From Michael Faraday   14 février 1824

Whenever I open my writing book I am ashamed to see your last kind letter of Sept[embe]r last remaining there unanswered but at the same time I have always the excuse at hand of having nothing important to write to you about and having no right to disturb you except about things of importance. I have however at last passed over this argument and am determined to thank you without farther delay for your continual kindness and for the good offices which I am sure I am indebted to you for at theRoyal Academy of Sciences. The honor conferred on me by that body is so far beyond what I had any right to expect that I cannot return my thanks to it and my friends in it as I ought to do and have little more to do than accept it with gratitude & in silence.

I am now to beg for information from you which perhaps you will do me the kindness to send at any convenient opportunity. I am sorry to say there is no hurry for it on my part because of my incapacity. I wish to ask you whether in the event of my writing any more papers of a respectable kind it would not be a matter of propriety and duty in me to send one to the Royal Academy of Sciences as a token of gratitude for the mark of distinction they have bestowed upon me - whether it would be acceptable - and what would become of it - I beg you to understand I do not promise to do this because I am not sure I shall ever do any thing more worth describing and because also the next paper I may produce is claimed by the Royal Society but if I should be fortunate enough to have two papers more then I should like to do as I have hinted above provided it be proper.

I was a little startled the other day by one of the numbers of the Annales de Chimie. In the account it gives of the proceedings of the Academy of Sciences for Sept[embe]r 15th 1823. it mentioned that MM. Braconnot & Hachette were elected Corresponding Members in the Section of Chemistry ¹ and I was afraid I had been assuming those honors which belonged really to another and though M. Braconnot deserved them more than I did, I should have been sorry to have resigned such a prise. However the Official Letters sent to me by Baron Cuvier and also an announcement in the following Number of the Annales de Chimie of my letter of thanks to the Academy for the honor it had done me ² satisfied me that it had been a mistake of the press & that I had not done wrong in assuming the title.

I beg with this letter to introduce Dr. Symes to you. He is a friend's friend and is very anxious to know what you have done in France with the new vegetable alkalies. I have encouraged my friend to hope that you will introduce Dr. Symes to M. Barruel who I suppose has an immense store of practical information on the subject. Whenever you honor me with another letter, pray let me know how I may direct send or otherwise convey to you. I know not whether I shall ever have the pleasure of seeing you at Paris but I please myself with the expectation.

I have the Honor to be Dear Sir Your Very Obliged & faithful Servant M. Faraday