The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-12-04
BOYS AND GIRLS
WORLD FAMOUS
Humphrey Davy. the lncor-
rigibIe Boy chem-
LIST.

This boy Humphrey IL incorrigl
bln'" beloved an elderly EnglishnAn
named Tonkin. who had charitably
given refuge In his house to half
starved youth named Humphrey Davy
"Hc H. incorrisibic! And he IL the
idlest dog unhung. lie viii blow us
all into eternity with these silly
chemical mesHeE OF his"
The old fellows rage was not
wholly unreasonable, For naNy after
refusing TO continue as AN apprentice
In Ho-called respectable trade had
Just blown part Of the Tonkin kitchen
to atoms while testing a home made
explosive which he called thunder
powder"
Humphrey was the eldest son OF a
family OF nyN children, lie was born
al PenSRnce In England In iTTs. HiS
parents were poor and busy. Too
poor at nrst TO send Humphrey to
school and too busy to teach him at
home
children In those days often began
to study before they were four years
old. But Humphrey. to his own Joy,
was spared this early discipline, lie
spent his babyhood years In dreamy
idlencrs that made hts parents fear
he was going to be helpless idler
and Ounce.
4 Feat of Memory.
His mother In her rare moments Of
leisure used 10 read and rcrcnd BIn,
vans "pngrim's Progress" aloud 90
the children. one evening, when
Humphrey was about ave, Mrs. Dsvy
could not md the volume when the
reading hour came.
Never mind" spoke up Humphrey.
"Ill teach II to you"
Aud To the family'H boundless
amaze the ave ycRro old child began To
repeat from memory page after page
of Bunyhn'a great book. lie had un.
consciously learned large part OF
the story by heart from hearing his
mother read II 50 often,
A. six Humphrey went To q village
grammar school kept by brute OF
man named coryton. This amiable
Echoolmastcr had "A habit uf pulling
fashion by way Of punishment for
stupidity.
AZ Humphrey at nrst seemed the
stupidest boy In his class his ears
were In n constant state Of pain. He
did not mind tho hurt 50 much as the
shame OF such humiliating public pun
iphment. one day he came To- school
with both ears covered with enor'
nous slabs OF adhesive plaster, Cory.
ton angrily demanded the reason. The
child replied:
II put these on to save ne from
being mortified ny ear'pulllng"
He quickly won reputation for
ed everything out, dissecting the
causes OF all happenings and forming
his own conclusions, Some OF these
conclusions naturally were idiOtic, as
when ON cruelty hot day he wore
heavy ovcrcoat ana explained his
action by saying;
Failure and Success.
"If II will keep out tho cold II ought
to keep out the heat, too"
when Humphrey was sixteen his
father died and the Davy family found
poorer than ever. Humph,
rey was spprenticed To an apothecary
surgeon.
His chance had come. lie had al
ways been crazy about chemistry, Aud
now at last he found time To plunge
deeply into the study Of H.
Ills apprenticeship was not an on
tire success perhaps as regarded the
mastery of surgical lore. But he soon
knew more about chemicals than did
And he was forever making strange
experiments-as IN tho case OF the
thunder powder"
He was desperately poor. and he be
gan tn write for living. Also To pay
for such simple chemicals as no need
ed. His laboratory apparatus was con
fined 10 old bottles. wine glasses, tca
cups, esrthen Jars and tobacco pipes.
Sneered at as an idler and as an i'm
practical dreamer and a hopeless loaf
or, he kept on, often, making blum
iers, but always advancing step by
step. Before he had reached manhood
his immortal life work had begun-a
life work that inspired the famous
eulogy:
Calico and Newton, |
which grow greener by time, VIII de
scend to the latest posterity."
ucoDyriEht igl6l