Meanwhile, the lad worked away at his experiments, reading all that he could lay his hands on that dealt with chemistry and what was known then of electricity. He hoped that it would be possible for him to get some position that would give him more time to follow his beloved studies, but nothing offered and very often he spent long hours at the bookbinder’s bench, when in reality his thoughts were elsewhere. One night as he was preparing for bed a loud knock startled him. He looked out of the window and saw a fine carriage with a footman in livery who brought him a note from Sir Humphry Davy, who wished to see him the following morning. We may be sure he slept little that night, and early the next day hastened to see the great chemist. Sir Humphry offered him a position at six dollars a week. It was to help in the work of the laboratory generally and especially to keep the instruments clean and move them to and from the lecture room. He gladly accepted the offer and said good-bye to bookbinding. This was the turning point in his life. He had made such good use of his time that he was now fairly well educated, and no one to meet him would suspect that he had seen very little of the inside of a school. He joined the City Philosophical Society, which met each week, and he took a keen interest in all that went on in the scientific world. Seven months after his engagement in the laboratory, Sir Humphry Davy decided to travel upon the continent and asked Michael Faraday to accompany him. This was a great opportunity for the young assistant; he had never been more than a few miles away from where he was born and to travel in France, Switzerland, Italy and Germany was a rare treat and a liberal education. He made such progress with his studies in chemistry that when he returned to England he was promoted to the position of laboratory assistant at the Royal Institution, with a salary of five hundred dollars a year. He delivered a series of six lectures before the City Philosophical Society on chemistry, which aroused much interest. He was continually making experiments, and in this way he made many important discoveries. He found out that many beliefs regarding electricity were quite wrong and he drew attention to them. He wrote to some of the leading scientific magazines and soon the English people realised that a great scientific authority had arisen in their midst. For twenty years he lectured at the Royal Academy at Woolwich and for all these lectures he made most careful preparation. It was his way never to undertake anything unless he could do it well, and he even took lectures in elocution so that he could make the best use of his voice. He delivered a great many lectures to boys and girls on scientific subjects and he spared himself no pains in order to make the subjects clear. Young people were naturally attracted to him and even if they did not fully understand all he said they certainly enjoyed seeing him perform his experiments.