of it here, the black-cock and
grouse would feel its efficacy. I have been expecting a letter from
you every day.

This house is so delightful, the scenery so grand, and the
field-sports so perfect, that I think we shall not quit it for a
fortnight.

I went to Inverness and fished for salmon. I also went to two or
three other places, but not one did I catch till I arrived here.
The first day I landed seven noble ones, and played three more in
four or five hours. The next day I played eight and landed three,
besides white trout in abundance.

I have shot only one day, for a few hours; but we found grouse
at every fifty yards, and I shot seven. We are just going to try
sea-fishing.

Pray write to me a little news of what is doing for science and the
world.

I beg you will remember me most kindly to your father and to Dr.
Babington, and Brande, when you see them.

I am, my dear friend,

Most affectionately yours,

H. DAVY.

TO WILLIAM CLAYFIELD, ESQ.

Dunrobin, near Golspie, August 28, 1812.

DEAR CLAYFIELD,

I am much obliged to you for two very kind letters, and for a box
containing specimens from St. Vincent.[100] I beg you will thank
the gentleman who was so good as to cause them to be collected for
me. The box followed me to Inverness.

The ashes, I think, are likely to fertilize Barbadoes. There is
a parallel case of materials having been carried so far in the
eruption in Iceland in 1783.

I have been with my wife making a tour through the North since the
beginning of July. We have arrived at our extreme point, and shall
slowly proceed South in about a fortnight.

I wish you could be of our party here; we are in a delightful
house, that of Lord Stafford, in a country abounding with fish and
game. I have caught about thirty salmon since I have been here, and
killed grouse, wild ducks, teal, &c. I have not yet shot a stag,
but I hope to do so this next week.

I have just published a volume of the Elements of Chemistry, and I
hope to publish another in the course of the Spring.

Having given up lecturing, I shall be able to devote my whole time
to the pursuit of discovery.

I have not sent you a copy of my book, for I have thought that the
best mode of avoiding giving offence to some, was by not making
presents at all. Had I not so determined, one of the first copies
would have been sent to you, as a mark of the warm esteem and
regard of

Your affectionate friend,

H. DAVY.

[100] Specimens of substances ejected from the crater in that
island, which Mr. Clayfield forwarded to Davy, in consequence
of having heard that he had been engaged in examining the sand
collected at Barbadoes, and which was a product of the same
eruption.

TO SAMUEL PURKIS, ESQ.

Dunrobin Castle, Aug. 29, 1812.

MY DEAR PURKIS,

You may probably be surprised to receive a letter from me from this
remote corner of the North; but I owe you a letter, and I have a
great inclination, wherever I may be, to discharge all debts, and
particularly those rendered due by kindness.

Receive my warm acknowledgments for your kind congratulations on my
becoming a Benedick. I can now speak from experience, in which you
have long participated. I am convinced that the natural state of
domestic society is the best fitted for man, whether he be devoted
to philosophy, or to active life.

I shall have much pleasure in presenting my wife to you and to Mrs.
Purkis, on my return.

We have had a delightful tour through the Highlands. We are at
the extreme point of our journey. The pleasures of a refined
society--that of Lord and Lady Stafford's family--have induced
us to make a long pause here. We think we shall be in London the
beginning of December.

I have spent some days such as we passed together in Wales. We have
had all the varieties of river, mountain, and wood scenery. The
Lakes of Scotland are infinitely finer than those of Wales; but
the glens of the Principality may fairly stand in competition with
those of the Highlands.

I hope I shall find you and your family in good health, and that
you will have spent a very pleasant summer. I am, my dear Purkis,

Very sincerely and affectionately yours,

H. DAVY.

TO JOHN GEORGE CHILDREN, ESQ.

Dunkeld, Sept. 27, 1812.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

I have received your two kind letters. I hope your quiet life, and
reasonable medical discipline, will entirely restore your health.

We are now on our return, and probably shall arrive in London
before the middle of November: our time, however, is uncertain, as
the Election may hasten, or keep us back for want of horses.

I can do nothing respecting the licence till my return; I will
then see Mr. Wharton, or Mr. Vansittart. I have another subject
of conversation in which they are interested, and I can easily
introduce that of gunpowder.

I have been tolerably successful as a shot lately. I have not
fished. My last adventure was at the Spey, near Gordon Castle,
where I killed some noble salmon. At Blair Athol I shot some
ptarmigans and a stag. I am now at Dunkeld, which I think the most
beautiful habitable spot in the Highlands. The Tay, a noble river,
rolls with a majestic stream through lofty woods seated upon cliffs
and rounded hills; and in the background are the Mountains of
Benyglor and the hills of Killycrankie.

My wife desires her kind remembrances. Pray offer mine to
your father and daughter, and believe me to be always most
affectionately yours,

H. DAVY.

TO THE SAME.

Edinburgh, October 14.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

We are on our return: I am well, but I am sorry to say that Lady D.
is very much indisposed, and anxiety for her hastens my journey to
town.

* * * * *

I have received a very interesting letter from Ampère. He says
that a combination of chlorine and azote has been discovered at
Paris, which is a fluid, and explodes by the heat of the hand; the
discovery of which cost an eye and a finger to the author. He gives
no details as to the mode of combining them. I have tried in my
little apparatus with ammonia cooled very low, and chlorine, but
without success.

There is little doing here ... dresses and dances. Sir James Hall
is writing on a sort of Deluge. Playfair is the true and amiable
Philosopher. My brother is making experiments on animal matter.

I hope your gunpowder works are nearly finished. I shall be at the
opening ball. As soon as I return I shall give my mind up to this
matter. My wife desires her kind remembrances. Mine to your worthy
father and Anna.

God bless you, my dear friend, and believe me

Ever affectionately yours,

H. DAVY.

On his return to town, after this tour, the following letter was addressed to his friend at Tonbridge:--

October 24, 1812.

MY DEAR CHILDREN,

I have just seen Pepys, and rejoice that he gives me so good an
account of your health. My wife is much better, except that she
has a swollen foot. I have never seen her in such good health and
spirits. She is resolved to lead a home life of perfect quiet for
six weeks, and I fear you will not be able to tempt her to quit her
fire-side, though there is no visit she would make with greater
pleasure: but lameness does not suit the country; and for one so
enthusiastically fond of nature, it would be vexatious to be in the
country, and not to be able to enjoy hills, and meads, and woods.

But I am ready to come to my business whenever you think I can be
useful. I shall set to work to make gunpowder with as much ardour
as Miles Peter--I hope with similar results.

I shall not be able to endure a very long separation from my wife,
but for three or four days I am at your command.

I have been working yesterday and to-day on some new objects; and
we are to have a meeting on Wednesday, at one o'clock, at the
Institution, to try to make this compound of azote and chlorine,
and to try some other experiments. Afterwards we (Angling Chemists)
propose a dinner at Brunet's. If you can come to town on that day,
I will promise to return with you.

God bless you, my dear Children, and believe me to be most
affectionately yours,

H. DAVY.