Chapter 16.
Illustrations of Character.
Thus far I have confined myself to topics mainly interesting to the
man of science, endeavouring, however, to treat them in a manner
unrepellent to the general reader who might wish to obtain a notion
of Faraday as a worker. On others will fall the duty of presenting
to the world a picture of the man. But I know you will permit me to
add to the foregoing analysis a few personal reminiscences and
remarks, tending to connect Faraday with a wider world than that of
science--namely, with the general human heart.
One word in reference to his married life, in addition to what has
been already said, may find a place here. As in the former case,
Faraday shall be his own spokesman. The following paragraph, though
written in the third person, is from his hand:--'On June 12, 1821,
he married, an event which more than any other contributed to his
earthly happiness and healthful state of mind. The union has
continued for twenty-eight years and has in no wise changed, except
in the depth and strength of its character.'
Faraday's immediate forefathers lived in a little place called
Clapham Wood Hall, in Yorkshire. Here dwelt Robert Faraday and
Elizabeth his wife, who had ten children, one of them, James
Faraday, born in 1761, being father to the philosopher. A family
tradition exists that the Faradays came originally from Ireland.
Faraday himself has more than once expressed to me his belief that
his blood was in part Celtic, but how much of it was so, or when the
infusion took place, he was unable to say.
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