298 



EVANS, GEOEGE. 



FAEADAY, MICHAEL. 



the country has been for years, but again 

 without success. In the election of the Cortes 

 the Liberals abstained from voting, and the 

 new Cortes, therefore, is one of the least 

 liberal representative bodies which has 

 convened in Europe, readily sustaining the 

 measures proposed by the government. The 

 Austrian Parliament of Vienna, which had 

 to discuss the draft of a new constitution, 

 showed itself inflamed with decidedly pro- 

 gressive principles ; and the government, in 

 order not to prolong the disorganized condition 

 of the empire, deemed it best to yield most of 

 the points demanded by the representatives of 

 the people. The new Constitution of Austria 

 is one of the most popular State Constitutions 

 of Europe ; and the new ministry, which was 

 appointed on January 1, 1868, is composed of 

 the leaders of the Progressive party. In the 

 Hungarian Chamber of Deputies the Conserva- 

 ' tive party is very small, and the government 

 is in the hands of the moderate Liberals. The 

 Eadicals are about two-fifths of the Chamber. 

 In the election for the North-German Parlia- 

 ment", the Conservatives carried many more dis- 

 tricts than they had for many years previous at 

 the elections for the Prussian Diet. The com- 

 bined Liberal parties had, however, a small 

 majority both in the North-German Parliament 

 and in the Prussian Diet, and both bodies were 

 presided over by Liberal presidents. In France 

 the Liberal party made considerable gains at 

 the municipal elections ; but the Legislative 

 body showed in the debate on the Eoman ques- 

 tion that it is still less liberal even than the 



government. In the Italian Parliament, the 

 Conservative party, which supports the claims 

 of the Pope, does not count more than half, a 

 dozen members. The party of action, which 

 at the election in 1866 carried more than one- 

 third of the districts, had this year many acces- 

 sions from the ranks of the ministerial party, 

 on account of the conduct of the ministry in 

 the Eoman question. 



EVANS, G-EOKGE, an American lawyer and 

 statesman, born in Hallowell, Me., January 

 12, 1797; died in Portland, Me., April 5, 1867. 

 He graduated from Bowdoin College, Bruns- 

 wick, Me., in 1815, and after studying law 

 was admitted to the bar of his native State in 

 1818. He commenced very early to take an 

 active part in politics, and in 1829 was elected 

 Speaker of the Maine House of Eepresentatives. 

 In the same year he was elected by the Whig 

 party to Congress. He served in the House of 

 Eepresentatives for six successive terms, after 

 which he was, in 1841, elected United States 

 Senator. He was succeeded in the Senate, in 

 1847, by J. W. Bradbury, a Democrat. In 1849, 

 Mr. Evans was appointed one of the commis- 

 sioners of the Board of Claims against Mexico, 

 which position he held for several months. In 

 1853 he became Attorney-General of Maine, 

 and he occupied that position again in 1854 and 

 1856. At the time of his death Mr. Evans had 

 passed the age of seventy years. Mr. Evans 

 enjoyed a great reputation for nobility of char- 

 acter ad superior attainments as a lawyer. In 

 the United States Senate he was chairman of 

 the Committee of Commerce. 



F 



FAEADAY, MICHAEL, D. C. L., F. E. S., a dis- 

 tinguished English physicist, born at Newing- 

 ton, Surrey, September 22, 1791 ; died in Lon- 

 don, August 27, 1867. His father was a black- 

 smith, in such humble circumstances that he 

 could afford his son few educational advan- 

 tages. There is no authentic record of his boy- 

 hood, beyond the bare fact that he learned to 

 read and write, and, while possessing ordinary 

 intelligence, gave no promise of the greatness 

 he afterward attained. At the age of fourteen 

 he was apprenticed to a bookbinder. "While 

 attending faithfully to his duties, he spent his 

 leisure time in reading and studying such books 

 on natural philosophy and chemistry as were 

 accessible to him, while his favorite amusement 

 was to make experiments illustrating the teach- 

 ings of his books. He possessed a great deal 

 of manual skill and dexterity, and, wholly un- 

 aided, constructed an electrical machine and 

 other scientific apparatus. The turning-point 

 in his career really began with the construction 

 of this apparatus. His master, on one occasion, 

 happening to point it out to a member of the 

 Eoyal Institution, that gentleman took him to 

 hear some lectures of Sir Humphrey Davy's. 



The wonderful discoveries, the enthusiasm, the 

 brilliant experiments, and great reputation of 

 the distinguished lecturer, completely capti- 

 vated the boy, and prompted him to become a 

 devotee of science. "While attending the lec- 

 tures, he took careful notes, interspersing them 

 with such drawings as he could make in illus- 

 tration of their contents. This was in the 

 spring of 1812. In December following, he 

 addressed a letter to Sir H. Davy, enclosing his 

 notes and drawings, modestly introducing him- 

 self, explaining his love of scientific studies, and 

 offering his services as an assistant. The reply 

 was prompt and favorable. Early in 1813 'hia 

 patron, acting for the managers of the Eoyal 

 Institution, procured for Mm the situation of 

 Chemical" Assistant. Mr. Faraday, who at once 

 became the favorite pupil, and soon the friend 

 of Sir H. Davy, took up his residence at the 

 Eoyal Institution, which, from that time for- 

 ward, was the scene of all his labors. For 

 several years he worked unremittingly for Davy, 

 at the same time preparing himself for the bril- 

 liant career he subsequently pursued. Devoting 

 himself especially to chemical investigation and 

 analysis, he made some of the most important 



