Part 2

Since his retirement, Sir Humphry Davy resided principally at Rome, where a short time ago he had an alarming attack of a paralytic nature, but from which he was apparently, though slowly, recovering. Lady Davy, who had been detained in England by her own ill health, joined Sir Humphry, at Rome, on hearing of his alarming state. Thence he travelled by easy stages to Geneva, without feeling any particular inconvenience, and without any circumstances which denoted the approach of dissolution: but on Friday, May 29, 1829, the illustrious philosopher closed his mortal career, in the fifty-first year of his age, having only reached Geneva on the day previous. Lady Davy had the gratification of contributing, by her soothing care, to the comfort of his last days during their stay in Italy, and on their journey to Geneva, where they intended to pass the summer, and hoped to have derived benefit from the eminent practitioners of that city. Sir Humphry had also been joined by his brother, Dr. John Davy, physician to the forces in Malta, whence he came on receiving the intelligence of his brother's danger. But all human art and skill were of no avail. The last and fatal attack took place at half-past two on Friday morning, and the pulse ceased to beat shortly after. The event was no sooner known, than the afflicted widow received the condolence and affectionate offer of services from the most distinguished individuals of Geneva; amongst whom we must mention M. A. de Condolle, the eminent botanist, and M. Sismondi, the historian, both equally beloved for their amiable character, as illustrious throughout Europe for their works. M. de Condolle obligingly took charge of all the details of the interment of his illustrious colleague; and the governor of the Canton, the Academy of Geneva, the Consistory of the Geneva Church, the Society of Arts and of Natural Philosophy and History, together with nearly all the English resident there, accompanied the remains to the burial-ground, where the English service was performed by the Rev. Mr. John Magers of Queen's College, and the Rev. Mr. Burgess. The members of the Academy, in the absence of any relation of the deceased, took their place in the funeral procession; and the invitations to the syndicate, and to the learned bodies who accompanied it, were made by that body in the same character. The whole was conducted with much appropriate order and decency, and whilst every attention and respect were paid to the memory of the deceased, nothing was attempted beyond the unostentatious simplicity which the deceased had frequently declared to be his wish, whenever his mortal remains should be consigned to their last home; and which in accordance to that wish, had been expressly enjoined to her kind friends by the afflicted widow. In the procession, which followed the corporate bodies and the countrymen of the deceased, were many of the most eminent manufacturers of Geneva, and a large body of mechanics, who were anxious to pay this tribute of regard and gratitude to one whom they deservedly looked upon as a great benefactor to the arts, and promoter of sciences, by the application of which they earn their livelihood.[4]

During his retirement on the Continent, Sir Humphry continued to communicate the splendid results of his labours to the Royal Society, and at the anniversary meeting of the year 1827, the royal medal was awarded to him for a series of brilliant discoveries developing the relation between electricity and chemistry.[5] Upon this interesting occasion, Mr. Davies Gilbert spoke at some length, commencing as follows: "It is with feelings most gratifying to myself that I now approach to the award of a royal medal to Sir Humphry Davy; and I esteem it a most fortunate occurrence, that this award should have taken place during the short period of my having to discharge the duties attached to the office of president; having witnessed the whole progress of Sir Humphry Davy's advancement in science and in reputation, from his first attempts in his native town to vary some of Dr. Priestly's experiments on the extraction of oxygen from marine vegetables to the point of eminence which we all know him to have reached. It is not necessary for me more than to advert to his discovery of nitrous oxyde; to his investigation of the action of light on gases; on the nature of heat; to his successful discrimination of proximate vegetable elements; nor to his most scientific, ingenious, and useful invention, the safety-lamp,--an invention reasoned out from its principles, with all the accuracy and precision of mathematical deduction."

The course of Sir Humphry Davy to the highest rank as a chemical philosopher, was, after his appointment at the Royal Institution, rapid and brilliant; and if he was previously aided by as few of the advantages of fortune as any man living, he had then at his disposal whatever his industry and talents chose to command. We have given but a hasty outline of his labours; but it is possible that he may have left behind him much, not yet made public, for which, science will be still further indebted to him. His works, papers, and letters are numerous, and the greatest portion of them are contained in the Transactions of the Royal Society. One of the most popular and interesting of his recent papers is that on the _Phenomena of Volcanoes_. This contains a series of investigations of Vesuvius, made by the author during a residence at Naples in 1819-20, and bearing upon a previous hypothesis, "that metals of the alkalies and earth might exist in the interior of the globe, and on being exposed to the action of air and water, give rise to volcanic fires, and to the production of lavas, by the slow cooling of which basaltic and other crystalline rocks might subsequently be formed." We have not space for the details of these investigations, interesting as they would prove to an unscientific reader; but we give an abstract of the result of Sir Humphry's observations:

"The phenomena observed by the author afforded a sufficient refutation of all the ancient hypotheses, in which volcanic fires were ascribed to such chemical causes as the combustion of mineral coal, or the action of sulphur upon iron; and are perfectly consistent with the supposition of their depending upon the oxidation of the metals of the earths upon an extensive scale, in immense subterranean cavities, to which water or atmospheric air may occasionally have access. The subterranean thunder heard at great distances under Vesuvius, prior to an eruption, indicates the vast extent of these cavities; and the existence of a subterranean communication between the Solfattara and Vesuvius, is established by the fact that whenever the latter is in an active state, the former is comparatively tranquil. In confirmation of these views, the author remarks, that almost all the volcanoes of considerable magnitude in the old world, are in the vicinity of the sea; and in those where the sea is more distant, as in the volcanoes of South America, the water may be supplied from great subterranean lakes; for Humboldt states that some of them throw up quantities of fish. The author acknowledges, however, that the hypothesis of the nucleus of the globe being composed of matter liquefied by heat, offers a still more simple solution of the phenomena of volcanic fires."[6]

We have hitherto spoken of Sir Humphry Davy as a philosopher. He was, however, in every respect, an accomplished scholar, and was well acquainted with foreign languages. He always retained a strong taste for literary pleasures; and when his continued illness retarded his scientific pursuits, he made literature his recreation. In this manner he wrote _Salmonia: or Days of Fly-fishing_, in a series of conversations, we gather from the Preface:--"These pages formed the occupation of the Author during several months of severe and dangerous illness, when he was wholly incapable of attending to more useful studies, or of following more serious pursuits. They formed his amusement in many hours, which otherwise would have been unoccupied and tedious." "The conversational and discursive style were chosen as best suited to the state of the health of the author, who was incapable of considerable efforts and long continued exertion." The volume is dedicated to Dr. Babington, "in remembrance of some delightful days passed in his society, and in gratitude for an uninterrupted friendship of quarter of a century:" and the likeness of one of the characters in the conversations to that estimable physician abovenamed, has been considered well drawn, and easily recognisable by those who enjoy his acquaintance.

The philosophical works of Sir Humphry Davy are written in a clear and perspicuous style, by which means he has contributed more to the diffusion of scientific knowledge than any other writer of his time. His three principal works, "Chemical and Philosophical Researches," "Elements of Chemical Philosophy," and "Elements of Agricultural Chemistry," are in a popular and familiar style, and the two last are excellently adapted for elementary study. His numerous pamphlets and contributions to the Transactions of the Royal Society have the same rare merit of conveying experimental knowledge in the most attractive form, and thus reducing abstract theory to the practice and purposes of life and society. The results of his investigations and experiments were not therefore pent up in the laboratory or lecture-room where they were made, but by this valuable mode of communication, they have realized what ought to be the highest aim of science,--the improvement of the condition and comforts of every class of his fellow-creatures. Thus, beautiful theories were illustrated by inventions of immediate utility, as in the safety-lamp for mitigating the dangers to which miners are exposed in their labours, and the application of a newly-discovered principle in preserving the life of the adventurous mariner. Yet splendid as were Sir Humphry's talents, and important as have been their application, he received the honours and homage of the scientific world with that becoming modesty which universally characterizes great genius.

Apart from the scientific value of Sir Humphry's labours and researches, they are pervaded by a tone and temper, and an enthusiastic love of nature which are as admirably expressed as their influence is excellent. In proof of this feeling we could almost from memory, quote many passages from his works. Thus, speaking of the divine _Study of Nature_, he has the following reflective truths:--"If we look with wonder upon the great remains of human works, such as the columns of Palmyra, broken in the midst of the desert, the temples of Paestum, beautiful in the decay of twenty centuries, or the mutilated fragments of Greek sculpture in the Acropolis of Athens, or in our own Museum, as proofs of the genius of artists, and power and riches of nations now past away; with how much deeper feeling of admiration must we consider those grand monuments of Nature, which mark the revolutions of the globe; continents broken into islands; one land produced, another destroyed; the bottom of the ocean become a fertile soil; whole races of animals extinct; and the bones and exuviae of one class, covered with the remains of another, and upon the graves of past generations--the marble or rocky tomb, as it were, of a former animated world--new generations rising, and order and harmony established, and a system of life and beauty produced, as it were out of chaos and death; proving the infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, of the GREAT CAUSE OF ALL BEING!" Here we cannot trace any co-mixture of science and scepticism, and in vain shall we look for the spawn of infidel doctrine. The same excellent feeling breathes throughout _Salmonia_, one of the most delightful labours of leisure we have ever seen. Not a few of the most beautiful phenomena of Nature are here lucidly explained, yet the pages have none of the varnish of philosophical unbelief or finite reasoning. "In my opinion," says one of the characters in the Dialogue, (to be identified as the author,) "profound minds are the most likely to think lightly of the resources of human reason; and it is the pert superficial thinker who is generally strongest in every kind of unbelief. The deep philosopher sees changes of causes and effects, so wonderfully and strangely linked together, that he is usually the last person to decide upon the impossibility of any two series of events being independent of each other; and in science, so many natural miracles, as it were, have been brought to light,--such as the fall of stones from meteors in the atmosphere, the disarming a thundercloud by a metallic point, the production of fire from ice by a metal white as silver, and referring certain laws of motions of the sea to the moon,--that the physical inquirer is seldom disposed to assert, confidently, on any abstruse subjects belonging to the order of natural things, and still less so on those relating to the more mysterious relations of moral events and intellectual natures."[7]

Many other passages in _Salmonia_ gush forth with great force and beauty, and sometimes soar into sublime truths. Thus says the eloquent author:

"A full and clear river is, in my opinion, the most poetical object in nature. Pliny has, as well as I recollect, compared a river to human life. I have never read the passage in his works, but I have been a hundred times struck with the analogy, particularly amidst mountain scenery. The river, small and clear in its origin, gushes forth from rocks, falls into deep glens, and wantons and meanders through a wild and picturesque country, nourishing only the uncultivated tree or flower by its dew or spray. In this, its state of infancy and youth, it may be compared to the human mind in which fancy and strength of imagination are predominant--it is more beautiful than useful. When the different rills or torrents join, and descend into the plain, it becomes slow and stately in its motions; it is applied to move machinery, to irrigate meadows, and to bear upon its bosom the stately barge;--in this mature state, it is deep, strong, and useful. As it flows on towards the sea, it loses its force and its motion, and at last, as it were, becomes lost and mingled with the mighty abyss of waters."

"I envy no quality of the mind or intellect in others; not genius, power, wit, or fancy: but if I could choose what would be most delightful, and I believe most useful to me, I should prefer a firm religious belief to every other blessing; for it makes life a discipline of goodness--creates new hopes, when all earthly hopes vanish; and throws over the decay, the destruction of existence, the most gorgeous of all lights; awakens life even in death, and from corruption and decay calls up beauty and divinity: makes an instrument of torture and of shame the ladder of ascent to paradise; and, far above all combinations of earthly hopes, calls up the most delightful visions of palms and amaranths, the gardens of the blest, the security of everlasting joys, where the sensualist and the sceptic view only gloom, decay, annihilation, and despair!"

Few of those whose fame and fortune are their own creation, enjoy, as did Sir Humphry Davy, in the meridian of life, the enviable consciousness of general esteem and respect, and the certainty of a distinguished place in history, among the illustrious names of their country. "A great light has gone out,"--short but brilliant has been his career; yet let us hope he has but exchanged his worldly fame for unearthly immortality, to shine amidst the never-dying lights of true glory.

[1] This apparatus is of immense power, and consists of 200 separate parts, each part composed of ten double plates, and each plate containing 32 square inches. The whole number of double plates is 2,000, and the whole surface 126,000 square inches.

[2] Memoir--New Monthly Magazine, Vol. I. Mr. Dillon has lately invented an _Improved Safety Lamp_, an Engraving of which will be found at page 137, Vol. XII. of the MIRROR.

[3] It deserves notice, that two of the most illustrious philosophers of our times, Sir H. Davy and Dr. Wollaston, have died within the present year.

[4] Extract of a Letter from Geneva, dated June 1, 1829--_Times_.

[5] These experiments, the last which engaged Sir Humphry Davy's attention to any extent, were on the application of electrical combinations, for the purpose of preserving the copper sheathing of ships' bottoms. To this subject Sir Humphry gave much of his time, and personally inspected all the boats and vessels on which the trials were made. Although the theory upon which they were conducted proved eminently correct, no advantage could be ultimately taken of the plans which it suggested. The saving of the copper was wholly counterbalanced by an accumulation of shell-fish and sea-weed on the sheathing, which became sufficient, in a short time, to prevent the proper command of the ship at the helm.

[6] Abridged in the Arcana of Science and Arts for 1829.

[7] _Salmonia_, 1st. Edition, page 161. Several beautiful Extracts from which, will be found in Vol. XII. of the MIRROR.

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INDEX TO VOL. XIII