5US^ Dr, Thomsons Ansfver to the Review of the [April; 



I shall not at present inquire ; but it must be obvious to every 

 one that if these three bodies be excluded, my general observa- 

 tions are precise. 



1 think, it unnecessary to notice or refute the numerous and 

 sweeping attacks upon several of my chapters ; because they 

 sufficiently refute themselves. For example, my account of 

 combustion is said to be absolute verbiage, 1 have only to say, 

 tliat I have given the best account of it which I could ; and 

 upon looking into the writings of Mr. Brande upon the same 

 subject, \ cannot find that they contain more, or indeed nearly 

 so much information, as mine. I have given an historical viev/ 

 of the different opinions respecting combustion, which have been 

 successively adopted by chemists. And whatever Mr. Brande 

 may think on the subject, I must be allowed to retain my opinion 

 that these historical details constitute some of the most instruc- 

 tive, as well as entertaining articles ; and that they are very well 

 calculated to rectify our own views. Had this gentleman made 

 himself better acquainted with the history of the science, he 

 would have avoided several awkward mistakes into which he has 

 fallen. 



The Reviewer panegyrizes Sir H. Davy's researches on flame* 

 I agree with him in opinion that the experiments contained in 

 that paper, like all the other experimental researches of that 

 gentleman, are extremely valuable. They are characterized by 

 that mixture of invent'on and dexterity which so eminently dis- 

 tinguish all his productions, and which have deservedly raised 

 him to so high a rank among modern chemists. But it would 

 be rather singular if these experiments should be considered as a 

 reason for passing by in silence all the laborious investigations 

 of so many chemists, who have preceded Davy, and who have 

 accumulated a much larger collection of facts than it was possi- 

 ble for him to do. I am not aware of any new general principle 

 deduced by Davy from his experiments, which ought to alter 

 our previous opinions respecting combustion ; and iPor my own 

 part I must confess that after all that has been written on the 

 subject by Berzelius, Davy, and even Mr. Brande, the theory of 

 combustion is still a desideratum. I have advanced a conjec- 

 ture on the subject, which the present state of our knowledge 

 enables us neither to confirm nor refute. The Reviewer may 

 ridicule this conjecture if he pleases ; but this is a task which 

 he will find much easier than to refute it. 



II. Fake Statements of Facts. 



I come now to what 1 consider as by far the most important 

 part of the Review ; because it is a direct attack upon my cha- 

 racter. The Reviewer has the effrontery to aflirm, that 1 have 

 mis-stated various facts on purpose, in order to gratify certain 

 malignant passions of my own, and to injure certain individuals 

 of whose reputation 1 was meanly jealous. After Mr. Brande's 



