408 FKAGMENTS OF SCIENCE. 



was looked over by Davy, who then and there sug- 

 gested to Faraday to heat the hydrate in a closed glass 

 tube. This was done, the substance was decomposed, 

 and one of the products of decomposition was proved 

 by Faraday to be chlorine liquefied by its own pressure. 

 On the day of its discovery he communicated this re- 

 sult to Dr. Paris. Davy, on being informed of it, in- 

 stantly liquefied another gas in the same way. Having 

 struck thus into Faraday's enquiry, ought he not to 

 have left the matter in Faraday's hands? I think he 

 ought. But, considering his relation to both Faraday 

 and the hydrate of chlorine, Davy, I submit, may be 

 excused for thinking differently. A father is not al- 

 ways wise enough to see that his son has ceased to be 

 a boy, and estrangement on this account is not rare; 

 nor was Davy wise enough to discern that Faraday had 

 passed the mere assistant stage, and become a discov- 

 erer. It is now hard to avoid magnifying this error. 

 But had Faraday died or ceased to work at this time, 

 or had his subsequent life been devoted to money-get- 

 ting, instead of to research, would anybody now dream 

 of ascribing jealousy to Davy? Assuredly not. Why 

 should he be jealous? His reputation at this time was 

 almost without a parallel: his glory was without a 

 cloud. He had added to his other discoveries that of 

 Faraday, and after having been his teacher for seven 

 years, his language to him was this: ' It gives me great 

 pleasure to hear that you are comfortable at the Eoyal 

 Institution, and I trust that you will not only do some- 

 thing good and honourable for yourself, but also for 

 science/ This is not the language of jealousy, poten- 

 tial or actual. But the chlorine business introduced 

 irritation and anger, to which, and not to any ignobler 

 motive, Davy's opposition to the election of Faraday to 

 the Eoyal Society is, I am persuaded, to be ascribed. 



