Lightly as he looked upon honours such as are the ones usually appreciated by more worldly men, Faraday was always well-pleased and more than gratified when recognised by leading men of science or literature. Many as were the distinctions which had been and were still being heaped upon him, he would especially value such a one as was offered him in 1854, when one who in a measure had been his pupil—Henry Mayhew—dedicated to him a volume on the Wonders of Science, illustrating the life and progress in scientific knowledge of young Humphry Davy. This dedication runs, "My dear sir, I inscribe your name on one of the fly-leaves of this little book, with the same devotion as youths are wont to carve upon the trunk of some forest tree the name of those whom they admire most in the world; and I do so for many reasons." And in concluding the dedication he shows us once more the helpfulness and goodness of Faraday's nature: "And now, my dear sir, let me, in conclusion, thank you for your generous encouragement of my labours when I was engaged in inquiring into the condition of the 'London Poor.' Many know your wisdom, but none are better acquainted with your goodness than yours very truly,
"Henry Mayhew."
Never, when a success beyond the wildest imaginings of his youth had crowned his devotion to science, did Faraday forget the time of his early struggles, and the humble beginning which he had made. As we have before mentioned, he would frequently stop in the street to speak a kindly word of encouragement to young newspaper lads who were just starting in life in the way that he had done over half a century earlier. An incident such as that depicted in the illustration was, indeed, a not uncommon one, for, to refer again to the Professor's own words, he could not but feel a tenderness for such boys, because he had once carried newspapers himself.
FARADAY AND THE NEWSBOY.
In Miss Reid's recollections of her illustrious uncle, from which we have quoted in an earlier chapter, there was something said about the reading which interested the scientist in his hours of relaxation. This is always an interesting matter in connection with our great men; we are always glad to know what they read, and, if possible, why they read it. At a party about this time, Faraday joined in a discussion which was being carried on on the subject of novel reading, and some one of those present took a few notes of such works as he mentioned as being specially interesting or entertaining to him. He liked novels, he said, with some stir and life in them, such as Paul Ferrol, Jane Eyre, too—although of this he characteristically said, "there's a touch of mesmerism and mystery at the end which would be better away." Of Scott's novels he was always a great admirer, liking particularly Ivanhoe, Guy Mannering, and Waverley; he also spoke admiringly of Fanny Burney's novel, Evelina, a book that is hardly among the generally read novels of to-day. Writing in 1858 to Professor de la Rive on the death of Mrs. Marcet,[9] Faraday mentions his early reading as follows: "Do not suppose that I was a very deep thinker, or was marked as a precocious person, I could believe in the Arabian Nights as easily as in the Encyclopædia. But facts were important to me and saved me. I could trust a fact, and always cross-examined an assertion. So when I questioned Mrs. Marcet's book by such little experiments as I could find means to perform, and found it true to the facts as I could understand them, I felt that I had got hold of an anchor in chemical knowledge, and clung fast to it. Thence my deep veneration for Mrs. Marcet."
When, in 1857, Mr. Cyrus Field was in England preparing for the laying of the great telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean, he inquired of Faraday as to what he thought of its practicability; the philosopher doubted the possibility of transmitting a message. Field saw that an objection from so great an authority would prove well-nigh fatal, and that it must be removed at once; he therefore offered to pay Faraday sufficiently for his services if he would undertake such experiments as were necessary. Faraday declined the money, but undertook the experiments, and on their completion reported to Field, "It can be done, but you will not get an instantaneous message."
"How long will it take?" anxiously inquired the engineer.
"Oh, perhaps a second."
"Well, that's quick enough for me."