DAVY. 115 



forward with perfect confidence to the analysis of the 

 bodies which had hitherto proved the most stubborn, 

 and expected soon to find the fixed alkalis, and even 

 the alkaline earths, shown to be oxides, as by some 

 very imperfect experiments they had at one time been 

 supposed to be proved, when it was ascertained that 

 the metallic buttons found at the bottom of the crucible 

 in which their reduction had been attempted by carbon- 

 aceous or phosphoric re-agents had come from the 

 black lead in the pot. Nor must we omit to mention 

 the truly candid and magnanimous proceeding of Davy, 

 so worthy of a philosopher, in making public, with the 

 fullest details, his proceedings, by which it was mani- 

 fest he intended still to persevere till he should make 

 other discoveries. Any one possessed of a strong bat- 

 tery, deeply reflecting on the paper of autumn 1806, 

 and perceiving that the positive wire had such a 

 strong attraction for oxygen as to take it from metallic 

 oxides, reducing them to their reguline state, might 

 well have bethought him of subjecting the alkalis to 

 his machine ; and he would then have had the fame, 

 though, in truth, Davy would have had the merit, of 

 the grand discovery. 



That discovery was not long delayed. About a year 

 after the former, that is in October 1807, after in vain 

 endeavouring to decompose the alkalis when mixed 

 with water, for he then only could decompose that 

 fluid, he exposed them in the dry state ; that is, made 

 liquid by fusion, without any other substance but heat 

 to dissolve them and, to his great delight, he found, 

 as he had a right to expect, that the process of deoxi- 

 dation proceeded by the positive wire attracting the 

 oxygen, while globules of a metallic substance were 

 found at the negative wire. The great attraction of 

 this metal for oxygen made it impossible to keep it 

 either in the air or in water. It burnt spontaneously 

 in the air and became alkali it decomposed water in 

 like manner, and formed an alkaline solution. The 



