"To attempt to reason upon any phenomena of this kind as dependent upon a specific fluid would be wholly vain. Little as we know of the nature of electrical action, we are still more ignorant of the nature of the functions of the nerves. There seems, however, a gleam of light worth pursuing in the peculiarities of animal electricity,--its connexion with so large a nervous system, its dependence upon the will of the animal, and the instantaneous nature of its transfer, which may lead, when pursued by adequate enquirers, to results important for physiology." He concludes this paper by expressing his fear that the weak state of his health will prevent him from following the subject with the attention it seems to deserve; and he therefore communicates these imperfect trials to the Royal Society, in the hope that they may lead to more extensive and profound researches. We come now to the consideration of the last production of his genius--"Consolations in Travel, or the Last Days of a Philosopher:" A work which, he informs us in the preface, was composed immediately after Salmonia, under the same unfavourable and painful circumstances, and at a period when his constitution suffered from new attacks. From this exercise of the mind, he tells us, that he derived some pleasure and some consolation, when most other sources of consolation and pleasure were closed to him; and he ventures to hope that those hours of sickness may be not altogether unprofitable to persons in perfect health. His brother, Dr. Davy, who edited the work after the decease of Sir Humphry, informs us that it was concluded at the very moment of the invasion of the author's last illness, and that, had his life been prolonged, it is probable some additions and some changes would have been made. "The characters of the persons of the dialogue," continues the Editor, "were intended to be ideal, at least in great part;--such they should be considered by the reader; and it is to be hoped, that the incidents introduced, as well as the persons, will be viewed only as subordinate and subservient to the sentiments and the doctrines. The dedication, it may be specially noticed, is the Author's own, and in the very words dictated by himself at a time when he had lost the power of writing, except with extreme difficulty, owing to the paralytic attack, although he retained in a very remarkable manner all his mental faculties unimpaired and unclouded." The words of the Dedication are "TO THOMAS POOLE, ESQ. of Nether Stowey; in remembrance of thirty years of continued and faithful friendship."