I remember witnessing, upon one of these occasions, a very amusing scene, which may be related as illustrative of some peculiarities of his temper. I believe all those who have accompanied Davy in his fishing excursions, will allow that no sportsman was ever more ambitious to appear skilful and lucky. Nothing irritated him so much as to find that his companions had caught more fish than himself; and if, during conversation, a brother fisherman surpassed him in the relation of his success, he betrayed similar impatience. There happened to be present, on the occasion to which I allude, a skilful angler, and an enterprising chemist. The latter commenced on some subject connected with his favourite science; but Davy, who, generally speaking, disliked to make it a subject of conversation, suddenly turned to the angler, and related what he considered a very surprising instance of his success: his sporting friend, however, mortified him by the relation of a still more marvellous anecdote; upon which Davy as quickly returned to the chemist, who, in turn, again sent him back to the angler:--and thus did he appear to endure the unhappy fate of the _flying fish_, who no sooner escapes from an enemy in the regions of air, than he is pursued by one equally rapacious in the waters.--But to return to the thread of our history. In referring to the records of the Institution, it appears that in January 1805, Davy greatly enriched the cabinets of the Institution by a present of minerals. The following are the Minutes of the Committee upon this occasion: "January 21, 1805.--Mr. Hatchett reported that, in pursuance of the request of the Managers, he had inspected the minerals presented to the Royal Institution by Mr. Davy, and that the aggregate value (including the duplicate specimens) appears to him to exceed one hundred guineas." "January 28.--The Managers took into consideration Mr. Hatchett's report at the last meeting, and resolved that Mr. Davy is entitled to the thanks of the Managers for having added so valuable a present to the collection of minerals belonging to the Institution." On the 4th of February, it was Resolved--"That Mr. Davy be appointed Director of the Laboratory, at a salary of one hundred pounds a-year; by which his annual income from the Institution was raised to four hundred pounds. At this period he delivered a series of lectures on Geology, or on the chemical history of the earth; to which we find an allusion in the following letter." TO THOMAS POOLE, ESQ. February, 1805. MY DEAR POOLE, I AM very much obliged to you for your last kind letter, and I thank you most sincerely for the exertion of your friendship at Bath. I thank you with very warm feelings. I hope you will soon come to town; that you will stay a long time; and that we shall be very much together.