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.
TO JOHN GEORGE CHILDREN, ESQ.
September 23, 1809.
MY DEAR FRIEND,
I am about to visit Downton, and shall return by the first of October. I have neither seen nor heard from Lord Darnley, and I conjecture he has not yet returned from Scotland.
I wish you great sport in pheasant-shooting, but I trust you have had still nobler game in your Laboratory.
I doubt not you have found before this, as I have done, that the substance we mistook for sulphuretted hydrogen is telluretted hydrogen, very soluble in water, combinable with alkalies and earths, and a substance affording another proof that hydrogen is an oxide. I have met with another analogous compound, that of boracium with hydrogen, which possesses very similar properties.
I find that taking ammonium as the basis of hydrogen, according to the ideas which I stated, all the compounds will agree with the suppositions that I mentioned to you, viz. eight cubic inches of hydrogen, two of oxygen, ammonia; four and two, water; four and four, nitrogen; four and six, nitrous oxide; four and eight, nitrous gas; four and ten, nitric acid. Where the multiples are not in geometrical order, the decomposition is most easy, i.e. in nitrous oxide and nitric acid; more easy in water than in ammonia; but most difficult in nitrogen, where there is probably the most perfect equilibrium of affinities.
I have kept charcoal white hot by the Voltaic apparatus, in dry oxymuriatic acid gas for an hour, without effecting its decomposition. This agrees with what I had before observed with a red heat. It is as difficult to decompose as nitrogen, except when all its elements can be made to enter into new combinations.
I find the radiation, in vacuo, from ignited platina, is to that in air as three to one:—so much for Leslie's hypothesis.
A little electrical machine acts with a repulsion as two, in a vacuum equal to five inches of mercury; as thirty, in common air; as thirty, in oxygen; as twenty-nine or thirty, in hydrogen; and as forty-five, in carbonic acid. I showed this experiment, made with every precaution, to Mr. Cavendish, Dr. Herschell, Dr. Wollaston, and Warburton: so much for the theory, that electricity is dependent upon oxidation. I do not think our worthy friend Pepys will resist any longer.
Pray let me know what you have been doing. I hope you will not suffer these beautiful and satisfactory experiments of the capacities of metals to remain still. Write me a letter as egotistical as the one I have given you. You are pledged to do good and noble things, and you must not disappoint the men of science of this country.
With kindest remembrances to your excellent father, and with hopes that we shall soon meet, I am, my dear friend,
Very faithfully and affectionately yours,
H. Davy.
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.
As to the claim of priority which has been urged by several philosophers in favour of the French chemists, Davy, in speaking of Gay Lussac's paper, published in the "Annales de Chimie" for July 1814, observes, that "the historical notes attached to it are of a nature not to be passed over without animadversion. M. Gay Lussac states, that he and M. Thénard were the first to advance the hypothesis that chlorine was a simple body; and he quotes M. Ampère as having entertained that opinion before me. On the subject of the originality of the idea of chlorine being a simple body, I have always vindicated the claims of Scheele; but I must assume for myself the labour of having demonstrated its properties and combinations, and of having explained the chemical phenomena it produces; and I am in possession of a letter from M. Ampère, that shows he has no claims of this kind to make."[95]
The question of priority appears to me to be readily settled by a reference to printed documents. Davy published his "Elements of Chemical Philosophy" in 1812, containing a systematic account of his new doctrines concerning the combinations of simple bodies. Chlorine is there placed in the same rank with oxygen, and finally removed from the class of acids. In 1813, M. Thénard published the first volume of his "Traité de Chimie Elémentaire Théorique et Pratique," in which he states the composition of oxymuriatic acid as follows:—"Composition. The oxygenated muriatic gas contains the half of its volume of oxygen gas, not including that which we may suppose in muriatic acid." It was not until the year 1816, that, by a note in his fourth volume, he appears to have at all relaxed in his attachment to the old theory of Lavoisier and Berthollet; and it will presently appear, that at the period above mentioned, iodine had been discovered, and its analogies to chlorine fully established, by the sagacity of Davy.
Having, as I trust, offered an impartial view of his claims to the establishment of the chloridic theory, I shall resume my narrative of those events which more immediately connect themselves with his personal history at this period.
The great fame of Davy, and the high importance of the discoveries which had bestowed it, became a general theme of admiration throughout the scientific circles of Europe, and induced the members of the Dublin Society to invite him to that city, for the purpose of delivering a course of lectures. From the authentic documents which have been placed in my hands, I am enabled to give a particular account of this transaction.
At a meeting of the Dublin Society held on the 3rd of May 1810, the following Resolutions were proposed and unanimously carried, viz.
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]
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.
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]
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.
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.
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.