10

THE LIFE OF

than a month. Amongst those who were loudestin his praises, was M. Ampere , who had for severalyears frequently expressed his opinion that Davywas the greatest chemist that had ever appeared.Whether this flattering circumstance had been com-municated to the English philosopher I have nomeans of ascertaining ; but Mr. Underwood informsme that the very first wish that Davy expressedwas to be introduced to this gentleman, whom heconsidered as the only chemist in Paris who hadduly appreciated the value of his discoveries ; anopinion which he afterwards took no care to con-ceal, and which occasioned amongst the savans muchsurprise, and some dissatisfaction. M. Ampere , atthe time of Davy’s arrival, was spending the sum-mer at a place a few miles from Paris , in conse-quence of which the introduction so much desiredwas necessarily delayed.

On the 30th he was conducted by Mr. Under-wood to the Louvre. The English philosopherwalked with a rapid step along the gallery, and,to the great astonishment and mortification of hisfriend and cicerone, did not direct his attention toa single painting; the only exclamation of surprisethat escaped him was — “ What an extraordinarycollection of fine frames !”—On arriving opposite toRaphael ’s picture of the Transfiguration, Mr. Under-wood could no longer suppress his surprise, and ina tone of enthusiasm he directed the attention ofthe philosopher to that most sublime production ofart, and the chef d’oeuvre of the collection. Davy’sreply was as laconic as it was chilling—“ Indeed, Iam glad I have seen itand then hurried forward,