484 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



It was while at Leeds, in the year 17'71, that Dr. Priestley was in- 

 vited by Sir Joseph Banks, who had charge of the scientific arrange- 

 ments, to accompany Captain Cook's second expedition to the South 

 Seas, in the capacity of astronomer, and accepted the invitation. He 

 was, however, rejected by the Board of Longitude, on account of his 

 religious opinions, which called from him the following pointed letter 

 to Sir Joseph Banks : 



" Leeds, December 10, 1771. 

 "Deae Sir: After the letter which I received about a fortnight ago, from 

 Mr. Eden, who informed me that he wrote at your request, I cannot help saying 

 that yours and his, which I have now received, appear a little extraordinary. 

 In the former letter there was far from being the most distant hint of any objec- 

 tion to me provided I would consent to accompany you. You now tell me that, 

 as the different professors of Oxford and Cambridge will have the naming of the 

 persons, and they are all clergymen, they may possibly have some scruples on 

 the head of religion ; and that, on this account, you do not think you could get 

 me nominated at any rate, much less on the terms that were first mentioned to 

 me. Now, what I am, and what they are, with respect to religion, might easily 

 have been known before the thing was proposed to me at all. Besides, I thought 

 that this had been a business of philosophy, and not of divinity. If, however, 

 this be the case, I shall hold the Board of Longitude in extreme contempt, and 

 make no scruple of speaking of them accordingly, taking for granted that you 

 have just ground for your suspicions. I most sincerely wish you a happy voy- 

 age, as I doubt not it will be greatly to the emolument of science ; but I am 

 surprised that the persons who have the chief influence in this expedition, hav- 

 ing (according to your representation) minds so despicably illiberal, should give 

 any coimtenance to so noble an undertaking. I am truly sorry that a person of 

 your disposition should be subject to a choice restricted by such narrow consid- 

 erations. I am, etc., J. Peiestlet." 



After six years' stay at Leeds, Dr. Priestley left, and entered into a 

 relation with Lord Shelburne, afterward Marquis of Lansdowne, the 

 arrangement being brought about by Dr. Price. Priestley was to be 

 librarian and companion to Ids lordship, with a salary of ^1,250 a 

 year, and a house, and a life-pension of $750 a year in case of separa- 

 tion. His family was situated near Lord Shelburne's country-seat, 

 where he spent his summers, but a great part of the winter was passed 

 in his lordship's house in London. Priestley traveled with Shelburne 

 on the Continent, and spent some time in Paris, where he says he 

 found " all the philosophical persons, to whom I was introduced at 

 Paris, unbelievers in Christianity, and even professed atheists. As I 

 chose on all occasions to appear as a Christian, I was told by some of 

 them that I was the only person they had ever met Avith, of Avhose un- 

 derstanding they had any opinion, who professed to believe in Chris- 

 tianity. But, on interrogating them on the subject, I soon found that 

 they had given no proper attention to it, and did not really know 

 what Christianity was. This was also the case with a great part of 

 the company that I saw at Lord Shelburne's." While in this situation, 

 Dr. Priestley had much leisure for scientific research, and was active in 



