,,priestley             ,,in            
,,america         #agid-ahjd            
,,by      ,,edgar ,f4 ,,smith           
,,university ,,of ,,pennsylvania        
,,philadelphia  ,p4 ,,blakiston',s ,,son
  ,,co4     #ajab ,,walnut ,,street     
,,copyright1 #aibj1 ,,by ,p4            
,,blakiston',s ,,son  ,,co4             
,,the ,,maple ,,press ,,york ,,pa       
,,preface   ,the writer1 in studying the
 lives of early ,american chemists1     
encountered the name of ,joseph         
,priestley so frequently1 that he       
concluded to institute a search with the
 view of learning as much as possible of
 the life and activities1 during his    
exile in this country1 of the man whom  
chemists everywhere deeply revere4      
,recourse1 therefore1 was had to        
contemporary newspapers1 documents and  
books1 and the resulting material woven 
into the sketch given in the appended   
pages4 ,if nothing more1 it may be1     
perhaps1 a connecting chapter for any   
future history of chemistry in ,america4

 ,its preparation has been a genuine    
pleasure1 which1 it is hoped by him     
whose hand guided the pen1 will be      
shared by his fellow chemists1 and all  
who are interested in the growth and    
development of science in this country4 
,,priestley ,,in ,,america   ,there lies
 before the writer a tube of glass1     
eleven and one half inches in length and
 a quarter of an inch in diameter4 ,its 
walls are thin4 ,at one end there is    
evidence that an effort was made to bend
 this tube in the flame4 ,ordinarily it 
would be tossed aside2 but this         
particular tube was given the writer    
years ago by a great-grandson of ,joseph
 ,priestley4 ,attached to the tube is a 
bit of paper upon which appear the words
 piece of tubing used by ,priestley4    
,that legend has made the tube precious 
in the heart and to the eye of the      
writer4 ,everything relating to this    
wonderful figure in science1 history1   
religion1 politics and philosophy is    
very dear to him4 ,on all sides of him  

are relics and reminders of ,priestley4 
,not all1 but many of his publications  
are near at hand4 ,after perusal of     
these at various times1 and while       
reading the many life sketches of       
,priestley1 there has come the desire to
 know more about his activities during  
the decade 7#agid-ahjd7 he lived in     
,america4 ,isn't it fair to declare that
 the great majority of chemical students
 think of ,priestley as working only in 
,england1 his native land1 and never    
give thought to his efforts during the  
last ten years of his life8 ,it has been
 said that he probably inspired and     
incited the young chemists of this      
country to renewed endeavor in their    
science upon his advent here4 ,there is 
no question that he influenced ,james   
,woodhouse and his particular confreres 
most profoundly1 as he did a younger    
generation1 represented by ,robert      
,hare4 ,priestley again set in rapid    
motion chemical research in the young   
,republic4#a ,he must therefore have    

done something himself4 ,what was it8   
,is it worth while to learn the         
character of this work8 ,modern         
tendencies are antagonistic to the past4
 ,many persons care nothing for history4
 ,it is a closed book4 ,they do not wish
 it to be opened1 and yet the present is
 built upon the early work4 ,in         
reviewing the development of chemistry  
in this country everything1 from the    
first happening here1 should be laid    
upon the table for study and reflection4
 ,thus believing1 it will not be out of 
place to seek some light upon the       
occupation of the discoverer of oxygen  
after he came to live among us--with our
 fathers4  ,noble-hearted1 sympathetic  
,thomas ,e4 ,thorpe wrote3      ,if1    
too1 as you draw up to the fire 'betwixt
 the gloaming and the       mirk' of    
these dull1 cold ,november days1 and    
note the little blue       flame playing
 round the red-hot coals1 think kindly  
of ,priestley1       for he first told  
us of the nature of that flame when in  

the exile       to which our forefathers
 drove him4  ,right there1 the nature of
 the flame1 is one thing ,priestley did 
explain in ,america4 ,he discovered     
carbon monoxide--not in ,england1 but in
 exile4#b ,it may not be an epoch-making
 observation4 ,there are not many such  
and those who make them are not legion  
in number4 ,it was an interesting fact1 
with a very definite value1 which has   
persisted through many succeeding       
decades and is so matter-of-fact that   
rarely does one arise to ask who first  
discovered this simple oxide of carbon4 
,priestley was a man of strong human    
sympathies4 ,he loved to mingle with men
 and exchange thoughts4 ,furthermore1   
,priestley was a minister--a preacher4  
,he was ordained while at ,warrington1  
and gloried in the fact that he was a   
,dissenting ,minister4 ,it was not his  
devotion to science which sent him into 
exile4 ,his advanced thought along      
political and religious lines1 his      
unequivocal utterances on such          

subjects1--proved to be the rock upon   
which he shipwrecked4 ,it has been      
said--      ,by some strange irony of   
fate this man1 who was by nature one of 
the most peaceable and peace-loving of  
men1 singularly calm and                
dispassionate1 not prone to disputation 
or given to wrangling1       acquired   
the reputation of being perhaps the most
 cantankerous man       of his time4444 
,there is a wide-spread impression that 
,priestley was a chemist4 ,this is the  
answer which invariably comes from the  
lips of students upon being interrogated
 concerning him4 ,the truth is that     
,priestley's attention was only turned  
to chemistry when in the thirties by    
,matthew ,turner1 who lectured on this  
subject in the ,warrington ,academy in  
which ,priestley labored as a teacher4  
,so he was rather advanced in life      
before the science he enriched was      
revealed to him in the experimental way4
 ,let it again be declared1 he was a    
teacher4 ,his thoughts were mostly those

 of a teacher4 ,education occupied him4 
,he wrote upon it4 ,the old ,warrington 
,academy was a hot-bed of liberal       
dissent1 and there were few subjects    
upon which he did not publicly declare  
himself as a dissenter4  ,he learned to 
know our own delightful ,franklin in one
 of his visits to ,london4 ,franklin was
 then sixty years of age1 while         
,priestley was little more than half his
 age4 ,a warm friendship immediately    
sprang up4 ,it reacted powerfully upon  
,priestley's work as a political thinker
 and as a natural philosopher4 ,in      
short1 ,franklin made ,priestley into a 
man of science4 ,this intimacy between  
these remarkable men should not escape  
,american students4 ,recall that        
positively fascinating letter 7#aghh7   
from ,franklin to ,benjamin ,vaughan1 in
 which occur these words3      ,remember
 me affectionately 444 to the honest    
heretic ,dr4       ,priestley4 ,i do not
 call him honest by way of distinction1 
for ,i       think all the heretics ,i  

have known have been virtuous men4 ,they
       have the virtue of ,fortitude1 or
 they would not venture to own          
their heresy2 and they cannot afford to 
be deficient in any of the       other  
virtues1 as that would give advantage to
 their many       enemies4444 ,do not   
however mistake me4 ,it is not to my    
good       friend's heresy that ,i      
impute his honesty4 ,on the contrary    
'tis       his honesty that has brought 
upon him the character of heretic4      
,much of ,priestley's thought was given 
to religious matters4 ,in ,leeds he     
acknowledged himself a humanitarian1 or 
a believer in the doctrine that ,jesus  
,christ was in nature solely       and  
truly a man1 however highly exalted by  
,god4  ,his home in ,leeds adjoined a   
public brew house4 ,he there amused     
himself with experiments on carbon      
dioxide 7fixed air74 ,step by step he   
became strongly attracted to            
experimentation4 ,his means1 however1   
forbade the purchase of apparatus and he

 was obliged to devise the same and also
 to think out his own methods of attack4
 ,naturally1 his apparatus was simple4  
,he loved to repeat experiments1 thus   
insuring their accuracy4  ,in #aggb he  
published his first paper on ,pneumatic 
,chemistry4 ,it told of the impregnation
 of water with carbon dioxide4 ,it      
attracted attention and was translated  
into ,french4 ,this soda-water paper won
 for ,priestley the ,copley medal       
7#aggc74 ,while thus signally honored he
 continued publishing views on theology 
and metaphysics4 ,these made a          
considerable uproar4  ,then came the    
memorable year of #aggd--the birth-year 
of oxygen4 ,how many chemists1 with but 
two years in the science1 have been so  
fortunate as to discover an element1    
better still probably the most important
 of all the elements6 ,it was certainly 
a rare good fortune6 ,it couldn't help  
but make him the observed among         
observers4 ,this may have occasioned the
 hue and cry against his polemical      

essays on government and church to      
become more frequent and in some        
instances almost furious4  ,it was now  
that he repaired to ,london4 ,here he   
had daily intercourse with ,franklin1   
whose encouragement prompted him to go  
bravely forward in his adopted course4  
,it was in #aghj that he took up his    
residence in ,birmingham4 ,this was done
 at the instance of his brother-in-law4 
,the atmosphere was most congenial and  
friendly4 ,then1 he was most desirous of
 resuming his ministerial duties2       
further1 he would have near at hand good
 workmen to aid him in the preparation  
of apparatus for his philosophical      
pursuits4 ,best of all his friends were 
there1 including those devoted to       
science4 ,faujar ,st4 ,fond1 a ,french  
geologist has recorded a visit to       
,priestley--      ,dr4 ,priestley       
received me with the greatest           
kindness4444 ,the       building in     
which ,dr4 ,priestley made his chemical 
and       philosophical experiments was 

detached from his house to avoid the    
danger of fire4 ,it consisted of several
 apartments on the ground       floor4  
,upon entering it we were struck with a 
simple and ingenious       apparatus for
 making experiments on inflammable gas  
extracted from       iron and water     
reduced to vapour4  ,if1 only1 all the  
time of ,dr4 ,priestley in ,birmingham  
had been devoted to science1 but alas1  
his beloved theology claimed much of it4
 ,he would enter into controversy--he   
would dissent1 and the awful hour was   
advancing by leaps and bounds4 ,the     
storm was approaching4  ,it burst forth 
with fury in #agia4 ,the houses of      
worship1 in which he was wont to        
officiate1 were the first to meet       
destruction1 then followed his own house
 in which were assembled his literary   
treasures and the apparatus he had      
constructed and gathered with pains1    
sacrifice and extreme effort4 ,its      
demolition filled his very soul with    
deepest sorrow4 ,close at hand1 the     

writer has a neat little chemical       
balance4 ,it was brought to this country
 by ,priestley1 and tradition has it1   
that it was among the pieces of the     
celebrated collection of chemical       
utensils rescued from the hands of the  
infuriated mob which sought even the    
life of ,priestley1 who fortunately had 
been spirited or hidden away by loyal1  
devoted friends and admirers4 ,in time  
he ventured forth into the open and     
journeyed to ,london1 and when quiet was
 completely restored1 he returned to one
 of his early fields of activity1 but   
wisdom and the calm judgment of friends 
decided this as unwise4 ,through it all 
,priestley was quiet and philosophical1 
which is evident from the following     
story3      ,a friend called on him soon
 after the riots and condoled with him  
for his loss in general1 then mentioned 
the destruction of his       books as an
 object of particular regret4 ,priestley
 answered1 ,i       should have read my 
books to little purpose if they had not 

taught       me to bear the loss of them
 with composure and resignation4  ,but  
the iron had entered his soul4 ,he could
 not believe that in his own ,england   
any man would be treated as he had been 
treated4 ,his country was dear to him4  
,he prized it beyond expression1 but he 
could not hope for the peace his heart  
craved4 ,his family circle was broken1  
two of his sons having come to ,america1
 so in the end1 deeply concerned for his
 life-companion's comfort1 the decision 
to emigrate was reached1 and their faces
 were turned to the ,west4  ,in         
reviewing the history of chemistry the  
remark is frequently heard that one     
blotch on the fair escutcheon of ,french
 science was placed there when the      
remorseless guillotine ushered          
,lavoisier into eternity4 ,was not the  
,british escutcheon of science dimmed   
when ,priestley passed into exile8      
,priestley--who had wrought so          
splendidly6 ,and yet we should not be   
too severe1 for an illustrious          

name--,count ,rumford--which should have
 been ours--was lost to us by influences
 not wholly unlike those which gained us
 ,priestley4 ,benjamin ,thompson1 early 
in life abandoned a home and a country  
which his fellow citizens had made      
intolerable4  ,read ,priestley's volumes
 on ,air and on ,natural ,philosophy4   
,they are classics4 ,all conversant with
 their contents agree that the          
experimental work was marvelous4        
,priestley's discovery of oxygen was    
epoch-making1 but does not represent all
 that he did4 ,twice he just escaped the
 discovery of nitrogen4 ,one wonders how
 this occurred4 ,he had it in hand4 ,the
 other numerous observations made by him
 antedate his ,american life and need   
not be mentioned here4 ,they alone would
 have given him a permanent and         
honorable rank in the history of        
chemistry4 ,students of the science     
should reserve judgment of ,priestley   
until they have familiarized themselves 
with all his contributions1 still       

accessible in early periodicals4 ,when  
that has been done1 the loss to ,english
 science1 by ,priestley's departure to  
another clime will be apparent4  ,his   
dearest friends would have held him with
 them4 ,not every man's hand was against
 him--on the contrary1 numerous were    
those1 even among the opponents of his  
political and theological utterances1   
who hoped that he would not desert them4
 ,they regretted that he had--          
turned his attention too much from the  
luminous field of       philosophic     
disquisition to the sterile regions of  
polemic       divinity1 and the still   
more thorny paths of polemic            
politics4444  from which the hope was   
cherished that he would recede and      
devote all his might to philosophical   
pursuits4      ,a very considerable     
number 444 of enlightened inhabitants1  
convinced of his integrity as a man1    
sincerity as a preacher1 and            
superlative merit as a philosopher1 were
 his strenuous advocates       and      

admirers4  ,but the die had been cast1  
and to ,america he sailed on ,april #h1 
#agid1 in the good ship ,sansom1 ,capt4 
,smith1 with a hundred others--his      
fellow passengers4 ,whilst on the seas  
his great protagonist ,lavoisier met his
 death on the scaffold4      ,such was  
the treatment bestowed upon the best of 
their citizens by       two nations     
which considered themselves as without  
exception the       most civilized and  
enlightened in the world6  ,it is quite 
natural to query how the grand old      
scientist busied himself on this voyage 
of eight weeks and a day4 ,the answer is
 found in his own words3      ,i read   
the whole of the ,greek ,testament1 and 
the ,hebrew bible as       far as the   
first ,book of ,samuel3 also ,ovid's    
,metamorphoses1       ,buchanan's poems1
 ,erasmus' ,dialogues1 also ,peter      
,pindar's poems1       c4444 and to     
amuse myself ,i tried the heat of the   
water at       different depths1 and    
made other observations1 which suggest  

various experiments1 which ,i shall     
prosecute whenever ,i get my            
apparatus at liberty4  ,the ,doctor was 
quite sea-sick1 and at times sad1 but   
uplifted when his eyes beheld the proofs
 of friendship among those he was       
leaving behind4 ,thus he must have      
smiled benignantly on beholding the     
elegant ,silver ,inkstand1 with the     
following inscription1 presented        
444 by three young ,gentlemen of the    
,university of ,cambridge3          ,to 
,joseph ,priestley1 ,,ll4,d4 c4 on his  
departure into ,exile1           from a 
few members of the ,university of       
,cambridge1 who regret           that   
expression of their ,esteem should be   
occasioned by the           ingratitude 
of their ,country4  ,and1 surely1 he    
must have taken renewed courage on      
perusing the valedictory message        
received from the ,society of ,united   
,irishmen of ,dublin3    ,sir1          
,,suffer a ,society which has been      
caluminated as devoid of all sense      

of religion1 law or morality1 to        
sympathize with one whom calumny        
of a similar kind is about to drive from
 his native land1 a land       which he 
has adorned and enlightened in almost   
every branch of       liberal           
literature1 and of useful philosophy4   
,the emigration of       ,dr4 ,priestley
 will form a striking historical fact1  
by which       alone1 future ages will  
learn to estimate truly the temper of   
the       present time4 ,your departure 
will not only give evidence of the      
injury which philosophy and literature  
have received in your       person1 but 
will prove the accumulation of petty    
disquietudes1       which has robbed    
your life of its zest and enjoyment1    
for1 at your       age no one would     
willingly embark on such a voyage1 and  
sure we       are1 it was your wish and 
prayer to be buried in your native      
country1 which contains the dust of your
 old friends ,saville1       ,price1    
,jebb1 and ,fothergill4 ,but be         

cheerful1 dear ,sir1 you are       going
 to a happier world--the world of       
,washington and ,franklin4      ,in     
idea1 we accompany you4 ,we stand near  
you while you are setting       sail4   
,we watch your eyes that linger on the  
white cliffs and we       hear the      
patriarchal blessing which your soul    
pours out on the       land of your     
nativity1 the aspiration that ascends to
 ,god for its       peace1 its freedom  
and its prosperity4 ,again1 do we       
participate in       your feelings on   
first beholding ,nature in her noblest  
scenes and       grandest features1 on  
finding man busied in rendering himself 
worthy of ,nature1 but more than all1 on
 contemplating with       philosophic   
prescience the coming period when those 
vast inland       seas shall be shadowed
 with sails1 when the ,st4 ,lawrence and
       ,mississippi1 shall stretch forth
 their arms to embrace the              
continent in a great circle of interior 
navigation3 when the       ,pacific     

,ocean shall pour into the ,atlantic2   
when man will become       more precious
 than fine gold1 and when his ambition  
will be to       subdue the elements1   
not to subjugate his fellow-creatures1  
to       make fire1 water1 earth and air
 obey his bidding1 but to leave the     
poor ethereal mind as the sole thing in 
,nature free and       incoercible4     
,happy indeed would it be were men in   
power to recollect this       quality of
 the human mind4 ,suffer us to give them
 an example from       a science of     
which you are a mighty master1 that     
attempts to fix       the element of    
mind only increase its activity1 and    
that to       calculate what may be from
 what has been is a very dangerous      
deceit4--,were all the saltpetre in     
,india monopolized1 this would          
only make chemical researches more      
ardent and successful4 ,the       chalky
 earths would be searched for it1 and   
nitre beds would be       made in every 
cellar and every stable4 ,did not that  

prove       sufficient the genius of    
chemistry would find in a new salt a    
substitute for nitre or a power superior
 to it4#c ,it requires       greater    
genius than ,mr4 ,pitt seems to possess1
 to know the       wonderful resources  
of the mind1 when patriotism animates   
philosophy1 and all the arts and        
sciences are put under a state of       
requisition1 when the attention of a    
whole scientific people is       bent to
 multiplying the means and instruments  
of destruction and       when philosophy
 rises in a mass to drive on the wedge  
of war4 ,a       black powder has       
changed the military art1 and in a great
 degree       the manners of mankind4   
,why may not the same science which     
produced it1 produce another powder     
which1 inflamed under a       certain   
compression1 might impell the air1 so as
 to shake down the       strongest      
towers and scatter destruction4         
,but you are going to a country where   
science is turned to better       uses4 

,your change of place will give room for
 the matchless       activity of your   
genius2 and you will take a sublime     
pleasure in       bestowing on ,britain 
the benefit of your future discoveries4 
,as       matter changes its form but   
not a particle is ever lost1 so the     
principles of virtuous minds are equally
 imperishable2 and your       change of 
situation may even render truth more    
operative1       knowledge more         
productive1 and in the event1 liberty   
itself more       universal4 ,wafted by 
the winds or tossed by the waves1 the   
seed       that is here thrown out as   
dead1 there shoots up and flourishes4   
,it is probable that emigration to      
,america from the first       settlement
 downward1 has not only served the cause
 of general       liberty1 but will     
eventually and circuitously serve it    
even in       ,britain4 ,what mighty    
events have arisen from that germ which 
might       once have been supposed to  
be lost forever in the woods of         

,america1 but thrown upon the bosom of  
,nature1 the breath of ,god             
revived it1 and the world hath gathered 
its fruits4 ,even ,ireland       has    
contributed her share to the liberties  
of ,america2 and while       purblind   
statesmen were happy to get rid of the  
stubborn       ,presbyterians of the    
,north1 they little thought that they   
were       serving a good cause in      
another quarter4--,yes6 the ,volunteers 
of       ,ireland still live--they live 
across the ,atlantic4 ,let this idea    
animate us in our sufferings1 and may   
the pure principles and       genuine   
lustre of the ,british ,constitution    
reflected from their       ,coast1      
penetrate into ourselves and our        
dungeons4      ,farewell--great and good
 man6 ,great by your mental powers1 by  
your       multiplied literary labours1 
but still greater by those household    
virtues which form the only solid       
security for public conduct by          
those mild and gentle qualities1 which  

far from being averse to1       are most
 frequently attended with severe and    
inflexible       patriotism1 rising like
 an oak above a modest                  
mansion4--,farewell--but before you go1 
we beseech a portion of       your      
parting prayer to the author of ,good   
for ,archibald ,hamilton       ,rowan1  
the pupil of ,jebb1 our ,brother1 now   
suffering imprisonment1       and for   
all those who have suffered1 and are    
about to suffer in       the same       
cause--the cause of impartial and       
adequate       representation--the cause
 of the ,constitution4 ,pray to the best
 of       ,beings for ,muir1 ,palmer1   
,skirving1 ,margarott and ,gerald1 who  
are       now1 or will shortly be       
crossing1 like you1 the bleak ,ocean1 to
 a       barbarous land6--,pray that    
they may be animated with the same      
spirit1 which in the days of their      
fathers1 triumphed at the       stake1  
and shone in the midst of flames4       
,melancholy indeed1 it is       that the

 mildest and most humane of all         
,religions should have been       so    
perverted as to hang or burn men in     
order to keep them of one       faith4  
,it is equally melancholy1 that the most
 deservedly extolled of       ,civil    
,constitutions1 should recur to similar 
modes of coercion1       and that       
hanging and burning are not now         
employed1 principally1       because    
measures apparently milder are          
considered as more       effectual4     
,farewell6 ,soon may you embrace your   
sons on the       ,american shore1 and  
,washington take you by the hand1 and   
the shade       of ,franklin look down  
with calm delight on the first statesman
 of       the age extending his         
protection to its first philosopher4    
,and how interestedly did ,america      
anticipate the arrival of the world     
renowned philosopher is in a measure    
foreshadowed by the following excerpt   
from the ,american ,daily ,advertiser   
for ,thursday1 ,june #e1 #agid3         

,dr4 ,priestley1 with about one hundred 
other passengers1 are on       board the
 ,sansom1 which may be hourly expected4 
,in an editorial of the same paper1     
printed about the same date1 there      
appeared the following tribute3      ,it
 must afford the most sincere           
gratification to every well wisher      
to the rights of man1 that the ,united  
,states of ,america1 the land       of  
freedom and independence1 has become the
 asylum of the greatest       characters
 of the present age1 who have been      
persecuted in ,europe1       merely     
because they have defended the rights of
 the enslaved       nations4      ,the  
name of ,joseph ,priestley will be long 
remembered among all       enlightened  
people2 and there is no doubt that      
,england will one       day regret her  
ungrateful treatment to this venerable  
and       illustrious man4 ,his         
persecutions in ,england have presented 
to       him the ,american ,republic as 
a safe and honourable retreat in his    

declining years2 and his arrival in this
 ,city calls upon us to       testify   
our respect and esteem for a man whose  
whole life has been       devoted to the
 sacred duty of diffusing knowledge and 
happiness       among nations4      ,the
 citizens of united ,america know well  
the honourable       distinction that is
 due to virtue and talents2 and while   
they       cherish in their hearts the  
memory of ,dr4 ,franklin1 as a          
philosopher1 they will be proud to rank 
among the list of their                 
illustrious fellow citizens1 the name of
 ,dr4 ,priestley4  ,quietly but with    
great inward rejoicing were the         
travel-worn voyagers--the ,doctor and   
his wife--received on the evening of    
,june #d1 #agid1 at the old ,battery in 
,new ,york1 by their son ,joseph and his
 wife1 who had long awaited them1 and   
now conducted them to a nearby lodging  
house1 which had been the head-quarters 
of ,generals ,howe and ,clinton4  ,on   
the following morning the ,priestleys   

were visited by ,governor ,clinton1 ,dr4
 ,prevost1 ,bishop of ,new ,york and    
most of the principal merchants1 and    
deputations of corporate bodies and     
,societies1 bringing addresses of       
welcome4 ,thus1 among the very first to 
present their sympathetic welcome was   
the ,democratic ,society of the ,city of
 ,new ,york1 which in the address of its
 ,president1 ,mr4 ,james ,nicholson1    
made ,june #g1 #agid1 said3    ,sir1    
,,we are appointed by the ,democratic   
,society of the ,city of ,new           
,york1 a ,committee to congratulate you 
on your arrival in this       country3  
,and we feel the most lively pleasure in
 bidding you a       hearty welcome to  
these shores of ,liberty and ,equality4 
,while the arm of ,tyranny is extended  
in most of the nations of the           
world1 to crush the spirit of liberty1  
and bind in chains the       bodies and 
minds of men1 we acknowledge1 with      
ardent gratitude to       the ,great    
,parent of the ,universe1 our singular  

felicity in living       in a land1     
where ,reason has successfully triumphed
 over the       artificial distinctions 
of ,european policy and bigotry1 and    
where       the law equally protects the
 virtuous citizen of every description  
and persuasion4      ,on this occasion  
we cannot but observe1 that we once     
esteemed       ourselves happy in the   
relation that subsisted between us and  
the       ,government of ,great         
,britain--,but the multiplied           
oppressions which       characterized   
that ,government1 excite in us the most 
painful       sensations1 and exhibit a 
spectacle as disgusting in itself1 as   
dishonourable to the ,british name4     
,the governments of the old world       
present to us one huge mass of          
intrigue1 corruption and despotism--most
 of them are now basely       combined1 
to prevent the establishment of liberty 
in ,france1 and       to affect the     
total destruction of the rights of man4 
,under these       afflicting           

circumstances we rejoice that ,america  
opens her arms to       receive1 with   
fraternal affection1 the friend of      
liberty and human       happiness1 and  
that here he may enjoy the best         
blessings of       civilized society4   
,we sincerely sympathize with you in all
 that you have suffered1       and we   
consider the persecution with which you 
have been pursued       by a venal      
,court and an imperious and uncharitable
 priesthood1 as       an illustrious    
proof of your personal merit1 and a     
lasting       reproach to that          
,government from the grasp of whose     
tyranny you       are so happily        
removed4      ,accept1 ,sir1 of the     
sincere and best wishes of the ,society 
whom we       represent1 for the        
continuance of your health1 and the     
increase of       your individual and   
domestic happiness4  ,to which          
,priestley graciously replied3          
,gentlemen1      ,,viewing with the     
deepest concern1 as you do1 the prospect

 that is       now exhibited in ,europe1
 those troubles which are the natural   
offspring of their forms of government  
originating1 indeed1 in the       spirit
 of liberty1 but gradually degenerating 
in tyrannies1       equally degrading to
 the rulers and the ruled1 ,i rejoice in
       finding an asylum from           
persecution in a country in which these 
abuses have come to a natural           
termination1 and have produced          
another system of liberty founded on    
such wise principles1 as1 ,i            
trust1 will guard it against all future 
abuses2 those artificial                
distinctions in society1 from which they
 sprung1 being completely               
eradicated1 that protection from        
violence which laws and       government
 promise in all countries1 but which ,i 
have not found in       my own1 ,i doubt
 not ,i shall find with you1 though1 ,i 
cannot       promise to be a better     
subject of this government1 than my     
whole       conduct will evince that ,i 

have been to that of great ,britain4    
,justly1 however1 as ,i think ,i may    
complain of the treatment ,i have       
met with in ,england ,i sincerely wish  
her prosperity1 and1 from the       good
 will ,i bear both that country and this
 ,i ardently wish that       all former 
animosities may be forgotten and that a 
perpetual       friendship may subsist  
between them4  ,and on ,monday1 ,june1  
#aa1 #agid1 having taken the first      
opportunity to visit ,priestley1 the    
,tammany ,society presented this        
address3    ,sir1      ,a numerous body 
of freemen who associate to cultivate   
among them       the love of liberty and
 the enjoyment of the happy ,republican 
government under which they live and who
 for several years have       been known
 in this city1 by the name of the       
,tammany ,society have       deputed us 
a ,committee to express to you their    
pleasure and       congratulations on   
your safe arrival in this country4      
,their venerable ancestors escaped1 as  

you have done1 from       persecutions  
of intolerance1 bigotry and despotism1  
and they       would deem themselves1 an
 unworthy progeny were they not highly  
interested in your safety and happiness4
      ,it is not alone because your     
various useful publications evince a    
life devoted to literature and the      
industrious pursuit of       knowledge2 
not only because your numerous          
discoveries in ,nature       are so     
efficient to the progression of human   
happiness3 but they       have long     
known you to be the friend of mankind   
and in defiance of       calumny and    
malice1 an asserter of the rights of    
conscience and       the champion of    
civil and religious liberty4      ,they 
have learned with regret and indignation
 the abandoned       proceedings of     
those spoilers who destroyed your house 
and goods1       ruined your            
philosophical apparatus and library1    
committed to the       flames your      
manuscripts1 pryed into the secrets of  

your private       papers1 and in their 
barbarian fury put your life itself in  
danger4 ,they heard you also with       
exalted benevolence return unto         
them blessings for curses3 and while you
 thus exemplified the       undaunted   
integrity of the patriot1 the mild and  
forbearing       virtues of the         
,christian1 they hailed you victor in   
this       magnanimous triumph over your
 enemies4      ,you have fled from the  
rude arm of violence1 from the flames of
       bigotry1 from the rod of lawless 
power3 and you shall find       refuge  
in the bosom of freedom1 of peace1 and  
of ,americans4      ,you have left your 
native land1 a country doubtless ever   
dear to       you--a country for whose  
improvement in virtue and knowledge you 
have long disinterestedly laboured1 for 
which its rewards are       ingratitude1
 injustice and banishment4 ,a country   
although now       presenting a prospect
 frightful to the eyes of humanity1 yet 
once       the nurse of science1 of     

arts1 of heroes1 and of freeman--a      
country which although at present       
apparently self devoted to              
destruction1 we fondly hope may yet     
tread back the steps of infamy       and
 ruin1 and once more rise conspicuous   
among the free nations of       the     
earth4 ,in this advanced period of your 
life1 when nature       demands the     
sweets of tranquility1 you have been    
constrained to       encounter the      
tempestous deep1 to risk disappointed   
prospects in a       foreign land1 to   
give up the satisfaction of domestic    
quiet1 to       tear yourself from the  
friends of your youth1 from a numerous  
acquaintance who revere and love you1   
and will long deplore your       loss4  
,we enter1 ,sir1 with emotion and       
sympathy into the numerous              
sacrifices you must have made1 to an    
undertaking which so       eminently    
exhibits our country as an asylum for   
the persecuted and       oppressed1 and 
into those regretful sensibilities your 

heart       experienced when the shores 
of your native land were lessening to   
your view4      ,alive to the           
impressions of this occasion we give you
 a warm and       hearty welcome into   
these ,united ,states4 ,we trust a      
country worthy       of you2 where      
,providence has unfolded a scene as new 
as it is       august1 as felicitating  
as it is unexampled4 ,the enjoyment of  
liberty with but one disgraceful        
exception1 pervades every class       of
 citizens4 ,a catholic and sincere      
spirit of toleration regulates          
society which rises into zeal when the  
sacred rights of humanity       are     
invaded4 ,and there exists a sentiment  
of free and candid       inquiry which  
disdains shackles of tradition1         
promising a rich       harvest of       
improvement and the glorious triumphs of
 truth4 ,we       hope1 ,sir1 that the  
,great ,being whose laws and works you  
have       made the study of your life1 
will smile upon and bless               

you--restore you to every domestic and  
philosophical enjoyment1       prosper  
you in every undertaking1 beneficial to 
mankind1 render       you1 as you have  
been to your own1 the ornament of this  
country1       and crown you at last    
with immortal felicity and honour4  ,and
 to this the venerable scientist was    
pleased to say3    ,gentlemen1      ,i  
think myself greatly honoured1 flying as
 ,i do1 from ill       treatment in my  
native country1 on account of my        
attachment to the       cause of civil  
and religious liberty1 to be received   
with the       congratulations of a     
,society of ,freemen associated to      
cultivate       the love of liberty1 and
 the enjoyment of a happy ,republican   
government4 ,happy would our venerable  
ancestors1 as you justly       call     
them1 have been1 to have found ,america 
such a retreat for       them as it is  
to me1 when they were driven hither2 but
 happy has       it proved to me1 and   
happy will it be for the world1 that in 

the       wise and benevolent order of  
,providence1 abuses of power are ever   
destructive of itself1 and favourable to
 liberty4 ,their strenuous              
exertions and yours now give me that    
asylum which at my time of       life is
 peculiarly grateful to me1 who only    
wish to continue       unmolested those 
pursuits of various literature to which1
 without       having ever entered into 
any political connexions my life has    
been       devoted4      ,i join you in 
viewing with regret the unfavourable    
prospect of       ,great ,britain       
formerly1 as you say1 the nurse of      
science1 and of       freemen1 and wish 
with you1 that the unhappy delusion that
 country       is now under may soon    
vanish1 and that whatever be the form of
 its       government it may vie with   
this country in everything that is      
favourable to the best interests of     
mankind1 and join with you in           
removing that only disgraceful          
circumstance1 which you justly          

acknowledge to be an exception to the   
enjoyment of equal liberty1       among 
yourselves4 ,that the ,great ,being     
whose providence extends       alike to 
all the human race1 and to whose        
disposal ,i cheerfully       commit     
myself1 may establish whatever is good1 
and remove whatever       is imperfect  
from your government and from every     
government in       the known world1 is 
the earnest prayer of1      ,gentlemen1 
,your respectful humble servant4  ,as   
,priestley had ever gloried in the fact 
that he was a teacher1 what more        
appropriate in this period of           
congratulatory welcome1 could have come 
to him than the following message of    
,new ,york's teaching body3      ,the   
associated ,teachers in the city of ,new
 ,york beg leave to offer       you a   
sincere and hearty welcome to this land 
of tranquility and       freedom4       
,impressed with the idea of the real    
importance of so valuable an            
acquisition to the growing interests of 

science and literature1 in       this   
country1 we are particularly happy that 
the honour of your       first          
reception1 has fallen to this state1 and
 to the city of ,new       ,york4       
,as labourers in those fields which you 
have occupied with the most             
distinguished eminence1 at the arduous  
and important task of       cultivating 
the human mind1 we contemplate with     
peculiar       satisfaction the         
auspicious influence which your personal
       residence in this country1 will  
add to that of your highly              
valuable scientific and literary        
productions1 by which we have           
already been materially benefited4      
,we beg leave to anticipate the         
happiness of sharing in some            
degree1 that patronage of science and   
literature1 which it has       ever been
 your delight to afford4 ,this will give
 facility to our       expressions2     
direct and encourage us in our arduous  
employments2       assist us to form the

 man1 and thereby give efficacy to the  
diffusion of useful knowledge4      ,our
 most ardent wishes attend you1 good    
,sir1 that you may find in       this   
land a virtuous simplicity1 a happy     
recess from the       intriguing        
politics and vitiating refinements of   
the ,european       world4 ,that your   
patriotic virtues may add to the vigour 
of our       happy ,constitution and    
that the blessings of this country may  
be       abundantly remunerated into    
your person and your family4      ,and  
we rejoice in believing1 that the       
,parent of ,nature1 by those            
secret communications of happiness with 
which he never fails to       reward the
 virtuous mind1 will here convey to you 
that       consolation1 support1 and    
joy1 which are independent of local     
circumstances1 and ,which the world can 
neither give nor take       away4       
,touched1 indeed was ,priestley by this 
simple1 outspoken greeting from those   
who appreciated his genuine interest in 

the cause of education4 ,hence his reply
 was in a kindred spirit3      ,a       
welcome to this country from my fellow  
labourers in the       instruction of   
youth1 is1 ,i assure you1 peculiarly    
grateful to me4       ,classes of men1  
as well as individuals1 are apt to form 
too high       ideas of their own       
importance2 but certainly one of the    
most       important is1 that which     
contributes so much as ours do to the   
cummunication of useful knowledge1 as   
forming the characters of       men1    
thereby fitting them for their several  
stations in society4       ,in some form
 or other this has been my employment   
and delight2 and       my principal     
object in flying for an asylum to this  
country1 a       land1 as ,i hope you   
justly term it1 of virtuous simplicity1 
and       a recess from the intriguing  
politics1 and vicious refinements of    
the ,european world1 is that ,i may1    
without molestation1 pursue my          
favourite studies4 ,and if ,i had an    

opportunity of making choice of       an
 employment for what remains of active  
exertion in life1 it       would be one 
in which ,i should as ,i hope ,i have   
hitherto done1       contribute with    
you1 to advance the cause of science1 of
 virtue1       and of religion4         
,further1 ,the ,medical ,society of the 
,state of ,new ,york through ,dr4 ,john 
,charlton1 its ,president1 said3        
,,permit us1 ,sir1 to wait upon you with
 an offering of our sincere             
congratulations1 on your safe arrival1  
with your lady and family       in this 
happy country1 and to express our real  
joy1 in receiving       among us1 a     
gentleman1 whose labours have           
contributed so much to       the        
diffusion and establishment of civil and
 religious liberty1       and whose deep
 researches into the true principles of 
natural       philosophy1 have derived  
so much improvement and real benefit1   
not       only to the sciences of       
chemistry and medicine1 but to various  

other arts1 all of which are necessary  
to the ornament and utility       of    
human life4      ,may you1 ,sir1 possess
 and enjoy1 here1 uninterrupted         
contentment       and happiness1 and may
 your valuable life be continued a      
farther       blessing to mankind4  ,and
 in his answer ,dr4 ,priestley remarked3
      ,i ,,think myself greatly honoured
 in being congratulated on my           
arrival in this country by a ,society of
 persons whose studies bear       some  
relation to my own4 ,to continue1       
without fear of molestation1       on   
account of the most open profession of  
any sentiments1 civil or                
religious1 those pursuits which you are 
sensible have for their       object the
 advantage of all mankind1 7being1 as   
you justly       observe1 necessary to  
the ornament and utility of human life7 
is       my principal motive for leaving
 a country in which that                
tranquility and sense of security which 
scientificial pursuits       require1   

cannot be had2 and ,i am happy to find  
here1 persons who       are engaged in  
the same pursuits1 and who have the just
 sense that       you discover of their 
truly enviable situation4  ,as a climax 
to greetings extended in the ,city of   
,new ,york1 ,the ,republican ,natives of
 ,great ,britain and ,ireland resident  
in that city said1      ,,we1 the       
,republican natives of ,great ,britain  
and ,ireland1 resident       in the city
 of ,new ,york1 embrace1 with the       
highest satisfaction1       the         
opportunity which your arrival in this  
city presents1 of       bearing our     
testimony to your character and virtue  
and of       expressing our joy that you
 come among us in circumstances of such 
good health and spirits4      ,we have  
beheld with the keenest sensibility1 the
 unparallelled       persecutions which 
attended you in your native country1 and
 have       sympathized with you under  
all their variety and extent4 ,in the   
firm hope1 that you are now completely  

removed from the effects of       every 
species of intolerance1 we most         
sincerely congratulate you4      ,after 
a fruitless opposition to a corrupt and 
tyrannical       government1 many of us 
have1 like you1 sought freedom and      
protection in the ,united ,states of    
,america2 but to this we have       all 
been principally induced1 from the full 
persuasion1 that a       republican     
representative government1 was not      
merely best adapted       to promote    
human happiness1 but that it is the only
 rational       system worthy the wisdom
 of man to project1 or to which his     
reason       should assent4             
,participating in the many blessings    
which the government of this            
country is calculated to insure1 we are 
happy in giving it this       proof of  
our respectful attachment3--,we are only
 grieved1 that a       system of such   
beauty and excellence1 should be at all 
tarnished       by the existence of     
slavery in any form2 but as friends to  

the       ,equal ,rights of ,man1 we    
must be permitted to say1 that we wish  
these ,rights extended to every human   
being1 be his complexion what       it  
may4 ,we1 however1 look forward with    
pleasing anticipation to a       yet    
more perfect state of society2 and1 from
 that love of liberty       which forms 
so distinguishing a trait in ,american  
character1 are       taught to hope that
 this last--this worse disgrace to a    
free       government1 will finally and 
forever be done away4      ,while we    
look back on our native country with    
emotions of pity and       indignation  
at the outrages which humanity has      
sustained in the       persons of the   
virtuous ,muir1 and his patriotic       
associates2 and       deeply lament the 
fatal apathy into which our countrymen  
have       fallen2 we desire to be      
thankful to the ,great ,author of our   
being       that we are in ,america1 and
 that it has pleased ,him1 in his ,wise 
,providence1 to make the ,united ,states

 an asylum not only from the            
immediate tyranny of the ,british       
,government1 but also from those        
impending calamities1 which its         
increasing despotism and                
multiplied iniquities1 must infallibly  
bring down on a deluded and             
oppressed people4      ,accept1 ,sir1 of
 our affectionate and best wishes for a 
long       continuance of your health   
and happiness4  ,the answer of the aged 
philosopher to this address was3      ,i
 think myself peculiarly happy in       
finding in this country so many         
persons of sentiments similar to my own1
 some of whom have       probably left  
,great ,britain or ,ireland on the same 
account1 and to       be so cheerfully  
welcomed by them on my arrival4 ,you    
have already       had experience of the
 difference between the governments of  
the       two countries1 and ,i doubt   
not1 have seen sufficient reason to     
give the decided preference that you do 
to that of this4 ,there all             

liberty of speech and of the press as   
far as politics are       concerned1 is 
at an end1 and a spirit of intolerance  
in matters of       religion is almost  
as high as in the time of the ,stuarts4 
,here1       having no countenance from 
government1 whatever may remain of this 
spirit1 from the ignorance and          
consequent bigotry1 of former           
times1 it may be expected soon to die   
away2 and on all subjects               
whatever1 every man enjoys invaluable   
liberty of speaking and       writing   
whatever he pleases4      ,the wisdom   
and happiness of ,republican governments
 and the evils       resulting from     
hereditary monarchical ones1 cannot     
appear in a       stronger light to you 
than they do to me4 ,we need only look  
to the       present state of ,europe   
and of ,america1 to be fully satisfied  
in       this respect4 ,the former will 
easily reform themselves1 and among     
other improvements1 ,i am persuaded1    
will be the removal of that             

vestige of servitude to which you       
allude1 as it so ill accords       with 
the spirit of equal liberty1 from which 
the rest of the       system has flowed2
 whereas no material reformation of the 
many       abuses to which the latter   
are subject1 it is to be feared1 can be 
made without violence and confusion4    
,i congratulate you1 gentlemen1 as you  
do me1 on our arrival in a       country
 in which men who wish well to their    
fellow citizens1 and       use their    
best endeavours to render them the most 
important       services1 men who are an
 honour to human nature and to any      
country1 are in no danger of being      
treated like the worst felons1       as 
is now the case in ,great ,britain4     
,happy should ,i think myself in joining
 with you in welcoming to       this    
country every friend of liberty1 who is 
exposed to danger       from the tyranny
 of the ,british ,government1 and who1  
while they       continue under it1 must
 expect to share in those calamities1   

which       its present infatuation     
must1 sooner or later1 bring upon it4   
,but       let us all join in           
supplications to the ,great ,parent of  
the       ,universe1 that for the sake  
of the many excellent characters in     
our native country its government may be
 reformed1 and the       judgments      
impending over it prevented4  ,the      
hearty reception accorded ,dr4          
,priestley met in due course with a     
cruel attack upon him by ,william       
,cobbett1 known under the pen-name of   
,peter ,porcupine1 an ,englishman1 who  
after arrival in this country enjoyed a 
rather prosperous life by formulating   
scurrilous literature--attacks upon men 
of prominence1 stars shining brightly in
 the human firmament4  ,an old paper1   
the ,argus1 for the year #agif1 said of 
this ,peter ,porcupine3      ,when this 
political caterpillar was crawling about
 at ,st4 ,john's1       ,nova ,scotia1  
in support of his ,britannic ,majesty's 
glorious cause1       against the       

,united ,states1 and holding the rank of
 serjeant major       in the #edth      
regiment1 then quartered in that land1  
flowing with       milk and honey1 and  
,,grindstones1 and commanded by ,colonel
 ,bruce2       it was customary for some
 of the officers to hire out the        
soldiers       to the country people1   
instead of keeping them to military     
duty1       and to pocket the money     
themselves4 ,peter found he could make a
       speck out of this1 and therefore 
kept a watchful eye over the       sins 
of his superiors4 ,when the regiment was
 recalled and had       returned to     
,england--,peter1 brimful of amor patri1
 was about to       prefer a complaint  
against the officers1 when they came    
down with       a round sum of the ready
 rino1 and a promise of his discharge1  
in       case of secrecy4--,this so     
staggered our incorruptible and         
independent hero and quill driver1 that 
he agreed to the terms1       received  
that very honorable discharge1 mentioned

 with so much       emphasis1 in the    
history of his important life--got cash 
enough to       come to ,america1 by    
circuitous route and to set himself up  
with       the necessary implements of  
scandal and abuse4      ,this flea1 this
 spider1 this corporal1 has dared to    
point his       impotent spleen at the  
memory of that illustrious patriot1     
statesman and philosopher1 ,benjamin    
,franklin4      ,let the buzzing insect 
reflect on this truth--that             
,succeeding times great ,franklin's     
works shall quote1     ,when 'tis       
forgot--this ,peter ever wrote4  ,and   
the ,advertiser declared3      ,peter   
,porcupine is one of those writers who  
attempt to deal in       wit--and to    
bear down every ,republican principle by
 satire--but he       miserably fails in
 both1 for his wit is as stale as his   
satire1       and his satire as insipid 
as his wit4 ,he attempts to ridicule    
,dr4       ,franklin1 but can any man of
 sense conceive any poignancy in        

styling this great philosopher1 poor    
,richard1 or the old       lightning    
rod4 ,franklin1 whose researches in     
philosophy have       placed him        
preeminent among the first characters in
 this country1       or in ,europe3 is  
it possible then that such a            
contemptible wretch       as ,peter     
,porcupine1 7who never gave any specimen
 of his       philosophy1 but in bearing
 with ,christian patience a severe      
whipping at the public post7 can injure 
the exalted reputation of       this    
great philosopher8 ,the folly of the    
,editor of the ,centinal1       is the  
more conspicuous1 in inserting his      
billingsgate abuse in a       ,boston   
paper1 when this town1 particularly the 
,,tradesman of it are       reaping such
 advantages from ,franklin's liberality4
 ,the ,editor of       the ,centinal    
ought to blush for his arrogance in     
vilifying this       ,,tradesmen',s     
,,friend1 by retailing the scurrility of
 so wretched a       puppy as ,peter    

,porcupine4      ,as to ,dr4 ,priestley1
 the ,editor was obliged to apologise in
 this       particular--but colours it  
over as the effusions of genius--poor   
apology1 indeed to stain his columns    
with scurrility and abuse1       and    
after finding the impression too        
notoriously infamous1       attempts to 
qualify it1 sycophantic parenthesis4    
,the names of ,franklin and ,priestley  
will be enrolled in the       catalogue 
of worthies1 while the wretched ,peter  
,porcupine1 and       his more wretched 
supporters1 will sink into oblivion1    
unless the       register of ,newgate   
should be published1 and their memories 
be       raked from the loathsome       
rubbish as spectres of universal        
destestation4  ,and the ,london ,monthly
 ,review 7,august #aj1 #agif7 commented 
as follows on ,porcupine's              
animadversions upon ,priestley3         
,frequently as we have differed in      
opinion from ,dr4 ,priestley1 we        
should think it an act of injustice to  

his merit1 not to say that       the    
numerous and important services which he
 has rendered to       science1 and the 
unequivocal proofs which he has given of
 at least       honest intention towards
 religion and ,christianity ought to    
have       protected him from such gross
 insults as are poured upon him in      
this pamphlet4 ,of the author's literary
 talent1 we shall say but       little3 
the phrases1 setting down to count the  
cost--the rights       of the man the   
greatest bore in nature--the appellation
 of       rigmarole ramble1 given to a  
correct sentence of ,dr4                
,priestley--which the author attempts to
 criticise--may serve as       specimens
 of his language4      ,the pitiful     
attempt at wit1 in his vulgar fable of  
the pitcher       haranguing the pans   
and jordans1 will give him little credit
 as a       writer1 with readers of an  
elegant taste4--,no censure1 however1   
can be too severe for a writer who      
suffers the rancour of party            

spirit to carry him so far beyond the   
bounds of justice1 truth and            
decency1 as to speak of ,dr4 ,priestley 
as an admirer of the       massacres of 
,france1 and who would have wished to   
have seen the       town of ,birmingham 
like that of ,lyons1 razed1 and all its 
industrious and loyal inhabitants       
butchered as a man whose conduct        
proves that he has either an            
understanding little superior to that   
of an idiot1 or the heart of ,marat3 in 
short1 as a man who fled       into     
banishment covered with the universal   
destestation of his       countrymen4   
,the spirit1 which could dictate such   
outrageous abuse1       must disgrace   
any individual and any party4  ,even    
before ,porcupine began his abuse of    
,priestley1 there appeared efforts      
intended no doubt to arouse opposition  
to him and dislike for him4 ,one such1  
apparently very innocent in its purpose1
 appeared shortly after ,priestley's    
settlement in ,northumberland4 ,it may  

be seen in the ,advertiser1 and reads   
thus3      ,the divinity of ,jesus      
,christ proved in a publication to be   
sold by       ,francis ,bayley in       
,market ,street1 between #crd and #dth  
,streets1 at       the sign of the      
,yorick's ,head--being a reply to ,dr4  
,joseph       ,priestley's appeal to the
 serious and candid professors of       
,christianity4  ,the ,new ,york         
addresses clearly indicated the generous
 sympathy of hosts of ,americans for    
,priestley4 ,they were not perfunctory1 
but genuinely genuine4 ,this brought joy
 to the distinguished emigrant1 and a   
sense of fellowship1 accompanied by a   
feeling of security4  ,more than a      
century has passed since these          
occurrences1 and the reader of today is 
scarcely stirred by their declarations  
and appeals4 ,changes have come1 in the 
past century1 on both sides of the great
 ocean4 ,almost everywhere reigns the   
freedom so devoutly desired by the      
fathers of the long ago4 ,it is so      

universal that it does not come as a    
first thought4 ,other changes1 once     
constantly on men's minds have gradually
 been made4  ,how wonderful has been the
 development of ,new ,york since        
,priestley's brief sojourn in it4 ,how  
marvelously science has grown in the    
great interim4 ,what would ,priestley   
say could he now pass up and down the   
famous avenues of our greatest ,city8   
,his decision to live in ,america1 his  
labors for science in this land1 have   
had a share in the astounding unfolding 
of the dynamical possibilities of       
,america's greatest municipality4  ,the 
,priestleys were delighted with ,new    
,york4 ,they were frequent dinner guests
 of ,governor ,clinton1 whom they liked 
very much and saw often1 and they met   
with pleasure ,dr4 ,samuel ,l4          
,mitchill1 the ,professor of ,chemistry 
in ,columbia4  ,amidst the endless      
fetes1 attendant upon their arrival1    
there existed a desire to go forward4   
,the entire family were eager to arrive 

at their real resting place--the home   
prepared by the sons who had preceded   
them to this ,western world4            
,accordingly1 on ,june #ah1 #agid1 they 
left ,new ,york1 after a fortnight's    
visit1 and the ,advertiser of           
,philadelphia1 ,june #ba1 #agid1        
contained these lines3      ,last       
,thursday evening arrived in town from  
,new ,york the justly       celebrated  
philosopher ,dr4 ,joseph ,priestley4    
,thus was heralded his presence in the  
,city of his esteemed1 honored friend1  
,franklin1 who1 alas6 was then in the   
spirit land1 and not able to greet him  
as he would have done had he still been 
a living force in the ,city of          
,brotherly ,love4 ,however1 a very      
prompt welcome came from the ,american  
,philosophical ,society1 founded 7#agbg7
 by the immortal savant1 ,franklin4     
,the ,president of this venerable       
,society1 the oldest scientific ,society
 in the ,western hemisphere1 was the    
renowned astronomer1 ,david             

,rittenhouse1 who said for himself and  
his associates3      ,,the ,american    
,philosophical ,society1 held at        
,philadelphia for       promoting useful
 knowledge1 offer you their sincere     
congratulations on your safe arrival in 
this country4 ,associated       for the 
purposes of extending and disseminating 
those improvements       in the sciences
 and the arts1 which most conduce to    
substantial       happiness of ,man1 the
 ,society felicitate themselves and     
their       country1 that your talents  
and virtues1 have been transferred to   
this ,republic4 ,considering you as an  
illustrious member of this              
institution3 ,your colleagues anticipate
 your aid1 in zealously       promoting 
the objects which unite them2 as a      
virtuous man1       possessing eminent  
and useful acquirements1 they           
contemplate with       pleasure the     
accession of such worth to the ,american
 ,commonwealth1       and looking       
forward to your future character of a   

citizen of this1       your adopted     
country1 they rejoice in greeting1 as   
such1 an       enlightened ,republican4 
,in this free and happy country1 those  
unalienable rights1 which       the     
,author of ,nature committed to man as a
 sacred deposit1 have       been        
secured3 ,here1 we have been enabled1   
under the favour of       ,divine       
,providence1 to establish a government  
of ,laws1 and not of       ,men2 a      
government1 which secures to its        
citizens equal ,rights1 and       equal 
,liberty1 and which offers an asylum to 
the good1 to the       persecuted1 and  
to the oppressed of other climes4       
,may you long enjoy every blessing which
 an elevated and highly       cultivated
 mind1 a pure conscience1 and a free    
country are capable       of bestowing4 
,and1 in return1 ,priestley remarked4   
,,it is with peculiar satisfaction that 
,i receive the       congratulations of 
my brethren of the ,philosophical       
,society in       this ,city1 on my     

arrival in this country4 ,it is1 in     
great part1       for the sake of       
pursuing our common studies without     
molestation1       though for the       
present you will allow1 with far less   
advantage1       that ,i left my native 
country1 and have come to ,america2 and 
a       ,society of ,philosophers1 who  
will have no objection to a person on   
account of his political or religious   
sentiments1 will be as       grateful1  
as it will be new to me4 ,my past       
conduct1 ,i hope1 will       show1 that 
you may depend upon my zeal in promoting
 the valuable       objects of your     
institution2 but you must not flatter   
yourself1 or       me1 with supposing1  
that1 at my time of life1 and with the  
inconvenience attending a new and       
uncertain settlement1 ,i can be       of
 much service to it4      ,i am         
confident1 however1 from what ,i have   
already seen of the       spirit of the 
people of this country1 that it will    
soon appear       that ,republican      

governments1 in which every obstruction 
is removed       to the exertion of all 
kinds of talent1 will be far more       
favourable to science1 and the arts1    
than any monarchical       government   
has ever been4 ,the patronage to be met 
with there is       ever capricious1 and
 as often employed to bear down merit as
 to       promote it1 having for its    
real object1 not science or anything    
useful to mankind1 but the mere         
reputation of the patron1 who is        
seldom any judge of science4 ,whereas a 
,public which neither       flatters nor
 is to be flattered will not fail in due
 time to       distinguish true merit   
and to give every encouragement that it 
is       proper to be given in the case4
 ,besides by opening as you             
generously do an asylum to the          
persecuted and oppressed of all         
climes1 you will in addition to your own
 native stock1 soon       receive a     
large accession of every kind of merit1 
philosophical       not excepted1       

whereby you will do yourselves great    
honour and       secure the most        
permanent advantage to the community4   
,doubtless in the society of so many    
worthy ,philadelphians1 the ,priestleys 
were happy1 for they had corresponded   
with not a few of them4  ,the longing   
for ,northumberland became very great   
and one smiles on reading that the good 
,doctor thought ,philadelphia by no     
means so agreeable as ,new ,york 444    
,philadelphia would be very irksome to  
me4444 ,it is only a place for business 
and to get money in4 ,but in this ,city 
he later spent much of his time4  ,it   
was about the middle of ,july1 #agid1   
that the journey to ,northumberland     
began1 and on ,september #ad1 #agid1    
,priestley wrote of ,northumberland     
nothing can be more delightful1 or more 
healthy than this place4  ,safely lodged
 among those dear to him one finds much 
pleasure in observing the great         
philosopher's activities4 ,the          
preparation of a home for himself and   

his wife and the unmarried members of   
the family was uppermost in his mind4   
,but much time was given to             
correspondence with loyal friends in    
,england4 ,chief among these were the   
,reverends ,lindsey and ,belsham4 ,the  
letters to these gentlemen disclose the 
plans and musings of the exile4 ,for    
instance1 in a communication to the     
former1 dated ,september #ad1 #agid1 he 
wrote3      ,the professor of chemistry 
in the ,college of ,philadelphia is     
supposed to be on his death-bed 444 in  
the case of a vacancy1 ,dr4       ,rush 
thinks ,i shall be invited to succeed   
him4 ,in this case ,i must       reside 
four months in one year in              
,philadelphia1 and one principal        
inducement with me to accept of it will 
be the opportunity ,i shall       have  
of forming an ,unitarian                
,congregation4444  ,and a month later he
 observed to the same friend3           
,philadelphia is unpleasant1 unhealthy1 
and intolerably       expensive4444     

,every day ,i do something towards the  
continuation of       my ,church        
,history4444 ,i have never read so much 
,hebrew as ,i have       since ,i left  
,england4444  ,he visited freely in the 
vicinity of ,northumberland1 spending   
much time in the open4 ,davy1 a         
traveler1 made this note3      ,dr4     
,priestley visited us at ,sunbury1 looks
 well and cheerful1 has       left off  
his perriwig1 and combs his short grey  
locks1 in the true       style of the   
simplicity of the country4444 ,dined    
very pleasantly       with him4 ,he has 
bought a lot of eleven acres            
7exclusively of that       which he is  
building on71 which commands a          
delightful view of all       the rivers1
 and both towns1 i4e4 ,sunbury and      
,northumberland and       the country4  
,it cost him #ajj currency4  ,it was    
also to ,mr4 ,lindsey that he           
communicated1 on ,november #ab1 #agid1 a
 fact of no little interest1 even today1
 to teachers of ,chemistry in ,america4 

,it was3      ,i have just received an  
invitation to the professorship of      
chemistry at ,philadelphia 444 when ,i  
considered that ,i must pass       four 
months of every year from home1 my heart
 failed me2 and ,i       declined it4   
,if my books and apparatus had been in  
,philadelphia1 ,i       might have acted
 differently1 but part of them are now  
arrived       here1 and the remainder ,i
 expect in a few days1 and the expense  
and risk of conveyance of such things   
from ,philadelphia hither is       so   
great1 that ,i cannot think of taking   
them back 444 and in a       year or    
two1 ,i doubt not1 we shall have a      
college established       here4  ,it was
 about this time that his youngest son1 
,harry1 in whom he particularly         
delighted1 began clearing #cjj acres of 
cheap land1 and in this work the        
philosopher was greatly interested2     
indeed1 on occasions he actually        
participated in the labor of removing   
the timber4 ,despite this manual labor  

there were still hours of every day     
given to the ,church ,history1 and to   
his correspondence which grew in volume1
 as he was advising inquiring ,english  
friends1 who thought of emigrating1 and 
very generally to them he recommended   
the perusal of ,dr4 ,thomas ,cooper's   
,advice to those who would remove to    
,america--  ,through this               
correspondence1 now and then1 there     
appeared little animadversions on the   
quaint old town on the ,delaware1 such  
as      ,i never saw a town ,i liked    
less than ,philadelphia4  ,could this   
dislike have been due to the fact that--
      ,probably in no other place on the
 ,continent was the love of bright      
colours and extravagance in dress       
carried to such an extreme4       ,large
 numbers of the ,quakers yielded to it1 
and even the very       strict ones     
carried gold-headed canes1 gold         
snuff-boxes1 and wore       great silver
 buttons on their drab coats and        
handsome buckles on       their shoes4  

,and      ,nowhere were the women so    
resplendant in silks1 satins1 velvets1  
and brocades1 and they piled up their   
hair mountains high4  ,furthermore--    
,the descriptions of the banquets and   
feasts 444 are appalling4      ,john    
,adams1 when he first came down to      
,philadelphia1 fresh from       ,boston1
 stood aghast at this life into which he
 was suddenly       thrown and thought  
it must be sin4 ,but he rose to the     
occasion1       and1 after describing in
 his diary some of the mighty feasts and
       sinful feasts 444 says he drank  
,madeira at a great rate and       found
 no inconvenience4  ,it would only be   
surmise to state what were the ,doctor's
 reasons for his frequent declaration of
 dislike for ,philadelphia4  ,the winter
 of #agid-agie proved much colder than  
ever ,i knew it in ,england1 but he     
cheerfully requested ,samuel ,parker to 
send him a hygrometer1 shades or        
bell-glasses1 jars for electrical       
batteries1 and      a set of glass tubes

 with large bulbs at the end1 such as ,i
 used       in the experiments ,i last  
published on the generation of ,air     
from water4  ,most refreshing is this   
demand upon a friend4 ,it indicates the 
keen desire in ,priestley to proceed    
with experimental studies1 though       
surroundings and provisions for such    
undertakings were quite unsatisfactory4 
,the spirit was there and very          
determined was its possessor that his   
science pursuits should not be laid     
totally aside4 ,his attitude and course 
in this particular were admirable and   
exemplary4 ,too often the lack of an    
abundance of equipment and the absence  
of many of the supposed essentials1 have
 been deterrents which have caused men  
to abandon completely their scientific  
investigations4 ,however1 such was not  
the case with the distinguished exile1  
and for this he deserved all praise4    
,from time to time1 in old papers and   
books of travel1 brief notes concerning 
,priestley appear4 ,these exhibit in a  

beautiful manner the human side of the  
man4 ,they cause one to wish that the   
privilege of knowing this worthy student
 of chemical science might have been    
enjoyed by him4 ,for example1 a ,mr4    
,bakewell chanced upon him in the spring
 of #agie and recorded3      ,i found   
him 7,priestley7 a man rather below the 
middle size1       straight and plain1  
wearing his own hair2 and in his        
countenance1       though you might     
discern the philosopher1 yet it beamed  
with so       much simplicity and       
freedom as made him very easy of access4
  ,it is also stated in ,davy's ,journal
 of ,voyage1 etc4--      ,the doctor    
enjoys a game at whist2 and although he 
never hazards a       farthing1 is      
highly diverted with playing good cards1
 but never       ruffled by bad ones4   
,in ,may1 #agie1 ,priestley expressed   
himself as follows3      ,as to the     
experiments1 ,i find ,i cannot do much  
till ,i get my own       house built4   
,at present ,i have all my books and    

instruments in one       room1 in the   
house of my son4  ,this is the first    
time in all his correspondence that     
reference is made to experimental work4 
,it was in #agie4 ,as a matter of course
 every ,american chemist is interested  
to know when he began experimentation in
 this country4  ,in the absence of      
proper laboratory space and the         
requisite apparatus1 it is not          
surprising that he thought much and     
wrote extensively on religious topics1  
and further he would throw himself into 
political problems1 for he addressed    
,mr4 ,adams on restriction in the       
naturalization of foreigners4 ,he       
remarked that--      ,party strife is   
pretty high in this country1 but the    
,constitution       is such that it     
cannot do any harm4  ,to friends1       
probably reminding him of being         
unactive1 which affects me much1 he     
answered3      ,as to the chemical      
lectureship 7in ,philadelphia7 ,i am    
convinced ,i       could not have       

acquitted myself in it to proper        
advantage4 ,i had       no difficulty in
 giving a general course of chemistry at
 ,hackney       7,england71 lecturing   
only once a week2 but to give a lecture 
every       day for four months1 and to 
enter so particularly into the subject  
as a course of lectures in a medical    
,university 7,pennsylvania7             
requires1 ,i was not prepared for2 and  
my engagements there would       not1 at
 my time of life1 have permitted me to  
make the necessary       preparations   
for it2 if ,i could have done it at all4
 ,for1 though ,i       have made        
discoveries in some branches of         
chemistry1 ,i never gave       much     
attention to the common routine of it1  
and know but little       of the common 
processes4  ,is not this a refreshing   
confession from the celebrated          
discoverer of oxygen8 ,the casual reader
 would not credit such a statement from 
one who ,august #a1 #aggd1 introduced to
 the civilized world so important an    

element as oxygen4 ,because he did not  
know the common processes of chemistry  
and had not concerned himself with the  
common routine of it1 led to his blazing
 the way among chemical compounds in his
 own fashion4 ,many times since the days
 of ,priestley real researchers after   
truth have proceeded without compass and
 uncovered most astonishing and         
remarkable results4 ,they had the       
genuine research spirit and were driven 
forward by it4 ,priestley knew little of
 the labyrinth of analysis and cared    
less2 indeed1 he possessed little beyond
 an insatiable desire to unfold         
,nature's secrets4  ,admiration for     
,priestley increases on hearing him     
descant on the people about him--on the 
natives--      ,here every house-keeper 
has a garden1 out of which he raises    
almost all he wants for his family4     
,they all have cows1 and many       have
 horses1 the keeping of which costs them
 little or nothing in       the summer1 
for they ramble with bells on their     

necks in the       woods1 and come home 
at night4 ,almost all the fresh meat    
they have       is salted in the autumn1
 and a fish called shads in the spring4 
,this salt shad they eat at breakfast1  
with their tea and coffee1       and    
also at night4 ,we1 however1 have not   
yet laid aside our       ,english       
customs1 and having made great exertion 
to get fresh meat1       it will soon   
come into general use4  ,proudly must he
 have said--      ,my youngest son1     
,harry1 works as hard as any farmer in  
the country       and is as attentive to
 his farm1 though he is only            
eighteen4444       ,two or three hours  
,i always work in the fields along with 
my       son4444  ,and1 then as a       
supplement1 for it was resting heavily  
on his mind1 he added--      ,what ,i   
chiefly attend to now is my ,church     
,history 444 but ,i make       some     
experiments every day 7,july #ab1       
#agie71 and shall soon draw up       a  
paper for the ,philosophical ,society at

 ,philadelphia4  ,early in ,december of 
#agie he entrusted a paper1 intended for
 the ,american ,philosophical ,society  
to the keeping of ,dr4 ,young1 a        
gentleman from ,northumberland en route 
for ,europe4 ,acquainting his friend    
,lindsey of this fact1 he took occasion 
to add--      ,i have much more to do in
 my laboratory1 but ,i am under the     
necessity of shutting up for the winter1
 as the frost will make it              
impossible to keep my water fit for use1
 without such provision as       ,i     
cannot make1 till ,i get my own         
laboratory prepared on purpose1         
when ,i hope to be able to work alike1  
winter and summer4  ,dr4 ,young carried 
two papers to ,philadelphia4 ,the first 
article treated of ,experiments and     
,observations relating to the ,analysis 
of ,atmospherical ,air1 and the second  
,further ,experiments relating to the   
,generation of ,air from ,water4 ,they  
filled #bj quarto pages of ,volume #d of
 the ,transactions of the ,american     

,philosophical ,society4 ,on reading    
them the thought lingers that these are 
the first contributions of the eminent  
philosopher from his ,american home4    
,hence1 without reference to their      
value1 they are precious4 ,they         
represent the results of inquiries      
performed under unusual surroundings4   
,it is very probable that ,priestley's  
,english correspondents desired him to  
concentrate his efforts upon            
experimental science4 ,they were indeed 
pleased to be informed of his ,church   
,history1 and his vital interest in     
religion1 but they cherished the hope   
that science would in largest measure   
displace these literary endeavors4      
,priestley himself never admitted this1 
but must have penetrated their designs1 
and1 recognizing the point of their     
urging1 worked at much disadvantage to  
get the results presented in these two  
pioneer studies4 ,present day students  
would grow impatient in their perusal1  
because of the persistent emphasis      

placed on phlogiston1 dephlogisticated  
air1 phlogisticated air1 and so forth4  
,in the very first paper1 the opening   
lines show this3      ,it is an         
essential part of the antiphlogistic    
theory1 that in all       the cases of  
what ,i have called phlogistication of  
air1 there       is simply an absorption
 of the dephlogisticated air1 or1 as the
       advocates of that theory term it1
 the oxygen contained in it1            
leaving the phlogisticated part1 which  
they call azote1 as it       originally 
existed in the atmosphere4 ,also1       
according to this       system1 azote is
 a simple substance1 at least not       
hitherto       analyzed into any other4 
,no matter how deeply one venerates     
,priestley1 or how great honor is       
ascribed to him1 the question continues 
why the simpler ,french view was not    
adopted by this honest student4         
,further1 as an ardent admirer one asks 
why should ,priestley pen the next      
sentence3      ,they1 therefore1 suppose

 that there is a determinate proportion 
between the quantities of oxygen1 and   
azote in every portion of               
atmospherical air1 and that all that has
 hitherto been done has       been to   
separate them from one another4 ,this   
proportion they state       to be #bg   
parts of oxygen and #gc parts of azote1 
in #ajj of       atmospherical air4     
,priestley knew that there was a        
determinate proportion4 ,he was not1    
however1 influenced by quantitative     
data4  ,sir ,oliver ,lodge said#d--     
,priestley's experiments were admirable1
 but his perception of       their      
theoretical relations was entirely      
inadequate and1 as we       now think1  
quite erroneous4444 ,in theory he had no
 instinct for       guessing right 444  
he may almost be said to have had a     
predilection for the wrong end4  ,at    
present the ,french thought is so       
evident that it seems incomprehensible  
that ,priestley failed to grasp it1 for 
he continues--      ,in every case of   

the diminution of atmospherical air in  
which this       is the result1 there   
appears to me to be something emitted   
from       the substance1 which the     
antiphlogistians suppose to act by      
simple       absorption1 and therefore  
that it is more probable that there is  
some substance1 and the same that has   
been called philogiston1       or the   
principle of inflammability 444 emitted1
 and that this       phlogiston uniting 
with part of the dephlogisticated air   
forms       with it part of the         
phlogisticated air1 which is found after
 the       process4  ,subsequently      
7#agih71 he advised the ,society that he
 had executed other experiments which   
corroborated those outlined in his first
 two papers1 adding--      ,had the     
publication of your ,transactions been  
more frequent1 ,i       should with much
 pleasure have submitted to the ,society
 a full       account of these and other
 experiments which appear to me to      
prove1 that metals are compound         

substances1 and that water has not      
yet been decomposed by any process that 
we are acquainted with4       ,still1   
however1 ,i would not be very positive1 
as the contrary is       maintained by  
almost all the chemists of the age4444  
,and thus he proceeds1 ever doing       
interesting things1 but blind to the    
patent results because he had phlogiston
 constantly before him4 ,he looked      
everywhere for it1 followed it blindly1 
and consequently overlooked the facts   
regarded as most significant by his     
opponents1 which in the end led them to 
correct conclusions4  ,the experimental 
results in the second paper also admit  
of an interpretation quite the opposite 
of that deduced by ,priestley4 ,he      
confidently maintained that air was     
invariably generated from water1 because
 he discovered it and liberated it from 
water which he was certain did not      
contain it in solution4 ,he was         
conscientious in his inferences4 ,deeply
 did his friends deplore his inability  

to see more than a single interpretation
 of his results6  ,the papers were read 
before the ,american ,philosophical     
,society on the #aith of ,february1     
#agif4 ,their author as they appear in  
print1 is the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,j4 ,priestley4
 ,it is doubtful whether he affixed this
 signature4 ,more probable is it that   
the ,secretary of the ,society was      
responsible1 and1 because he thought of 
,priestley in the rle of a ,reverend    
gentleman rather than as a scientific   
investigator4  ,here1 perhaps1 it may be
 mentioned that the first1 the very     
first communication from ,priestley's   
pen to the venerable ,philosophical     
,society1 was read in #aghd4 ,it was    
presented by a friend--a ,mr4 ,w4       
,vaughan1 whose family in ,england were 
always the staunchest of ,priestley's   
supporters4 ,and it is not too much to  
assume that it was the same influence   
which one year later 7#aghe7 brought    
about ,priestley's election to          
membership in the ,society1 for he was  

one of #bh new members chosen in        
,january of that year4  ,there are      
evidences of marked friendliness to     
,priestley all about the ,hall of the   
,society1 for example his profile in    
,plaster of ,paris1 particularly        
valuable for the resemblance to the     
,doctor1 which was presented in #agia2 a
 second profile in black leather given  
by ,robert ,patterson1 a ,president of  
the ,society1 and an oil portrait of him
 from ,mrs4 ,dr4 ,caspar ,wistar4  ,his 
appearance in person1 when for the first
 time he sat among his colleagues of the
 ,society1 was on the evening of        
,february #ai1 #agif--the night upon    
which the two papers1 commented upon in 
the last few paragraphs were presented1 
although he probably did not read them  
himself1 this being done by a friend or 
by the secretary4 ,sixteen members were 
present4 ,among these were some whose   
names have become familiar elsewhere1   
such as ,barton1 ,woodhouse and others4 
,today1 the presence in the same old    

,hall of a renowned scientist1 from     
beyond the seas1 would literally attract
 crowds4 ,then it was not the fashion4  
,but probably he had come unannounced   
and unheralded4 ,further1 he was        
speaking at other hours on other topics 
in the city4  ,it is not recorded that  
he spoke before the philosophers4       
,perhaps he quietly absorbed their      
remarks and studied them1 although he no
 doubt was agreeably aroused when ,mr4  
,peale presented        to the ,society 
a young son of four months and four days
 old1 being       the first child born  
in the ,philosophical ,hall1 and        
requested that       the ,society would 
give him a name4 ,on which the ,society 
unanimously agreed that1 after the name 
of the chief founder and       late     
,president of the ,society1 he should be
 called ,franklin4  ,in anticipation of 
any later allusion to ,priestley's      
sojourn in ,philadelphia be it observed 
that he attended meetings of the        
,american ,philosophical ,society three 

times in #agif1 twice in #agig1 three   
times in #ahja and once in #ahjc1 and   
that on ,february #crd1 #agig1 he was   
chosen to deliver the annual oration    
before the ,society1 but the ,committee 
reported that        they waited on ,dr4
 ,priestley last ,monday afternoon1 who 
received       the information with     
great politeness1 but declined accepting
 of       the appointment4  ,this       
lengthy digression must now be          
interrupted4 ,it has gone almost too    
far1 yet it was necessary in order that 
an account of the early experimental    
contributions of the exile might be     
introduced chronologically4 ,as already 
remarked1 ,americans are most deeply    
interested in everything ,priestley did 
during his life in this country and     
particularly in his scientific          
activities4  ,on resuming the story of  
the routine at ,northumberland in the   
closing months of the year #agie1 there 
comes the cry from an agonized heart1-- 
,we have lost poor ,harry6  ,this was   

the message to a ,philadelphia          
resident--a friend from old ,england4   
,the loss1 for such it emphatically was1
 affected the ,doctor and ,mrs4         
,priestley very deeply4 ,this particular
 son was a pride to them and though only
 eighteen years old had conducted his   
farm as if he had been bred a farmer4   
,he was uncommonly beloved by all that  
worked under him4  ,his home was just   
outside of the borough of               
,northumberland4 ,it was the gift of his
 father4 ,his interment in a plot of    
ground belonging to the ,society of     
,friends is thus described by ,mr       
,bakewell3      ,i attended the funeral 
to the lonely spot1 and there ,i saw the
       good old father perform the      
service over the grave of his son4 ,it  
was an affecting sight1 but he went     
through it with fortitude1 and          
after praying1 addressed the attendants 
in a few words1 assuring       them that
 though death had separated them here1  
they should meet       again in another 

and a better life4  ,the correspondence 
to friends in ,england was replete with 
accounts of lectures which were in      
process of preparation4 ,they were      
discourses on the ,evidences of         
,revelation and their author was most   
desirous of getting to ,philadelphia    
that he might there deliver them4 ,at   
that time this ,city was full of atheism
 and agnosticism4 ,then1 too1 the hope  
of establishing a ,unitarian ,church was
 ever in ,priestley's thoughts4 ,how    
delightful it is to read1 ,february     
#abth1 #agif--      ,i am now on my way 
to ,philadelphia4  ,when he left it in  
#agid he was rather critical of it1 but 
now after three days he arrived there4  
,it was      a very good journey1       
accompanied by my daughter-in-law1 in my
       son's ,yarmouth waggon1 which by 
means of a seat constructed of          
straw1 was very easy4  ,yes1 back again 
to the ,city which was the only city in 
this country ever visited by him4       
,although at times he considered going  

to ,new ,york1 and even to ,boston1     
,philadelphia was to become his ,mecca4 
,in it he was to meet the most congenial
 scientific spirits1 and to the younger 
of these he was destined to impart a new
 inspiration for science1 and for       
chemical science in particular4 ,at the 
close of the three days' journey he     
wrote--      ,i am a guest with ,mr4    
,russell4444 ,we found him engaged to   
drink       tea with ,president         
,washington1 where we accompanied him   
and spent       two hours as in any     
private family4 ,he 7,washington7       
invited me to       come at any time1   
without ceremony4 ,everything is the    
reverse of       what it is with you4   
,this was his first meeting with        
,washington4 ,the spirit of the occasion
 impressed him4 ,the democratic behavior
 of the great ,federalist must have     
astonished him1 if he ever entertained1 
as ,lord ,brougham would have us        
believe1 a hostile opinion and thought  
him ungrateful because he would not     

consent to make ,america dependent upon 
,france4  ,priestley's eagerness to     
preach was intense1 and happy must he   
have been on the day following his      
arrival1 when his heart's wish was      
gratified4 ,he preached in the church of
 ,mr4 ,winchester--        to a very    
numerous1 respectable1 and very         
attentive audience4  ,many were members 
of ,congress1 and according to one      
witness--      ,the ,congregation that  
attended were so numerous that the house
       could not contain them1 so that  
as many were obliged to stand as        
sit1 and even the doorways were crowded 
with people4 ,mr4       ,vice-,president
 ,adams was among the regular           
attendants4  ,all this greatly          
encouraged the ,doctor4 ,his            
expectations for the establishment of a 
,unitarian congregation were most       
encouraging4 ,he declared himself ready 
to officiate every winter without salary
 if he could lodge somewhere with a     
friend4 ,the regular and punctual       

attendance of ,mr4 ,adams pleased him so
 much that he resolved on printing his  
sermons1 for they were in great demand1 
and to dedicate the same to the         
,vice-,president4 ,he was also gratified
 to note that the violent prejudice to  
him was gradually being overcome4 ,today
 we smile on recalling the reception    
accorded the good ,doctor in his early  
days in ,philadelphia4 ,we smile and yet
 our hearts fail to understand just why 
he should have been so ostracised4 ,to  
confirm this it may be noted that on one
 occasion ,priestley preached in a      
,presbyterian ,chapel1 very probably in 
,northumberland1 when one of the        
ministers was so displeased--           
that he declared if they permitted him  
any more1 he would never       enter the
 puplit again4  ,and in #agid on coming 
the first time to ,philadelphia he wrote
      ,there is much jealousy and dread 
of me4  ,how shameful and yet it was    
most real4 ,bakewell narrates that      
,i went several times to the ,baptist   

meeting in ,second ,street1       under 
the care of ,dr4 ,rogers4 ,this man     
burst out1 and bade the       people    
beware1 for 'a ,priestley had entered   
the land2' and then1       crouching    
down in a worshiping attitude1          
exclaimed1 ',oh1 ,lamb of       ,god6   
how would they pluck thee from thy      
throne6'  ,the public prints flayed     
,rogers1 and even the staid old         
,philosophical ,society indicated to him
 that such conduct ill became a member  
of that august body4 ,accordingly       
humiliated he repented his error and in 
time became strongly attached to        
,priestley1 concerning whom he told this
 story to a ,mr4 ,taylor whose language 
is here given3      ,the ,doctor        
7,priestley7 would occasionally call on 
,dr4 ,rogers1 and       without any     
formal invitation1 pass an evening at   
his house4 ,one       afternoon he was  
there when ,dr4 ,rogers was not at home1
 having       been assured by ,mrs4     
,rogers that her husband would soon be  

there4       ,meanwhile1 ,mr4 ----1 a   
,baptist minister1 called on ,dr4       
,rogers1 and       being a person of    
rough manners1 ,mrs4 ,rogers was a good 
deal       concerned lest he should say 
something disrespectful to ,dr4         
,priestley in case she introduced the   
,doctor to him4 ,at last1       however1
 she ventured to announce ,dr4          
,priestley's name1 who put       out his
 hand2 but instead of taking it the     
other immediately drew       himself    
back1 saying1 as if astonished to meet  
with ,dr4 ,priestley       in the home  
of one of his brethren1 and afraid of   
being       contaminated by having any  
social intercourse with him1 ',dr4      
,priestley6 ,i can't be cordial4'       
,it is easy to imagine that by this     
speech ,mrs4 ,rogers was greatly        
embarrassed4 ,dr4 ,priestley1 observing 
this1 instantly relieved her       by   
saying1 and with all that benevolent    
expression of countenance       and     
pleasantness of manner for which he was 

remarkable1 ',well1       well1 ,madam1 
you and ,i can be cordial2 and ,dr4     
,rogers will soon be       with us1 ,mr4
 ---- and he can converse together1 so  
that we shall       all be very         
comfortable4' ,thus encouraged1 ,mrs4   
,rogers asked ,dr4       ,priestley some
 questions relative to the ,scripture   
prophecies1 to       which he made      
suitable replies2 and before ,dr4       
,rogers arrived1       ,mr4 ---- was    
listening with much attention1 sometimes
 making a       remark or putting in a  
question4 ,the evening was passed in the
       greatest harmony1 with no        
inclination on the part of ,mr4 ---- to 
terminate the conversation4 ,at last    
,dr4 ,priestley1 pulling out his        
watch1 informed ,mr4 ---- that as it was
 ten o'clock it was time       that two 
old men like them were at their         
quarters4 ,the other at       first was 
not willing to believe that ,dr4        
,priestley's watch was       accurate2  
but finding that it was correct1 he took

 his leave with       apparent regret1  
observing that he had never spent a     
shorter and       more pleasant evening4
 ,he then went away1 ,dr4 ,priestley    
accompanying him1 until it became       
necesary to separate4 ,next             
morning he called on his friend1 ,dr4   
,rogers1 when he made the               
following frank and manly declaration3  
',you and ,i well know that       ,dr4  
,priestley is quite wrong in regard to  
his theology1 but       notwithstanding 
this1 he is a great and good man1 and ,i
 behaved to       him at our first      
coming together like a fool and a       
brute4'  ,many additional evidences     
might be introduced showing that the    
,doctor was slowly winning his way among
 the people4 ,it must also be remembered
 that not all of his associates were of 
the clerical group but that he had hosts
 of scientists as sincere and warm      
supporters4 ,in ,woodhouse's laboratory 
he was ever welcome and there must have 
met many congenial spirits who never    

discussed politics or religion4 ,this   
was after the manner of the ,lunar      
,society in ,birmingham in which        
representatives of almost every creed   
came together to think of scientific    
matters4 ,hence1 it is quite probable   
that ,priestley's visit to ,philadelphia
 was on the whole full of pleasure4  ,he
 was also in habits of close intimacy   
with ,dr4 ,ewing1 ,provost of the       
,university of ,pennsylvania1 and with  
the ,vice-,provost1 ,dr4 ,john ,andrews1
 as well as with ,dr4 ,benjamin ,rush   
who had long been his friend and with   
whom he corresponded at frequent        
intervals after his arrival in ,america4
 ,to him ,priestley had confided his    
hope of getting a college in            
,northumberland and inquired1--         
,would the ,state give any encouragement
 to it8  ,to ,rush he also wrote        
excusing        my weakness 7for such   
you will consider it7 when1 after giving
 you       reason to expect that ,i     
would accept the professorship of       

,chemistry1 if it was offered to me1 ,i 
now inform you that ,i must             
decline it4  ,now and then he also      
advised him of such experiments as he   
was able to do2 for example--      ,i   
made trial of the air of ,northumberland
 by the test of nitrous       air1 but  
found it not sensibly different from    
that of ,england4  ,in the leisure he   
enjoyed his figure was often seen in    
,congress4 ,he relished the debates     
which at the time were on the ,treaty   
with ,england4 ,he declared he heard as 
good speaking there as in the ,house of 
,commons4 ,he observed--      ,a ,mr4   
,amos speaks as well as ,mr4 ,burke2 but
 in general the       speakers are more 
argumentative1 and less rhetorical4 ,and
 whereas       there are with you not   
more than ten or a dozen tolerable      
speakers1 here every member is capable  
of speaking4  ,while none of the letters
 to ,priestley's friends mention a      
family event of some importance the     
,american ,advertiser1 ,february #ac1   

#agif1 announced that      ,mr4 ,william
 ,priestley1 second son of the          
celebrated ,dr4 ,joseph                 
,priestley1 was married to the agreeable
 ,miss ,peggy ,foulke1 a young          
lady possessed with every quality to    
render the marriage state       happy4  
,this occurred very probably just before
 the ,doctor set forth from             
,northumberland to make his first       
,philadelphia visit4 ,it is singular    
that little is said of the son ,william 
by the ,doctor4 ,could it be that1 in   
some way1 he may have offended his      
parent8 ,in his ,memorial ,rush1 writing
 in the month of ,march1 #agif1 noted3  
,saw ,dr4 ,priestley often this month4  
,attended him in a severe               
pleurisy4 ,he once in his sickness spoke
 of his second son1       ,william1 and 
wept very much4  ,busy as he was in     
spreading his religious tenets1 in      
fraternizing with congenial scientific  
friends1 his thoughts would             
involuntarily turn back to ,england3    

,here1 though ,i am as happy as this    
country can make me 444 ,i do       not 
feel as ,i did in ,england4  ,by ,may1  
#agif1 he had finished his discourses1  
although he proposed concluding with one
 emphatically ,unitarian in character4  
,this was expected by his audience1     
which had been quietly prepared for it  
and received it with open minds and much
 approval4  ,on his return to           
,northumberland he promptly resumed his 
work on the ,church ,history1 but was   
much disturbed because of the failure of
 his correspondents in writing him      
regularly1 so he became particularly    
active in addressing them4 ,but better  
still he punctuated his composition of  
sermons1 the gradual unfolding of his   
,church ,history1 and religious and     
literary studies in general1 with       
experimental diversions1 beginning with 
the publication 7#agif7 of an octavo    
brochure of #ci pages from the press of 
,dobson in ,philadelphia1 in which he   
addressed himself more especially to    

,berthollet1 de la ,place1 ,monge1      
,morveau1 ,fourcroy and others on       
,considerations on the ,doctrine of     
,phlogiston and the ,decomposition of   
,water4 ,it is the old story in a newer 
dress4 ,its purpose was to bring home to
 ,americans afresh his particular ideas4
 ,the reviewer of the ,medical          
,repository staff was evidently         
impressed by it1 for he said3      ,it  
must give pleasure to every             
philosophical mind to find the          
,united ,states becoming the theatre of 
such interesting discussion1  and then  
adds that the evidence which was weighty
 enough to turn such men as ,black and  
others from the phlogiston idea to that 
of ,lavoisier--      has never yet      
appeared to ,dr4 ,priestley considerable
 enough to       influence his judgment1
 or gain his assent4  ,priestley1 as    
frequently observed1 entertained grave  
doubts in regard to the constitution of 
metals4 ,he thought they were compounded
 of a certain earth1 or calx1 and       

phlogiston4 ,further he believed that   
when the phlogiston flew away1 the      
splendour1 malleability1 and ductility  
of the metal disappeared with it1       
leaving behind a calx4 ,again1 he       
contended that when metals dissolved in 
acids the liberated inflammable air     
7hydrogen7 did not come from the        
'decompounded water' but from the       
phlogiston emitted by the metal4  ,also1
 on the matter of the composition and   
decomposition of water1 he held very    
opposite ideas4 ,the ,french ,school    
maintained that hydrogenous and         
oxygenous airs1 incorporated by drawing 
through them the electrical spark turn  
to water1 but ,priestley contended that 
they combine into smoking nitrous acid4 
,and thus the discussion proceeded1 to  
be answered most intelligently1 in      
#agig1 by ,adet1#e whose arguments are  
familiar to all chemists and need not   
therefore be here repeated4 ,of more    
interest was the publication of two     
lectures on ,combustion by ,maclean of  

,princeton4 ,they filled a pamphlet of  
#ga pages4 ,it appeared in #agig1 and   
was1 in brief1 a refutation of          
,priestley's presentations1 and was     
heartily welcomed as evidence of the    
growing taste in ,america for this kind 
of inquiry4 ,among other things ,maclean
 said of the various ideas regarding    
combustion--,becker's is incomplete1    
,stahl's though ingenious1 is defective2
 the antiphlogistic is simple1          
consistent and sufficient1 while        
,priestley's resembling ,stahl's but in 
name1 is complicated1 contradictory and 
inadequate4  ,not all ,american chemists
 were ready to side track the           
explanations of ,priestley4 ,the        
distinguished ,dr4 ,mitchill wrote      
,priestley on what he designated an     
attempt to accommodate the ,disputes    
among ,chemists concerning ,phlogiston4 
,this was in ,november1 #agig4 ,it is an
 ingenious effort which elicited from   
,priestley 7#agih7 his sincere thanks1  
and the expressed fear that his labours 

will be in vain4 ,and so it proved4     
,present day chemists would acquiesce in
 this statement after reading           
,mitchill's middle-of-the-road          
arguments4 ,they were not satisfactory  
to ,maclean and irritated ,priestley4   
,in ,june #agih a second letter was     
written by ,priestley to ,mitchill4 ,in 
it he emphasized the substitution of    
zinc for finery cinder4 ,from it he     
contended inflammable air could be      
easily procured1 and laid great stress  
on the fact that the inflammable air    
came from the metal and not from the    
water4 ,he wondered why ,berthollet and 
,maclean had not answered his first     
article4 ,to this1 a few days later1    
,mitchill replied that he felt there was
 confusion in terms and that the        
language employed by the various writers
 had introduced that confusion2 then for
 philological reasons and to clarify    
thoughts ,mitchill proposed to strike   
out azote from the nomenclature of the  
day and take septon in its place2 he    

also wished to expunge hydrogene and    
substitute phlogiston4 ,he admitted that
 ,priestley's experiments on zinc were  
difficult to explain by the             
antiphlogistic doctrine1 adding--       
,it would give me great satisfaction    
that we could settle the       points of
 variance on this subject2 though1 even 
as it is1 ,i am       flattered by your 
7,priestley's7 allowing my attempt 'to  
reconcile       the two theories to be  
ingenious1 plausible and well-meant4444 
,your idea of carrying on a             
philosophical discussion in an amicable 
manner is charming'4444  ,but the       
peace-maker was handling a delicate     
problem4 ,he recognized this1 but       
desired that the pioneer studies1 then  
in progress might escape harsh polemics4
 ,this was difficult of realization for 
less than a month later fuel was added  
to the fire by ,maclean1 when in writing
 ,mitchill1 who had sent him            
,priestley's printed letter1 he         
emphatically declared that      ,the    

experiment with the zinc does not seem  
to be of more       consequence than    
that with the iron and admits of an easy
       explanation on antiphlogistic    
principles4  ,and he further insisted   
that the experiments of ,priestley      
proved water to be composed of hydrogene
 and oxygene4  ,four days later 7,july  
#bj1 #agih7 ,priestley wrote ,mitchill  
that he had replaced zinc by red        
precipitate and did not get water on    
decomposing inflammable air with the    
precipitate4 ,again1 ,august #bc1 #agih1
 he related to ,mitchill        that the
 modern doctrine of water consisting of 
oxygene and       hydrogene is not well 
founded 444 water is the basis of all   
kinds of air1 and without it no kind of 
air can be produced 444       not       
withstanding the great use that the     
,french chemists make of       scales   
and weights1 they do not pretend to     
weigh either their       calorique or   
light2 and why may not phlogiston escape
 their       researches1 when they      

employ the same instruments in that     
investigation8  ,there were in all eight
 letters sent by ,priestley to          
,mitchill4 ,they continued until        
,february1 #agii4 ,their one subject was
 phlogiston and its rle in very simple  
chemical operations4 ,the observations  
were the consequence        of original 
and recent experiments1 to which ,i have
 given a good       part of the leisure 
of the last summer2 and ,i do not       
propose to do       more on the subject 
till ,i hear from the great authors of  
the       theory that ,i combat in      
,america2  but adds1--      ,i am glad  
444 to find several advocates of the    
system in this       country1 and some  
of them1 ,i am confident1 will do       
themselves       honour by their        
candour1 as well as by their ability4   
,this very probably was said as a       
consequence of the spirited reply ,james
 ,woodhouse#f made to the papers of     
,maclean4 ,as known1 ,woodhouse worked  
unceasingly to overthrow the doctrine of

 phlogiston1 but was evidently irritated
 by ,maclean1 whom he reminds--         
,you are not yet1 ,doctor1 the conqueror
 of this veteran in       ,philosophy4  
,this was a singularly magnanimous      
speech on ,woodhouse's part1 for he had 
been hurling sledgehammer blows without 
rest at the structure ,priestley thought
 he had reared about phlogiston and     
which1 he believed1 most unassailable1  
so when in #agii 7,july7 ,priestley     
began his reply to his ,antiphlogistian 
opponents he took occasion to remark3   
,i am happy to find in ,dr4 ,woodhouse  
one who is equally ingenious       and  
candid2 so that ,i do not think the     
cause he has undertaken       will soon 
find a more able champion1 and ,i do not
 regret the       absence of ,m4        
,berthollet in ,egypt4  ,noble words    
these for his young adversary who1 in   
consequence of strenuous laboratory     
work1 had acquired a deep respect and   
admiration for ,priestley's             
achievements1 though he considered he   

had gone far astray4  ,the various new1 
confirmatory ideas put forth by         
,priestley need not be here enumerated4 
,they served their day4  ,dr4 ,mitchill 
evidently enjoyed this controversial    
chemical material1 for he wrote that he 
hoped the readers of the ,medical       
,repository1 in which the several papers
 appeared1 would        participate the 
pleasure we feel on taking a retrospect 
of our       pages1 and finding the     
,united ,states the theatre of so much  
scientific disquisition4  ,and yet1 when
 in #ahjj1 a pamphlet of #ij pages      
bearing the title ,the ,doctrine of     
,phlogiston established1 etc4 appeared  
there was consternation in the ranks of 
,american chemists4 ,woodhouse was      
aroused4 ,he absolutely refuted every   
point in it experimentally1 and ,dr4    
,mitchill avowed--      ,we decline     
entering into a minute examination of   
his experiments1       as few of his    
recitals of them are free from the      
triune mystery       of phlogiston1     

which exceeds the utmost stretch of our 
faith2 for       according to it1 carbon
 is phlogiston1 and hydrogen is         
phlogiston1 and azote is phlogiston2 and
 yet there are not       three          
phlogistons1 but one phlogiston6  ,it   
was imperative to submit the preceding  
paragraphs on chemical topics1          
notwithstanding they have1 in a manner1 
interrupted the chronological           
arrangement of the activities of the    
,doctor in his home life4 ,they were1 it
 is true1 a part of that life--a part   
that every chemist will note with       
interest and pleasure4 ,they mean that  
he was not indifferent to chemistry1 and
 that it is not to be supposed that he  
ever could be1 especially as his visits 
to ,philadelphia brought to his         
attention problems which he would never 
suffer to go unanswered or unsolved     
because of his interest in so many other
 things quite foreign to them4 ,however1
 a backward look may be taken before    
resuming the story of his experimental  

studies4  ,it has already been said that
 the non-appearance of letters caused   
him anxiety4 ,for instance he wrote     
,lindsey1 ,july #bh1 #agif--      ,it is
 now four months since ,i have received 
any letter from you1       and it gives 
me most serious concern4  ,but finally  
the longed-for epistle arrived and he   
became content1 rejoicing in being able 
to return the news--      ,i do not know
 that ,i have more satisfaction from    
anything ,i ever       did1 than from   
the lay ,unitarian congregation ,i have 
been the       means of establishing in 
,philadelphia4  ,for the use of this    
group of worshipers he had engaged the  
,common ,hall in the ,college           
7,university of ,pennsylvania74  ,but   
amidst this unceasing activity of body  
and mind--very evidently extremely happy
 in his surroundings--he was again      
crushed to earth by the death of his    
noble wife--      ,always caring for    
others and never for herself4  ,this    
occurred nine months after the departure

 of ,harry4 ,it was a fearful blow4 ,for
 more than thirty-four years they had   
lived most happily together4 ,the       
following tribute1 full of deep feeling 
and esteem attests this--      ,my wife 
being a woman of an excellent           
understanding much improved       by    
reading1 of great fortitude and strength
 of mind1 and of a       temper in the  
highest degree affectionate and         
generous4444 ,also       excelling in   
everything relating to household        
affairs1 she       entirely relieved me 
of all concern of that kind1 which      
allowed me       to give all my time to 
the prosecution of my studies4  ,she was
 not only a true helpmate--courageous   
and devoted--but certainly most desirous
 that the husband in whom she absolutely
 believed should have nothing to        
interrupt or arrest the pursuits dear to
 him and in which she herself must have 
taken great but quiet pride1 for she was
 extremely intelligent and original4    
,madam ,belloc has mentioned      ,it is

 a tradition in the family that ,mrs4   
,priestley once sent her       famous   
husband to market with a large basket   
and that he so       acquitted himself  
that she never sent him again6  ,the new
 house1 partly planned by her1 at the   
moment well advanced and to her fancy1  
was not to be her home for which she had
 fondly dreamed4  ,priestley was deeply 
depressed but his habitual submission   
carried him through1 although all this  
is pathetically concealed in his        
letters4  ,there were rumours flitting  
about that ,priestley purposed returning
 to ,england4 ,that his friends might be
 apprised of his real intentions the    
following letter was permitted to find  
its way into the newspapers3            
,northumberland ,oct4 #d1               
#agif        ,my dear ,sir1      ,every 
account ,i have from ,england makes me  
think myself happy in       this        
peaceful retirement1 where ,i enjoy     
almost everything ,i can       wish in  
this life1 and where ,i hope to close   

it1 though ,i find it       is reported1
 both here and in ,england that ,i am   
about to return4       ,the two heavy   
afflictions ,i have met with here1 in   
the death of a       son1 and of my     
wife1 rather serve to attract me to the 
place4       ,though dead and buried1 ,i
 would not willingly leave them1 and    
hope       to rest with them1 when the  
sovereign disposer of all things shall  
put a period to my present labours and  
pursuits4      ,the advantages we enjoy 
in this country are indeed very great4  
,here we have no poor2 we never see a   
beggar1 nor is there a family       in  
want4 ,we have no church establishment1 
and hardly any taxes4       ,this       
particular ,state pays all its officers 
from a treasure in the       public     
funds4 ,there are very few crimes       
committed and we travel       without   
the least apprehension of danger4 ,the  
press is perfectly       free1 and ,i   
hope we shall always keep out of war4   
,i do not think there ever was any      

country in a state of such rapid        
improvement as this at present2 but we  
have not the same       advantages for  
literary and philosophical pursuits that
 you have       in ,europe1 though even 
in this respect we are every day getting
       better4 ,many books are now      
printed here1 but what scholars chiefly 
want are old books1 and these are not to
 be had4 ,we hope1 however1       that  
the troubles of ,europe will be the     
cause of sending us some       libraries
 and they say that it is an ill wind    
that blows no       profit4      ,i     
sincerely wish1 however1 that your      
troubles were at an end1 and       from 
our last accounts we think there must be
 a peace1 at least       from the       
impossibility of carrying on the war4   
,with every good wish to my country and 
to yourself1 ,i am1 dear       sir1     
,yours sincerely1                       
,j4 ,,priestley4  ,gradually the news   
went forth that the ,doctor contemplated
 a second visit to the                  

metropolis--,philadelphia1 the ,capital 
of the young ,republic4 ,he wrote--     
,having now one tie1 and that a strong  
one1 to this place                      
7,northumberland7 less than ,i have had 
,i propose to spend more time       in  
,philadelphia4  ,as long as he was      
capable of public speaking it was his   
desire to carry forward his missionary  
work1        but the loss of my fore    
teeth 7having now only two in the upper 
jaw7 together with my tendency to       
stammering1 which troubles me           
sometimes1 is much against me4          
,accordingly in early ,january of #agig 
he might have been found there4 ,he     
alludes in his correspondence to the    
presence in the city of ,c4 ,volney1 a  
,french philosopher and historian1 who  
had been imprisoned but regained liberty
 on the overthrow of ,robespierre when  
he became professor of history in the   
,ecole ,normal4 ,volney was not         
particularly pleased with ,priestley's  
discourses1 and took occasion some weeks

 later to issue      ,,volney',s        
,,answer ,,to ,,priestley  which was    
advertised by the ,aurora as on sale by 
the principal booksellers1 price #f     
cents4  ,he was exceedingly rejoiced at 
the flourishing state of the ,unitarian 
,society and the manner in which its    
services were conducted4  ,on the       
occasion of his first discourse the     
,english ,ambassador1 ,mr4 ,lister1 was 
in the audience and ,priestley dined    
with him the day following4  ,friends   
had prevailed upon ,priestley to preach 
a charity sermon on his next ,sunday1 in
 one of the ,episcopal churches1 but in 
the end it was delivered at the         
,university ,hall4  ,his mind was much  
occupied with plans for controverting   
infidelity1        the progress of which
 here is independent of all reasoning1--
  so he published the third edition of  
his ,observations on the ,increase of   
,infidelity and an ,outline of the      
,evidences of ,revealed ,religion4 ,in  
the first of them he issued a challenge 

to ,volney who was        much looked up
 to by unbelievers here4  ,volney's only
 reply was that he would not read the   
pamphlet4 ,it was in these days that    
,priestley saw a great deal of ,thomas  
,jefferson2 indeed1 the latter attended 
several of his sermons4 ,the intercourse
 of these friends was extremely valuable
 to both4 ,jefferson welcomed everything
 which ,priestley did in science and    
consulted him much on problems of       
education4  ,at the election in the     
,american ,philosophical ,society in the
 closing days of #agif there was openly 
discussed        whether to choose me   
7,priestley7 or ,mr4 ,jefferson1        
,president of       the ,society1--     
which prompted the ,doctor        to    
give his informant good reasons why they
 should not choose       me4  ,naturally
 he listened to the political talk4 ,he 
worried over the apparent dislike       
observed generally to ,france4 ,he      
remarked      ,the rich not only wish   
for alliance offensive and defensive    

with       ,england 444 but would have  
little objection to the former          
dependence upon it1  and      ,the      
disposition of the lower orders of the  
people 444 for the       ,french 444 is 
not extinguished4  ,he was much annoyed 
by ,peter ,porcupine4 ,the latter was   
publishing a daily paper 7#agii7 and in 
it frequently brought forward           
,priestley's name in the most           
opprobrious manner1 although ,priestley 
in his own words--        had nothing to
 do with the politics of the country4   
,the ,doctor advised friend ,lindsey    
that      ,he 7,porcupine7 every day1   
advertizes his pamphlet against me1 and 
after my name adds1 commonly known by   
the name of the fire-brand              
philosopher4  ,however1 he flattered    
himself that he would soon be back in   
,northumberland1 where he would be      
usefully engaged1 as      ,i have cut   
myself out work for a year at least 444 
besides       attending to my           
experiments4  ,mr4 ,adams had come into 

the ,presidency1 so ,priestley very     
properly went to pay his respects and   
take leave of the late ,president       
7,washington7  whom he thought in not   
very good spirits1 although        he   
invited me to ,mount ,vernon and said he
 thought he should hardly       go from 
home twenty miles as long as he lived4  
,priestley's fame was rapidly spreading 
through the land4 ,thoughtful men were  
doing him honor in many sections of the 
country1 as is evident from the         
following clipping from a ,portland     
7,me47 paper for ,march #bg1 #agig3--   
,on ,friday the twenty-fourth a number  
of gentlemen1 entertaining a       high 
sense of the character1 abilities and   
services of the       ,reverend ,doctor 
,,joseph ,,priestley1 as a friend and   
promoter of true       science dined    
together at the ,columbian ,tavern1 in  
commemoration       of his birth4 ,the  
following toasts were given4      #a4   
,that ,illustrious ,christian and       
,philosopher1 ,joseph ,priestley3       

,may the world be as grateful to him for
 his services as his        services are
 beneficial to the world4      #b4 ,may 
the names of ,locke1 ,newton1           
,montesquieu1 ,hartley and              
,franklin be had in everlasting         
remembrance4      #c4 ,the great gift of
 ,god to man1 ,reason6 ,may it influence
 the        world in policy1 in laws1   
and in religion4      #d4 ,,truth3 ,may 
the splendour of her charms dissipate   
the gloom of        superstition1 and   
expel hypocricy from the heart of man4  
#e4 ,may our laws be supported by       
religion3 but may religion never be     
supported by law4      #f4 ,white-robed 
,charity3 ,may she accompany us in all  
our steps and        cover us with a    
mantle of love4      #g4 ,christians of 
all denominations3 ,may they love one   
another4      ,as it was a feast of     
reason the purest philanthrophy         
dignified       the conversation2 and   
moderation and temperance bounded every 
effusion of the heart4  ,it was in the  

summer of #agig that he carried forward 
his work on ,phlogiston1 alluded to on  
p4 #ha4 ,he understood quite well that  
the entire chemical world was against   
him but he was not able to find good    
reasons        to despair of the old    
system4  ,it must be remembered that in 
these days1 also1 he had ,thomas ,cooper
 with him4 ,with this gentleman he      
discussed his scientific studies and    
with him also he carried on many        
arguments upon the burning subject of   
infidelity1 about which he continuously 
wrote his friends in this country and in
 ,england4 ,it was quite generally      
believed that ,cooper was an infidel4   
,never1 however1 did their intimacy     
suffer in the slightest by their        
conflicting views4  ,the ,church        
,history continued to hold ,priestley's 
first thought4 ,he was a busy student1  
occupied with a diversity of interests  
and usually cheerful and eager to follow
 up new lines of endeavor4 ,the arrival 
of vessels from the home country was    

closely watched4 ,books and apparatus   
were brought by them4 ,while1 as        
observed1 he was singularly cheerful and
 happy1 he confessed at times that      
my character as a philosopher is under a
 cloud4  ,yet1 this was but a momentary 
depression1 for he uttered in almost the
 same breath--      ,everything will be 
cleared up in a reasonable time4  ,amid 
the constant daily duties he found real 
solace in his scientific pursuits2      
indeed when he was quite prepared to    
abandon all his activities he declared  
of his experiments that he could not    
stop them for      ,i consider them as  
that study of the works of the great    
,creator1       which ,i shall resume   
with more advantage hereafter4  ,he     
advised his friends ,lindsey and        
,belsham--      ,i cannot express what  
,i feel on receiving your letters4 ,they
 set       my thoughts afloat1 so that  
,i can do nothing but ruminate a        
long time2 but it is a most pleasing    
melancholy4  ,far removed from ,european

 events he was nevertheless ever keen   
and alert concerning them4 ,then the    
winter of #agig appears to have been    
very severe4 ,his enforced confinement  
to home probably gave rise to an        
introspection1 and a slight             
disappointment in matters which had     
formerly given him pleasure4 ,for       
example1 he puzzled over the fact that  
on his second visit to ,philadelphia1   
,mr4 ,adams was present but once at his 
lectures1 and remarks--      ,when my   
lectures were less popular1 and he was  
near his       presidentship1 he left   
me1 making a kind of apology1 from the  
members of the principal ,presbyterian  
,church having offered him a       pew  
there4 ,he seemed to interest himself in
 my favour against ,m4       ,volney1   
but did not subscribe to my ,church     
,history 444 ,i suppose       he was not
 pleased that ,i did not adopt his      
dislike of the ,french4  ,when ,january 
of #agih arrived his joy was great4 ,a  
box of books had come4 ,among them was a

 ,general ,dictionary which he regarded 
as a real treasure4 ,reading was now his
 principal occupation4 ,he found the    
making of many experiments irksome and  
seemed1 all at once1 quite averse to    
having his hands so much in water4      
,presumably these were innocent excuses 
for his devotion to the ,church ,history
 which had been brought up to date4     
,furthermore he was actually            
contemplating transplanting himself to  
,france4 ,but with it all he wrote      
assiduously on religious topics1 and was
 highly pleased with the experimental   
work he had sent to ,dr4 ,mitchill 7p4  
#he74  ,he advised his friends of the   
intercepted letters which did him much  
harm when they were published4 ,they    
called down upon him severest judgement 
and suspicion1 and made him--           
disliked by all the friends of the      
ruling power in this country4  ,it may  
be well to note that these intercepted  
letters were found on a ,danish ship1   
inclosed in a cover addressed to        

,,dr4 ,,priestley1 ,,in ,,america  ,they
 came from friends1 ,english and        
,french1 living in ,paris4 ,they        
abounded        with matter of the most 
serious reflection4444 ,if the animosity
 of       these apostate ,englishmen    
against their own country1 their        
conviction that no submissions will     
avert our danger1 and their             
description of the engines employed by  
the ,directory for our                  
destruction1 were impressed as they     
ought to be1 upon the minds of       all
 our countrymen1 we should certainly    
never again be told of the              
innocent designs of these traitors1 or  
their associates--  ,the preceding      
quotation is from a booklet containing  
exact copies of the intercepted letters4
  ,in the first of the letters1 dated   
,feb4 #ab1 #agih1 the correspondent of  
,priestley tells that he had met a young
 ,frenchman who had visited             
,northumberland        and we all       
rejoiced at the aggreeable information  

that at the       peace you would not   
fail to revisit ,europe2 and that he    
hoped you       would fix yourself in   
this country 7,france74 ,whether you fix
       yourself here or in ,england1 7as
 ,england will then be7 is              
probably a matter of little importance  
444 but we all think you are            
misplaced where you are1 though1 no     
doubt1 in the way of       usefulness-- 
,the editor of the letters annotates    
usefulness thus3      ,dr4 ,priestley is
 in the way of usefulness in ,america1  
because he       is labouring there1 as 
his associates are in ,europe1 to       
disunite       the people from their    
government1 and to introduce the        
blessings       of ,french anarchy4     
,these intercepted letters in no way    
prove that ,dr4 ,priestley was engaged  
in any movement against his native land 
or against his adopted country4         
,however1 the whole world was in an     
uproar4 ,people were ready to believe   
the worst regarding their fellows1 so it

 is not surprising that he should have  
declared himself disliked4  ,he alludes 
frequently to the marvelous changes     
taking place in the ,states4 ,everything
 was in rapid motion4 ,taxes were the   
topic of conversation on all sides4  ,to
 divert his philosophizing he busied    
himself in his laboratory where many    
original experiments were made4 ,he     
avoided the crowd4 ,there was too great 
a party spirit4 ,indeed1 there was      
violence1 so he determined not to visit 
,philadelphia4 ,he sought to escape the 
rancorous abuse which was being hurled  
at him--        as a citizen of ,france4
  ,one must read his correspondence to  
fully appreciate ,priestley during the  
early days of #agii4 ,what must have    
been his mental condition when he wrote 
,lindsey--      ,as to a public violent 
death the idea of that does not affect  
me       near so much  and      ,i      
cannot express what ,i feel when ,i     
receive and read your letters4       ,i 
generally shed many tears over them4    

,there was no assurance in financial and
 commercial circles4 ,the hopes of      
neither the more sober1 nor of the wild 
and fanatic reformers of humanity could 
be realized1 and they got into such a   
war of hate and abuse that they         
themselves stamped their doctrines      
false4  ,priestley was out of patience  
with the public measures of the country4
 ,he disliked them as much as he did    
those of ,england1 but added      ,here 
the excellence of the ,constitution     
provides a remedy1 if the       people  
will make use of it1 and if not1 they   
deserve what they       suffer4  ,the   
,constitution was a favorite instrument 
with him4 ,a most interesting lecture   
upon it will be found among the         
,discourses which he proposed delivering
 in ,philadelphia4 ,this never occurred4
  ,the ,academy he expected to see in   
operation failed for support4 ,the walls
 were raised and he feared it would go  
no further4 ,the ,legislature had voted 
it #cjjj1 but the ,senate negatived this

 act4 ,he thought of giving up the      
presidency of it4  ,he wrote ,dr4 ,rush 
that he was quite busy with replies to  
,dr4 ,woodhouse's attack on his         
confirmation of the existence of        
phlogiston1 7p4 #hh74 ,he relished his  
discussions with ,woodhouse and was     
confident that eventually he would      
overturn the ,french system of          
chemistry4 ,he further remarked to      
,rush--      ,were you at liberty to    
make an excursion as far as these back  
woods ,i shall be happy to see you1 and 
so would many others4  ,but at that     
particular moment ,rush was too much    
engaged in combating yellow fever1 which
 again ravaged ,philadelphia1 and all   
who could1 fled1 and the streets were   
lifeless and dead4 ,the prevalence of   
this fearful plague was a potent factor 
in ,priestley's failure to visit the    
,city during the year--the last year of 
a closing ,century which did not end in 
the prosperity anticipated for it in the
 hopeful months and years following the 

war4 ,it seemed1 in many ways1 to be the
 end of an era4 ,washington died        
,december #ad1 #agii1 and the           
,federalists' tenure of power was coming
 to a close4 ,the ,jeffersonians1 aided 
by eight of the electoral votes of      
,pennsylvania1 won the victory1 amid    
outbursts of unprecedented political    
bitterness4 ,it was1 therefore1 very    
wise that the ,doctor remained quietly  
at home in ,northumberland with his     
experiments and ,church ,history4  ,the 
new ,century--the #aith--found our      
beloved philosopher at times quite proud
 of the success he had with his         
experiments and full of genuine hope    
that phlogiston was established2 and    
again dejected because of the coarse and
 low articles directed against him by   
the prints of the day4 ,to offset1 in a 
measure1 the distrust entertained for   
him because of the intercepted letters  
he addressed a series of ,letters to the
 inhabitants of ,northumberland and     
vicinity4 ,these were explanatory of his

 views4 ,at home they were most         
satisfying but in the city they brought 
upon him more abuse4 ,and1 so1 he       
translated a passage from ,petrarch     
which read--        ,by civil fueds     
exiled my native home1       ,resign'd1 
though injured1 hither ,i have come4    
,here1 groves and streams1 delights of  
rural ease2       ,yet1 where the       
associates1 wont to serve and please2   
,the aspect bland1 that bade the heart  
confide8       ,absent from these1 e'en 
here1 no joys abide4  ,and these were   
incorporated in his brochure4  ,having  
alluded to the ,letters addressed to the
 ,northumberland folks1 it may be proper
 to introduce a letter which ,priestley 
received from ,mr4 ,jefferson1 whom the 
former was disposed to hold as in many  
respects the first man in this ,country3
                          ,philadelphia1
 ,jan4 #ah1 #ahjj4    ,dear ,sir--      
,i thank you for the pamphlets          
7,letters7 you were so kind as to       
send me4 ,you will know what ,i thought 

of them by my having before       sent a
 dozen sets to ,virginia1 to distribute 
among my friends2 yet       ,i thank you
 not the less for these1 which ,i value 
the more as they       came from        
yourself4      ,the papers of ,political
 ,arithmetic1 both in yours and ,mr4    
,cooper's       pamphlets1 are the most 
precious gifts that can be made to us2  
for       we are running navigation-mad1
 and commerce-mad1 and ,navy-mad1       
which is worst of all4 ,how desirable it
 is that you should pursue       that   
subject for us4 ,from the porcupines of 
our country you will       receive no   
thanks1 but the great mass of our nation
 will edify1       and thank you4       
,how deeply have ,i been chagrined and  
mortified at the persecutions           
which fanaticism and monarchy have      
excited against you1 even here6         
,at first1 ,i believed it was merely a  
continuance of the ,english             
persecution2 but ,i observe that1 on the
 demise of ,porcupine1 and       the    

division of his inheritance between     
,fenno and ,brown1 the       latter     
7though succeeding only to the ,federal 
portion of       ,porcupinism1 not the  
,anglican1 which is ,fenno's part7      
serves up       for the palate of his   
sect dishes of abuse against you as     
high-seasoned as ,porcupine's were4 ,you
 have sinned against ,church       and  
,king1 and therefore can never be       
forgiven4 ,how sincerely ,i       have  
regretted that your friend1 before he   
fixed a choice of       position1 did   
not visit the valleys on each side of   
the blue range       in ,virginia1 as   
,mr4 ,madison and myself so much wished4
 ,you would       have found there equal
 soil1 the finest climate1 and the most 
healthy air on the earth1 the homage of 
universal reverence and       love1 and 
the power of the country spread over you
 as a shield2       but1 since you would
 not make it your ,country by adoption1 
you       must now do it by your good   
offices4  ,mr4 ,livingston1 the         

,chancellor of ,new ,york1 so approved  
the ,letters that he got a new edition  
of them printed at ,albany4  ,the       
following letter to this same gentleman1
 although upon another subject than the 
,letters is not devoid of interest4 ,it 
has come into the writer's hands through
 the kind offices of ,dr4 ,thomas ,l4   
,montgomery1 ,state ,librarian of       
,pennsylvania3    ,sir1      ,i think   
myself much honoured by your letter1 and
 should have       thought myself       
singularly happy if my situation had    
been near to       such a person as you4
 ,persons engaged in scientific pursuits
 are       few in this country4 ,indeed1
 they are not very numerous anywhere4   
,in other respects ,i think myself very 
happy where ,i am4      ,i have never   
given much attention to machines of any 
kind1 and       therefore cannot pretend
 to decide concerning your proposal for 
the improvement of the fire engine4 ,it 
appears to me to deserve                
attention4 ,but ,i do not for want of a 

drawing see in what manner       the    
steam is to be let into the cylinder1 or
 discharged from it4       ,there would 
be1 ,i fear1 an objection to it from the
 force       necessary to raise the     
column of mercury1 and from the         
evaporation       of the mercury in the 
requisite heat4 ,i have found that it   
loses       weight in #gj ,fahrenheit4  
,if the mercury was pure1 ,i should not 
apprehend much from the calcination of  
it1 though1 as ,i have       observed1  
the agitation of it in water1 converts a
 part of it into       a black powder1  
which ,i propose to examine farther4    
,if travelling was attended with no     
fewer inconveniences here than       it 
is in ,england1 ,i should certainly wait
 upon you and some other       friends  
at ,new ,york4 ,but this1 and my age1   
render it impossible1       and it would
 be unreasonable to expect many visitors
 in this back       woods4      ,i shall
 be very happy to be favoured with your 
correspondence1 and       am1           

,sir1                                   
,yours sincerely1                       
,j4 ,,priestley  ,northumberland ,april 
#af1 #agii4  ,in this period ,thomas    
,cooper was convicted of libel4 ,he was 
thrown into prison4 ,priestley regarded 
him as a rising man in the ,country4#g  
,he said the act was the last blow of   
the ,federal party which is now broke   
up4  ,priestley's daughter1 in ,england1
 was ill at this time4 ,her life was    
despaired of and tidings from her were  
few and most distressing1 but the       
,doctor maintained a quiet and calm     
assurance of her recovery4  ,subsequent 
correspondence between ,mr4 ,jefferson  
and ,priestley had much in it about the 
new ,college which the former           
contemplated for the ,state of          
,virginia4 ,indeed1 the thought was     
entertained that ,priestley himself     
might become a professor in it1 but his 
advanced age1 he contended forbade this1
 although he was agreeable to the idea  
of getting professors from ,europe4     

,here1 perhaps1 may well be included    
several letters1 now in possession of   
the ,library of ,congress1 which reveal 
the attitude of ,dr4 ,priestley toward  
,president ,jefferson1 who was indeed   
most friendly to him3    ,dear ,sir--   
,i am flattered by your thinking so     
favourably of my pamphlets1       which 
were only calculated to give some       
satisfaction to my       suspicious     
neighbours4 ,chancellor ,livingston     
informs me that he       has got an     
edition of them printed at ,albany1 for 
the information       of the people in  
the back country1 where1 he says1 it is 
so much       wanted4 ,indeed1 it seems 
extraordinary1 that in such a country as
       this1 where there is no court to 
dazzle men's eyes a maxim as       plain
 as that #b and #b make #d should not be
 understood1 and acted       upon4 ,it  
is evident that the bulk of mankind are 
governed by       something very        
different from reasoning and argument4  
,this       principle must have its     

influence even in your ,congress1 for if
       the members are not convinced by 
the excellent speeches of ,mr4          
,gallatin and ,nicolas1 neither would   
they be persuaded tho one       should  
rise from the dead4      ,it is true    
that ,i had more to do with colleges1   
and places of       education1 than most
 men in ,europe2 but ,i would not       
pretend to       advise in this country4
 ,i will1 however1 at my leisure1       
propose       such hints as shall occur 
to me2 and if you want tutors from      
,england1 ,i can recommend some very    
good ones4 ,were ,i a few years         
younger1 and more moveable1 ,i should   
make interest for some       appointment
 in your institution myself2 but age and
 inactivity are       fast approaching1 
and ,i am so fixed here1 that a remove  
is       absolutely impossible1 unless  
you were possessed of ,aladin's         
lamp1 and could transport my house1     
library1 and laboratory1       into     
,virginia without trouble or expense4   

,on my settlement here the gentlemen in 
the neighbourhood1 thinking       to    
make me of some use1 set on foot a      
college1 of which ,i gave       them the
 plan1 and they got it incorporated1 and
 made me the       president2 but tho ,i
 proposed to give lectures gratis1 and  
had       the disposal of a valuable    
library at the decease of a learned     
friend 7new1 near so71 and had it in my 
power to render them       important    
service in various ways1 yet1 owing ,i  
suspect1 in part       at least1 to     
religious and political prejudices1     
nothing more has       been done1       
besides marking the site of a building  
these five       years1 so that ,i have 
told them ,i shall resign4      ,i much 
wish to have some conversation with you 
on social subjects2       but ,i cannot 
expect that the ,vice ,president of the 
,united ,states       should visit me in
 my shed at ,northumberland1 and ,i     
cannot come       to you4 ,i intended on
 my settling here to have spent a month 

or so       every winter at             
,philadelphia1 but the state of the     
times1 and       various accidents1 have
 a little deranged my finances1 and ,i  
prefer to spend what ,i can spare on my 
experiments1 and       publication1     
rather than in travelling and seeing my 
friends4            ,with the greatest  
respect1 ,i am1               ,dear     
,sir1                   ,yours          
sincerely1                       ,j4    
,,priestley4  ,northumberland ,jan4 #cj1
 #ahjj4    ,dear ,sir--      ,i enclose 
my thoughts on the subject you did me   
the honour to       propose to me4 ,your
 own better judgment will decide        
concerning       their value1 or their  
fitness for the circumstances of your   
,college4 ,this may require a very      
different distribution of the           
business from that which ,i here        
recommend4      ,i thank you for your   
care to transmit a copy of my works to  
,bp4       ,madison4 ,he1 as well as    
many others1 speaks of the increasing   

spread of republican principles in this 
country4 ,i wish ,i could       see the 
effects of it4 ,but ,i fear we flatter  
ourselves1 and if ,i       be rightly   
informed1 my poor ,letters have done    
more harm than       good4 ,i can only  
say that ,i am a sincere well wisher to 
this       country1 and the purity and  
stability of its constitution4          
,yours sincerely1                       
,j4 ,,priestley4  ,northumberland ,may  
#h1 #ahjj4       ,,hints ,,concerning   
,,public ,,education       ,persons     
educated at public seminaries are of two
 classes4 ,one is      that of          
professional men1 and physicians and    
divines who are to be      qualified for
 entering upon their professions        
immediately after      leaving the      
college or university4 ,the other is    
that of gentlemen1      and those who   
are designed for offices of civil and   
active life4      ,the former must be   
minutely instructed in everything adding
 to      their several professions1     

whereas to the latter a general         
knowledge of the several branches of    
science is sufficient4 ,to the          
former1 especially that of ,medicine1   
several professors are      necessary1  
as the business must be subdivided1 in  
order to be      taught to advantage4   
,for the purpose of the latter fewer    
professors      are wanted1 as it is    
most advisable to give them only the    
elements      of the several branches of
 knowledge1 to which they may afterwards
      give more particular attention1 as
 they may have a disposition or         
convenience for it4       ,lawyers are  
not supposed to be qualified for        
entering upon their      professions at 
any place of public education4 ,they are
 therefore to      be considered as     
gentlemen to whom a general knowledge is
      sufficient4 ,it is advisable1     
however1 that when any subject1 as      
that of ,medicine1 is much divided1 and 
distributed among a number      of      
professors1 lectures of a more general  

and popular nature be      provided for 
the other classes of students1 to whom  
some knowledge      of the subject may  
be very useful4 ,a general knowledge1   
for      example1 of anatomy and of     
medicine1 too1 is useful to all persons1
      and therefore ought not to be     
omitted in any scheme of liberal        
education4 ,and if in a regular school  
of medicine any of the      professors  
would undertake this1 it might serve as 
an useful      introduction to that more
 particular and accurate knowledge which
      is necessary for practiced        
physicians4       ,the branches of      
knowledge which are necessary to the    
teachers of      religion are not so    
many1 or so distinct from each other1   
but that      they may all be taught by 
one professor1 as far as is necessary to
      qualify persons for commencing    
preachers4 ,to acquire more             
knowledge1 as that of the scriptures1   
ecclesistical history1 etc4      must be
 the business of their future lives4    

,but every person      liberally        
educated should have a general knowledge
 of ,metaphysics1      the theory of    
morals1 and religion2 and therefore some
 popular      lectures of this kind     
should be provided for the students in  
general4       ,one professor of antient
 languages may be sufficient for a place
 of      liberal education1 and ,i would
 not make any provision for             
instruction in the modern languages1 for
 tho the knowledge of      them1 as well
 as skill in fencing1 dancing and       
riding1 is proper      for gentlemen    
liberally educated1 instruction in them 
may be      procured on reasonable terms
 without burdening the funds of the     
seminary with them4       ,abstract     
,mathematics1 and ,natural ,philosophy1 
are so distinct1 that      they require 
different teachers4 ,one is sufficient  
for the former1      but the latter must
 be subdivided1 one for natural history1
 another      for experimental          
,philosophy in general and a third for  

chemistry2      in consequence of the   
great extension of this branch of       
experimental ,philosophy of late years4 
,the botany1 mineralogy1 and      other 
branches of natural history are         
sufficiently distinct to      admit of  
different professors1 nothing more than 
a general      knowledge of each of     
them1 and directions for acquiring a    
more      extended knowledge of them is 
necessary at any place of education4    
,two or three ,schools of ,medicine ,i  
should think sufficient for all      the
 ,united ,states for some years to come1
 but with respect to these      ,i do   
not pretend to give any opinion not     
having sufficient      knowledge of the 
subject4 ,places of liberal education in
 general      should be made more       
numerous1 and for each of them ,i should
 think      the following professors 7if
 the funds of the ,society will admit of
      it7 should be engaged1 viz4 7#a7  
,for the antient languages4 7#b7        
,the ,belles ,lettres1 including        

universal ,grammar1 ,oratory1 criticism 
and bibliography4 7#c7 ,mathematics4    
7#d7 ,natural history4 7#e7             
,experimental ,philosophy4 7#f7         
,chemistry1 including the theory of     
,agriculture4 7#g7 ,anatomy and         
,medicine4 7#h7 ,geography and history1 
,law1 and general policy4 7#i7          
,metaphysics1 morals1 and theology4     
,a course of liberal education should be
 as comprehensive as      possible4 ,for
 this purpose a large and well chosen   
library will      be of great use4 ,not 
that the students should be encouraged  
to read      books while they are under 
tuition1 but an opportunity of seeing   
books1 and looking into them1 will give 
them a better idea of the      value of 
them than they could get by merely      
hearing of them1 and      they would    
afterwards better know what books to    
purchase when they      should have the 
means and the leisure for the perusal of
 them4 ,a      large collection of books
 will also be useful to the lecturer in 

bibliography and would recommend the    
seminary to the professors      in      
general1 and make it a desirable place  
of residence for      gentlemen of a    
studious turn4       #b4 ,in order to   
engage able professors1 some fixed      
salaries are      necessary2 but they   
should not be much more than a bare     
subsistence4 ,they will then have a     
motive to exert themselves1 and      by 
the fees of students their emoluments   
may be ample4 ,the      professorships  
in the ,english universities1 which are 
largely      endowed1 are sinecures2    
while those in ,scotland1 to which small
      stipends are annexed1 are filled  
by able and active men4       #c4 ,it is
 not wise to engage any persons who are 
much advanced in      life1 or of       
established reputation for efficient    
teachers4 ,they      will not be so     
active as younger men who have a        
character to      acquire4 ,they will   
also better accommodate their lectures  
to the      increasing light of the age1

 whereas old men will be attached to    
old systems1 tho ever so imperfect4     
,besides1 they are the most      expert 
in teaching who have lately learned1 and
 the minutae of      science1 which are 
necessary to a teacher1 are generally   
forgotten      by good scholars who are 
advanced in life1 and it is peculiarly  
irksome to relearn them4       #d4 ,i   
would not without necessity have        
recourse to any foreign      country for
 professors4 ,they will expect too much 
deference1 and      the natives will be 
jealous of them4       #e4 ,three things
 must be attended to in the education of
 youth4 ,they      must be taught1 fed  
and governed and each of these requires 
very different qualifications4 ,they who
 are the best qualified to      teach   
are often the most unfit to govern1 and 
it is generally      advisable that     
neither of these have anything to do    
with providing      victuals4 ,in the   
,english universities all these affairs 
are      perfectly distinct4 ,the tutors

 only teach1 the proctors               
superintend the discipline1 and the     
cooks provide the victuals4             
,philadelphia1 ,apr4 #aj1 #ahja4        
,dear ,sir--      ,your kind letter1    
which1 considering the numerous         
engagements       incident to your      
situation1 ,i had no right to expect1   
was highly       gratifying to me1 and  
,i take the first opportunity of        
acknowledging it4 ,for tho ,i believe ,i
 am completely recovered from       my  
late illness1 ,i am advised to write as 
little as possible4 ,your               
invitation to pay you a visit is        
flattering to me in the highest         
degree1 and ,i shall not wholly despair 
of some time or other       availing    
myself of it1 but for the present ,i    
must take the nearest       way home4   
,your resentment of the treatment ,i    
have met with in this country       is  
truly generous1 but ,i must have been   
but little impressed with       the     
principles of the religion you so justly

 commend1 if they had       not enabled 
me to bear much more than ,i have yet   
suffered4 ,do not       suppose that1   
after the much worse treatment to which 
,i was for       many years exposed in  
,england 7of which the pamphlet ,i take 
the       liberty to inclose will give  
you some idea7 ,i was much affected by  
this4 ,my ,letters to the ,inhabitants  
of ,northumberland were not             
occasioned by any such thing1 tho it    
served me as a pretense for             
writing them1 but the threatenings of   
,mr4 ,pickering1 whose purpose       to 
send me out of the country ,mr4 ,adams  
7as ,i conclude from a       circuitous 
attempt that he made to prevent it7     
would not1 in the       circumstances in
 which he then was1 have been able to   
directly       oppose4 ,my publication  
was of service to me in that and other  
respects and ,i hope1 in some measure1  
to the common cause4 ,but had       it  
not been for the extreme absurdity and  
violence of the late                    

administration1 ,i do not know how far  
the measures might not have       been  
carried4 ,i rejoice more than ,i can    
express in the glorious       reverse   
that has taken place1 and which has     
secured your election4       ,this ,i   
flatter myself will be the permanent    
establishment of truly       republican 
principles in this country1 and also    
contribute to the       same desirable  
event in more distant ones4      ,i beg 
you would not trouble yourself with any 
answer to this4 ,the       knowledge of 
your good opinion and good wishes1 is   
quite       sufficient for me4 ,i feel  
for the difficulties of your situation1 
but your spirit and prudence will carry 
you thro them1 tho not       without    
paying the tax which the wise laws of   
nature have imposed       upon          
preeminence and celebrity of every kind1
 a tax which1 for       want of true    
greatness of mind1 neither of your      
predecessors1 if ,i       estimate their
 characters aright1 paid without much   

reluctance4              ,with every    
good wish1 ,i am1                 ,dear 
,sir1                     ,yours        
sincerely1                              
,j4 ,,priestley4    ,p4,s4      ,as ,i  
trust that ,politics will not make you  
forget what is due to       science1 ,i 
shall send you a copy of some articles  
that are just       printed for the     
,transactions of the ,philosophical     
,society in       this place4 ,no4 7#e7 
p4 #cf is the most deserving of your    
notice4 ,i       should have sent you my
 ,defence of ,phlogiston1 but that ,i   
presume you have seen it4               
,june1 #ahjb4   ,to ,thomas ,jefferson1 
,president of the ,united ,states of    
,america4    ,sir1      ,my high respect
 for your character1 as a politician1   
and a man1       makes me desirous of   
connecting my name1 in some measure with
       yours while it is in my power1 by
 means of some publication1 to do       
it4      ,the first part of this work1  
which brought the history to the fall   

of the western empire1 was dedicated to 
a zealous friend of civil       and     
religious liberty1 but in a private     
station4 ,what he1 or any       other   
friend of liberty in ,europe1 could only
 do by their good       wishes1 by      
writing1 or by patriot suffering1 you1  
,sir1 are       actually accomplishing1 
and upon a theatre of great and growing 
extent4      ,it is the boast of this   
country to have a constitution the most 
favourable to political liberty1 and    
private happiness1 of any in       the  
world1 and all say that it was yourself1
 more than any other       individual1  
that planned and established it2 and to 
this opinion       your conduct in      
various public offices1 and now in the  
highest1       gives the clearest       
attestation4     ,many have appeared the
 friends of the rights of man while they
 were       subject to the power of     
others1 and especially when they were   
sufferers by it2 but ,i do not recollect
 one besides yourself who       retained

 the same principles1 and acted by them1
 in a station of       real power4 ,you1
 ,sir1 have done more than this2 having 
proposed to       relinquish some part  
of the power which the constitution gave
 you2       and instead of adding to the
 burden of the people1 it has been      
your endeavour to lighten those burdens 
tho the necessary       consequence must
 be the diminution of your influence4   
,may this       great example1 which ,i 
doubt not will demonstrate the          
practicability of truly republican      
principles1 by the actual               
existence of a form of government       
calculated to answer all the            
useful purposes of government 7giving   
equal protection to all1 and            
leaving every man in the possession of  
every power that he can       exercise  
to his own advantage1 without infringing
 on the equal       liberty of others7  
be followed in other countries1 and at  
length       become universal4          
,another reason why ,i wish to prefix   

your name to this work1 and       more  
appropriate to the subject of it1 is    
that you have ever been       a         
strenuous and uniform advocate of       
religious no less than civil            
liberty1 both in your own state of      
,virginia1 and in the ,united           
,states in general1 seeing in the       
clearest light the various and          
great mischiefs that have arisen from   
any particular form of       religion   
being favoured by the ,state more than  
any other2 so that       the profession 
or practice of religion is here as free 
as that of       philosophy1 or         
medicine4 ,and now the experience of    
more than       twenty years leaves     
little room to doubt but that it is a   
state1       of things the most         
favourable to mutual candour1 which is  
of great       importance to domestic   
peace and good neighbourhood and to the 
cause of all truth1 religious truth     
least of all excepted4 ,when       every
 question is thus left to free          

discussion1 there cannot be a           
doubt but that truth will finally       
prevail1 and establish itself by        
its own evidence2 and he must know      
little of mankind1 or of human          
nature1 who can imagine that truth of   
any kind will be ultimately             
unfavourable to general happiness4 ,that
 man must entertain a       secret      
suspicion of his own principles who     
wishes for any       exclusive advantage
 in his defence or profession of them4  
,having fled from a state of persecution
 in ,england1 and having been           
exposed to some degree of danger in the 
late administration here1 ,i            
naturally feel the greater satisfaction 
in the prospect of passing       the    
remainder of an active life 7when ,i    
naturally wish for repose7       under  
your protection4 ,tho arrived at the    
usual term of human life       it is now
 only that ,i can say ,i see nothing to 
fear from the hand       of power1 the  
government under which ,i live being for

 the first       time truly favourable  
to me4 ,and tho it will be evident to   
all who       know me that ,i have never
 been swayed by the mean principle of   
fear1 it is certainly a happiness to be 
out of the possibility of       its     
influence1 and to end ones days in      
peace1 enjoying some degree       of    
rest before the state of more perfect   
rest in the grave1 and       with the   
hope of rising to a state of greater    
activity1 security       and happiness  
beyond it4 ,this is all that any man can
 wish for1 or       have2 and this1     
,sir1 under your administration1 ,i     
enjoy4      ,with the most perfect      
attachment1 and every good wish ,i      
subscribe       myself not your subject1
 or humble servant1 but your sincere    
admirer4                  ,j4           
,,priestley4    ,dear ,sir1      ,as    
there are some particulars in a letter  
,i have lately received       from ,mr4 
,stone at ,paris which ,i think it will 
give you pleasure to       have1 and    

,mr4 ,cooper has been so obliging as to 
translate them for       me1 ,i take the
 liberty to send them1 along with a copy
 of my       ,dedication1 with the      
correction that you suggested1 and a    
,note       from the latter with which  
you favoured me concerning what you did 
with respect to the constitution1 and   
which is really more than       ,i had  
ascribed to you4 ,for almost everything 
of importance to       political liberty
 in that instrument was1 as it appears  
to me1       suggested by you1 and as   
this was unknown to myself1 and ,i      
believe       is so with the world in   
general1 ,i was unwilling to omit this  
opportunity of noticing it4      ,i     
shall be glad if you will be so good as 
to engage any person       sufficiently 
qualified to draw up such an account of 
the       constitutional forms of this  
country as my friends say will be       
agreeable to the emperor1 and ,i will   
transmit it to ,mr4 ,stone4      ,not   
knowing any certain method of sending a 

letter to ,france and       presuming   
that you do ,i take the liberty to      
inclose my letter to       ,mr4 ,stone4 
,it is1 however1 so written that no     
danger can arise to       him from it1  
into whatever hands it may fall4        
,the state of my health1 though1 ,i     
thank ,god1 much improved1 will         
not permit me to avail myself of your   
kind invitation to pay you a            
visit4 ,where ever ,i am1 you may depend
 upon my warmest attachment       and   
best wishes4                            
,j4 ,,priestley4  ,northumberland ,oct4 
#bi1 #ahjb4    ,p4,s4      ,i send a    
copy of the ,preface as well as of the  
,dedication1       that you may form    
some idea of the work you are pleased to
       patronize4  ,northumberland ,jan4
 #be1 #ahjc4    ,dear ,sir1      ,as you
 were pleased to think favourably of my 
pamphlet entitled       ,socrates and   
,jesus compared1 ,i take the liberty to 
send you a       defence of it4 ,my     
principal object1 you will perceive1 was

 to       lay hold of the opportunity1  
given me by ,mr4 ,b4 ,linn1 to excite   
some attention to doctrines which ,i    
consider as of peculiar       importance
 in the ,christian system1 and which ,i 
do not find to       have been discussed
 in this country4      ,the ,church     
,history is1 ,i hope1 by this time in   
the hands of the       bookseller at    
,philadelphia1 so that you will soon1 if
 my       directions have been attended 
to1 receive a copy of the work which    
,i have the honour to dedicate to you4  
,with the greatest respect and          
attachment1 ,i am                       
,dear ,sir1                             
,yours sincerely1                       
,j4 ,,priestley4    ,dear ,sir1      ,i 
take the liberty to send you a second   
defence of my pamphlet       about      
,socrates1 on the #afth page of which   
you will find that ,i       have        
undertaken the task you were pleased to 
recommend to me4 ,on       giving more  
attention to it1 ,i found1 as the fox   

did with respect       to the lion1 that
 my apprehensions entirely vanished4    
,indeed1 ,i       have already          
accomplished a considerable part of the 
work1 and in       about a year from    
this time ,i hope to finish the whole1  
provided       my health1 which is very 
precarious1 be continued in the state in
       which it now is4 ,i directed a   
copy of the tract on phlogiston       to
 be sent to you from ,philadelphia1 and 
,i shall order another1       which1    
together with the inclosed papers1 ,i   
shall be much obliged       to you if   
you will convey to4 ,mr4 ,livingston4   
,please also to cast       an eye over  
them yourself2 and if you can with      
propriety promote       my interest by  
any representation of yours1 ,i am      
confident you       will do it4         
,when you wrote to me at the            
commencement of your administration1    
you said the only dark speck in our     
horizon is in ,louisiana4 ,by       your
 excellent conduct it is now the        

brightest we have to look to4      ,mr4 
,vaughan having applied to me for a copy
 of my ,harmony of the                  
,evangelists1 which was not to be had in
 ,philadelphia1 and       intimated that
 it was for you1 my son1 whose copy is  
more perfect       than mine1 begs the  
honour of your acceptance of it1 as a   
mark of       his high esteem1 in which 
he has the hearty concurrence of        
,dear ,sir1                             
,yours sincerely1                       
,j4 ,,priestley4  ,northumberland ,dec4 
#ab1 #ahjc4  ,his ,european             
correspondents were informed that he was
 much engaged with religious matters4   
,while his theological views were not   
received very graciously yet he found   
some young men of a serious and         
inquisitive turn1 who read my           
works1 and are confirmed ,unitarians4   
,in one of his communications to        
,lindsey1 written in ,april #ahjj1 he   
expresses himself in the following most 
interesting way relative to his         

scientific engagements4 ,american men of
 science will welcome it3 ,this is the  
message3      ,i send along with this an
 account of a course of experiments of  
as       much importance as almost any  
that ,i have ever made4 ,please to      
shew it to ,mr4 ,kirwan1 and give it    
either to ,mr4 ,nicholson for his       
journal1 or to ,mr4 ,phillips for his   
magazine1 as you please4 ,i was         
never more busy or more successful in   
this way1 when ,i was in       ,england2
 and ,i am very thankful to ,providence 
for the means and       the leisure for 
these pursuits1 which next to           
theological studies1       interest me  
the most4 ,indeed1 there is a natural   
alliance between       them1 as there   
must be between the word and the works  
of ,god4  ,he was now at work apparently
 in his own little laboratory adjacent  
to his dwelling place4 ,for more than a 
century this structure has remained     
practically as it was in the days of    
,priestley4 ,in it he did remarkable    

things1 in his judgment2 thus refuting  
the general idea that after his arrival 
in ,america nothing of merit in the     
scientific direction was accomplished by
 him4 ,the satisfactory results1        
mentioned to ,lindsey1 were embodied in 
a series of ,six ,chemical ,essays which
 eventually found their way into the    
,transactions of the ,american          
,philosophical ,society4 ,it is a       
miscellany of observations4 ,in it are  
recorded the results found on passing   
the vapour of spirit of nitre over iron 
turnings1 over copper1 over perfect     
charcoal1 charcoal of bones1 melted     
lead1 tin and bismuth2 and there appears
 a note to the effect that in ,papin's  
digester a solution of caustic alkali1  
aided by heat1 made a liquor silicum    
with pounded flint glass4 ,there is also
 given a description of a pyrophorus    
obtained from iron and sulphur4 ,more   
interesting1 however1 was the account of
 the change of place in different kinds 
of air1 through several interposing     

substances1 in which ,priestley         
recognized distinctly for the first     
time1 the phenomena of gaseous          
diffusion4 ,there are also references to
 the absorption of air by water1 and of 
course1 as one would expect from the    
,doctor1 for it never failed1 there is  
once more emphasized certain facts      
pertaining to phlogiston4 ,his friends  
were quite prepared for such statements4
 ,they thought of ,joseph ,priestley and
 involuntarily there arose the idea of  
phlogiston4  ,the little workshop or    
laboratory1 in ,northumberland1 where   
these facts were gathered1 will soon be 
removed to the ,campus of ,pennsylvania 
,state ,college4 ,it will be preserved  
with care and in it1 it is hoped1 will  
be gradually assembled everything to be 
found relating to the noble soul who    
once disclosed ,nature's secrets in this
 simple primitive structure1 which      
,american chemists should ever cherish1 
and hold as a ,mecca for all who would  
look back to the beginnings of chemical 

research in our beloved country4  ,how  
appropriate it would be could there be  
deposited in the little laboratory1 the 
apparatus owned and used by ,priestley1 
which at present constitutes and for    
many years past has formed an attractive
 collection in ,dickinson ,college1     
7,pa47 ,there would be the burning lens1
 the reflecting telescope1 the          
refracting telescope 7probably one of   
the first achromatic telescopes made71  
the air-gun1 the orrery1 and flasks with
 heavy ground necks1 and heavy curved   
tubes with ground stoppers--all brought 
7to ,dickinson7 through the             
instrumentality of ,thomas ,cooper1 the 
greatest man in ,america in the powers  
of his mind and acquired information and
 that without a single exception        
according to ,thomas ,jefferson4  ,and  
how the ,library would add to the glory 
of the place1 but1 alas6 it has been    
scattered far and wide1 for in #ahaf1   
,thomas ,dobson advertised the same for 
sale in a neatly printed pamphlet of #if

 pages4 ,in it were many scarce and     
valuable books4 ,the appended prices    
ranged quite widely1 reaching in one    
case the goodly sum of two hundred      
dollars6  ,and as future chemists visit 
this unique reminder of ,dr4 ,priestley 
it should be remembered that on the     
piazza of the dwelling house there      
assembled ,august #a1 #ahgd1 a group of 
men who planned then and there for the  
organization of the present ,american   
,chemical ,society4  ,the ,essays1      
previously mentioned1 will be found     
intensely interesting but they are      
somewhat difficult to read because of   
their strange nomenclature4 ,here is    
,priestley's account of the method      
pursued by him to get nitrogen3         
,pure phlogisticated air 7nitrogen7 may 
be procured in the easiest       and    
surest manner by the use of iron        
only--,to do this ,i fill       phials  
with turnings of malleable iron1 and    
having filled them       with water1    
pour it out1 to admit the air of the    

atmosphere1 and       in six or seven   
hours it will be diminished 444 what    
remains of       the air in the phials  
will be the purest phlogisticated air   
7nitrogen74  ,among his contributions to
 the scientific periodicals of the times
 there was one relating to the sense of 
hearing4 ,it is a curious story4 ,one   
may properly ask whether the singular   
facts in it were not due to defects in  
,priestley's own organs of hearing4 ,the
 paper did not arouse comment4 ,it was  
so out of the ordinary experimental work
 which he was carrying forward with such
 genuine pleasure and intense vigour4   
,strong appeals were steadily coming    
from ,english friends that he return4   
,while commenting on the pleasure he    
should have in seeing them he firmly    
declared that the step would not be     
wise4 ,in short1 despite all arguments  
he had determined to        remain where
 ,i am for life4  ,the prejudices       
against him were abating1 although he   
said        that many things are against

 me2 and though they do not shake my    
faith1 they try it4  ,there had gathered
 a class of fourteen young men about him
 in the ,northumberland home4 ,they had 
adopted his ,unitarian ideas4 ,to them  
he lectured regularly on theology and   
philosophy4 ,those must have been       
inspiring moments4 ,it was in this wise 
that the aged philosopher felt he was   
doing good and was most useful4 ,he said
 that it was        a pretty good class 
of young men to lecture to4  ,much time 
was given to his ,english               
correspondents4 ,them he advised of the 
rapid development of the ,states4 ,he   
sent to some pictures of the country    
about him1 and with much delight he     
referred to the fact that ,jefferson1   
whom he ardently admired1 was now1 in   
the closing weeks of #ahjj1 the         
,president1 and his associate--,aaron   
,burr1 ,vice-,president4 ,he announced  
to ,english friends that the late       
administration1 that of ,john ,adams1   
was        almost universally           

reprobated4  ,mr4 ,jefferson1 he        
insisted1 will do nothing rashly1       
,his being president may induce me to   
visit the federal city1 and             
perhaps his seat in ,virginia4  ,the    
seat of government1 as may be inferred1 
had been removed to ,washington from    
,philadelphia4 ,but to the latter       
center1 which still offered many        
attractions1 ,priestley journeyed for   
the third time early in #ahja4 ,he was  
not especially desirous of making this  
third visit1 but as his son and daughter
 came down a distance of #acj miles on  
business1 he determined to accompany    
them4 ,true1 ,congress was no longer    
there1 but there were many interesting  
people about with whom he had great     
pleasure4 ,with ,bishop ,white1 who was 
most orthodox and whom he saw           
frequently1 he enjoyed much ,christian  
and edifying conversation4 ,john        
,andrews was another favorite4 ,he was a
 violent ,federalist and informed       
,priestley that the latter        had   

done them 7the ,federalists7 more       
mischief than any other man1  yet these 
two noble spirits lived in amity1 and   
,priestley several times announced that 
,dr4 ,andrews was a ,unitarian1 which is
 not the thought today in regard to the 
latter4  ,it was an eventful year--this 
year of #ahja4 ,much that was unexpected
 happened4 ,it brought joy and it       
brought sorrow4  ,perhaps it would be   
just as well to note the scientific     
progress of the ,doctor during this     
year1 for he gave forth the statement   
that he had succeeded in producing air  
by freezing water4 ,this production of  
air was one of his earlier ideas 7p4    
#fb71 and now he wrote--      ,the      
harder the frost was the more air ,i    
procured4  ,further1 he announced that  
on heating manganese 7dioxide7 in       
inflammable air        no water is      
formed1  and what is rather astounding1 
he was certain that azote consisted of  
hydrogen and oxygen4  ,to the ,medical  
,repository1 which he regarded highly1  

there was sent a rather thoughtful      
disquisition on dreams4 ,in it the idea 
was expressed        that dreams have   
their seat in some region of the brain  
more       deeply seated than that which
 is occupied by our waking thoughts4  ,a
 ,pile of ,volta had been sent out from 
,england4 ,it amused him and he studied 
it carefully when he was led to remark  
upon the theory of this curious process 
as follows3      ,the operation wholly  
depends on the calcination of the zinc1 
which       suffers a great diminution  
in weight1 while the silver is little   
affected1 and all metals lose their     
phlogiston in calcination1              
therefore what remains of the zinc in   
metallic form in the pile       and     
everything connected with that end of   
it1 is supersaturated       with        
phlogiston4  ,more need not be quoted4  
,it was phlogiston and that only which  
occasioned the electric current4 ,it may
 properly be added that in this         
connection he wrote3      ,it is said   

the inventor of the galvanic pile       
discovered the       conducting power of
 charcoal1 whereas it was one of my     
first       observations in electricity1
 made in #agff4  ,some additional       
attention to air was also given by him1 
and in so doing he reached the          
conclusion that      ,the diamond and   
charcoal of copper are1 as nearly as    
possible1       pure phlogiston4  ,one  
wonders how he could so persuade        
himself1 for these bodies surely        
possessed weight4 ,why did he not rely  
more upon his balance8  ,with ,woodhouse
 he discussed the product from passing  
water over heated charcoal4 ,he had been
 endeavoring to refute certain          
statements made by ,cruikshank4 ,there  
is no question but that he had carbon   
monoxide in hand1 and had it as early as
 #agii1 and that he had obtained it in  
several different ways4 ,observe this   
statement3      ,i always found that the
 first portion of the heavy inflammable 
air1 resulting from the passage of steam

 over heated charcoal was       loaded  
with fixed air 7,,co#b71 but that in the
 course of the       process this       
disappeared1 the remaining air 7,,co7   
burning with a       lambent flame4     
,scarcely had ,priestley set foot in    
,philadelphia on his third visitation   
than the ,port ,folio1 devoted usually  
to literature and biography1 printed the
 following unkind words3      ,the      
tricks of ,dr4 ,priestley to embroil the
 government1 and disturb       the      
religion of his own country1 have not   
the merit of novelty4  ,to which the    
,aurora replied3      ,when ,porcupine  
rioted in the filth of a debauched and  
corrupt       faction in this city1 no  
person experienced so much of his       
obscene       and vulgar abuse as ,dr4  
,priestley4 ,there is not a single fact 
on       record or capable of being     
shewn1 to prove that ,dr4 ,priestley was
       guilty of any other crime than   
being a dissenter from the church       
of ,england1 and a warm friend of       

,american ,independence4 ,for this      
he was abused by ,porcupine--and ,denny 
is only ,porcupine with a       little  
more tinsel to cover his dirt4 ,it is   
worthy of remark1 that       after a    
whole sheet of promises of literary lore
 and products       of the master of    
spirits of the nation--the first and    
second       numbers of the ,portable   
,foolery1 are stuffed with extracts from
       ,british publications of an      
ordinary quality4  ,the attack of the   
,port ,folio was most ungracious4 ,it   
may have been due to irritation caused  
by the appearance of a second edition of
 ,priestley's ,letters to the           
,inhabitants of ,northumberland4        
,nevertheless the thoughtful and        
dignified men of the ,city--men who     
admired ,priestley's broad catholic     
spirit and brave attitude upon all      
debatable questions1 men who appreciated
 his scientific attainments1 invited him
 to the following subscription dinner1  
as announced in the ,aurora1 ,march1    

#fth3      ,at #d o'clock in the        
afternoon about one hundred citizens sat
 down       to an elegant entertainment 
prepared by ,mr4 ,francis to celebrate  
the commencement of the administration  
of ,mr4 ,jefferson4 ,the       ,governor
 honored the company with his presence4 
,several       respectable ,foreigners  
were invited to partake of the          
festival4444       ,a variety of        
patriotic songs were admirably sung2 and
 the       following toasts were drank  
with unanimous applause4      #a4 ,the  
,governor of ,pennsylvania      #b4 ,dr4
 ,priestley3 ,the ,philosopher and      
,philanthropist4444  ,he was present and
 enjoyed himself1 and sad must it have  
been to read on ,march #cjth3      ,some
 weeks ago1 ,dr4 ,priestley having      
caught cold by attending a       meeting
 of the ,philosophical ,society on a wet
 evening1 was taken       ill of a      
violent inflammatory complaint which    
rendered his       recovery for a long  
time dubious4 ,we announce with sincere 

pleasure the returning health of a man1 
whose life hath hitherto       been     
sedulously and successfully devoted to  
the interests of       mankind4  ,he    
had1 indeed1 been very ill4 ,the trouble
 was pleurisy4 ,dr4 ,rush was his       
physician4 ,by his order the patient was
 bled profusely seven times4 ,during    
this trying and doubtful period there   
came to him a cheery letter from        
,president ,jefferson who had only      
learned of his illness4 ,among other    
things the ,president wrote--           
,yours is one of the few lives precious 
to mankind1 and for the                 
continuance of which every thinking man 
is solicitous4 ,bigots may       be an  
exception4444 ,but ,i have got into a   
long disquisition on       politics when
 ,i only meant to express my sympathy in
 the state of       your health1 and to 
tender you all the affections of public 
and       private hospitality4 ,i should
 be very happy to see you here          
7,washington74 ,i leave this about the  

#cjth to return about the #beth       of
 ,april4 ,if you do not leave           
,philadelphia before that1 a little     
excursion hither would help your health4
 ,i should be much       gratified with 
the possession of a guest ,i so much    
esteem1 and       should claim a right  
to lodge you1 should you make such an   
excursion4  ,but ,priestley journeyed   
homeward on ,april #acth1 and en route  
wrote the following letter1 addressed to
 ,john ,vaughan1 ,esq4 #agi ,walnut     
,street1 ,philadelphia1 ,pa43           
,april #ag1 #ahja                       
,reading1 ,friday ,evening    ,dear     
,sir1      ,i have the pleasure to      
inform you1 agreeably to your kind      
request1       that we are safely       
arrived at this place1 my daughter      
better than       when we left          
,philadelphia1 and as to myself1 ,i feel
 just as well1       and as able to bear
 any fatigue1 as before my late illness4
 ,this1       however1 will always      
remind me of your friendly attentions1  

and       those of your sister1 if a    
thousand and other circumstances did    
not do the same1 and of them all ,i hope
 ,i shall ever retain a       grateful  
remembrance4      ,along the whole road 
,i am struck with the marks of an       
astonishing       degree of improvement 
since ,i came this way four years ago4  
,i do       not think that any part of  
,england is better cultivated1 and at   
present the wheat is in a very promising
 state4 ,i wish we may       hear of    
that of ,england promising as well4     
,three years of such a       scarcity is
 more than any country could bear1 and  
you will believe       me when ,i say   
that1 if it was in my power1 ,i would   
guard it not       only from famine1 but
 from every other calamity4      ,with  
my daughter's kindest remembrance1 ,i   
am1 as ever          ,dear ,sir         
,yours sincerely1                       
,j4 ,,priestley4#h  ,resuming his       
correspondence with his numerous friends
 in ,england1 he said3        ,my chief 

resource is my daily occupation4  ,he   
also wrote ,dr4 ,rush his thanks for    
having advised him to read ,noah        
,webster's ,pestilential ,disorders     
which follow the appearance of meteors  
and earthquakes1 taking occasion also to
 excuse his opposition to               
blood-letting1--      ,i believe that ,i
 owe my life to your judicious direction
 of it4 ,i       shall never forget your
 so readily forgiving my suspicion1 and 
my       requesting the concurrence of  
,dr4 ,wistar after the third bleeding4  
,it was his opinion as well as yours and
 ,dr4 ,caldwell's1 that my              
disorder required several more2 and the 
completeness of my cure1       and the  
speediness of my recovery1 prove that   
you were right4 ,in       the future ,i 
shall never be afraid of the lancet when
 so       judiciously directed4  ,to    
,rush he confided his doubts about his  
paper on ,dreams4 ,he cannot account for
 them1 hence he has offered merely an   
hypothesis1 and continues--      ,i     

frequently think with much pleasure and 
regret on the many happy       hours ,i 
spent in your company1 and wish we were 
not at so great       distance4 ,such   
society would be the value of life to   
me4 ,but ,i       must acquiesce in what
 a wise providence has appointed4  ,his 
friends continued sending him books4    
,and how joyously he received them4 ,at 
times he would mention special works1 as
 for example1--      ,please to add     
,gate's ,answer to ,wall1 and ,wall's   
,reply2 ,sir ,john       ,pringle's     
,discourses and ,life by ,dr4 ,kippis2  
,chandler's ,life of       ,king ,david2
 ,colin ,milne's ,botanical ,dictionary1
 ,botanic ,dialogues1       and other   
books of ,natural ,history2 ,kirwan's   
,analysis of ,mineral       ,waters2    
,crosby's ,history of ,english          
,baptists4  ,in one of his letters he   
observed--      ,a person must be in my 
situation 444 to judge of my feelings   
when       ,i receive new books4        
,strangely enough a box of books was    

sent him to ,carlisle 7,pa47 and had    
been there for two years before he      
learned of it4  ,perhaps a word more may
 be allowed in regard to the paper on   
,pestilential ,disorders by ,noah       
,webster4 ,this was the lexicographer4  
,priestley thought the work curious and 
important1 but the philosophy in it wild
 and absurd in the extreme4 ,and of     
,rush he asks--      ,pray is he        
7,webster7 a believer in revelation or  
not8 ,i find       several atheists     
catch at everything favourable to the   
doctrine of       equivocal generation2 
but it must be reprobated by all who are
       not4  ,chemists will be glad to  
hear that      ,the annual expense of my
 laboratory will hardly exceed #ej      
pounds1       and ,i think ,i may have  
done more in proportion to my expenses  
than       any other man4 ,what ,i have 
done here1 and with little expense1     
will in time be thought very            
considerable2 but on account of the     
almost universal reception of the new   

theory1 what ,i do is not1 at           
present1 attended to2 but ,mr4 ,watt and
 ,mr4 ,kier1 as good chemists       as  
any in ,europe1 approve of my tract on  
,phlogiston1 and truth       will in    
time prevail over any error4  ,and to   
another he said1      ,having had great 
success in my experiments in this       
country 444 ,i       shall never desert 
philosophy4  ,the following year 7#ahjb7
 had several points of interest in      
connection with the good ,doctor2 for   
one1 who has followed his career thus   
far1 will wish to call him that4        
,communications from the home country   
and from ,france1 while not so numerous1
 were yet full of interesting news4 ,his
 friend ,belsham brought out his        
,elements of ,philosophy of the ,mind1  
and although ,priestley paid it a most  
gracious tribute he did not hesitate to 
suggest alterations and additions of    
various kinds4 ,his dearest friend      
,lindsey fell seriously ill this year4  
,this gave him inexpressible anxiety and

 grief4 ,as soon as ,lindsey was1 in a  
measure1 restored the fraternal         
correspondence was resumed4  ,much time 
was given by the ,doctor to reading and 
preparing for the press the volumes of  
his ,church ,history and ,notes on the  
,scriptures4 ,the printing was to be    
done in ,northumberland4 ,some doubt was
 entertained as to whether he would have
 funds sufficient to pay for the        
publication1 and when the urgent letters
 from friends tempted him to undertake a
 ,european trip he generally replied    
that he was too far advanced in life1   
that the general debility produced by   
pernicious ague rendered him unfit for  
extended travel1 and then he offset the 
disappointment by saying that the       
expense of the voyage would more than   
suffice for the printing of one of his  
proposed four volumes of the ,church    
,history4 ,this was a most complete1    
interesting and instructive work4 ,even 
today one profits by its perusal and an 
immense fund of worthwhile information  

and knowledge may be derived from even a
 cursory study of his ,notes on the     
,scriptures4  ,the monotony of village  
life was broken by occasional letters   
from ,president ,jefferson4 ,these were 
most affectionate and also illuminating 
on national matters4 ,copies of these   
were sent to ,english friends with the  
injunction not to show them or permit   
them to fall into other hands4  ,dr4    
,thomas ,cooper was not with ,priestley 
in this year 7#ahjb71 being detained at 
,lancaster where the ,assembly sat4     
,naturally ,cooper made himself         
conspicuous1 and ,priestley prophesied a
 great future for him1 providing that   
the jealousy entertained for foreigners 
did not prove too serious an obstacle4  
,priestley took much pleasure at this   
period in his garden1 and wrote1        
,plants1 as well as other objects1      
engage more of my attention than        
they ever did before4444 ,i wish ,i knew
 a little more botany2 but       old1 as
 ,i am1 ,i learn something new          

continually4  ,now and then he mentions 
a considerable degree of deafness1 and  
sent to ,philadelphia for a speaking    
trumpet1 but cheerily adds1      ,i am1 
however1 thankful that my eyes do not   
fail me4  ,here and there occur plaints 
like these3      ,though my             
philosophical labours are nearly over1  
,i am glad to hear       what is passing
 in that region in which ,i once moved1 
though what       ,i then did seems for 
the present to be overlooked and        
forgotten4 ,i       am confident1       
however1 as much as ,i can be of        
anything1 that       notwithstanding the
 almost universal reception of the new  
theory1       which is the cause of it1 
it is purely chimerical1 and cannot keep
       its ground after a sufficient    
scrutiny1 which may be deferred1 but    
which must take place in time4 ,i am    
glad to find that ,mr4       ,cruikshank
 in ,england1 as well as chemists in    
,france1 begin to       attend to my    
objections1 though the principal of them

 have been       published many years2  
but1 as you say1 many will not read1 and
       therefore they cannot know       
anything that makes against the         
opinions they have once adopted4        
,bigotry is not confined to             
theology4  ,the experimental work for   
the year was not very great4 ,probably  
this was the result of his general      
physical weakness and in part it was due
 to his preoccupation with literary     
labours4 ,however1 he did write out his 
results1 obtained on heating finery     
cinders and charcoal and thus emphasized
 the gaseous product of which he        
observes--      ,it cannot be denied1   
however1 that this gaseous oxyd of      
carbon       7,,co7 is inflammable 444  
and is essentially different from all   
other oxyds1 none of which are          
combustible4  ,along in the month of    
,november he wrote a vigorous protest   
against ,cruikshank's explanation of the
 mode of formation of carbon monoxide4  
,in this polemic he of course threw into

 prominence his precious phlogiston1 the
 presence of which seemed               
unnecessary--but this was not so thought
 by the ,doctor1 who also favored the   
,medical ,repository with observations  
on the conversion of iron into steel1 in
 which there is but a single reference  
to phlogiston1 but unfortunately this   
single reference spoils the general     
argument and the correct and evident    
interpretation of the reaction4 ,it     
reads as follows3      ,iron is         
convertible into steel by imbibing only 
phlogiston from       the charcoal with 
which it is cemented4  ,there are       
abundant correct observations4 ,their   
interpretation sadly enough is very     
false1 all because of the persistent    
introduction of phlogiston where it was 
not essential4  ,priestley advised ,rush
 that because of an unhealthy season he 
had suffered very much from ague1 and   
said1--      ,tho' ,i was never robust1 
,i hardly knew what sickness was before 
my       seizure in ,philadelphia1 but  

the old building has since that had     
so many shocks1 that ,i am apprehensive 
it will ere long give way4       ,but ,i
 have abundant reason to be satisfied1  
and shall retire from       life conviva
 satur4  ,devotion to work was on the   
part of ,priestley1 something marvelous4
 ,as his son and daughter-in-law were   
drawn to ,philadelphia in ,february1    
#ahjc1 they carried their father with   
them4 ,he was rather indisposed to this1
 yet he disliked remaining alone at home
 notwithstanding the printing of the    
,church ,history required considerable  
personal attention4 ,the marvelous part 
of it all was that while in             
,philadelphia1 on this his fourth and   
last visit1 while he fraternized with   
congenial souls and even presented      
himself at various social functions1 he 
yet found leisure to print his little   
volume entitled ,socrates and ,jesus    
,compared1 which gave much pleasure to  
,president ,jefferson1 so much indeed   
that he hoped ,priestley would1--       

take up the subject on a more extended  
scale1 and show that ,jesus       was   
truly the most innocent1 most           
benevolent1 the most eloquent       and 
sublime character that has ever been    
exhibited to man4  ,jefferson's genuine 
approval of his effort was balm to      
,priestley's soul4 ,he1 of course1 wrote
 ,lindsey and ,belsham about it2 yes1   
copied the letter of ,jefferson and sent
 the same to them with the comment1--   
,he is generally considered as an       
unbeliever4 ,if so1 however1 he         
cannot be far from us1 and ,i hope in   
the way to be not only       almost1 but
 altogether what we are4  ,it was       
,february #bh1 #ahjc1 that the august   
members of the ,american ,philosophical 
,society resolved3      ,that this      
,society will dine together on ,saturday
 next1 and that ,j4       ,b4 ,smith1   
,wistar1 ,williams1 ,hewson  ,vaughan be
 a ,committee to       make the         
necessary arrangements for that purpose 
and to request       ,dr4 ,priestley's  

company1 informing him that the ,society
 are       induced to make the request  
from their high respect for his         
,philosophical ,labours  discoveries1   
to enjoy the more       particular      
pleasure of a social meeting--,the      
,dinner to be prepared       at the     
,city ,tavern or ,farmer's ,hotel4  ,it 
was this resolution which caused        
notices1 such as the following to go out
 to the distinguished membership of the 
venerable ,society--                    
,philadelphia1 ,march #b1 #ahjc         
,sir3 ,you are hereby invited to join   
the other members of the       ,american
 ,philosophical ,society1 in giving a   
testimony of respect1       to their    
venerable associate ,dr4 ,joseph        
,priestley1 who dines with       them on
 ,saturday next at ,francis'            
,hotel--,dinner on table at #c          
o'clock4                                
,c4 ,wistar                             
,j4 ,williams                           
,j4 ,r4 ,smith                          

,t4 ,t4 ,hewson                         
,j4 ,vaughan                            
,committee      ,an answer will be      
called for tomorrow morning4     ,,dr4  
,,rush  ,it was a very dignified and    
brilliant company4 ,law1 medicine1      
theology1 science1 commerce represented 
by very worthy and excellent gentlemen4 
,and1 among them sat the modest1        
unassuming1 versatile ,priestley4 ,that 
he was happy in his surroundings there  
is ample reason to believe4 ,he loved to
 be among men4 ,he1 too1 was appreciated
 and eagerly sought because of his      
winning ways1 his tolerance and         
liberality4 ,he was moderately convivial
 though      ,he said that one glass of 
wine at dinner was enough for an old    
man1 but he did not prescribe his own   
practice as an universal       rule4    
,about eight weeks were spent in the    
,city4 ,on return to the dear country   
home the doctor took up his various     
duties and burdens1 but the infirmities 
of age were often alluded to by him1 and

 they no doubt delayed all of his work1 
which was further aggravated by a       
dangerous fall on his left hip and      
strain of the muscles of the thigh4 ,he 
was extremely lame and for some time    
went about on crutches1 which held him  
out of his laboratory4 ,to him this was 
very trying4 ,but he persisted4 ,he was 
truly a splendid example for the younger
 aspirants for scientific honors4       
,during the year he entered on a        
controversial article with his old      
friend ,erasmus ,darwin upon the subject
 of spontaneous combustion1 and         
subsequently communicated to the        
,medical ,repository an account of the  
conversion of salt into nitre4 ,he had  
positive knowledge of this fact for     
quite a little while1 and upon the      
occasion of a visit by ,dr4 ,wistar1    
told the latter concerning this with the
 request that no mention be made of it1 
evidently that he might have opportunity
 for additional confirmation4 ,however1 
very unexpectedly1 ,dr4 ,mitchill       

published something of a similar        
character1 therefore ,priestley         
believing that he ought to acquaint     
experimentalists in general with all    
that ,i know of the matter1 announced   
that in #agii when experimenting on the 
formation of air from water1            
having made use of the same salt1 mixed 
with snow1 in every       experiment1   
always evaporating the mixture the salt 
was recovered       dry4 ,i collected   
the salt when ,i had done with it1 and  
put it into       a glass bottle1 with a
 label expressing what it was1 and what 
use       had been made of it4          
,subsequently he treated this salt1     
after many applications of it1 with     
sulphuric acid1 when he remarked--      
,i was soon surprized to observe that   
red vapours rose from it4  ,an          
examination of another portion of the   
salt showed--        that when it was   
thrown upon hot coals 444 it burned     
exactly like       nitre4  ,so it was a 
conversion of sodium chloride into      

sodium nitrate4 ,that this change must  
have come from the snow with which it   
had been dissolved1 could not be        
doubted1 and he further observed--      
,now in the upper regions of the        
atmosphere 444 there may be a           
redundancy of inflammable air 444 and a 
proportion of       dephlogisticated    
air4 ,in that region there are many     
electrical       appearances1 as the    
aurora borealis1 falling stars c2 in the
       lower parts of it thunder and    
lightening1 and by these means the      
two kinds of air may be decomposed1 and 
a highly dephlogisticated       nitrous 
acid1 as mine always was1 produced4     
,this being formed1       will of       
course1 attach itself to any snow or    
hail that may be       forming 444      
confirming in this unexpected manner1   
the vulgar       opinion of nitre being 
contained in snow4  ,this seems to be   
the last communication of this character
 which came from the ,doctor's pen4  ,he
 was in despair relative to the academy 

which had ever been his hope for the    
,college which in his early years in    
,northumberland he prayed might arise   
and in which he would be at liberty to  
particularly impart his ,unitarian      
doctrines4  ,an interesting item        
relative to the ,academy appeared in the
 ,aurora for ,april #ast1 #ahjc4 ,it    
shows that ,state aid for education was 
sought in those early days4 ,it is a    
report1 and reads--      ,a ,,report of 
the ,committee to whom was referred the 
,petition of       ,thomas ,cooper1 on  
behalf of the ,northumberland ,academy1 
praying       legislative aid4 ,the     
report states that ,thomas ,cooper      
appeared       before the ,committee and
 stated that upward of #djjj had been   
expended on the building appropriated to
 that institution4 ,that       the debts
 due thereon amounted in the whole to   
near #bjjj4 ,that       ,dr4 ,joseph    
,priestley had the power of disposing of
 a very valuable       library          
consisting of near #djjj volumes of     

scarce and well chosen       books in   
various branches of literature and      
science1 to any public       seminary of
 learning in the ,united ,states1 which 
library1 the said       ,dr4 ,priestley 
was desirous of procuring as a gift to  
the       ,northumberland ,academy1     
provided that institution was likely to 
receive substantial assistance from the 
legislature1 so as to be       enabled  
to fulfil the purposes of its           
establishment1      ,that the ,trustees 
would have no occasion to ask of the    
legislature       on behalf of that     
,academy1 a subscription greater than a 
few       individuals had expended1 and 
were still ready and desirous of        
contributing thereto2 and suggest it to 
your ,committee1 that if       out of   
the monies due from the ,county of      
,northumberland to the       ,state a   
sufficient sum was granted to exonerate 
the ,academy from       debt1 no more   
would be wanted in the future to effect 
the purposes       of that institution1 

than a sum equal in amount to the value 
of       the library proposed to be     
furnished by ,dr4 ,priestley2 such value
       to be fixed by a person appointed
 for the purpose by the                 
legislature4      ,the ,committee was of
 the opinion that it would be expedient 
for       the legislature to coincide   
with the suggestion of ,thomas ,cooper  
and so recommended to the ,legislature4 
,their report was adopted1       #ci to 
#ca4 ,it was strongly advocated by      
,jesse ,moore1 ,esq41 ,general          
,mitchell and ,n4 ,ferguson from the    
city4 ,it was opposed by ,jacob         
,alter from ,cumberland1 who declared   
that although there were a       great  
many public schools and colleges and    
places of that kind       scattered over
 the ,state1 he never knew any good they
 did1 except       to breed up a set of 
idle and odious lawyers to plague the   
people6  ,at this particular time there 
still existed confiscated land from the 
sale of which revenue was derived1 and  

this income it had been agreed upon     
should be devoted to the erection and   
support of academies throughout the     
,state4 ,later this scheme was          
discontinued4 ,but1 ,dr4 ,priestley was 
not so enthusiastic as formerly4 ,he was
 occupied with the ,church ,history1    
three volumes of which were in print1   
and it was expected that the fourth     
volume would follow shortly thereafter4 
,however1 his health was precarious4 ,he
 could not eat meats1 and lived chiefly 
on broths and soups1 saying1--      ,the
 defect is in the stomach and liver1 and
 of no common kind4 ,if       ,i hold   
out till ,i have finished what ,i have  
now on hand1 ,i shall       retire from 
the scene1 satisfied and thankful4      
,this was written in ,august1 and the   
,doctor stuck bravely to his literary   
labors4 ,a few months later he wrote    
,lindsey1--      ,i really do not expect
 to survive you4  ,yet1 he also         
entertained the thought that he might1--
        assist in the publication of a  

whole ,bible1 from the several          
translations of particular books1       
smoothing and correcting them           
where ,i can4  ,january of #ahjd brought
 him many interesting1 splendid and     
valuable books from friends in ,london4 
,he was overjoyed on their arrival4     
,promptly he gave himself to their      
perusal because his deafness confined   
him to home and his extreme weakness    
forbade any excursions4 ,then the winter
 kept him from his laboratory1 and his  
sole occupation was reading and writing4
 ,he entertained a variety of plans1    
proceeding with some but in the midst of
 these tasks of love--in the very act of
 correcting proof1 he quietly breathed  
his last6 ,it was ,monday1 ,february #f1
 #ahjd1 that ,thomas ,cooper1 the       
devoted friend of ,priestley1 wrote     
,benjamin ,rush3--    ,dear ,sir3       
,mr4 ,joseph ,priestley is not at       
present in spirits to write to his      
friends1 and it falls to my lot         
therefore to acquaint you that ,dr4     

,priestley died this morning about #aa  
o'clock without the slightest           
degree of apparent pain4 ,he had for    
some time previous foreseen       his   
dissolution1 but he kept up to the last 
his habitual       composure1           
cheerfulness and kindness4 ,he would    
have been #ga the       #bdth of next   
month4 ,for about a fortnight there were
 symptoms of       dropsy owing to      
general debility3 about two days before 
his death1       these symptoms         
disappeared1 and a troublesome cough    
came on       perhaps from a translation
 to the chest4      ,yesterday he had   
strength enough to look over a revise of
 the       ,annotations he was          
publishing on the ,old and ,new         
,testament1 and       this morning he   
dictated in good language some notices  
which he       wished his son ,mr4      
,priestley to add to his unpublished    
works4 ,i       am sure you will        
sincerely regret the decease of a man so
 highly       eminent and useful in the 

literary and philosophical world1 and so
       much presumably your friend4     
,yes1 the valiant old champion of a lost
 cause was no more4 ,two days before his
 death he went to his laboratory--but1  
finding his weakness too great1 with    
difficulty returned to his room4 ,loyal 
to his science to the very end6  ,to    
,american chemists he appeals strongly  
because of his persistent efforts in    
research4 ,his coming to this country   
aroused a real interest in the science  
which has not waned in the slightest    
since his demise4  ,when the sad news   
reached the ,hall of the ,american      
,philosophical ,society1 ,dr4 ,benjamin 
,smith ,barton was chosen to eulogize   
,priestley4 ,this notable event took    
place on ,january #crd1 #ahje4 ,the     
,aurora reported3      ,dr4 ,benjamin   
,smith ,barton1 one of the              
vice-presidents of the       ,american  
,philosophical ,society1 having been    
previously appointed       by the       
society to deliver an eulogium to the   

memory of their late       associate1   
,dr4 ,joseph ,priestley1 the same was   
accordingly       delivered in the      
,first ,presbyterian ,church in this    
city1 on       ,thursday the #crd inst4 
before the society1 who went in a body  
from       their hall to the church1    
preceded by their patron1 the governor  
of the state4 ,invitations were given on
 this occasion to the ,revd4            
,clergy of the city2 the college of     
,physicians2 the ,medical               
,society2 the gentlemen of the ,bar1    
with the students at ,law2 the          
trustees and faculty of the ,university 
of ,pennsylvania1 with their            
students in the ,arts and in ,medicine2 
the judges and officers of       the    
federal and state ,courts2 the foreign  
ministers and other       public        
characters then in the city2 the mayor2 
aldermen and city       councils3 the   
trustees and session of the ,first      
,presbyterian       ,church2 the        
directors of the ,city ,library2 the    

directors and       ,physicians of the  
,pennsylvania ,hospital1 of the ,alms   
,house1 and of       the ,dispensary2   
the proprietor and ,director of the     
,philadelphia       ,museum2 and the    
contributors towards the ,cabinet and   
,library of       the ,society4 ,after  
the conclusion of a very interesting    
eulogium1       the society returned    
their thanks to the orator1 and         
requested a       copy for the purpose  
of publication4  ,one's curiosity is    
quickened on thinking what ,barton said 
in his address4 ,search in many         
directions failed to bring forth the    
,eulogium4 ,it had been ordered to be   
printed in the ,transactions of the     
,society4 ,this was never done4 ,but    
there was a minute 7seven years later7  
in the meeting of the ,society 7,nov4   
#f1 #ahab7 to the effect that      ,dr4 
,barton's request for permission to     
withdraw it 7,eulogium7 to       be     
enlarged and published separately was   
referred for       consideration to the 

next meeting4  ,the request was granted 
at the next meeting1 but nowhere among  
,barton's literary remains was the      
precious document to be found4 ,lost    
very probably--when it might have       
revealed so much4  ,priestley's death   
was deeply mourned throughout the land4 
,the public prints brought full and     
elaborate accounts of his life1 and     
touching allusions to the fullness of   
his brilliant career4 ,such expressions 
as these were heard1--      ,as a       
metaphysician he stands foremost among  
those who have       attempted the      
investigation of its abstruse           
controversies4       ,as a politician he
 assiduously and successfully laboured  
to       extend and illustrate those    
general principles of civil liberty     
which are happily the foundation of the 
,constitution of his       adopted      
,country1--       ,his profound         
attention to the belles-lettres1 and to 
the other       departments of general  
literature1 has been successfully       

exemplified among his other writings1 by
 his lectures on oratory       and      
criticism1 and on general history and   
policy1--       ,of the most important  
and fashionable study of ,pneumatic     
,chemistry he may fairly be said to be  
the father4       ,he was a man of      
restless activity1 but he uniformly     
directed that       activity to what    
seemed to him the public good1 seeking  
neither       emolument nor honour from 
men4 ,dr4 ,priestley was possessed of   
great ardour and vivacity of            
intellect4444 ,his integrity was        
unimpeachable2 and even malice itself   
could not fix a stain on his            
private character4  ,and what a splendid
 tribute is contained in the following  
passages from ,cuvier3      ,priestley1 
loaded with glory1 was modest enough to 
be astonished       at his good fortune1
 and at the multitude of beautiful      
facts1       which nature seemed to have
 revealed to him alone4 ,he forgot that 
her favours were not gratuitous1 and if 

she had so well explained       herself1
 it was because he had known how to     
oblige her to do so by       his        
indefatigable perseverance in           
questioning her1 and by the             
thousand ingenious means he had taken to
 snatch her answers from       her4     
,others carefully hide that which they  
owe to chance2 ,priestley       seemed  
to wish to ascribe all his merit to     
fortuitous       circumstances1         
remarking1 with unexampled candour1 how 
many times       he had profited by     
them1 without knowing it1 how many times
 he was       in possession of new      
substances without having perceived     
them2 and       he never dissimulated   
the erroneous views which sometimes     
directed       his efforts1 and from    
which he was only undeceived by         
experience4       ,these confessions did
 honour to his modesty1 without         
disarming       jealousy4 ,those to whom
 their own ways and methods had never   
discovered anything called him a simple 

worker of experiments1       without    
method and without an object it is not  
astonishing1       they added1 that     
among so many trials and combinations1  
he should       find some that were     
fortunate4 ,but real natural            
philosophers were       not duped by    
these selfish criticisms4  ,many        
encomiums like the preceding--yes1 a    
thousandfold--could easily be gathered  
if necessary to show the regard and     
confidence held for this remarkable man 
to whom ,america is truly very deeply   
indebted4  ,some years ago the writer   
paid a visit to the ,god's ,acre of     
,northumberland4 ,he arrived after dark 
and was conveyed to the sacred place in 
an automobile4 ,soon the car stopped4   
,its headlights illuminated the upright 
flat stone which marked the last resting
 place of the great chemist1 and in that
 light not only was the name of the     
sleeper clearly read but the less       
distinct but legible epitaph3           
,return unto thy rest1 ,o my soul1 for  

the ,lord hath dealt       bountifully  
with thee4 ,i will lay me down in peace 
and sleep till       ,i wake in the     
morning of the resurrection4  ,pondering
 on these lines there slowly returned to
 mind the words of ,franklin's          
epitaph1--,franklin1 who1 years before1 
had encouraged and aided the noble      
exile1 who was ever mindful of the      
former's goodness to him3               
,the ,body                    of        
,benjamin ,franklin                     
,printer     7,like the cover of an old 
book         ,its contents torn out     
,and stript of its lettering and        
gilding7         ,lies here food for    
,worms     ,but the work shall not be   
lost     ,for it will 7as he believed7  
appear                 once more     ,in
 a new and more elegant ,edition        
,revised and corrected                  
by                 ,the ,author  ,and   
then1 by some strange mental reaction1  
there floated before the writer the     
paragraph uttered by ,professor ,huxley1

 when in #ahgd a statue to ,priestley   
was unveiled in the ,city of            
,birmingham3      ,our purpose is to do 
honour 444 to ,priestley the peerless   
defender       of national freedom in   
thought and in action2 to ,priestley the
       philosophical thinker2 to that   
,priestley who held a foremost place    
among the 'swift runners who hand over  
the lamp of life1' and       transmit   
from one generation to another the fire 
kindled1 in the       childhood of the  
world1 at the ,promethean altar of      
science4    ,,footnotes3  ,footnote #a3 
,chemistry in ,old ,philadelphia1 ,j4   
,b4 ,lippincott ,co41 ,phila41 ,pa4     
,footnote #b3 ,correspondence of        
,priestley by ,h4 ,c4 ,bolton1 ,new     
,york1 #ahib4  ,footnote #c3 ,mr4       
,berthollet discovered that oxygenated  
muriatic gas1 received in a ley of      
caustic potash1 forms a chrystallizable 
neutral salt1 which detonates more      
strongly than nitre4  ,footnote #d3     
,nine ,famous ,birmingham ,men--,cornish

 ,brothers1 ,publishers1 #aiji4         
,footnote #e3 ,james ,woodhouse--,a     
,pioneer in ,chemistry--,j4 ,c4 ,winston
 ,co41 ,phila4--#aiah4  ,footnote #f3   
,james ,woodhouse--,a pioneer in        
,chemistry--,j4 ,c4 ,winston ,co41      
,phila4--#aiah4  ,footnote #g3 ,see     
,chemistry in ,america1 ,appleton  ,co4 
and ,chemistry in ,old ,philadelphia1   
,the ,j4 ,b4 ,lippincott ,co41          
,philadelphia1 ,pa4  ,footnote #h3 ,the 
original of this letter is now the      
property of ,dr4 ,c4 ,a4 ,browne1 ,new  
,york4 ,he graciously permitted it to be
 inserted here4     ,transcriber's      
notes3   ,,formatting1 fixed in text3   
,a few inconsistencies in the layout and
 formatting of the book have been       
corrected 7an extra blank line in a     
quoted paragraph1 for example74 ,most   
notably1 the ,hints ,concerning ,public 
,education is an essay by ,priestley    
quoted verbatim in the text4 ,the       
original layout did not make a clear    
distinction between ,smith's text and   

this quoted essay2 ,i have remedied this
 with an indent for that section4       
,,typos1 fixed in text3   ,it was an    
interesting fact 7text reads            
inter-resting1 broken across a line7    
that germ which might once have been    
supposed 7text reads beeen7  ,september 
#ad1 #agid 7text reads ,september1 #ad  
#agid7  the ,doctor remained quietly at 
home 7text reads quitely7  on behalf of 
the ,northumberland ,academy1 praying   
legislative aid 7text reads lesiglative7
  science which has not waned in the    
slightest 7text reads slighest7  he     
uniformly directed that activity 7text  
reads uniformily7  from the rod of      
lawless power 7text reads of of7        
,almost all the fresh meat they have    
7text reads flesh meat7  diversions1    
beginning with the publication 7text    
reads begining7  rather thoughtful      
disquisition on dreams 7text reads      
disquisiton7  ,footnote #f3 ,j4 ,c4     
,winston ,co4 7text reads ,wintson7     
,,apparent ,,errata1 but could be as    

appearing in the original letters3      
7left as-is in text74  conduct will     
evince that ,i have been to that of     
great ,great ,britain4  contributes so  
much as ours do to the cummunication    
communication of useful knowledge  sense
 of security which scientificial        
scientific8 pursuits require  the same  
that has been called philogiston        
phlogiston  he would never enter the    
puplit pulpit again4  until it became   
necesary necessary to separate4  we all 
rejoiced at the aggreeable agreeable    
information  ,by civil fueds feuds      
exiled my native home  unless you were  
possessed of ,aladin's ,aladdin's lamp