Christian Friedrich Schoenbein to Faraday   20 September 1856

My dear Faraday,

Are you still alive or have you entirely forgotten your friend on the Rhine? It is indeed an age since I have seen a line from you¹ and I think it is time to break your long silence. To induce you to do so I send you this letter conjointly with a paper of mine, which I desire very much that you should acquaint yourself with its contents. It treats of a matter being, as I believe, full of interest i.e. of the connexion that, to my opinion, exists between allotropic and catalytic phenomena².

During our midsummer vacations I took a trip into the north of Germany, to me a “Terra incognita”, rambled about in Holstein, visited Hamburg and Berlin, saw many scientific and other friends, made new ones, paid my respects to the Senior of the European philosophers at Potsdam in the Royal Castle, had a very interesting and long conversation with that eminent old man³, touched a little the Thuringian Forest, mounted the Wartburg, where the great Reformer Luther⁴ fought against the Devil, passed a couple of agreeable days at Frankfurt, returned home highly satisfied with what I call my “North-pole expedition” and met my family in good health. Before I set out to my journey I had worked a good deal and have done so ever since my return, not quite for nothing I trust for I have succeeded in finding out a number of novel “phenomena of contact”⁵ which I hope will add if not much, at least something to our stock of knowledge regarding the Chemistry of Oxigen.

I have already drawn up a voluminous memoir, in which the results of my experiments are described and knowing that you take some interest in this kind of researches I am very sorry to be prevented (by the smallness of the space allowed to a letter) from entering into details about my late doings; but to give you at least a slight Idea of the nature of those researches let me tell you that they refer to what they call catalytic actions so far as these concern oxidation. One of the principal results obtained is the fact that in a number of cases two substances “toto coelo”⁶ differing from each other as to their chemical nature: Platinum and the red globules of the blood - produce the same effects i.e. determining oxidizing actions, which either would not take place at all or but very slowly without the presence of the substances named and some others⁷. I need not point out to you the probable importance of such a remarkable fact to physiology⁸.

Another fact not quite void of scientific interest is this, that in some instances I can show, as it were, steps which the oxidation of certain matters passes: first ozonisation of inactive oxigen, then a sort of loose combination of that ozonised oxigen with the oxidable substance and finally actual oxidation of the latter. I have reason to believe that on looking a little closer into that matter, we shall discover a great number of similar cases and it is not impossible that any oxidation is a sort of chemical drama, consisting of different acts, the last of which is real oxidation. Shakespeare says that there are many things, between heaven and earth which the philosophers do even not dream of⁹ and Schoenbein maintaining that between the moment on which two isolated elementary bodies meet and that of their chemical associating being finished there lies a whole world of phenomena and is very much of which the Chemists of the present day have as yet not the slightest notion. There is even within inorganic Chemistry something which I might call Physiology and the most interesting and truly scientific object of chemical research lies to my opinion within the short interval of time alluded to and hence the great difficulty of such an investigation.

Less interesting but pretty enough is a third fact which I must mention to you, namely that out of free ozonised oxigen and olefiant gas formic acid is readily and directly formed, a result easily accountable by the chemical equation C<4>H<4> + 8O = 2C<2>H<2>O<4>. But now enough of Chemistry and Oxigen.

If you should happen to have a friend in the country being blessed with girls and desirous to receive for a time in his family a grown up girl pretty well versed in the german, french and english litterature, being a tolerably good musician, carefully educated and of an excellent moral character, I know one, whom I should venture to recommend. I must however not omit to tell you that the girl in question is very far from wishing to become a paid governess, she desires to be considered as a friend and member of the family and make herself at the same time as useful as possible in the education of the children. That girl is my own eldest daughter¹⁰ who is very anxious to pass six or twelve months in an English family. I do not much relish those wishes of her’s for I love her too tenderly as readily to allow her going to a foreign country, but if it be possible to place her in a good family I shall not prevent her from crossing the Channel. Pray let me know, what you think about the plan of my adventurous, silly sweet girl.

Mr. Wiedemann charges me to present to you his best compliments, he is at this present moment actively engaged in magnetic researches, which seem to lead to interesting results¹¹.

My friend Mr. Merian and his wife were highly gratified with the friendly reception they met with at the Royal Institution and send the kindest remembrances to its amiable Master and Mistress.

In closing my letter I ask you the favor to remember me most friendly to Mrs. Faraday and tell her that Mr. Schoenbein had not yet entirely given up his hopes of seeing once more her Ladyship and her Lord on this side of the water.

Believe me my dear Faraday | Your’s | most truly | C.F. Schoenbein

Bâle Septbr. 20. 1856.

Pray be kind enough as to send the inclosed paper to Dr. Whewell as soon as you can.