Memoirs of Dr. Joseph Priestley

by Joseph Priestley

The review of my history of electricity by Mr. Bewley, who was acquainted with Mr. Michell, was the means of opening a correspondence between us, which was the source of much satisfaction to me as long as he lived. I instantly communicated to him an account of every new experiment that I made, and, in return, was favoured with his remarks upon them. All that he published of his own were articles in the Appendixes to my volumes on air, all of which are ingenious and valuable. Always publishing in this manner, he used to call himself my satellite. There was a vein of pleasant wit and humour in all his correspondence, which added greatly to the value of it. His letters to me would have made several volumes, and mine to him still more. When he found himself dangerously ill, he made a point of paying me a visit before he died; and he made a journey from Norfolk to Birmingham, accompanied by Mrs. Bewley, for that purpose; and after spending about a week with me, he went to his friend Dr. Burney, and at his house he died.

While I was at Leeds a proposal was made to me to accompany Captain Cook in his second voyage to the south seas. As the terms were very advantageous, I consented to it, and the heads of my congregation had agreed to keep an assistant to supply my place during my absence. But Mr. Banks informed me that I was objected to by some clergymen in the board of longitude, who had the direction of this business, on account of my religious principles; and presently after I heard that Dr. Forster, a person far better qualified for the purpose, had got the appointment. As I had barely acquiesced in the proposal, this was no disappointment to me, and I was much better employed at home, even with respect to my philosophical pursuits. My knowledge of natural history was not sufficient for the undertaking; but at that time I should by application have been able to supply my deficiency, though now I am sensible I could not do it.

At Leeds I was particularly happy in my intercourse with Mr. Turner of Wakefield, and occasionally, with Mr. Cappe of York, and Mr. Graham of Halifax. And here it was that, in consequence of a visit which in company with Mr. Turner I made to the Archdeacon Blackburne at Richmond (with whom I had kept up a correspondence from the time that his son was under my care at Warrington) I first met with Mr. Lindsey, then of Catterick, and a correspondence and intimacy commenced, which has been the source of more real satisfaction to me than any other circumstance in my whole life. He soon discovered to me that he was uneasy in his situation, and had thoughts of quitting it. At first I was not forward to encourage him in it, but rather advised him to make what alteration he thought proper in the offices of the church, and leave it to his superiors to dismiss him if they chose. But his better judgment, and greater fortitude, led him to give up all connexion with the established church of his own accord.

This took place about the time of my leaving Leeds, and it was not until long after this that I was apprized of all the difficulties he had to struggle with before he could accomplish his purpose. But the opposition made to it by his nearest friends, and those who might have been expected to approve of the step that he took, and to have endeavoured to make it easy to him, was one of the greatest. Notwithstanding this he left Catterick, where he had lived in affluence idolized by his parish, and went to London without any certain prospect; where he lived in two rooms of a ground floor, until by the assistance of his friends, he was able to pay for the use of the upper apartments, which the state of his health rendered necessary. In this humble situation have I passed some of the most pleasing hours of my life, when, in consequence of living with Lord Shelburne, I spent my winters in London.

On this occasion it was that my intimacy with Mr. Lindsey was much improved, and an entire concurrence in every thing that we thought to be for the interest of christianity gave fresh warmth to our friendship. To his society I owe much of my zeal for the doctrine of the divine unity, for which he made so great sacrifices, and in the defence of which he so much distinguished himself, so as to occasion a new æra in the history of religion in this country.

As we became more intimate, confiding in his better taste and judgment, and also in that of Mrs. Lindsey, a woman of the same spirit and views, and in all respects a help meet for him, I never chose to publish any thing of moment relating to Theology without consulting him; and hardly ever ventured to insert any thing that they disapproved, being sensible that my disposition led to precipitancy, to which their coolness was a seasonable check.

At Leeds began my intercourse with Mr. Lee of Lincoln’s Inn. He was a native of the place, and exactly one week older than myself. At that time he was particularly connected with the congregation, and before he was married spent his vacations with us. His friendship was a source of much greater satisfaction and advantage to me after I came to reside in London, and especially at the time of my leaving Lord Shelburne, when my prospects wore rather a cloudy aspect.

When I visited London, during my residence at Leeds, commenced my particular friendship for Dr. Price, to whom I had been introduced several years before by Dr. Benson; our first interview having been at Mr. Brownsword’s at Newington, where they were members of a small literary society, in which they read various compositions. At that time Dr. Benson read a paper which afterwards made a section in his Life of Christ. For the most amiable simplicity of character, equalled only by that of Mr. Lindsey, a truly christian spirit, disinterested patriotism, and true candour, no man in my opinion ever exceeded Dr. Price. His candour will appear the more extraordinary, considering his warm attachments to the theological sentiments which he embraced in very early life. I shall ever reflect upon our friendship as a circumstance highly honourable, as it was a source of peculiar satisfaction, to me.

I had two sons born to me at Leeds, Joseph and William, and though I was very happy there, I was tempted to leave it after continuing there six years, to go into the family of the Earl of Shelburne, now the Marquis of Lansdowne; he stipulating to give me 250 £. per annum, a house to live in, and a certainty for life in case of his death, or of my separation from him; whereas at Leeds my salary was only one hundred guineas per annum, and a house, which was not quite sufficient for the subsistence of my family, without a possibility of making a provision for them after my death.

I had been recommended to Lord Shelburne by Dr. Price, as a person qualified to be a literary companion to him. In this situation, my family being at Calne in Wiltshire, near to his Lordship’s seat at Bowood, I continued seven years, spending the summer with my family, and a great part of the winter in his Lordship’s house in London. My office was nominally that of librarian, but I had little employment as such, besides arranging his books, taking a catalogue of them, and of his manuscripts, which were numerous, and making an index to his collection of private papers. In fact I was with him as a friend, and the second year made with him the tour of Flanders, Holland, and Germany, as far as Strasburgh; and after spending a month at Paris, returned to England. This was in the year 1774.