Lectures  at  the  Roijal  Institution. 
5 
journal  as  the  Philosophical  Magazine  spoke  of  “ the  sparkling 
intelligence  of  his  eye  and  his  animated  manner,”  an  expression 
which  was  so  admirably  canght  by  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence  in 
that  famous  portrait,  })resented  to  the  Koyal  Society  by  Lady 
Davy.  Of  this  Dr.  Paris  writes  : “It  is  one  of  the  happiest 
efforts  of  the  distinguished  artist,  and  is  the  only  ])ortrait 
I have  seen  in  which  his  features  are  happily  animated  with 
the  expression  of  the  j)oet,  and  whose  eye  is  bent  to  pursue  the 
flights  of  his  imagination  through  unexplored  regions.”^ 
Not  long  after  his  appointment,  the  Managers  of  the  Royal 
Institution  resolved  : “ That  Mr.  Humphry  Davy,  Director  of 
the  Chemical  Laboratory  and  Assistant  Lecturer  in  (diemistry, 
has,  since  he  has  been  employed  at  the  Institution,  given 
satisfactory  proofs  of  his  talents  as  Lecturer. 
“ Resolved  : That  he  he  appointed,  and  in  future  denomi- 
nated, Lecturer  in  Chemistry  at  the  Royal  Institution,  instead 
of  continuing  to  occupy  the  place  of  Assistant  Lecturer,  which 
he  has  hitherto  filled.” 
The  Managers  decided  that  Davy  should  give  a course  of 
lectures  on  “ The  Chemical  Principles  of  the  Art  of  Tanning,” 
and  he  was  further  allowed  to  absent  himself  from  his  ordinary 
duties  for  the  purpose  of  acquainting  himself  with  the  practical 
part  of  the  business  of  tanning. 
He  entered  into  this  investigation  with  the  greatest  enthu- 
siasm, and  on  October  26,  1802,  he  wrote  to  his  friend,  Davies 
Giddy  (afterwards  Gilbert),  to  tell  him  of  his  success  : “ I 
believe  I mentioned  to  you  in  a former  letter  that  terra 
Japonica  or  extractum  catechu  contained  a very  large  ])roportion 
of  the  tanning  princij)le.  My  friend,  Mr.  Purkis,  an  excellent 
practical  tanner,  has  lately  tried  some  ex])eriments  on  it  in 
the  large  way.  It  answers  Aery  Avell,  and  I am  noAv  wearing 
a ])air  of  shoes,  the  leather  of  one  of  Avhich  was  tanned  Avith 
oak  bark,  and  that  of  the  other  Avith  terra  japonica,  and  they 
ap])ear  to  be  eipially  good.  We  are  in  great  ho{)es  that  the 
East  India  Company  Avill  consent  to  the  importation  of  this 
article.  One  pound  of  it  goes  at  least  as  far  as  nine  pounds  of 
oak  bark,  and  it  could  cei'tainly  be  rendered  in  England  for 
less  than  fourpence  the  pound  ; oak  bark  is  nearly  one  penny 
per  j)ound.”' 
In  the  folloAving  year  (Eebruary  21)  he  read  a }>aper  before 
the  Royal  Society  entitled,  “ Account  of  some  Experiments  and 
‘ Preface  to  Paris’s  Life  of  Du  nj,  Vol.  1,  page  11. 
Paris’s  Lfe,  Vol.  1,  page  157. 
