Mr. Daniell on the Barometer. 79 



session. As, with a former paper upon the same subject, a mis- 

 take had arisen, as I was informed, from my not having expressed 

 a desire to have it read, the consequence of which was that it 

 was not read, I took the precaution of placing the present manu- 

 script in the hands of the President, with a due notification that 

 it was presented for the purpose of being read at the meeting of 

 the Society. I went, immediately afterwards, upon the Continent ; 

 where I was detained several months. Upon my return, in June, 

 I found that the first part of the Philosophical Transactions for the 

 year had been published, and that it contained no notice of my 

 paper : neither could I find that any communication had been sent 

 to me of its destination. I was naturally anxious to obtain some 

 intelligence respecting it, and addressed a note upon the subject 

 to the President ; to which he returned me the following reply : 



Dear Sir, 26, Park-street , June 5. 



Your paper was read to the Royal Society many 

 months ago *, and has been before the council. There was but one 

 opinion expressed as to the ingenuity of the method of preventing 

 the introduction of air, supposing the cause that which you have 

 assigned. The existence of this cause for the appearance of elas- 

 tic matter in barometer tubes, was not considered, however, as 

 proved by the experiments you have detailed, and it was therefore 

 agreed by the council to wait for your return, in hopes that you 

 might be able to give them some new details or elucidations from 

 the researches which you stated were in progress. 

 I am, dear Sir, 



Very sincerely your's, 



H. Davy. 



I immediately returned the following answer, being anxious to 

 publish the paper in the ensuing Number of this Journal ; but not 

 acquiescing sufficiently in the reasons assigned by Sir H. Davy to 

 withdraw the paper from the judgment to which I had submitted it. 



* It was read, I am informed, on the 20th January, and several papers which 

 were delivered in after its communication were read before it. 



