VISIT TO EUROPE: RESIDENCE IN LONDON. 145 



young men, seemingly very raw, and not appearing like 

 cultivated and intelligent youth. Dr. Pearson usually came 

 into the lecture-room quite in dishabille but half dressed, 

 and the air of things was not up to the dignity of a lecture- 

 room. I felt that I was out of place, and in company to 

 which I did not belong. Some of Dr. Pearson's own discov 

 eries were interesting to me ; for example, the composition 

 of James's powder, and the decomposition of carbonic acid 

 by boiling phosphorus with carbonate of soda. The greater 

 part of the things said and done were familiar to me, and 

 some I thought I had done better at home. On the whole, 

 I did not feel that these lectures returned me an equivalent 

 for my time and money. Had I not paid for my tickets, and 

 a stronger reason still had I not been personally in 

 troduced and received civilities from Dr. Pearson, I should 

 have given up these courses. I breakfasted with Dr. Pear 

 son and family, and he had taken me in a coach down to 

 "Woolwich, a government military station, eight miles be 

 low London ; and I looked about while he visited a patient. 

 His personal deportment towards me was courteous, and he 

 even commended me to a friend as having made " astonish 

 ing progress while attending his lectures." Of this prog 

 ress I was not myself sensible, nor could I feel how he 

 could have discovered my improvement, as there were no 

 scientific communications between us, except that I occa 

 sionally made an inquiry. 



The first illumination by gas in London took 



place in the summer of 1805, and it was my good fortune 

 to see this exhibition on the evening of July 4th of that 

 year. Returning with a companion from Hyde Park, 

 through Piccadilly, we stopped at the shop of a chemist 

 and apothecary, near Albany House. This shop it being 

 evening was surrounded by a large crowd of people who 

 were attracted by the brilliant exhibition of gas-light. It 

 sufficed not only to illuminate the premises, which it did 

 very splendidly, but the doors and windows being open, it 



VOL. i. 10 



