'How prone is man to evil! and how strong a proof proof_1812. have I of that propensity when even the liberal breast

of

my friend A. could harbour the vice of covetousness! Nevertheless, on a due consideration of the cause, and a slight glance at my own feelings on the same subject (they will not bear a strict scrutiny), I pass it over thus

'Your commendations of the MS. lectures1 compel me to apologise most humbly for the numerous-very very numerous-errors they contain. If I take you right, the negative words "no flattery " may be substituted by the affirmative "irony: " be it so, I bow to the superior scholastic erudition of Sir Ben. There are in them errors that will not bear to be jested with, since they concern not my own performance so much as the performance of Sir H. There are, I am conscious, errors in theory, and those errors I would wish you to point out to me before you attribute them to Davy.'

His seventh letter to his friend was written September 28, 1812.

Dear A I will hurry on to philosophy, where I am a little more sure of my ground. Your card was to me a very interesting and pleasing object." I was highly gratified in observing so plainly delineated the course of the electric fluid or fluids (I do not know which). It appears to me that by making use of a card thus prepared, you have hit upon a happy illustrating

1 The notes of the lectures of Davy taken in the spring of this year. 2 Many will remember the use he made of this experiment in after years in his lectures.

Er. 20.

1812.

medium between a conductor and a non-conductor; Er. 21. had the interposed medium been a conductor, the elec

tricity would have passed in connection through it—it would not have been divided; had the medium been a non-conductor, it would have passed in connection, and undivided, as a spark over it, but by this varying and disjoined conductor it has been divided most effectually. Should you pursue this point at any time still further, it will be necessary to ascertain by what particular power or effort the spark is divided, whether by its affinity to the conductor or by its own repulsion; or if, as I have no doubt is the case, by the joint action of these two forces, it would be well to observe and ascertain the proportion of each in the effect. There are problems the solution of which will be difficult to obtain, but the science of electricity will not be complete without them; and a philosopher will aim at perfection, though he may not hit it-difficulties will not retard him, but only cause a proportionate exertion of his mental faculties.

'I had a very pleasing view of the planet Saturn last week through a refractor with a power of ninety. I saw his ring very distinctly; 'tis a singular appendage to a planet, to a revolving globe, and I should think caused some peculiar phenomena to the planet within it. I allude to their mutual action with respect to meteorology and perhaps electricity.'

His eighth letter to Abbott is dated October 1, 1812; it was the last that he wrote before his apprenticeship ended.

'No-no-no-no, none; right-no, philosophy is not dead yet-no-O no; he knows it-thank you'tis impossible-bravo!

1812.

'In the above lines, dear A., you have full and explicit answers to the first page of yours dated Sep- Er. 21. tember 28. I was paper-hanging at the time I received it; but what a change of thought it occasioned; what a concussion, confusion, conglomeration; what a revolution of ideas it produced-oh! 'twas too much;-away went cloths, shears, paper, paste and brush, all-all was too little, all was too light to keep my thoughts from soaring high, connected close with thine.

'With what rapture would a votary of the Muses grasp that inimitable page! how would he dwell on every line and pore on every letter! and with what horror, dread, disgust, and every repulsive passion, would he start back from the word BARILLA to which I now come! I cannot here refrain from regretting my inability (principally for want of time) to perform the experiments you relate to me. I mean not to reflect on any want of clearness in your details; on the contrary, I congratulate you on the quickness with which you note and observe any new appearances; but the sight possesses such a superiority over the other senses, in its power of conveying to the mind fair ideas, that I wish in every case to use it. I am much gratified with your account of the barilla; but do I read right that part of your letter which says that the salt you obtained from the first treatment of it was efflorescent? As I went on to that passage, I did not expect that you would obtain any crystals at all, but only an uniform mass; but that crystals containing so great a quantity of alkali, in I suppose nearly a free state, should give out water to the atmosphere, surprised me exceedingly -explain, if you please.

1812.

I rejoice in your determination to pursue the subEr. 21. ject of electricity, and have no doubt that I shall have some very interesting letters on the subject. I shall certainly wish to (and will if possible) be present at the performance of the experiments; but you know I shall shortly enter on the life of a journeyman, and then I suppose time will be more scarce than it is even now.

'Venus, I find, is amongst your visible planets-'tis a-beautiful-object-certainly.'

CHAPTER II.

JOURNEYMAN BOOKBINDER AND CHEMICAL ASSISTANT AT THE
ROYAL INSTITUTION.

1812.

ON October 8, 1812, Faraday went as a journeyman bookbinder to a Mr. De la Roche, then a French emi- Er. 21. grant in London. He was a very passionate man, and gave his assistant so much trouble that he felt he could not remain in his place,' although his master held out every inducement to him to stay, and even said to him, 'I have no child, and if you will stay with me you shall have all I have when I am gone.'

The letters which Faraday wrote to his friends. Abbott and Huxtable show how eager was the desire he felt to proceed further in the way of philosophy,' and how strongly he was drawn towards the service of science; they also show how far he had educated himself when he first went to the Royal Institution, and they give an insight into his character when he changed his course of life, and began his scientific career at the very lowest step, but under the greatest master of the time.

Four days after his apprenticeship ended, he wrote to his friend Abbott.