261 The French Philosophers at Arcueil. Second, I think, only to this, for impressiveness of novelty, was the Gallery of the Louvre, I do not doubt but that he felt there was, in the masterpieces of art which he saw there, a new world of interest and wonder on which he would gladly have had the opportunity of longer meditating." Mr Dockray also furnished the following narrative of Dalton's meeting with the philosophers at Arcueil :— "At four in the afternoon, by a coach, with Dalton to Arcueil, Laplace's country seat, to dine. On alighting, we were conducted through a suite of rooms, where, in succession, dinner, dessert, and coffee tables were set out; and onwards through a large hall, upon a terrace, commanding an extent of gardens and pleasure-grounds. It is in these grounds that are still remaining the principal Roman works near Paris, the vestiges of Julian's residence as Governor of Gaul. Avenues, parterres, and lawns, terraces, and broad gravel-walks, in long vistas of distance, are bounded by woods and by higher grounds. As yet we had seen no one, when part of the company came in view at a distance-a gentleman of advanced years and two young men. Was it possible not to think of the groves of the Academy and the borders of the Ilyssus? We approached this group, when the elderly gentleman took off his hat, and advanced to give his hand to Dalton. It was Berthollet. The two younger were Laplace's son and the astronomer-royal, Arago. Climbing some steps upon a long avenue, we saw, at a distance, Laplace walking uncovered, with Madame Biot on his arm; and Biot, Fourier, and Courtois, father of the Marchioness Laplace. At the front of the house this lady and her grand-daughter met us. X At dinner, Dalton on the right hand of Madame Laplace, and Berthollet on her left, &c. Conversation on the zodiac of Denderah and Egypt (Berthollet and Fourier having been in Egypt with Napoleon), the different eras of Egyptian sculpture, the fact that so little at Rome-of public buildings-is earlier than Augustus, &c. After dinner, again abroad in the beautiful grounds, and along the reservoir and aqueduct of Julian. These ancient works, after falling very much into decay, were restored by Mary de Medicis. Dalton walking with Laplace on one side and Berthollet on the other, I shall never forget." "The enjoyment and advantage of his stay in Paris," says Dr Henry, "were greatly enhanced by the friendly attentions of Dr Milne-Edwards, who kindly acted as interpreter between him and those of the French savans who did not speak English. Dalton was always accustomed to mention Dr MilneEdwards in terms of grateful regard, and appears to have maintained some intercourse with him by correspondence." It is said that Mademoiselle Clémentine Cuvier, the only child of the famous Baron George Cuvier, was his chaperone to many public places in Paris; and that Dalton regarded her as the most attractive and amiable young creature he had ever seen, and whose early death he sensibly lamented. He never spoke of her without betraying some emotion. One day he said to a friend, "Ah! she was a bonny lass; she treated me like a daughter." In 1822 some of Dalton's friends proposed him as a candidate for the Fellowship of the Royal Society; he was elected, and paid the usual fees. Nineteen. The Royal Society and Prize of 50 Guineas. 263 years previous to his admission to the Royal Society he had been deemed worthy of lecturing to the select audiences of the Royal Institution, London; and for six years he had enjoyed the honour of being corresponding member of the French Academy of Sciences. Moreover, long before this tardy recognition of his own countrymen, he had received the sincere homage of the most distinguished savans in Europe, many of whom had visited or corresponded with him: and his works had claimed the attention and warm approval of the best reviewers of the Continent, and, in short, wherever science was taught and understood. In the year 1825 King George IV. founded two annual prizes of fifty guineas, to be at the disposal of the Royal Society. Sir H. Davy, in his anniversary discourse of 1826, made known the award of the first prize to Mr John Dalton, "for the development of the chemical theory of definite proportions, usually called the Atomic Theory, and for his various other labours and discoveries in physical and chemical science." To Mr Dalton belongs the distinction of first unequivocally calling the attention of philosophers to this important subject. Finding that in certain compounds of gaseous bodies the same elements always combined in the same proportions; and that when there was more than one combination the quantity of the elements always had a constant relation, such as 1 to 2 or I to 3, or to 4, he explained this fact on the Newtonian doctrine of indivisible atoms, and contended that the relative weight of one atom to that of any other atom being known, its proportions or weight in all its combinations might be ascertained; thus making the statics of chemistry depend upon simple questions in subtraction or multiplication, and enabling the student to deduce an immense number of facts from a few well-authenticated, accurate experimental results. Mr Dalton's permanent reputation will rest upon his having discovered a simple prin ciple universally applicable to the facts of chemistry, in fixing the proportions in which bodies combine, and thus laying the foundation for future labours respecting the sublime and transcendental parts of the science of corpuscular motion. His merits in this respect resemble those of Kepler in astronomy. . . . Mr Dalton has been labouring for more than a quarter of a century with the most disinterested views. With the greatest modesty and simplicity of character he has remained in the obscurity of the country, neither asking for approbation, nor offering himself as an object of applause. He is but lately become a fellow of this Society, and the only communication he has given to you is one, compared with his other works, of comparatively small interest; the feeling of the Council on the subject is therefore pure. I am sure he will be gratified by this mark of your approbation of his long and painful labours. It will give a lustre to his character, which it fully deserves; it will anticipate that opinion which posterity must form of his discoveries; and it may make his example more exciting to others in their search after useful knowledge and true glory. DR DALTON'S HOLIDAYS-MEMBER OF THE FRENCH INSTITUTED.C.L-HIS CLAIMS TO A PENSION-OPINIONS OF DRS HENRY AND SEDGWICK ON THE SUBJECT-COURT PRESENTATIONREFUSES KNIGHTHOOD ILLNESS-VISITS TO EAGLESFIELDDEATH AND FUNERAL OF DALTON. W holidays ITH the exception of his weekly half-holiday at the bowling-green, Dalton kept all his terms of service most faithfully, and seldom moved out of town till the summer these he almost invariably spent amid the lakes and mountains of Cumberland and Westmoreland. No change could well be greater than passing from the din and smoke of Manchester to the sylvan banks of Windermere, and the pineclad slopes of northern England. The air was pure, transparent, and bracing, and his ascent of the highest mountains, by bringing every muscle into operation, naturally called for a larger amount of oxygenation to his system. It was a joyous time to Dalton, who no sooner touched his native heather than he seemed to throw off the incubus of age, and all the depressing influences of urban life. He began |