We next read:
“December 5th, 1811. Resolved unanimously—That the thanks of the Society be communicated to Mr. Davy, for the two excellent courses of lectures in chemical and geological science which, at their request, he has delivered in their laboratory, full of valuable information; and which have not merely continued, but materially increased, the spirit of philosophical research in Ireland.
“Resolved unanimously—That Mr. Davy be requested to accept the sum of £750 as a remuneration on the part of the Society.”
On the occasion of his second visit Trinity College, Dublin, conferred on him the degree of LL.D. It was the only mark of distinction he ever received from any University. Before he gave his lectures he visited Edgeworthstown, as we learn in a letter from Maria to Miss Ruxton:
“Davy spent a day here last week, and was as usual full of entertainment and information of various kinds. He has gone to Connemara, I believe, to fish, for he is a little mad about fishing; and very ungrateful it is of me to say so, for he sent to us from Boyle the finest trout! and a trout of Davy’s catching is, I presume, worth ten trouts caught by vulgar mortals.”
To his mother he writes:
“Ballina, Ireland, October 24th.
“My dear Mother,—I am safe and well, in a remote and beautiful part of Ireland, where I have been making an excursion with two of my friends. I shall return to Dublin in two or three days, and shall be very glad to hear from you or my sisters there. I hope you are all well and happy.
“I heard from John a few days ago; he was quite well and in good spirits.
“The laboratory in Dublin, which has been enlarged so as to hold 550 people, will not hold half the persons who desire to attend my lectures. The 550 tickets issued for the course by the Dublin Society, at two guineas each, were all disposed of the first week; and I am told now that from ten to twenty guineas are offered for a ticket.
“This is merely for your eye; it may please you to know that your son is not unpopular or useless. Every person here, from the highest to the lowest, shows me every attention and kindness.
“I shall come to see you as soon as I can. I hear with infinite delight of your health, and I hope Heaven will continue to preserve and bless a mother who deserves so well of her children.
“I am your very affectionate son
“H. Davy.“My kindest love to my sisters and aunts.”
But Davy’s affections at the moment were not wholly spent upon his kindred, and another mistress than Science had become the object of his devotion. The “little madness” of which Maria Edgeworth wrote was always a vulnerable point with Davy, for he followed the calling of the Apostles with all the zeal and ardour he gave to philosophy, and to engage him upon the subject of angling was a more direct road to his sympathies than to talk to him of science.
The wooing began in this wise:
“Mr. Davy regrets that he cannot send Walton to Mrs. Apreece this morning. He did not recollect that he had lent the book to a friend who lives a little way out of town. He will send honest Isaac to Mrs. Apreece to-morrow or Thursday.
“Mrs. Apreece is already of the true faith of the genuine angler, the object of whose art and contemplation is to exalt spirit above matter, to enable the mind to create its own enjoyments and to find society even in the bosom of Nature.”