Gerard Moll to Faraday   15 November 1833

Utrecht 15 November 1833

My dear Sir!

Your kind letter of 9th September last gave me infinite pleasure. I am very happy indeed, that one standing so high as yourself in scientific reputation, has still the goodness to remember me. I certainly had some idea of visiting England at the time of the Cambridge meeting¹, but other affairs prevented my executing so pleasing a scheme. Since however I wanted to turn to some advantage the time I had to dispose of, I made an excursion to Germany and visited the celebrated University of Göttingen. If I had not been thoroughly persuaded of the truth of what I stated in my pamphlet against the declinarians², I could have acquired here the fullest conviction of the correctness of my opinions. No one doubts but that Gauss is a man of Genius, perhaps the first mathematician living, still he is not a good lecturer, and so far useless, and his observatory as well as that of Harding³ looks much as if little use was made of it. Stromeyer⁴ has certainly a neat laboratory, but nothing like what may be seen in twenty places in England, besides that in my opinion there is a great want of apparatus. In the department of natural philosophy, mechanics, natural history &c the apparatus belonging to the university is next to nothing, and if I am not mistaken the lectures of old Blumenbach would scarcely draw an audience to the lecture room of a mechanics Institution. Their library however, it must be said, is excellent, and challenges, as far as usefulness is concerned, any other in existence. Gauss has got up a very pretty apparatus, a sort of magnetic telegraph. Two bar magnets of a pound weight, are suspended in different places in a distance of abt 1 1/2 miles (english), each has wires coiled round but not touching them, these wires communicate, through the open air over roofs and steeples and the action of a couple of galvanic plates in one place gives motion to the magnet placed at the distance of 1 1/2 miles. The thing at any rate is very curious⁵.

I have read with the greatest pleasure your new series of experiments⁶. They are sure to carry your name down to posterity as long as there will be anything existing like science. I do not know how the declinarians are to dispose of you, unless they want to hold you up as an exception confirming the general rule.

There is at present here a person of the name of Dr Keil, who boasts much in general, but in particular of your acquaintance, and that of Dr Barlow. He talks of magnets carrying 400 and 200 lbs and certainly he has some horse shoe magnets of great but not of such enormous force. Many people here imagine him to be a phoenix, for my part I take him to be a arrant knave, and an impudent quack. However, as I know not much of him, I may be mistaken. I am indeed induced to believe that he intends to cheat our government, out of some of their, or rather of the public money, and as we cannot well afford, at present, to incur any useless expenses, I should like to prevent his design. You will confer therefore a great Obligation on me, if you will favour me, as soon as possible, with an account of this persons proceedings in England, and what is your opinion on his scientific merits. He must have had some dispute with Mr Christie, concerning some experiments which he exhibited at the Royal Society⁷. He also professes himself to be a great friend of Mr Barlow; in one word he tells so much, that the capacity of my belief is even too small for one half of it. If your occupations should not allow you to write me on this subject next post, I will direct Mr Braaksma⁸ to call upon you to receive such verbal information, as you may think proper.

A good while ago, I sent to Sir David Brewster, an account of some electro and thermoelectric experiments, which appeared not altogether uninteresting. I never since heard of the knight, nor did he publish the exp<<eriments.>> I think he owes me a grudge, for abusing me in his Journal, on account <<of>> the declinarian question⁹. Perhaps this is the first time that a man has been abused for telling people that they are not so bad, as they fancy themselves to be.

I request my best compliments to your Lady, and believe me ever | Yours | Moll

Pray do favour me with copies of your publications[.]

Address: Dr Faraday | &c &c &c | Royal Institution | Albemarle Street | London