THE GREAT LONDON CHEMISTS 33 



been introduced, after the fashion of his country, assured 

 him that his principal reason for coming to London was 

 to see and converse with one of the greatest ornaments of 

 his age, and one of the most illustrious philosophers that 

 ever existed. To all these high-flown speeches Mr. Caven- 

 dish answered not a word, but stood with his eyes cast 

 down, quite abashed and confounded. At last, spying an 

 opening in the crowd, he darted through it with all the 

 speed he could muster, nor did he stop until he reached 

 his carriage, which drove him directly home. Sir Hum- 

 phry Davy said of him : ' His voice was squeaking, his 

 manner nervous ; he was afraid of strangers, and seemed, 

 when embarrassed, even to articulate with difficulty. He 

 wore the costume of our grandfathers; was enormously 

 rich, but made no use of his wealth.' And Lord 

 Brougham's recollection was that he would often leave 

 the place where he was addressed, and leave it abruptly, 

 with a kind of cry or ejaculation, as if scared and dis- 

 turbed. ' I recollect/ said Lord Brougham, ' the shrill cry 

 he uttered, as he shuffled quickly from room to room, 

 seeming to be annoyed if looked at, but sometimes 

 approaching to hear what was passing among others/ 



On occasion, he was not ungenerous, although the 

 thought of giving did not occur to him. When dining 

 one evening at the Royal Society Club, some one present 

 mentioned the name of a gentleman who had previously 

 acted as a temporary librarian in his library. Mr. Caven- 

 dish said, ' Ah ! poor fellow, how does he do ? How does 

 he get on ? ' 'I fear very indifferently/ said this person. 

 ' I am sorry for it/ said Mr. Cavendish. ' We had hopes 

 that you would have done something for him, sir/ ' Me, 

 me, me, what could I do ? ' 'A little annuity for his life ; 

 he is not in the best of health.' 'Well, well, well, a 

 cheque for 10,000, would that do ? ' '0 sir, more 

 than sufficient, more than sufficient/ 



