a revolution in chemistry, as they had already done in their political 

 constitution. Kirwan's work was an obstacle which it was neces- 

 sary to remove ; and of such magnitude was it considered, that it 

 was not only translated into French, but partitioned amongst no 

 less than five of the most eminent chemists which France could at 

 that time boast of, in order that they might reply to his arguments : 

 these were Lavoisier, Berthollet, Morveau, Fourcroy, and Monge; 

 and, truth to say, never was a refutation more complete. 



At length, convinced that his opinions were no longer tenable, 

 Mr. Kirwan, with a candour which only belongs to superior minds, 

 publicly acknowledged the subversion of the phlogistic hypothesis, 

 which he had so laboured to defend. It is said that Lavoisier 

 took no small pride in the surrender of the Irish philosopher's 

 opinions; which, if true, shows the estimation in which he held 

 their previous defender, — a feeling which I do not think was reci- 

 procal ; for in a conversation which I had on this subject, with Mr. 

 Kirwan, a year before his death, he told me that Lavoisier's wife 

 was a better chemist than Lavoisier himself. The lady is well known 

 to have been possessed of considerable talents and accomplishments; 

 it is known, that with her own hands she engraved the plates for 

 her husband's last work ; but I have not been able to discover any 

 authentic historical record of her superior acquirements as a che- 

 mist. After the murder of her husband she became the wife of 

 another eminent person. Count Rumford. 



Such were the honours which crowded on the Irish philosopher. 

 The simplest and most convincing mode of showing how far he 

 was entitled to them will be to enumerate the various subjects 

 which occupied his mind, and this will be best carried into eiFect 

 by giving a list of his works. In the Philosophical Transactions, 

 from 1781 to 1786, both years inclusive, we find six papers under 

 his name ; the titles are as follow : 



1. Experiments and Observations on the Specific Gravity 



and Attractive Powers of various Saline Substances. 1 781 



2. Continuation of the same subject. 1782 



3. Conclusion of the same. 1783 



4. Eemarks on Mr. Cavendish's Experiments on Air. 1784 



5. His Reply to Mr. Cavendish's Answer. 1784 



6. Experiments on Hepatic Air. 1786 



