374 THE EOYAL INSTITUTION. [CHAP. VI. 



14; the previous week he had given a lecture on 

 Oxygen, which was not reported by Faraday. 



' I will demonstrate what I affirm in a positive and 

 satisfactory manner. 



' Accustomed for years to consider the chemical prin- 

 ciples of the French School of Physical Sciences as 

 correct, I had adopted them and put faith in them 

 until they became prejudices, and I even felt unwilling 

 to give them up when my judgment was fully convinced 

 by experiment that they were erroneous. I know that 

 this is the case in some degree with almost every person ; 

 he is unwilling to believe that he is wrong, and there- 

 fore feels averse to adopt what is right when it opposes 

 his principles. 



' Pelletier died from inhaling this gas (chlorine). It 

 supports combustion of a taper [experiment] ; it does 

 not contain oxygen.' He showed by experiment that 

 pure dry chlorine and hydrogen, when exploded, caused 

 no moisture ; no water was formed. This was the 

 synthetical proof. Decomposition of muriatic acid gas 

 by potassium was shown as the analytical proof. Com- 

 pounds with phosphorus, ammonia, and sulphur all free 

 from oxygen. 4 Oxygen does combine with chlorine. I 

 have ventured to name the compound euchlorine ; it is of 

 a very bright yellow green colour. Names should repre- 

 sent things, not opinions, for in the last case they 

 often tend to misrepresent and mislead. 



' As chlorine contained no oxygen, it became an 

 inquiry well worth investigation to ascertain the part 

 which chlorine acted in bleaching. It decomposes 

 water and forms hydrochloric acid.' 



