the late Samuel Parkes, Esq. • 



provements into every branch of the manufacture. In 1794, 

 he married Miss Twamley, of Dudley, and remained at Stoke, 

 pursuing earnestly the study of chemistry, till 1802, when, 

 wishing to make his only child a proficient in his favourite 

 pursuit, and unable to find an elementary work calculated to 

 teach the rudiments of the science, he began to compile, with 

 great assiduity and care, what he thought better adapted for 

 a young person than any treatise which he had seen. Such 

 was the origin of the Chemical Catechism, its author not 

 having at that time the slightest view towards publication. 



Being, from unforeseen events, unnecessary here to detail, 

 unfortunate at Stoke, where he paid but a small dividend to 

 his creditors, he came to London in 1803, and commenced 

 business as a manufacturing chemist, as he frequently used to 

 relate, with 30i. of his own, and 100^ borrowed of a friend ; 

 and with this trifling capital was so successful, that, within 

 three years, he was enabled to obey the dictates of his honour- 

 able feelings, by remitting to his creditors the amounts of 

 their debts, with interest from the time they had been due. 

 This business he continued during the remainder of his life; 

 and his rapid and uniform success may, perhaps, be in great 

 measure ascribed to the very accurate knowledge which he 

 acquired of almost every manufacture which is at all depend- 

 ant upon chemistry, and consequently of the precise nature of 

 those substances which might be beneficially employed. Soon 

 after his arrival, a much-esteemed friend, wishing to instruct 

 his children in chemistry, and not approving of any work 

 which he had been able to procure, applied to Mr. Parkes for 

 advice, who told him that he had himself been in a similar 

 difficulty, but willingly lent him the manuscript which he had 

 written to obviate it. 



Pleased with the perusal, and convinced that it was exactly 

 the book that had so long been required, he became urgent in 

 his importunities with Mr. Parkes to publish it. At length, 

 though opposed by the fears and objections of his family, and 

 notwithstanding his retiring habits, so averse to appearing 

 before the public, he succeeded in persuading him. The 

 work was carefully revised, the notes, tables, experiments, 

 and index added ; and, indeed, whatever indefatigable assiduity 



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