[ [300] Watt to Boulton, 26th October, 1782.
[ [301] A common word in the north,—meaning literally putting sense into one.
[ [302] He discovered, in the course of his inquiries at different periods, no fewer than nine new gases,—oxygen, nitrogen (a discovery also claimed by Cavendish and Rutherford), nitric oxide, nitrous oxide, sulphurous acid, muriatic acid (chlorine), volatile ammonia, fluo-silicic acid, and carbonic oxide,—“a tribute to science,” as is truly observed by Dr. Henry, “greatly exceeding in richness and extent that of any contemporary.”
[ [303] We find among the Boulton MSS., a letter from Priestley, dated Calne, 28th September, 1776, introducing Warltire to Boulton as follows:—“As I know you will take pleasure in everything in which the advancement of science is concerned, I take the liberty to recommend to you Mr. Warltire, who has been some time in this part of the country, and who is going to read lectures on the subject of Air at Birmingham. I think him an excellent philosopher, as well as a modest and agreeable man. He is perfectly acquainted with his subject, and has prepared a set of experiments which have given the greatest satisfaction wherever he has been. He has been so obliging as to spend some time with me, and has given me much assistance in my late experiments, of which he can give you some account.”
[ [304] Wilson’s ‘Life of Cavendish,’ p. 60. In this work, the claims of Cavendish are strongly advocated. The case in favour of Watt is alike strongly and ably stated by Mr. Muirhead in his ‘Correspondence of the late James Watt on his Discovery of the Theory of the Composition of Water.’
[ [305] Watt to Boulton, 10th December, 1782.
[ [306] De Luc, Watt’s “ami zélé,” as he described himself, confirms the fact of Cavendish having, in 1782, communicated to Priestley the nature of his experiments as well as his theory of the composition of water, in the following passage:—“Vers la fin de l’année 1782, j’allai à Birmingham, où le Dr. Priestley s’étoit établi depuis quelques années. Il me communiqua alors que M. Cavendish, d’après une rémarque de M. Warltire, qui avoit toujours trouvé de l’eau dans les vases où il avoit brúlé un mélange de l’air inflammable et d’air atmosphérique, s’étoit appliqué à découvrir la source de cette eau, et qu’il avoit trouvé qu’un mélange d’air inflammable et d’air déphlogistique en proportion convenable, étant allumé par l’étincelle électrique, se convertissoit tout entier en eau.—Je fus frappé au plus haut degré de cette découverte.”—‘Idées sur la Météorologie,’ tome 2, 1787, pp. 206–7.
[ [307] Watt to Black, 21st April, 1783.
[ [308] That Watt felt keenly on the subject, is obvious from his letter to Mr. Fry of Bristol (15th May, 1784), wherein he says,—“I have had the honour, like other great men, to have had my ideas pirated. Soon after I wrote my first paper on the subject, Dr. Blagden explained my theory to M. Lavoisier at Paris; and soon after that, M. Lavoisier invented it himself, and read a paper on the subject to the Royal Academy of Sciences. Since that, Mr. Cavendish has read a paper to the Royal Society on the same idea, without making the least mention of me. The one is a French financier; and the other a member of the illustrious house of Cavendish, worth above 100,000l., and does not spend 1000l. a year. Rich men may do mean actions. May you and I always persevere in our integrity, and despise such doings.”
[ [309] Watt to Boulton, 20th September, 1785.