1829.] My Imbilities. 269 



permanent light -without employing any combustible substance, would 

 have been deemed as confirmed a disciple of folly by his own generation, 

 as the seekers after the philosopher's stone have since been by succeeding 

 generations. Yet the steam-boat and the gas-lamp are now too common 

 to excite the wonder, or attract the notice, even of the vulgar ; and there 

 are many other mechanical inventions and discoveries of science which 

 might be adduced to fortify this mode of argument. Why, then, should 

 the notion be treated as an absurdity too gross almost for serious argu- 

 ment, that one of those accidents to which we owe various discoveries, 

 or some of those experiments which have led to such astonishing residts 

 in chemical science, may one day penetrate the laboratory of nature, and 

 detect her process in the formation of this precious metal ? In short, is 

 there any difficulty in conceiving such a progress to be made by the gra- 

 dual triumphs of science, as to acquire the power, by analytical investi- 

 gation, of ascertaining not only what are the component parts, but what 

 are the respective proportions in which those component part s exist, in 

 a piece of gold ? And if once chemical science gets thus far, — if 

 once she is able accurately to detect and separate Mhatever these compo- 

 nent parts may be, and to determine, with equal accuracy, whatever 

 may be their several proportions, — I should not despair of the synthetical 

 process soon accomplishing all the rest. In conclusion, this is the sum 

 and substance of my doctrine — that it is within the reasonable calcula- 

 tion of chemical science to be able to resolve gold into its primary ele- 

 ments ; that when so resolved, the relative and positive quantities of 

 those elements may be ascertained ; and, lastlj', that when we know 

 what are the separate ingredients, and what ai'e their combined propor- 

 tions, to make gold will be no more difficult than it now is to make 

 any other artificial metal. They who deny these propositions a priori, 

 must be prepared to do so upon the grounds that there exists some 

 moral, physical, or philosophical impossibility of decomposing gold, as 

 palpable and self-evident as that which would stare a man in the face 

 who should seriously set to work to contrive how he might get the sun 

 and moon into a crucible, in order to make suns and moons, or stars and 

 comets. And so ends my argument in defence of that branch of alchymy 

 which sought to discover the philosopher's stone ! 



I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO UNDERSTAND, why members of par- 

 liament call each other honourable ; unle?s it is, because they choose to 

 be singular in their opinions, or expect to have credit for more discern- 

 ment than the rest of the world. If it be the former, all that can be said 

 of the matter is, that it is their whim ; it deceives nobody, and cannot 

 fairly be complained of therefore, as an injurious misrepresentation ; but 

 it would redound more to their credit and utility as a public body, if 

 they reciprocally gave themselves their proper designations. With 

 regard to the latter hypothesis, they ought to know, that no man gains 

 credit for superior discernment, by shewing he is deplorably ignorant of 

 the knowledge recommended with such emphatic brevity by the ancient 

 sage — Nosce Icipsiim. After all, it is very ridiculous constantly to em])loy 

 a misnomer, susceptible of such malicious ridicule, and so much at 

 variance with the known sentiments of their constituents. I am aware 

 it may be said that it means no more, than wlien the first peer in tlie 

 realm, writing to his tailor for a vote he happens to want for a particular 

 friend, concludes with declaring that \\qJ' has the honour to be " Snip's 



