Boulton was of a thoroughly social disposition, and made friends wherever he went. He was a favourite alike with children and philosophers, with princely visitors at Soho, and with quiet Quakers in Cornwall. When at home, he took pleasure in gathering about him persons of kindred tastes and pursuits, in order at the same time to enjoy their friendship, and to cultivate his nature by intercourse with minds of the highest culture. Hence the friendships which he early formed for Benjamin Franklin, Dr. Small, Dr. Darwin, Josiah Wedgwood, Thomas Day, Lovell Edgeworth, and others equally eminent; out of which eventually grew the famous Lunar Society.
Towards the close of last century, there were many little clubs or coteries of scientific and literary men established in the provinces, the like of which do not now exist,—probably because the communication with the metropolis is so much easier, and because London more than ever absorbs the active intelligence of England, especially in the higher departments of science, art, and literature. The provincial coteries of which we speak, were usually centres of the best and most intelligent society of their neighbourhoods, and were for the most part distinguished by an active and liberal spirit of inquiry. Leading minds attracted others of like tastes and pursuits, and social circles were formed which proved in many instances the source of great intellectual activity as well as enjoyment. At Liverpool, Roscoe and Currie were the centres of one such group; at Warrington, Aikin, Enfield, and Priestley, of another; at Bristol, Dr. Beddoes and Humphry Davy of a third; and at Norwich, the Taylors and Martineaus of a fourth. But perhaps the most distinguished of these provincial societies was that at Birmingham, of which Boulton and Watt were among the most prominent members.
From an early period, the idea of a society, meeting by turns at each other’s houses, seems to have been entertained by Boulton. It was probably suggested in the first place by his friend Dr. Small. The object of the proposed Society was to be at the same time friendly and scientific. The members were to exchange views with each other on topics relating to literature, art, and science; each contributing his quota of entertainment and instruction. The meetings were appointed to be held monthly at the full of the moon, to enable distant members to drive home by moonlight; and this was the more necessary as some of them—such as Darwin and Wedgwood—lived at a considerable distance from Birmingham.
When Watt visited Soho in 1768, on his way home from London to Glasgow, some of the members of the Society—Dr. Small, Dr. Darwin, and Mr. Keir—were invited to meet him at l’hôtel de l’amitié sur Handsworth Heath, as Boulton styled his hospitable mansion. The Society must, however, have been in a somewhat undefined state at even a considerably later period, as we find Boulton writing to Watt in 1776, after the latter had settled in Birmingham, “Pray remember that the celebration of the third full moon will be on Saturday, March 3rd. Darwin and Keir will both be at Soho. I then propose to submit many motions to the members respecting new laws and regulations, such as will tend to prevent the decline of a Society which I hope will be lasting.” The principal members, besides those above named, were Thomas Day, R. Lovell Edgeworth, Samuel Galton, Dr. Withering, Baskerville the printer, Dr. Priestley, and James Watt. Each member was at liberty to bring a friend with him, and thus many visitors of distinction were present at the meetings of the Society, amongst whom may be named Mr. Smeaton, Dr. Parr, Sir Joseph Banks, Sir William Herschel, Dr. Solander, De Luc, Dr. Camper, and occasional scientific foreigners.
Dr. Darwin was regarded as the patriarch of the Society. His fame as a doctor, philosopher, and poet, was great throughout the Midland Counties. He was extremely speculative in all directions, even in such matters as driving wheel-carriages by steam,—also a favourite subject of speculation with Mr. Edgeworth.[292] Dr. Darwin’s time, however, was so much engrossed by his practice at Lichfield, that he was not very regular in his attendance at the meetings, but would excuse himself for his absence by such a letter as the following:—
“Dear Boulton,—I am sorry the infernal divinities who visit mankind with diseases, and are therefore at perpetual war with Doctors, should have prevented my seeing all your great men at Soho to-day. Lord! what inventions, what wit, what rhetoric, metaphysical, mechanical, and pyrotechnical, will be on the wing, bandied like a shuttlecock from one to another of your troop of philosophers! while poor I, I by myself I, imprison’d in a postchaise, am joggled, and jostled, and bump’d, and bruised along the King’s high-road, to make war upon a stomach-ache or a fever!”[293]
While Dr. Darwin and Mr. Edgeworth were amongst the oldest members of the Society, Dr. Priestley, the discoverer of oxygen and other gases, was one of the most recent. We find Boulton corresponding with him in 1775,[294] principally on chemical subjects, and supplying him with parcels of fluor spar for purposes of experiment. Five years later, in 1780, he was appointed minister of the Presbyterian Congregation assembling in the New Meeting-house, Birmingham; and from that time forward he was one of the most active members of the Lunar Society, by whom he was regarded as a great acquisition.
Dr. Priestley was a man of extraordinary gifts and accomplishments. He had mastered many languages before he was twenty years old. He was well versed in mechanical philosophy and metaphysics, a skilled dialectician, and the most expert chemist of his time. Possessed by an irrepressible activity and untiring perseverance, he became an enthusiast on whatever subject he undertook, whether it was an inquiry into history, theology, or science. He himself likened experimental philosophy to hunting, and in his case it was the pursuit of facts that mainly concerned him. He was cheerful, hopeful, and buoyant; possessed of a most juvenile temperament; happiest when fullest of work; ranging from subject to subject with extraordinary versatility; laying aside metaphysics to pursue experiments in electricity, next taking up history and politics, and resting from these to experiment on gases,—all the while carrying on some public controversy on a disputed point in religion or politics. For it is a curious fact; that gentle, affectionate, and amiable though Priestley was,—devout in temperament, and single-minded in the pursuit of truth,[295]—he was almost constantly involved in paper wars. He described himself, and truly, as “one of the happiest of men;” yet wherever he went, in England or America, he stirred up controversy and exasperated opponents, seeming to be the very Ishmael of polemics.
DR. PRIESTLEY.