Life of Sir Humphry Davy. 573 



for 1809 and 1810, and in a subsequent memoir read in February, 

 1811. Dr. Paris thinks that, after his discoveries in voltaic elec- 

 tricity, these are by far the most important of his labours. When 

 this fact was established, 



' it became necessary to alter the nomenclature, since to call a body, 

 which neither contains oxygen nor muriatic acid, by a term which 

 denotes the presence of both, is contrary to those very principles which 

 first suggested it. Having consulted some of the most eminent philo- 

 sophers, Davy proposed a name, founded upon one of the most obvious 

 and characteristic properties of the oxy muriatic acid, namely, its colour, 

 and called it CHLORINE.' * In the memoir abovementioned, which was 

 entitled, " On a Combination of Oxymuriatic Gas and Oxygen Gas," he 

 announced the existence of a protoxide of chlorine, under the name of 

 euchlorine; and in a communication from Rome, in 1815, he described 

 another compound of chlorine and oxygen, containing a still larger pro- 

 portion of the latter, and which has since been made the subject of a 

 series of experiments by Count Stadion, of Vienna. As it does not ex- 

 hibit any acid properties, Dr. Henry proposes to call, it a peroxide, in 

 preference to deutoxide. Its discovery was made during an examination 

 of the action of acids on the hyper-oxymuriates of Chenevix, undertaken 

 by Davy, in consequence of a statement of M. Gay-Lussac, that a pecu- 

 liar acid, which he called chloric acid, might be procured from the 

 hyper-oxymuriate of baryta by sulphuric acid.' 



The chloridic theory may now be considered as fully established : 

 the philosophers, who were so long hostile to its reception, have at 

 length yielded their assent; and the subsequent discovery of iodine 

 and bromine has confirmed, by beautiful analogies, the views Davy 

 so satisfactorily explained by experiment. 



Dr. Paris has asserted Davy's claim to the establishment of this 

 theory, against the claims of priority set up in favour of the French 

 chemists. 



In November, 1810, Davy delivered a course of lectures to the 

 Dublin Society, at their invitation, for which he received 500 

 guineas; and two distinct courses in 1811, on Electro-Chemistry 

 and Geology, for which he received 750/. ; and before he quitted 

 Dublin, at his second visit, the Provost and Fellows of Trinity 

 College conferred on him the honorary degree of LL.D. In the 

 month of August, 1811, he was requested by a committee to suggest 

 a method to be adopted for ventilating the House of Lords ; but his 

 plan appears to have failed, which was a source of vexation to him 

 and of pleasant raillery to others. 



On the 8th of April, 1812, he received the honour of knighthood 

 from his late Majesty (then Regent), being the first person on whom, 

 as Regent, he had conferred that distinction ; and on the following 

 day, he delivered his farewell lecture in the Theatre of the Rojal 

 Institution. 



On the llth of April, 1812, he married Mrs. Apreece, a lady of 

 very considerable fortune. 



The first part of * The Elements of Chemical Science,' a work 

 which he had been some time preparing, was published in June, 



