HISTOET OF THE ATOMIC THEORY. 267 



mained in the obscurity of the country, neither asking for 

 approbation nor offering himself as an object of applause. He 

 is but lately become a fellow of this society, and the only com- 

 munication he has given to you is one, compared with his 

 other works, of comparatively small interest; their (i.e. the 

 council's) feeling on the subject is therefore pure. I am sure he 

 will be g^tified by this mark of your approbation of his long 

 and painful labours. It will give a lustre to his character which 

 it fully deserves ; it will anticipate that opinion which posterity 

 must form of his discoveries ; and it may make his example 

 more exciting to others in their search after useful knowledge 

 and true glory." 



Soon after this, in 1827, the first part of the second volume 

 of his new system of chemistry was published, and we there 

 see how the science would have grown had it been under the 

 hand of Dal ton alone. A vigorous hand he certainly had, but 

 there were hundreds eagerly giving their attention to chemistry 

 over all Europe, for the love of knowledge, of fame, and of 

 humanity, so that it was driven impetuously forward, and under 

 the direction of his own theory, had entirely left him behind ; 

 he was outrun by his own disciples ; left alone by those who 

 without him would not readily have moved. 



In this volume he gives an account of the theory of the 

 elementary nature of chlorine, but evidently without full belief, 

 retracts gracefully his somewhat hazardous opinion that fluo- 

 rine was a higher oxide of hydrogen than water, and uses the 

 expression ** oxide of potassium and sodium," without much 

 disinclination. He was therefore willing to change his opinion, 

 but in reality he had been so many years working to collect 

 material for his book, that this volume was left behind before it 

 was published. His dislike to much reading was found to be 

 an injury to him, and many years of his life were thus found 

 to be of little value to science. We must, therefore, in his 

 public capacity view him now chiefly as one whose work was 

 finished and who was enjoying the fruits of his labours. 



