Thomas Henry. 113 



of a man who may be good and powerful whether he weigh 

 nine stone or twenty. 



On the other hand, the idea of development of the 

 world does not come into Mr. Henry's mind, but he agrees 

 with the Bishop of Llandaff (see 'Watson's Chemical Essays,' 

 vol. ii.) that the seas originally created salt. It was not 

 customary at that time to view the universe as a whole, 

 or to watch it gradually developing itself as we now watch 

 young plants. Now it is common for man to view the 

 growth of worlds, placing himself out of measurable time 

 and sitting in fancy beyond measurable space, whilst the 

 whirlpools of atoms waste their fury, coming from their 

 impenetrable caverns still farther away than our imagin- 

 ation can travel, and swinging into existence with an 

 irregular force that gradually seems to learn its duty, and 

 concentrates itself in a well behaved and regular sun or 

 planet ; he watches over some stray piece which it may 

 keep near itself as satellite, spending the fury of its youth, 

 and learning to move with a regularity that makes it fit 

 to be a time-piece for creation. 



Mr. Thomas Henry's clearness grows more observable 

 as he goes on, and in vol. iii.p. 363, on * Different Materials 

 as. Objects of the Art of Dyeing/ we find him coming to 

 sound views as to the action of alum as a mordant. It is 

 not always easy to obtain the meaning even of writers so 

 late as Dr. Henry on this subject ; their ideas were loosely 

 held, and their language was suitable, so that it is capable 

 of different bends. Still one sentence by Mr. Henry may 

 be considered sufficient evidence of originality and unusual 

 distinctness : ' When cotton is to be dyed and some of 

 these bases are requisite, not only the basis is to be pre- 

 cipitated by the astringent colouring principle, but the 



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