THE SCIENTIST 175 



produced by the sight of the persons about me. My 

 emotions were enthusiastic and sublime, and for a 

 minute I walked round the room perfectly regard- 

 less of what was said to me. As I recovered my 

 former state of mind, I felt an inclination to com- 

 municate the discoveries I had made during the ex- 

 periment. I endeavored to recall the ideas : they 

 were feeble and indistinct ; one collection of terms, 

 however, presented itself ; and with the most intense 

 belief and prophetic manner, I exclaimed to Dr. 

 Kinglake, ^Nothing exists but thoughts ! The uni- 

 verse is composed of impressions, ideas, pleasures 

 and pains ! ' 



Davy aroused the admiration and interest of every 

 one who met him. A literary man to whom he was 

 introduced shortly after his arrival in Bristol spoke 

 of the intellectual character of the young man's face. 

 His eye was piercing, and when he was not engaged 

 in conversation, its expression indicated abstraction, 

 as though his mind were pursuing some severe train 

 of thought scarcely to be interrupted by external ob- 

 jects ; " and," this writer adds, " his ingenuousness 

 impressed me as much as his mental superiority." 

 Mrs. Beddoes, a gay, witty, and elegant lady, and 

 an ardent admirer of the youthful scientist, was a 

 sister of Maria Edgeworth. The novelist's tolerance 

 of Davy's enthusiasm soon passed into a clear recog- 

 nition of his commanding genius. Coleridge, Southey, 

 and other congenial friends, whom the chemist met 

 under Dr. Beddoes' roof, shared in the general ad- 

 miration of his mental and social qualities. Southey 

 spoke of him as a miraculous young man, at whose 

 talents he could only wonder. Coleridge, when asked 



