But she gives the following:—
“Too many men have often seen
Their talents underrated;
But Davy owns that his have been
Duly Apreeciated.”
Shortly after his wedding he wrote to his brother John:—
“I communicated to you in a former letter, my plans, as they were matured. I have neither given up the Institution, nor am I going to France; and, wherever I am, I shall continue to labour in the cause of science with a zeal not diminished by increase of happiness and (with respect to the world) increased independence.
“I have just finished the first part of my ‘Chemistry’ to my own satisfaction, and I am going to publish my ‘Agricultural Lectures’ for which I am to get 1,000 guineas for the copyright and 50 guineas for each edition, which seems a fair price....
“I was appointed Professor (honorary) to the Institution, at the last meeting. I do not pledge myself to give lectures.... If I lecture it will be on some new series of discoveries, should it be my fortune to make them; and I give up the routine of lecturing, merely that I may have more time to pursue original inquiries, and forward more the great objects of science. This has been for some time my intention, and it has been hastened by my marriage.
“I shall have great pleasure in making you acquainted with Lady D. She is a noble creature (if I may be permitted so to speak of a wife), and every day adds to my contentment by the powers of her understanding, and her amiable and delightful tones of feeling.”
The allusion to the Institution is thus more circumstantially dealt with in the following Minutes of the Meetings of the Managers:—
“May 11, 1812. Mr. Hatchett reported that Sir H. Davy, though he cannot pledge himself to deliver lectures, will be willing to accept the offices of Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Laboratory and Mineralogical Collection without salary.”
Following which we read—
“That the Managers hear with great regret the notification which they have just received that Sir H. Davy cannot pledge himself to continue the lectures which he has been accustomed to deliver with so much honour to the Institution and advantage to the public; but at the same time, they congratulate themselves on the liberal offer which Sir Humphry Davy has made to superintend the chemical department, and to assist and advise any lecturer the Managers may be pleased to appoint.”
The Managers thereupon ordered a special general meeting to nominate him Professor of Chemistry, and he was elected on June 1st. How necessary Davy was to the very existence of the Institution may be gleaned from the fact that the balance in its favour at the end of the year was £3 9s. 11d.
The “Chemistry” above referred to is his “Elements of Chemical Philosophy,” which was published a few months after his marriage, with a dedication to Lady Davy. She is asked to receive it as a proof of his ardent affection, which must be unalterable, as it is founded upon the admiration of her moral and intellectual qualities. The work was begun in the autumn of 1811, and was composed with great rapidity, the “copy” being sent to the press as it left his pen. The introductory part on the History of Chemistry, and that on the General Laws of Chemical Changes and on Radiant or Ethereal Matter, and probably some other portions, are either transcripts or amplifications of his Royal Institution lectures. Other sections are avowedly based upon his own work as published in the Philosophical Transactions. Indeed, it was remarked by a critic that the work could never be completed upon the plan on which it was commenced, which was little less than a system of chemistry in which all the facts were to be verified by the author.