30 ESSAYS BIOGRAPHICAL AND CHEMICAL 



volumes of ' The Transactions.' Thus we find on January 2, 

 1601, that 'Mr. Boyle was requested to bring in his 

 cylinder, and to show at his best convenience the experi- 

 ment of the air ' ; but his convenience was long in arriv- 

 ing, for on March the 20th ' Mr. Boyle was requested to 

 remember his experiment of the air,' and on April 1 ' he 

 was desired to hasten his intended alteration of his air- 

 pump.' On May 15, 'Mr. Boyle presented the Society 

 with his engine,' and with it numerous experiments 

 were made in the presence of members of the Society. 

 In such ' philosophical ' pursuits he spent his uneventful 

 life; and, to quote his own words, from a biographical 

 sketch drawn up by himself at an advanced period of his 

 life, he says : ' To be such parents' son, and not their 

 eldest, was a happiness that our Philarethes [a lover of 

 virtue himself] would mention with great expressions of 

 gratitude ; his birth so suiting his inclinations and designs, 

 that had he been permitted an election, his choice would 

 scarce have altered God's discernment.' 



Cavendish, like Boyle, was also of noble birth. He was 

 the son of Lord Charles Cavendish, himself the third son 

 of the second Duke of Devonshire. His mother was Lady 

 Anne Grey, fourth daughter of Henry, Duke of Kent. 

 But except in the fact of their both being of the higher 

 rank of society, and in their both being addicted to the 

 pursuit of science, they have little in common. Boyle's 

 mind roamed over the whole domain of nature ; his writ- 

 ings treat of religious, philosophical, and scientific subjects 

 with a fulness and lack of mental reserve which testify 

 to his frank, transparent character. His motto was Nihil 

 humanum a me alienum puto ; and he carried this motto 

 into his life and work. Cavendish, on the other hand, 

 was by nature very shy and reserved ; he had no friends, 

 and few acquaintances; and instead of discussing the 

 whole of nature, as did Boyle, he limited himself to the 



