The Life of Sir Humphry Davy, Bart. LL.D., Volume 2 (of 2)Paris, John Ayrton
History
The Life of Sir Humphry Davy, Bart. LL.D., Volume 2 (of 2)
Paris, John Ayrton
Chemists -- England -- Biography; Davy, Humphry, Sir, 1778-1829
Her Ladyship, attended by her maid, had walked into the
Thuilleries' Garden. She wore a very small hat, of a simple
cockle-shell form, such as was fashionable at that time in
London; while the Parisian ladies wore bonnets of most voluminous
dimensions. It happened to be a saint's day, on which, the shops
being closed, the citizens repaired in crowds to the garden. On
seeing the diminutive bonnet of Lady Davy, the Parisians felt
little less surprise than did the inhabitants of Brobdignag
on beholding the hat of Gulliver; and a crowd of persons soon
assembled around the unknown exotic; in consequence of which, one
of the inspectors of the garden immediately presented himself, and
informed her Ladyship that no cause of '_rassemblement_' could be
suffered, and therefore requested her to retire. Some officers of
the Imperial Guard, to whom she appealed, replied, that, however
much they might regret the circumstance, they were unable to afford
her any redress, as the order was peremptory. She then requested
that they would conduct her to her carriage; an officer immediately
offered his arm, but the crowd had by this time so greatly
increased, that it became necessary to send for a corporal's guard;
and the party quitted the garden, surrounded by fixed bayonets.
November 3rd, Humboldt and Gay-Lussac paid their first visit of
compliment to Davy.
5th.--M. Ampère, who came to Paris expressly for the occasion,
was introduced to Davy by Mr. Underwood, and the two philosophers
appeared equally delighted with each other. Some years afterwards,
however, this feeling of friendly regard, on the part of Davy, was
turned into one of bitter aversion, in consequence, as it has been
supposed, of certain perfidious insinuations, by which some of the
_savans_, instigated by feelings of jealousy, had contrived to
prejudice his mind; and which even led him to exert all his efforts
to oppose the election of Ampère as a foreign member of the Royal
Society.
After Ampère's visit, Mr. Underwood accompanied Sir H. and his
lady to the Imperial Library in the Rue Richelieu, and afterwards
to the Cathedral of Notre Dame, where they inspected the crown
and imperial regalia. The splendour of the coronation mantle
of Napoleon may be imagined, when it is stated that its weight
exceeded eighty pounds, and that it was lined with the skins of six
thousand ermines.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account