1844-54- NOTICES OF CAVENDISH'S LIFE. 193 



decided by public consent in favour of Cavendish. Any 

 lingering doubt was met by Dr. Wilson in a communication 

 to the Royal Society in 1859, in which he says, "From 

 De Luc's ' Idees,' all trace of charge against the fair dealing 

 of Cavendish has vanished. Lavoisier is found making full, 

 if somewhat tardy, amends for any wrong he did the English 

 philosopher; and as De Luc and Lavoisier testify that Caven- 

 dish had reached his famous discovery in 1782, the most 

 uncharitable must cease suspecting that he borrowed or stole 

 it from Watt, who had it not to offer any one till I783." 1 



The book as a whole has met with a hearty welcome ; it 

 has been spoken of thus : " Admirable as a biography 

 full of life, of picturesque touches, and of realization of 

 the man and of his times ; and, moreover, thoroughly 

 scientific containing, among other discussions, by far the 

 best account of the great water controversy from the Caver- 

 dish point of view." 2 It received public commendation in 

 the address delivered to the British Association in 1855, by 

 its President,, the Duke of Argyll, and is repeatedly quoted 

 and referred to by Professor J. D. Forbes, in his a Disser- 

 tation on the Progress of Mathematical and Physical 

 Science since 1775 to 1850." He speaks of it as "a 

 valuable biography, which has been printed in the series 

 of publications of the 'Cavendish Society,' and thus un- 

 fortunately has had but a limited circulation." 3 For fnrther 

 notice of this work, the reader is referred to the periodicals 

 whose names are given below. 4 



1 Published in the "Athenaeum" of April 30, 1859. 



2 "Horse Subsecivse." Second Series, p. 107. 



3 Only members of the Society named are entitled to its publications. 



4 "British and Foreign Medico-Chirurgical Review," April 1852, 

 P- 533- "North British Review," Feb. 1856. In Littell's "Living 

 Age," No. 384, a Boston, U. S. publication : a notice of some length 

 is reprinted from the " Spectator." 



G. W. 



