The instances in proof of the extent of the ignorance and indifference I have noted, and of their pernicious effects upon the most important interests of society, especially legislation, and the administration of justice, are abundant. In Parliament, how is a question of science treated? In our courts of law, and criminal investigation, it is lamentable to observe the frequent defeat of justice, arising from erroneous conception, or from the utter absence of the requisite knowledge. In the ordinary affairs of life, we see conspicuous, amongst the dupes of quackery and imposture, those whose stations should imply the best instruction, and whose conduct, unfortunately, has the effect of example. A contempt far-spreading, and proceeding from the well-springs of truth, is rapidly rising against this exalted ignorance; the industrious classes of society are daily becoming more imbued with knowledge upon scientific subjects, and the nobility, if they would preserve their superiority in social consideration, must descend to the popular improvement. * * * * * Before concluding the present chapter, I must carry back my history to the year 1815, for the purpose of recording a circumstance in the life of Davy, which, while it exemplifies his general love of science, evinces the local attachment he retained for the town of his birth. In the year 1813, the Geological Society of Cornwall was established at Penzance. Its objects are to cultivate the sciences of Mineralogy and Geology, in a district better calculated perhaps for such pursuits than any other spot in Europe,--to register the new facts which are continually presenting themselves in the mines, and to place upon permanent record, the history of phenomena which had hitherto been entrusted to oral tradition; but, above all, its object was to bring science in alliance with art; to prevent the accidents which had so frequently occurred from explosion in the operation of blasting rocks; and, in short, to render all the resources of speculative truth subservient to the ends of practical improvement. No sooner had the establishment of so useful an institution been communicated to Davy, than he testified his zeal for its welfare by a handsome donation to its funds; which was followed by a present of a very extensive suite of specimens, illustrative of the volcanic district of Naples, and which had been collected by himself. He also afterwards communicated to the Society a memoir on the Geology of Cornwall, which has been published in the first volume of its Transactions. In this paper, he discusses several of the more difficult questions connected with the origin of veins.