244 Dr. Thomson's Answer to the Review of the [April, 



abilities of some of the first chemists of the age. But let us 

 examine the accusations contained in the review with some 

 minuteness. 



I. Arrangement and Style, 



I shall quote the passages of the Review which allude to my 

 arrangement and style, and subjoin to each of them my remarks. 



** We are at a loss to learn why a new edition has come forth. 

 It was not spontaneously called for, and nothing but a decidedly 

 superior work should have been tendered to the public."—^ 

 (Review, p. 126.) 



To this I answer that the book is not my property, and that 

 the new edition was pubHshed not by me, but by the book- 

 seller to whom it belongs. I was obliged by my agreement to 

 correct the press, and nothing more ; and in the present case, 

 as the book was printed in London while 1 resided in Glasgow, 

 even this task was but imperfectly accomplished. The new 

 edition, I presume, was printed because the old had been sold. 

 I am not aware that booksellers proceed in any other way. 

 Indeed I had reason to know that the book was out of print, 

 because several gf my own students had informed me that they 

 could not procure a copy. Why it was necessary that the new 

 edition should be decidedly superior to the old, I do not per- 

 ceive. Nor could any blame have been attached to me, though 

 it had been printed verbatim from the fifth edition. But it is in 

 reality decidedly superior ; because it contains all the additions 

 which had been made to the science in the interval between the 

 two editions, as far as they were known to me ; and that my 

 statements were pretty complete is evident from this, that neither 

 Mr. Brande nor Dr. Ure, though they have both published books 

 since my sixth edition appeared, have introduced a single topic, 

 so far as I can observe, which I had not previously handled. 

 What is the discovery which I have omitted to notice? The 

 assertion of the Reviewers that it is ten years behind the present 

 state of the science is remarkable only for its shameful false- 

 hood. Not a single proof is advanced in support of it, except 

 that I took no notice of the newly discovered connexion between 

 electricity and magnetism. Now I was the first individual in 

 Great Britain who made known Prof. Oersted's discovery. It 

 appeared in the Annals of Fhilosophi/ for October, 1820. 

 Before I became acquainted with this discovery, the whole of the 

 sixth edition of my System was printed. Indeed, as the book 

 was published in October, or soon after, Mr. Brande must have 

 been aware of the absurdity of the accusation ; and he must 

 have been induced to bring it forward because he had no real 

 omission to point out. 



But had I even omitted some of the minor discoveries, it 

 would not have been very surprising ; nor, situated as I was, 

 would the omission have been very culpable. I may, therefore, 



