Had it pleased Providence to have deprived the world of any further benefit from his original talents and immense application, there certainly has been already enough effected by him to entitle his name to a place amongst the brightest scientific luminaries of his country. That this may not appear an unfounded eulogium, I shall proceed, at the particular request of the Managers, to give you an outline of the splendid discoveries to which I have just alluded; and I do so with the greater pleasure, as that outline has been drawn in a very masterly manner by a gentleman of all others perhaps the best qualified to do it effectually."

The Lecturer then proceeded to take a general and rapid view of his labours, which it is unnecessary to introduce in this place, and concluded as follows:—

"This recital will be sufficient to convince those who have heard it of the celebrity which the author of such discoveries has a right to attach to himself; and yet no one, I am confident, has less inclination to challenge it. To us, and to every enlightened Englishman, it will be a matter of just congratulation, that the country which has produced the two Bacons and Boyle, has in these latter days shown itself worthy of its former renown by the labours of Cavendish and Davy. The illness of the latter, severe as it has been, is now abating, and we may reasonably hope that the period of convalescence is not very remote."

Fortunately for the cause of Science—fortunately for the interests of the Institution, the prediction of the learned Lecturer was shortly verified.

The Institution, indeed, had already suffered from the calamity; for, in a Report to the Visitors, dated January 25, 1808, it is stated, that "there has been an excess of expenditure beyond the receipts. Among the causes of diminished income may be mentioned the postponement of the lectures, in consequence of the lamented illness of the excellent Professor of Chemistry; and among the items of increased expenditure, the extra expense of the Laboratory, in which have been produced Mr. Davy's recent discoveries, so honourable to the Royal Institution, and so beneficial to the interests of science in every part of the world."

This Report is succeeded by the following Minute:—

"February 22, 1808.—Mr. Davy attended at the request of the Committee, and informed them that he should be able to commence his course of Lectures on Electro-chemical science on Saturday the 12th of March, at two o'clock; and those on Geology on Wednesday evening, the 16th of that month."

The following letter to Mr. Poole announces the restoration of his health, and communicates some other circumstances of interest. Mr. Poole, it would appear, entertained doubts as to whether Davy received the prize of France for his first or second Bakerian Lecture, upon which point this letter sets him right.

It is difficult to convey an adequate idea of the universal interest which was excited by the lectures on Electro-chemical Science, to which an allusion has been just made. The Theatre of the Institution overflowed; and each succeeding lecture increased the number of candidates for admission.

It is unnecessary, after what has been already stated, to describe the masterly style in which he demonstrated and explained those general laws which his genius had developed, or to enumerate the beautiful and diversified experiments by which he illustrated their application, in simplifying the more complex forms of matter.

His evening lectures on Geology were equally attractive; and by a method as novel as it was beautiful, he exhibited, by the aid of transparencies, the structure of mountains, the stratification of rocks, and the arrangements of mineral veins.

The Easter recess afforded him a few days of leisure, which from the following note he appears to have devoted to his favourite amusement.

Hitherto his passion for angling has only been noticed in connection with his conversation and letters; I shall now present to the reader a sketch of the philosopher in his fishing costume. His whole suit consisted of green cloth; the coat having sundry pockets for holding the necessary tackle: his boots were made of caoutchouc, and, for the convenience of wading through the water, reached above the knees. His hat, originally intended for a coal-heaver, had been purchased from the manufacturer in its raw state, and dyed green by some pigment of his own composition; it was, moreover, studded with every variety of artificial fly which he could require for his diversion. Thus equipped, he thought, from the colour of his dress, that he was more likely to elude the observation of the fish. He looked not like an inhabitant o' the earth, and yet was on't;—nor can I find any object in the regions of invention with which I could justly compare him, except perhaps with one of those grotesque personages who, in the farce of "The Critic," attend Father Thames on the stage, as his two banks.

I shall take this opportunity of stating, that his shooting attire was equally whimsical: if, as an angler, he adopted a dress for concealing his person, as a sportsman in woods and plantations, it was his object to devise means for exposing it; for he always entertained a singular dread lest he might be accidentally shot upon these occasions. When upon a visit to Mr. Dillwyn of Swansea, he accompanied his friend on a shooting excursion, in a broad-brimmed hat, the whole of which, with the exception of the brim, was covered with scarlet cloth.

Notwithstanding, however, the refinements which he displayed in his dress, and the scrupulous attention with which he observed all the minute details of the art; if the truth must be told, he was not more successful than his brother anglers; and here again the temperament of Wollaston presented a characteristic contrast to that of Davy. The former evinced the same patience and reserve—the same cautious observation and unwearied vigilance in this pursuit, as so eminently distinguished his chemical labours. The temperament of the latter was far too mercurial: the fish never seized the fly with sufficient avidity to fulfill his expectations, or to support that degree of excitement which was essential to his happiness, and he became either listless or angry, and consequently careless and unsuccessful.—But it is time to resume the thread of our chemical history.

It has been already stated, that Davy had no sooner decomposed the fixed alkalies than he proceeded to effect an analysis of the earths; but his results were indistinct: they could not, like the alkalies, be rendered conductors of electricity by fusion, nor could they be acted upon in solution, in consequence of the strong affinity possessed by their bases for oxygen. The pursuit of the enquiry then demanded more refined and complicated processes, than those which had succeeded with potash and soda.

The only methods which held out any fair prospect of success were those of operating by electricity upon the earths in some of their combinations, or of converting them, at the moment of their decomposition, into metallic alloys, so as to obtain presumptive evidence of their nature and properties. Such, in fact, was the line of enquiry in which Davy was deeply engaged, when he received from Professor Berzelius of Stockholm a letter, announcing the fact that he had, in conjunction with Dr. Pontin, succeeded in decomposing baryta and lime, by negatively electrising mercury in contact with them, and that, by such means, he had actually obtained amalgams of the earths in question.

Our philosopher immediately repeated the experiments, and with perfect success. After which he completed a series of additional experiments, which fully established the nature of these bodies, and the analogies he had anticipated. These results formed the subject of a memoir, which was read before the Royal Society on the 30th of June 1808, and entitled, "Electro-chemical Researches on the Decomposition of the Earths: with Observations on the Metals obtained from them, and on the Amalgam of Ammonia."

He commences this paper by enumerating the several trials he had made to effect the decomposition of these bodies; such as, First, by electrifying them by iron wires under the surface of naphtha, with a view to form alloys with iron and the metallic bases of the earths. Secondly, by heating potassium in contact with the alkaline earths, in the hope that this body might detach the oxygen from them, in the same manner as charcoal decomposes the common metallic oxides. Thirdly, by submitting various mixtures of the earths and potash to Voltaic action, with the idea that the potash and the earths might be deoxidated at the same time, and entering into combination, form alloys. Fourthly, by mixing together various earths with the oxides of tin, iron, lead, silver, and mercury: a mode of manipulation suggested by the results of his previous experiments on potassium, in which he found that when a mixture of potash and the oxides of mercury, tin, or lead, was electrified in the Voltaic circuit, the decomposition was very rapid, and an amalgam, or an alloy of potassium, was obtained; the attraction between the common metals and the potassium apparently accelerating the separation of the oxygen.

Supposing that a similar kind of action might assist the decomposition of the alkaline earths, he proceeded to institute a series of experiments upon that principle; and the results were more satisfactory than those obtained by the preceding methods of experimenting—a compound was obtained which acted upon water with the evolution of hydrogen, producing a solution of the earth, and leaving free the tin, or lead, with which its base may be supposed to have been alloyed;—but in all such experiments the quantity of the metallic basis produced must have been very minute, and its character very questionable.

In this stage of the enquiry, Davy received the letter from Professor Berzelius of Stockholm, the contents of which he embodied in his memoir, accompanied with such observations as his own information suggested.

"A globule of mercury, electrified by the power of a battery consisting of five hundred pairs of double plates of six inches square, weakly charged, was made to act upon a surface of slightly moistened barytes, fixed upon a plate of platina. The mercury gradually became less fluid, and after a few minutes was found covered with a white film of barytes; and when the amalgam was thrown into water, hydrogen was disengaged, the mercury remained free, and a solution of barytes was formed.

"The result with lime, as these gentlemen had stated, was precisely analogous.

"That the same happy methods must succeed with strontites and magnesia, it was not easy to doubt, and I quickly tried the experiment. From strontites I obtained a very rapid result; but from magnesia, in the first trials, no amalgam could be procured. By continuing the process, however, for a longer time, and keeping the earth continually moist, at last a combination of the bases with mercury was obtained, which slowly produced magnesia, by absorption of oxygen from air, or by the action of water.

"All these amalgams I found might be preserved for a considerable period under naphtha. In a length of time, however, they became covered with a white crust under this fluid. When exposed to air, a very few minutes only were required for the oxygenation of the bases of the earths. In the water the amalgam of barytes was most rapidly decomposed; that of strontites, and that of lime next in order: but the amalgam from magnesia, as might have been expected from the weak affinity of the earth for water, very slowly changed: when, however, a little sulphuric acid was added to the water, the evolution of hydrogen, and the production and solution of magnesia, were exceedingly rapid, and the mercury soon remained free."

In order, if possible, to procure the amalgams in quantities sufficient for distillation, he combined the methods he had employed in the first instance, with those pursued by Berzelius and Pontin. "A mixture of the earth with red oxide of mercury was placed on a plate of platina, a cavity was made in the upper part of it to receive a globule of mercury, the whole was covered by a film of naphtha, and the plate was made positive, and the mercury negative, by a proper communication with the battery of five hundred."

The amalgams thus procured were afterwards distilled in glass tubes filled with the vapour of naphtha; by which operation the mercury rose pure from the amalgam, and it was very easy to separate a part of it; but the difficulty was to obtain a complete decomposition, for to effect this, a high temperature was required, and at a red heat the bases of the earths instantly acted upon the glass, and became oxidated.

In the best result which Davy obtained in this manner, the barytic basis appeared as a white metal of the colour of silver, fixed at all common temperatures, but fluid at a heat below redness, and volatile at a heat above it. Unlike the alkaline bases, it would seem to be considerably heavier than water.

In extending these experiments to alumine, silex, zircone, &c. after a most elaborate investigation, such results were not obtained as justified the conclusion that they were, like the other earths, metallic oxides; although, as far as they went, they added to the probability of such analogy.

It will be remembered that, after the fixed alkalies had been found to contain oxygen, Davy was very naturally led to enquire whether ammonia might not also contain the same element, or be an oxide with a binary base. In the communication from Professor Berzelius, and Dr. Pontin, already alluded to, a most curious experiment is related on what they consider the deoxidation and amalgamation of the compound basis of ammonia; and which they regard as supporting the idea which Davy had formed of the presence of oxygen[83] in the volatile alkali. A fact so startling as the production of a metallic body from ammonia, or from its elements, immediately excited in Davy's mind the most ardent desire to pursue the enquiry; and, after repeating the original experiments of the Swedish chemists with his accustomed sagacity, he modified his methods of manipulation, in order, if possible, to obtain this metallic body in its most simple form; but, although he succeeded in producing the amalgam without Voltaic aid, by the intervention of potassium, he could not so distill off the mercury as to leave the basis, or imaginary ammonium, free.

The history of these researches into the nature of the ammoniacal element concludes the lecture of which I have endeavoured to give an outline. The subject of the amalgam is still involved in mystery: if we suppose with Davy, that a substance, which forms so perfect an amalgam with mercury, must of necessity be metallic in its own nature, we cannot but conclude either that hydrogen and nitrogen are both metals in the aëriform state, at the usual temperatures of the atmosphere—bodies, for example, of the same character as zinc and quicksilver would be at the heat of ignition—or, that these gases are oxides in their common form, but which become metallized by deoxidation—or, that they are simple bodies, not metallic in their own nature, but capable of composing a metal in their deoxygenated, and an alkali in their oxygenated, state.

Before we venture, however, to entertain any opinions so extravagant in their nature, and so wholly unsupported by analogy, it would be well to enquire how far the change, which ammonia and mercury undergo by Voltaic action, really merits the name of amalgamation. Several chemists of the present day are inclined to refer this change of form to a purely mechanical cause, by which the particles of the metal become separated, and converted, as it were, into a kind of froth by the operation.[84]

Mr. Brande, in a late communication in the Journal of the Royal Institution,[85] observes: "Shortly after the discovery of a method of obtaining Morphia in a pure state, I remember that Sir Humphry Davy suggested the possibility of its affording, when electrised in contact with mercury, results corresponding with those which Berzelius had observed in respect to ammonia. He thought that the nascent elements of the morphia, as liberated by electrical decomposition, might, under such circumstances, effect a similar apparent amalgam of the mercury, and he spoke of the subject as likely to throw some light upon the corresponding ammoniacal combinations. He made, I believe, a few experiments upon the subject; but as the results were not such as he had anticipated, they were not placed on record."

In the progress of our ascent, it is refreshing to pause occasionally, and to cast a glance at the horizon, which widens at every increase of our elevation. By the decomposition of the alkalies and earths, what an immense stride has been made in the investigation of nature!—In sciences kindred to chemistry, the knowledge of the composition of these bodies, and the analogies arising from it, have opened new views, and led to the solution of many problems. In Geology, for instance, has it not shown that agents may have operated in the formation of rocks and earths, which had not previously been known to exist? It is evident that the metals of the earths cannot remain at the surface of our globe; but it is probable that they may constitute a part of its interior; and such an assumption would at once offer a plausible theory in explanation of the phenomena of volcanoes, the formation of lavas, and the excitement and effects of subterranean heat, and might even lead to a general theory in Geology.

The reader, for the present, must be satisfied with these cursory hints: I shall hereafter show that our illustrious philosopher followed them up by numerous observations and original experiments in a volcanic country.

I remember with delight the beautiful illustration of his theory, as exhibited in an artificial volcano constructed in the theatre of the Royal Institution.—A mountain had been modelled in clay, and a quantity of the metallic bases introduced into its interior: on water being poured upon it, the metals were soon thrown into violent action—successive explosions followed—red-hot lava was seen flowing down its sides, from a crater in miniature—mimic lightnings played around: and in the instant of dramatic illusion, the tumultuous applause and continued cheering of the audience might almost have been regarded as the shouts of the alarmed fugitives of Herculaneum or Pompeii.

CHAPTER VIII.

Davy's Bakerian Lecture of 1808.—Results obtained from the mutual action of Potassium and Ammonia upon each other.—His belief that he had decomposed Nitrogen.—He discovers Telluretted Hydrogen.—Whether Sulphur, Phosphorus, and Carbon, may not contain Hydrogen.—He decomposes Boracic acid.—Boron.—His fallacies with regard to the composition of Muriatic acid.—A splendid Voltaic Battery is constructed at the Institution by subscription.—Davy ascertains the true nature of the Muriatic and Oxymuriatic Acids.—Important chemical analogies to which the discovery gave origin.—Euchlorine.—Chlorides.—He delivers Lectures before the Dublin Society.—He receives the Honorary Degree of LL.D. from the Provost and Fellows of Trinity College.—He undertakes to ventilate the House of Lords.—The Regent confers upon him the honour of Knighthood.—He delivers his farewell Lecture.—Engages in a Gunpowder manufactory.—His marriage.

The third Bakerian Lecture, which Davy read before the Royal Society in December 1808, is entitled "An Account of some new analytical Researches on the Nature of certain Bodies, particularly the Alkalies, Phosphorus, Sulphur, Carbonaceous matter, and the Acids hitherto undecompounded; with some general Observations on Chemical Theory."

The object of this lecture was to communicate the results of numerous experiments which had been instituted for the purpose of still farther extending our knowledge of the elements of matter, by the new powers and methods arising from the application of electricity to chemical analysis.

Important as were the facts thus obtained, they disappointed the expectation of those who did not consider, that the more nearly we approach ultimate analysis,[86] the greater must be the difficulties, the more numerous the fallacies, and the less perfect the results, of our processes. In fact, his former discoveries had spoilt us: their splendour had left our organs of perception incapable of receiving just impressions from any minor lights, and we participated with exaggerated feelings, in the disappointment which he himself expressed at several of his results. The confidence inspired by his former triumphs may be compared to that which is felt by an army, when commanded by a victorious General,—a conviction that, however difficult may be the enterprise, it must be accomplished by the genius of him who undertakes it. The moment we discovered that Davy was laying siege to one of Nature's strongest holds,—that he was attempting to resolve nitrogen into other elementary forms,—we regarded the deed as already accomplished, and the repulse which followed most unreasonably produced a feeling of dissatisfaction. Upon such occasions, the severity of our disappointment will always be in proportion to the importance of the object we desire to accomplish; and it is impossible not to feel that the discovery of the true nature of nitrogen would lead to new views in chemistry, the extent of which it is not easy even to imagine.

The principal objects of research which this paper embraces are,—the elementary matter of ammonia; the nature of phosphorus, sulphur, charcoal, and the diamond; and the constituents of the boracic, fluoric, and muriatic acids. Enquiries which are continued and extended in two successive papers, viz. in one read before the Society in February 1809, entitled "New Analytical Researches on the Nature of certain Bodies; being an Appendix to his Bakerian Lecture of 1808;" and in his fourth Bakerian Lecture of 1809, "On some new Electro-chemical Researches on various Objects, particularly the Metallic bodies from the Alkalies and Earths; and on some Combinations of Hydrogen."

With regard to these admirable papers,—for such they must undoubtedly be considered,—the biographer must confine his observations to their general character and results. They are far too refined to admit of a brief analysis, and too elaborate to allow a successful abridgement. A just idea of their merit can alone be derived from a direct reference to the Philosophical Transactions.

The enquiry commences with experiments on the results produced by the mutual action of potassium and ammonia on each other. His object was twofold: to refute the hypothesis which assumed hydrogen as an element of potassium, and to ascertain the nature of the matter existing in the amalgam of ammonia, or the supposed metallic basis of the volatile alkali: a question intimately connected with the whole of the arrangements of chemistry. As to the former point, it is unnecessary to enter into farther discussion; and with regard to the latter, it is quite impossible to convey an adequate idea of the extent of the enquiry: there does not exist in the annals of chemistry a more striking example of experimental industry.

In the course of his experiments on potassium and ammonia, he obtained an olive-coloured body, which he was inclined to regard as a compound of the metallic base of ammonia (ammonium) and potassium; and on submitting which to various trials, he uniformly obtained, as the product of its decomposition, a proportion of nitrogen considerably less than that which, upon calculations founded on a rigid analysis of the volatile alkali, ought to have been afforded under such circumstances, while the potassium employed at the same time became oxidated. This result inspired a hope that nitrogen might have been actually decomposed during the process, and that its elements were oxygen and a metallic basis, or oxygen and hydrogen.

That he was sanguine in that hope, appears from the whole tenor of his paper; in farther proof of which, I can adduce a letter which he addressed to Mr. Children during the progress of his experiments, in which he says, "I hope on Thursday to show you nitrogen as a complete wreck, torn to pieces in different ways." His subsequent enquiries, however, although they did not strengthen the suspicion he had formed respecting the decomposition of that body, yet indirectly developed facts of considerable importance; which, with his characteristic quickness of perception, he made subservient to fresh investigation.

His researches into the phenomena exhibited by tellurium, when forming a part of the Voltaic circuit, are highly interesting. It had been stated by Ritter, that, of all the metallic substances he tried for producing potassium by negative electricity, tellurium was the only one by which he could not procure it; and he uses this fact in support of his opinion, that potassium is a hydruret. He says, that when a circuit of electricity is completed in water by means of two surfaces of tellurium, oxygen is given off at the positive surface, and instead of hydrogen at the negative surface, a brown powder is formed and separated, which he regards as a hydruret of tellurium; and he conceives that the reason why that metal prevents the metallization of potash is, that it has a stronger attraction for hydrogen than that possessed by the alkali.

Davy's attention was naturally arrested by such a statement, and, in pursuing the enquiry, he discovered a series of new facts:—he found that tellurium and hydrogen were capable of combining, and of forming a gas, to which he gave the name of telluretted hydrogen,—that, so far from tellurium preventing the decomposition of potash, it formed an alloy with potassium when negatively electrified upon the alkali—and, such was the intense affinity of potassium and tellurium for each other, that the decomposition of potash might be effected by acting on the oxide of the latter metal and the alkali, at the same time, by heated charcoal.

With respect to the next subject of enquiry in these papers, viz. whether sulphur, phosphorus, and carbon, in their ordinary forms, may not contain hydrogen, it would appear that from an experiment performed by Mr. Clayfield, and which Davy witnessed at Bristol in the year 1799, he was very early led to suspect the existence of hydrogen in sulphur; but it was not until 1807, that he entered upon the investigation of the subject. From the general tenor of his experiments he concluded that, in its common state, it may be regarded as a compound, of small quantities of oxygen and hydrogen, with a large quantity of a basis which, on account of its strong attractions for other bodies, has not hitherto been obtained in its pure form. The same analogies apply to phosphorus and carbon. His conclusion was mainly derived from the fact, that hydrogen is produced from sulphur and phosphorus in such quantities by Voltaic electricity, that he thinks it cannot well be considered as an accidental ingredient in them: the presence of oxygen, he contends, may be inferred from the circumstance that, when potassium is made to act upon these bodies, the sulphurets and phosphurets so formed evolve by the action of an acid less hydrogen, in the form of compound inflammable gas, than the same quantity of potassium in an uncombined state. The question, however, still remains in considerable doubt; and in his "Elements of Chemical Philosophy," published four years afterwards, he admits that no accurate conclusions have been formed on the subject.

In his second Bakerian Lecture of 1807, Davy had given an account of an experiment in which boracic acid appeared to be decomposed by Voltaic electricity, a dark-coloured inflammable substance separating from it on the negative surface. In the memoir now under consideration, he procured the basis by heating together boracic acid and potassium, when he ascertained it to be a peculiar inflammable matter, which, after various experiments upon its nature, he was inclined to regard as metallic; on which account he proposed for it the name of Boracium. At about the same period, MM. Gay Lussac and Thénard were engaged in investigating the same subject in France, and they anticipated him in some of the results.

When Davy, by subsequent experiments, had ascertained that the base of the boracic acid is more analogous to carbon than to any other substance, he adopted the term Boron, as less exceptionable than that of Boracium.

At this time, he also entered upon the investigation of fluoric acid, the results of which must be reserved for future consideration.

His experiments and reasonings upon muriatic acid, at this period of his career, must be now considered as deriving their greatest degree of interest from their fallacy; and they deserve an examination in this work, if it be only to estimate the vigour he subsequently displayed in disentangling himself from a web of his own fabrication. The most satisfactory proof of intellectual strength is to be found in the existence of a power which enables the mind to conquer its prejudices and to correct its own errors. How many remarkable instances does the history of science present, in which the philosopher has treated his facts as Procrustes did his victims, in order that they might accord with the measure most convenient for his purpose!

Prejudiced by the general opinion respecting the hitherto undecompounded nature of muriatic acid, he had long sought to discover its radical by the agency of Voltaic electricity; but he uniformly found that when its aqueous solution was thus acted upon, the water alone underwent decomposition; while the electrization of the gas afforded no other indication of its nature than the presence of a much greater quantity of water than theory had assigned to it. He proceeded, therefore, to examine the acid by other modes of enquiry: he found, by the action of potassium upon the gas, that a large volume of hydrogen was evolved, which, in conjunction with other experiments, satisfied him that this body, in its common aëriform state, contained at least one-third of its weight of water; and he adopted various expedients with the hopes of obtaining the acid free from it. Without pursuing him through this research, I shall merely state the conclusions at which he arrived, viz. that dry muriatic acid, could it be obtained, would probably be found to possess the strongest and most extensive powers of combination of all known substances belonging to the class of acids; and that its basis, should it ever be separated in a pure form, will be one of the most powerful agents in Chemistry. From the fact of water appearing in a separate state, and oxymuriatic acid being formed whenever a metallic oxide was heated in muriatic acid gas, he was led to consider the muriatic acid as a compound of a certain base, (not hitherto obtained in a separate state,) and not less than one-third part of water; while he regarded oxymuriatic acid as a compound of the same base (free from water) with oxygen.

After the numerous experiments in which the original battery of the Institution had been used, so greatly were its metallic plates corroded, that it was found to be no longer serviceable; in consequence of which, as it would appear from a minute, dated July 11, 1808, "Mr. Davy laid before the Managers of the Royal Institution the following paper, viz.

"A new path of discovery having been opened in the agencies of the electrical battery of Volta, which promises to lead to the greatest improvements in Chemistry and Natural Philosophy, and the useful arts connected with them; and since the increase of the size of the apparatus is absolutely necessary for pursuing it to its full extent, it is proposed to raise a fund by subscription, for constructing a powerful battery, worthy of a national establishment, and capable of promoting the great objects of science.

"Already, in other countries, public and ample means have been provided for pursuing these investigations. They have had their origin in this country; and it would be dishonourable to a nation so great, so powerful, and so rich, if, from the want of pecuniary resources, they should be completed abroad.

"An appeal to enlightened individuals on this subject can scarcely be made in vain. It is proposed that the instrument and apparatus be erected in the Laboratory of the Royal Institution, where it shall be employed in the advancement of this new department of science."

The Minute goes on then to state that—

"The above paper having been laid before the Board of Managers, they felt it their indispensable duty instantly to communicate the same to every member of the Royal Institution, lest the slightest delay might furnish an opportunity to other countries for accomplishing this great work, which originated in the brilliant discoveries recently made at the Royal Institution.

"The Managers present agree to subscribe to this undertaking.

"Ordered, that a book be opened at the Steward's office for the purpose of entering the names of all those members who may wish to contribute towards this important National object."

To the great gratification of Davy, and to the honour of the country, the list of subscribers was soon completed, and one of the most magnificent batteries ever constructed was speedily in full operation.

It is thus alluded to in his Elements of Chemical Philosophy:—"The most powerful combination that exists, in which number of alternations is combined with extent of surface, is that constructed by the subscriptions of a few zealous cultivators and patrons of science, in the Laboratory of the Royal Institution. It consists of two hundred instruments connected together in regular order, each composed of ten double plates arranged in cells of porcelain, and containing in each plate thirty-two square inches; so that the whole number of double plates is two thousand, and the whole surface one hundred and twenty-eight thousand square inches."

This battery, when the cells were filled with sixty parts of water mixed with one part of nitric acid, afforded a series of brilliant and impressive effects. When pieces of charcoal, about an inch long, and one-sixth of an inch in diameter, were brought near each other, (within the thirtieth or fortieth parts of an inch,) a bright spark was produced, and more than half the volume of the charcoal became ignited to whiteness, and by withdrawing the points from each other a constant discharge took place through the heated air, in a space equal at least to four inches, producing a most brilliant ascending arch of light, broad and conical in form in the middle. When any substance was introduced into this arch, it instantly became ignited; platina melted as readily in it as wax in the flame of a common candle; quartz, the sapphire, magnesia, lime, all entered into fusion; fragments of diamond, and points of charcoal and plumbago rapidly disappeared, and seemed to evaporate in it, even when the connexion was made in a receiver exhausted by the air-pump; but there was no evidence of their having previously undergone fusion.

All the phenomena of chemical decomposition were produced with intense rapidity by this combination. When the points of charcoal were brought near each other in non-conducting fluids, such as oils, ether, and oxymuriatic compounds, brilliant sparks occurred, and elastic matter was rapidly generated.

Among the numerous experiments performed by the aid of this battery, he instituted several, in the hope of decomposing nitrogen; and which are recorded in his Bakerian Lecture of 1809. He ignited potassium, by intense Voltaic electricity, in this gas; and the result was, that hydrogen appeared, and some nitrogen was found deficient. This, on first view, led him to the suspicion that he had attained his object; but, in subsequent experiments, in proportion as the potassium was more free from a coating of potash, which necessarily introduced water, so in proportion was less hydrogen evolved, and less nitrogen found deficient. The general tenor of these enquiries, therefore, did not strengthen the opinion he had formed with respect to the compound nature of nitrogen.

It appears from the following letter, that Davy visited his friend Mr. Andrew Knight at Downton, in September 1809. It is introduced in these memoirs principally for the purpose of showing with what boldness he was accustomed to depart from generally received opinions, and to project new theories for the explanation of the most abstruse subjects.

The genius displayed by Mr. Knight in investigating the phenomena of vegetable nature, and in applying the knowledge thus acquired to objects of practical improvement, excited in Davy, as might have been expected, feelings of the highest admiration; and when, in addition to such claims, he was the acknowledged patron and hospitable friend of the angler, the reader will readily imagine the warmth of feeling with which our philosopher cherished his friendship.

On commencing the present work, I applied to Mr. Knight for any assistance he might be able to afford me, in aid of so arduous a labour; and he very kindly returned an answer, from which I extract the following passage.

"My late lamented friend, Sir Humphry Davy, usually paid me a visit in the autumn, when he chiefly amused himself with angling for grayling, a fish which he appeared to take great pleasure in catching. He seemed to enjoy the repose and comparative solitude of this place, where he met but few persons, except those of my own family, for we usually saw but little company. He always assured me that he passed his visits agreeably, and I had reason to believe he expressed his real feelings.

"In the familiar conversations of these friendly visits, he always appeared to me to be a much more extraordinary being than even his writings, and vast discoveries, would have led me to suppose him; and, in the extent of intellectual powers, I shall ever think that he lived and died without an equal."

The reader has already been made acquainted with those experiments which led Davy to modify the prevailing opinions, with regard to the constitution of the muriatic and oxymuriatic acids; and on the false assumption that oxygen existed in the latter gas, to refer the deposition of water which takes place upon heating a metallic oxide in the former, to the supposition that muriatic acid contains a large proportion of water as essential to its composition. Upon observing, however, that charcoal, if freed from hydrogen and moisture, even when ignited to whiteness in oxymuriatic, or muriatic acid gas, by the Voltaic battery, did not effect the least change in them, he was led to suspect the accuracy of his previous conclusion; and on retracing his steps, and entering upon a new path of enquiry, he ultimately succeeded, after one of the most acute controversies that ever sprang from a chemical question, in recalling philosophers to the original theory of Scheele, by establishing the important truth, that oxymuriatic acid is, in the true logic of chemistry, a simple body, which becomes muriatic acid by its union with hydrogen.

The new views arising out of such a revolution in chemical opinion are certainly not the least important of those to which the discoveries of Davy have given birth. Dr. Johnson has remarked, that "one of the most hazardous attempts of criticism is to choose the best amongst many good." I am much mistaken, however, if the chemists of Europe will not, without hesitation, pronounce his researches into the nature of oxymuriatic acid, and its relations, with the exception of those by which he established the chemical laws of Voltaic action, to be by far the most important of all his labours; not only as evincing the ascendancy of his genius, and the steadiness of his perseverance, but as marking a new and splendid era in chemical science.

It is much more difficult to eradicate an ancient error than to establish a new truth; and on this occasion, he had not only to contend against the pampered errors of a domineering system, but against the equivocal and illusive evidence, or, if I may be allowed the expression, the apparent neutrality of facts by which the truth of his theory was to be judged. In consequence of the constant and often unsuspected interference of water, there is scarcely a result connected with the chemical history of the bodies in dispute, that did not admit of being equally well explained upon the hypothesis that oxymuriatic acid is a compound, as upon that of its being a simple or undecompounded substance. The question could never have been determined but by an investigation of the most refined and subtile nature; so delicately was the evidence balanced, that nothing but the keenest eye, and the steadiest hand, could have determined the side on which the beam preponderated.

The illustrious discoverer of oxymuriatic acid considered that body as muriatic acid freed from hydrogen, or, in the obscure language of the Stahlian school, as muriatic acid deprived of phlogiston, whence he assigned to it the name of dephlogisticated muriatic acid. Upon the establishment of the antiphlogistic theory by Lavoisier, it became essential to the generalization which distinguished it, that a body performing the functions of an acid, and above all, supporting the process of combustion, should be regarded as containing oxygen in its composition; and facts were not wanting to sanction such an inference. The substance could not even be produced from muriatic acid, without the action of some body known to contain oxygen; while the fact of such a body becoming deoxidated by the process, seemed to demonstrate, beyond the possibility of error, that the conversion of the muriatic into the oxymuriatic acid, was nothing more than a simple transference of oxygen from the oxide to the acid: an opinion which was universally adopted, and which for nearly thirty years triumphed without opposition.

The body of evidence by which Davy overthrew this doctrine, and established the undecompounded nature of oxymuriatic acid, is to be found in a succession of papers read before the Royal Society, viz. in that already announced,—in his Bakerian Lecture for 1810,—and in a subsequent memoir read in February 1811.

It will be impossible for me to follow the author through all the intricacies of the enquiry; but I shall seize upon some of its more prominent points, and give a general outline of its bearings.

No sooner had his suspicions been excited with regard to the compound nature of oxymuriatic acid, than it occurred to him that, if oxygen were really present in that body, he might readily obtain it from some of its compounds; that, for instance, its combination with tin would yield an oxide of that metal by ammonia; while those with phosphorus would furnish, on analysis, either the phosphorous, or phosphoric acid. But after experiments in which the presence of water was most cautiously excluded, the results he had anticipated were not obtained. In the place of an oxide of tin, the product, on the application of heat, volatilized in dense and pungent fumes; and, instead of obtaining an acid of phosphorus, a body possessing new and unexpected properties resulted. Again,—it had been stated, in confirmation of the theory that recognised the presence of oxygen in oxymuriatic acid, that when this latter body and ammonia were made to act upon each other, water was formed: our chemist frequently repeated the experiment, and convinced himself that such was not the fact.

It had been shown by Mr. Cruickshank, and more recently proved by MM. Gay Lussac and Thénard, that oxymuriatic acid and hydrogen, when mixed in nearly equal proportions, produce a matter almost entirely condensable by water, which is common muriatic acid; and that water is not deposited in the operation. Davy made many experiments on the subject, and he found, that when these gases were mingled together in equal volumes over water, introduced into an exhausted vessel, and fired by the electric spark, muriatic acid resulted, although, at the same time, there was a certain degree of condensation, and a slight deposition of vapour; but on repeating the experiment in a manner still more refined, and by carefully drying the gases, such condensation became proportionally less.

When, in addition to the above experimental evidence, it is stated that MM. Gay Lussac and Thénard had proved, by a copious collection of instances, that in the usual cases where oxygen is eliminated from oxymuriatic acid, water is always present, and muriatic acid gas is formed; and as it has been moreover shown that oxymuriatic is converted into muriatic acid gas by combining with hydrogen, it is scarcely possible to avoid the conclusion, that the oxygen is derived from the decomposition of water, and not from that of the acid.

When mercury is made to act, by means of Voltaic electricity, upon one volume of muriatic acid gas, all the acid disappears, calomel is formed, and half a volume of hydrogen is evolved.

By such experiments and arguments, Davy was led to the conclusion that, as yet, oxymuriatic acid has not been decompounded; that it is a peculiar body, elementary as far as our knowledge extends, and analogous, in its tendency of combination with inflammable matter, to oxygen gas; that, in fact, it may be a peculiar acidifying and dissolving principle, forming with different substances compounds analogous to acids containing oxygen, or to oxides, in their properties and powers of combination, but differing from them in being, for the most part, decomposable by water. On this idea, he thinks that muriatic acid may be considered as having hydrogen for its base, and oxymuriatic acid for its acidifying principle. In confirmation of such an opinion, it is also important to remark, that in its electrical relations, oxymuriatic acid maintains its analogy to oxygen.

The vivid combustion of bodies in oxymuriatic acid gas, Davy acknowledges, may, at first view, appear a reason why oxygen should be admitted as one of its elements; but he answers this argument by stating, that heat and light are merely results of the intense agency of combination; and that sulphur and metals, alkaline earths and acids, become alike ignited under such circumstances.

As change of theory with regard to the primitive must necessarily modify all our views with respect to the nature of secondary bodies, so must this new view of oxymuriatic acid affect all our opinions respecting its compounds. Davy accordingly proceeded, in the first place, to investigate the various bodies which had been distinguished by the name of hyper-oxymuriates, muriates, &c.

It also became necessary to alter the nomenclature, since to call a body which neither contains oxygen nor muriatic acid, by a term which denotes the presence of both, is contrary to those very principles which first suggested it. Having consulted some of the most eminent philosophers, Davy proposed a name founded upon one of the most obvious and characteristic properties of the oxymuriatic acid, namely, its colour, and called it Chlorine.

If then oxymuriatic acid, or chlorine, does not contain any oxygen, a question immediately arises as to the true nature of those compounds in which the muriatic acid has been supposed to exist in combination with a much larger proportion of oxygen than in the oxymuriatic acid,—in the state in which it has been named by Mr. Chenevix hyper-oxygenized muriatic acid.

In his Bakerian Lecture of 1810, entitled, "On some of the Combinations of Oxymuriatic Gas and Oxygen, and on the Chemical Relations of these Principles," he details a number of experiments for the illustration of this subject, and arrives at the conclusion, that the oxygen in the hyper-oxymuriate of potash is in triple combination with the metal and chlorine. He likewise confirms his views, with regard to the elementary nature of this latter body, by a series of new enquiries, and shows that they are not incompatible with known phenomena:—for instance, Scheele explained the bleaching powers of oxymuriatic gas, by supposing that it destroyed colours by combining with Phlogiston. Berthollet[87] considered it as acting by imparting oxygen; Davy now proves that the pure gas is wholly incapable of altering vegetable colours, and that its operation in bleaching entirely depends upon its property of decomposing water, and of thus liberating its oxygen.[88] The experiment by which he demonstrated this fact is so simple and satisfactory, that I shall here relate it. Having filled a glass globe, containing dry powdered muriate of lime, with oxymuriatic gas, he introduced into another globe, also containing muriate of lime, some dry paper tinged with litmus,

that had been just heated; by which device the intrusion of moisture was effectually prevented. After some time, this latter globe was exhausted, and then connected with that containing the oxymuriatic gas, and by an appropriate set of stop-cocks, the paper was exposed to the action of the gas thus dried: no change of colour in the test paper took place, and after two days, there was scarcely a perceptible alteration; while some similar paper dried and introduced into the gas, that had not been exposed to muriate of lime, was instantly bleached.

As an illustration of the eagerness with which he seized upon facts, in order to apply them to economical purposes, it may be stated that, on reflecting upon the theory of bleaching, and on the changes which its agents undergo, he was led to propose the use of a liquor produced by the condensation of oxymuriatic gas in water, containing magnesia diffused through it, as superior to the oxymuriate of lime commonly employed.[89]

It has been very truly observed, that all knowledge which is gained tends towards the acquisition of more, just as the iron dug from the mine facilitates in return the working of the miner. Never was this truth more forcibly illustrated than by the discovery of the nature of chlorine. In the progress of that train of enquiry, which became necessary for the adjustment of our views as they regarded the combinations of that body, Davy discovered a series of new compounds, the history of which he communicated in successive papers to the Royal Society.

In a memoir read in February 1811, entitled, "On a Combination of Oxymuriatic Gas and Oxygen Gas," he announced the existence of a protoxide of chlorine, under the name of Euchlorine; and in a communication from Rome in the year 1815, he described another compound of chlorine and oxygen, containing a still larger proportion of this latter element, and which has since been made the subject of a series of experiments by Count Stadion of Vienna. As it does not exhibit any acid properties, Dr. Henry proposes to call it a Peroxide, in preference to Deutoxide; thinking it probable that intermediate compounds, between this and the protoxide already mentioned, may be hereafter discovered.

His paper on euchlorine abounds with interest. He found that by acting on the salts formerly denominated hyper-oxymuriates, by muriatic acid, the gas evolved differed very greatly in its properties, with the different modes of preparing it. When much acid was employed with a small quantity of the salt, and the gas was collected over water, it was not found to differ from oxymuriatic gas; but when, on the other hand, the gas was procured by means of a weak acid, and a considerable excess of the salt, at a low heat, and was collected over mercury, it possessed properties essentially different. Its colour, under such circumstances, was of a dense tint of brilliant yellow-green, whence the name of euchlorine.[90] When in a pure form, this gas is so readily decomposed, that it will sometimes explode during the time of its transfer from one vessel to another, producing both heat and light with an expansion of volume,[91] and it may always be made to explode by a very gentle heat, often even by that of the hand.

The results of its explosion indicate its composition to be one atom of chlorine, and one of oxygen. None of the metals that burn in chlorine act upon this gas at common temperatures; but when the oxygen is separated, they then inflame in the residual chlorine. This fact Davy illustrated by a series of experiments, one of which, from its extreme beauty, I shall here relate. If a glass vessel, containing copper-leaf, be exhausted, and the euchlorine afterwards admitted, no action will take place; but throw in a little nitrous gas, and a rapid decomposition will ensue, and the metal will burn with its accustomed brilliancy.

The discovery of this interesting gas, and that of the facts connected with it, not only confirmed the novel views with regard to the elementary nature of chlorine, but they reconciled the contradictory accounts of different authors respecting the properties of that body.

The weak attraction subsisting between the elements of this compound gas, which by a comparatively low temperature are made repulsive of each other, confirms also the supposition of Davy, that oxygen and chlorine belong to the same class of bodies.

The discovery of the peroxide of chlorine was made during an examination of the action of acids on the hyper-oxymuriates of Chenevix, undertaken by Davy in consequence of a statement of M. Gay Lussac, that a peculiar acid, which he called chloric acid, might be procured from the hyper-oxymuriate of baryta by sulphuric acid. With regard to this acid, which its discoverer considered as composed of one atom of chlorine and five atoms of oxygen, Davy entered into a warm controversy, affirming that the fluid in question owed its acid powers to combined hydrogen; and that it was analogous to the other hyper-oxymuriates, as being triple compounds of inflammable bases with chlorine and oxygen, in which the two former determine the character of the compound: this opinion, however, he afterwards abandoned, and I have reason to believe that he regretted ever having advanced it.

Amidst these new views, it became necessary to alter our opinions with regard to many of those compounds which have been termed muriates, but which, it would appear, contain neither muriatic acid nor oxygen, but are, strictly speaking, combinations of metals with chlorine, held in union by a very powerful affinity, since chlorine is capable of expelling the whole of the oxygen from any metallic oxide, and of taking its place; even those metals that are most distinguished by their affinity for oxygen, abandon it whenever their oxides are heated in chlorine, in which case oxygen gas is disengaged.

The same metal is also capable of uniting with different proportions of chlorine, which, so far as has been yet ascertained, are definite, and in no case exceed two proportions to one of metal. Hence it was proposed by Davy, in fixing the nomenclature of these compounds, to designate such as contain the least proportion of chlorine by the termination ane, added to the Latin name of the metal, as cuprane for that of copper; those containing the larger proportion of chlorine, by the termination anea, as cupranea. The chemical name of our common culinary salt, in conformity with such a nomenclature, would be sodane. This proposition, however, has not been adopted;[92] the compounds of metals and chlorine are either called chlorurets, or what is preferable, from their analogy with the similar compounds of oxygen, chlorides, and which are further distinguished as protochlorides, deutochlorides, &c.

In connexion with the history of these chlorides, a question arises of great interest and obscurity, and which has engaged the attention of some of our most distinguished chemists,—whether such a body, when dissolved by water, remains as a chloride; or, by decomposing that fluid, and combining with its elements, is not immediately converted into a muriate? With respect to several of these chlorides, no doubt can be entertained as to the fact of their decomposing water; for instance, the chloride of phosphorus is thus acted upon, the oxygen of the water forms phosphorous acid with the phosphorus, while its hydrogen unites with the chlorine to form muriatic acid; and as those products are such as do not combine with each other, but exist in a state of mixture in the water, each may be recognised by its peculiar properties. In like manner, as Davy has observed, when water is added in certain quantities to Libavius's liquor (deutochloride of tin), a solid crystalline mass is obtained, from which oxide of tin and muriate of ammonia can be obtained by ammonia.

In his Elements of Chemical Philosophy, Davy has been, in many instances, explicit on this point; and his opinions are favourable to the idea that chlorides become muriates by being dissolved in water: thus, he states that the perchloride of iron "acts with violence upon water, and forms a solution of red muriate of iron;" and he observes that the permuriate "forms a solution of green muriate of iron by its action upon water."[93] With regard, however, to the general principle, that chlorides become muriates by solution, there are difficulties which do not fall within the province of a biographer to discuss. I shall merely observe that such a change is, in many cases, so inconsistent with our preconceived opinions, that very strong evidence is required to reconcile us to its truth. We are undoubtedly prepared to hear that much may happen between the cup and the lip,—but that common salt should be a chloride of sodium on our plates, and a muriate of soda in our mouths, is certainly a very startling assertion.

The reception which the chloridic theory met with from the chemical world might aptly enough be adduced in illustration of that remark with which I commenced the preceding chapter. At first, its truth was questioned, and no sooner had this been triumphantly established, than an attempt was invidiously made to transfer the glory of the discovery from Davy to the French philosophers. Upon each of these points, I shall beg to offer a few observations.

First, with regard to the fact of chlorine being as yet an undecompounded body. The very announcement of a theory so adverse to the universal faith of Europe, was a signal for open hostilities; the observations of Dr. Murray may be considered as expressing the sentiments of most of the leading chemists on the first publication of the novel views of Davy. "Opinions," says he, "more unexpected have seldom been announced to chemists, than those lately advanced by Mr. Davy with regard to the constitution of the muriatic and oxymuriatic acids; viz. that the latter is not a compound of muriatic acid and oxygen, but a simple substance, and that the former is a compound of this substance with hydrogen. The more general principle connected with these opinions, that oxymuriatic acid is, like oxygen, an acidifying element, forming with inflammables and metals an extensive series of analogous compounds, leads still more directly to the subversion of the established chemical systems, and to an entire revolution in some of the most important doctrines of the science."

Dr. Murray entered the lists as the avowed partisan of the theory of Berthollet; Dr. Davy, on the other hand, appeared as the champion of his brother's doctrine. A severe contest ensued, and both combatants displayed equal skill and strength. The object of the former was to demonstrate the presence of water, or its elements, as a constituent part of muriatic acid; and he proposed to determine the point by combining the dry gases of muriatic acid and ammonia; for as these bodies did not contain its elements, should water appear, he maintained that it must be considered as pre-existing in the muriatic acid; while, on the contrary, if no water could be procured, it would be unphilosophical to suppose it present, but that muriatic acid gas must, in that case, be considered as a compound of hydrogen and chlorine. In performing this experiment, Dr. Murray did succeed in obtaining a portion of water; but the inference from such a fact was questioned on the other side, upon the assumption of the humidity of the gases. As all parties, however, seemed to agree, that if every source of error could be excluded, the combination of these gases would furnish an experimentum crucis, by which the truth or fallacy of either theory might be established, Davy, when at Edinburgh, was desirous of repeating the experiment with Dr. Hope, and it was accordingly made in the College Laboratory. Sir George Mackenzie, Mr. Playfair, and some other gentlemen, were present. The results were communicated in Nicholson's Journal by Dr. Davy, and may be briefly stated as follows:—The alkaline and acid gases were pure, and both had been previously dried by exposure for sixteen hours to substances having a strong attraction for water. The apparatus consisted of a plain retort of about the capacity of twenty-six cubic inch measures, with a stop-cock; and of a receiver, with a suitable stop-cock. The latter was filled over mercury with one of the gases, which from the receiver passed into the exhausted retort by means of the stop-cocks; the other gas was introduced the same way into the retort; and thus alternately about ninety cubic inches of each gas were combined. All the salt having then been driven into the bulb of the retort by the heat of a spirit lamp, the neck was cooled and kept cold by moistened cloths, whilst the bulb was heated by a coke fire, till the muriate began to sublime, and to make its appearance at the curvature of the vessel when the fire was withdrawn. The result was then examined, while the bottom of the retort was still very hot: a dew, just perceptible, was observed lining the cold neck. The quantity of water was so extremely small, that the globular particles composing this dew could scarcely be perceived by the naked eye; now the quantity of water, according to hypothesis, should equal no less than eight grains. There is no small difference, it must be confessed, between that quantity and a dew barely perceptible, and which may reasonably be referred to a minute quantity of vapour in the gases, or to a little moisture derived from the mercury, a small quantity of which entered the retort with the gases. Dr. Hope wished to ascertain how much water would produce such a dew as was observed. For this purpose he heated in a retort, of a similar size to that used in the experiment, a single drop of water, which it may be said weighs about a grain. The appearance of condensed water, in this instance, in the neck of the retort, was much greater than in the preceding: he considered it as being three or four times as great.[94]

From these results it may be concluded, on Dr. Murray's own ground of reasoning, that water is not a constituent part of muriatic acid gas, and that this substance is a compound merely of chlorine and hydrogen; for it is easy to account for the presence of about one-third of a grain of water from various sources, while it is impossible to account for the absence of eight grains upon any theory except that which supposes the gas to be anhydrous.

I shall not pursue the numerous other experiments by which it was attempted to prove the fallacy of Davy's views; they all turn upon the same point, and were refuted by the same vigorous methods of enquiry. The chloridic theory may therefore now be considered as fully established: the philosophers who were for so long a period hostile to its reception, have at length yielded their assent; and Berzelius, in a paper published in the "Annales de Chimie," on the subject of sulpho-cyanic acid, has unconditionally tendered his allegiance; while the subsequent discovery of iodine and bromine has confirmed, by the most beautiful analogies, the views so satisfactorily explained by experiment.