Ɛpsilon

Humphry Davy to Faraday   October 1818

To Mr Faraday

I received the note you were so good as to address to me at Venice & by a letter from Mr Hatchett I find that you have found the parallax of Mr Wests1 Sirius [sic] & that as I expected He is mistaken2. If when you write to me you will give the 3 pr cents & long annuities it will be enough[.].

I will thank you to put the inclosed letters into the post, except those for Messrs Morland3 & Messrs Drummond which perhaps you will be good enough to deliver.

Mr. Hatchetts letter contained praises of <<y>>ou which were very gratifying to me & pr[ay] believe me there is no one more interested in your success & welfare than your sincere well wisher & friend | H. Davy

I have nothing scientific to communicate but I hope from Rome & Naples to give you the results of some expts of a very different kind.

Address to me | Posta Restante | Roma


Address: Mr Faraday | Royal Institution | Albemarle Street | London

Postmark: 29 October 18184

1
Lorenz Chysanth von Vest (1776-1840, P2). Austrian chemist and botanist.
2
Vest (1818) had claimed that he had discovered an hitherto unknown metallic element. Faraday, Hatchett and Wollaston using samples sent by Davy established it to be a mixture of various metals. See Faraday (1819a, c).
3
Bankers of 56 Pall Mall. See Picture of London for 1818.
4
As this is an English postmark, the letter much have been brought to England and then posted to Faraday.

Bibliography

VEST, Lorenz Chrysanth von (1818): “Darstellung und Eigenschaften des Vestäium oder Vestium, eines neuentdeckten Metalls”, Gilb. Ann., 59: 387-411.

Please cite as “Faraday0091,” in Ɛpsilon: The Michael Faraday Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/faraday/letters/Faraday0091