AND SCHONBEIN 103 



pages 1 which I enclose, and of submitting them to 

 your judgment. Should you consider them in any 

 way as worthy of your attention, I trust you will be 

 kind enough, when you have an opportunity, to send 

 me a few comments on them. Finally I must ask 

 you to do me a great favour. As the patent which 

 I have taken out for my guncotton in England will 

 undoubtedly be contested, I should be very much 

 obliged to you if you would state in a letter, in what- 

 ever manner you consider most suitable, that it was 

 I who first discovered and prepared nitrolignin. 

 Such an expression of your opinion would have great 

 weight in England, and I have little doubt that you 

 also will ascribe to me the priority in this matter. I 

 at any rate consider that I have a full claim to it. 

 With the sincerest hope that your valuable life may 

 be spared to Science, I remain, 



With the greatest respect, 



Yours respectfully, 



C. F. SCHONBEIN. 

 BALE, 29th March 1847. 



The letter of Berzelius no doubt suggested to a certain 

 extent a discourse of Schonbein's : " On various Chemical 

 States of Oxygen," 2 which he delivered on 21st April to 

 the Scientific Club of Bale, and in which he attacks the 

 views of Marignac, de la Rive, and Berzelius. [cf. Poggend. 

 Annal., vol. Ixxi. (1847) p. 517 ; where he uses the words : 

 " since the great Swedish chemist assails me in writing "]. 



1 See Appendix. 2 Ibid. 



