408 FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE. 



ompound of that element and water. The analysis 

 was looked over by Davy, who then and there suggested 

 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 result to 

 Dr. Paris. Davy, on being informed of it, instantly 

 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 always 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 discoverer. 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-getting, 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 with- 

 out 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 lan- 

 guage 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 something good 

 and honourable for yourself, but also for science.' This 

 is not the language of jealousy, potential or actual. 

 But the chlorine business introduced irritation and 

 anger, to which, and not to any ignobler motive, Davy's 



