He frequently quitted London and went to Brighton and
elsewhere, always choosing a situation which commanded a view of the
sea, or of some other pleasant horizon, where he could sit and gaze
and feel the gradual revival of the faith that
'Nature never did betray
The heart that loved her.'
But very often for some days after his removal to the country, he
would be unable to do more than sit at a window and look out upon
the sea and sky.
In 1841, his state became more serious than it had ever been before.
A published letter to Mr. Richard Taylor, dated March 11, 1843,
contains an allusion to his previous condition. 'You are aware,'
he says, 'that considerations regarding health have prevented me
from working or reading on science for the last two years.' This,
at one period or another of their lives, seems to be the fate of
most great investigators. They do not know the limits of their
constitutional strength until they have transgressed them. It is,
perhaps, right that they should transgress them, in order to
ascertain where they lie. Faraday, however, though he went far
towards it, did not push his transgression beyond his power of
restitution. In 1841 Mrs. Faraday and he went to Switzerland, under
the affectionate charge of her brother, Mr. George Barnard, the artist.
This time of suffering throws fresh light upon his character.
I have said that sweetness and gentleness were not its only
constituents; that he was also fiery and strong.
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