10 Mr. Colquhounon the Life and Writings fJAN, 



oxides, and in short with every substance which, in combination 

 with the stronger acids, forms a salt. 



In the same year he pubhshed two memoirs, one on the 

 Nature of Animal Substances, a subject which lie more fully 

 elucidated afterwards on the occasion of his brilliant discovery 

 of the composition of ammonia; the other, on Phosphoric Acid, 

 in which he succeeded in proving, that this acid exists ready 

 formed in the animal body, and that it is not a product of 

 putrefaction, or of the artificial processes employed to separate 

 it, as was believed by some of the most eminent chemists of the 

 day. 



In 1781 he was elected Member of the Academy of Sciences 

 at Paris, in preference to the celebrated Fourcroy, Quatremere 

 d'Isjonval, and other competitors. This was one of the most 

 distinguished learned bodies of which he could be chosen a 

 member ; and long previous to the close of his life, he had been 

 elected into almost all the celebrated scientific societies in 

 Europe, who were proud to enrol such a name as that of Ber- 

 thollet among their fellows. 



In the year 1784, M. Berthollet again found a competitor in 

 M. Fourcroy, though the result was a different one. The death 

 of Macquer left the chemical chair at the Jardin du Roi vacant, 

 and M. BufFon, Intendant of that Institution, bestowed it on 

 Fourcroy in preference to Berthollet. It is said that Buffon's 

 vanity was piqued by the idea that the Duke of Orleans, who 

 supported BerthoUet's interest, had not paid him sufficient court 

 on the occasion ; but we may well say with Cuviei', that there is 

 no need to recur to such a motive for the explanation of the ill 

 success of Berthollet. For if his chemical acquirements and 

 originality of thought procured him the seat in the Academy 

 before Fourcroy, the fascinating elocution of the latter equally 

 entitled him to be preferred to the professorial cliair, which 

 immediately under his auspices, engrossed the attention of 

 crowds of admiring pupils. 



Let us not here, however, omit to mention, that one of the 

 situations which had been held by Macquer was at this time 

 conferred on Berthollet. He was now appointed Government 

 Commissary and Superintendant of the Dyeing Processes ; and 

 it may be supposed that this nomination necessarily turned his 

 peculiar attention to the study of tliat useful art, into which he 

 by and bye introduced so many capital improvements. 



The next memoir pubhshed by our chemist appeared two 

 years after this, on the occasion of his succeeding in discovering 

 the mode of obtaining the caustic fixed alkalies in a state of 

 complete purity. This discovery, although not one of the least 

 useful, is certainly not one of the most brilhant of those made 

 by Berthollet, and indeed is chiefly remarkable as a proof that 



