Sir Humphry Davy, Bart. 163/ 



affections." Of Oersted he says, he ** is chiefly distinguished 

 by his discovery of electro magnetism. He was a man of 

 simple manners, of no pretensions, and not of extensive 

 resources ; but ingenious and a little of a German metaphy- 

 sician." " Berzelius was the worthy countryman of Scheele, 

 and certainly one of the great ornaments of the age. Inde- 

 fatigable in labour, accurate in manipulation, no one has 

 worked with more profit. His manner was not distinguished, 

 his appearance rather coarse, and his conversation was 

 limited much to his own subjects," 



In 1826, Davy began to be threatened with symptoms of 

 paralysis. He complained frequently of uneasy feeling and 

 slight numbness of the right hand, and sometimes pain of 

 his forearm, shooting up to the chest with occasional inor- 

 dinate action of the heart, and occasional pain and weakness 

 of the right leg. While delivering his last discourse to the 

 Royal Society, at the anniversary dinner on St. Andrew's 

 day, it was done with such effort that drops of sweat flowed 

 down his countenance, and those who were near him were 

 apprehensive of his having an apoplectic attack — and he 

 was so unwell afterwards that he was unable to attend the 

 dinner of the society. In December following, he was 

 affected with a paralytic seizure, from which, however, he 

 recovered as his strength improved. 



On the 22nd January, 1827, he had so far recovered as 

 to be able to start for the continent^ in company with his 

 brother. 



Notwithstanding the great severity of the winter he 

 passed through France, and reached Ravenna in safety. 

 In March, his brother left him for his official station at 

 Corfu, considering that his health being so much restored 

 he might be left with safety. There he amused himself 

 with making observations on natural history — examining 

 the torpedo — the double snipe — the generation of the eel. 

 From Ravenna he retreated before the heats of summer to 

 his former haunts among the eastern Alps ; his sufferings 

 being very great at this period as the notices in his journal 

 testify. His situation, however, was melancholy ; for he 

 was in a foreign country, and had no person to exchange a 

 word with ; moreover, he was ill, and had no physician if 

 not to cure his complaints, at least to palliate his sufferings, 



M 2 



