The  Safety  Lamp. 
15 
announced  his  discovery  “ that  explosive  mixtures  of  mine- 
dainp  will  not  pass  through  small  apertures  or  tubes  ; and 
that  if  a lamp  or  lanthorn  be  made  air-tight  on  the  sides,  and 
furnished  with  apertures  to  admit  the  air,  it  will  not  communi- 
cate flame  to  the  outward  atmosphere.” 
An  account  of  these  investigations  was  made  public  in 
a series  of  five  papers  in  the  Philosophical  Transactions  between 
1815  and  1817,  for  which  Davy  was  awarded  the  Rumford 
Medal  of  the  Royal  Society. 
Davy  made  no  secret  of  his  important  discovery,  and 
refused  to  take  out  a patent  for  the  invention  of  the  safety- 
lamp,  although  he  was  urged  to  do  so.  Mr.  Buddie  himself 
stated  that  he  was  one  of  the  friends  who  so  urged  Davy. 
“ I felt  that  he  did  not  contemplate  any  pecuniary  reward  ; 
and  in  a private  conversation  I remonstrated  with  him  on  the 
subject.  I said,  ‘You  might  as  well  have  secured  this  inven- 
tion by  a patent,  and  received  your  five  or  ten  thousand  a year 
from  it.’  Davy’s  reply  was  : ‘ No  ! my  good  friend,  I never 
thought  of  such  a thing  : my  sole  object  was  to  serve  the  cause 
of  humanity  ; and  if  I have  succeeded,  I am  amply  rew'arded 
in  the  gratifying  reflection  of  having  done  so.’”^ 
No  Government  reward  was  awarded  to  Davy,  but  a service 
of  ])late  (for  which  the  sum  of  2,500/.  was  j)aid)  was  presented 
to  him  by  the  coal  owners  of  the  Tyne  and  Wear  in  1817. 
The  following  was  inscribed  on  the  centre-piece  : — 
"Ncwcastle-on-Tyne,  1817. 
“ Tliis  service  of  plate  was  presented 
To  Sir  Humphry  Davy  by  the  subscribers, 
As  a token  of  gratitude  for  his  invaluable  invention 
of  the  safety-lamp.” 
An  old  friend  of  Davy’s,  Mr.  Lambton,  afterwards  Earl  of 
Durham,  j)resided  on  the  occasion  of  the  ])resentation,  and  in 
his  laudatory  sjteech  he  said  : “You  have  increased  the  value 
of  an  important  branch  of  productive  industry  ; and  what  is  of 
infinitely  more  importance,  you  have  contributed  to  preserve 
the  lives  and  persons  of  multitudes  of  your  fellow  creatures. 
If  your  fame  had  needed  anything  to  make  it 
immortal,  this  discovery  alone  would  have  carried  it  down  to 
future  ages,  and  connected  it  with  benefits  and  blessings.” 
Besides  this  present  from  the  coal  owners  Davy  received 
in  1825  a silver-gilt  vase  from  the  Em{)eror  Alexander  of 
Russia,  accompanied  by  a letter  from  the  Emperor  himself. 
^ Davy’s  Life,  pp.  210,  211. 
