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Cornelius Varley’s Narrative written by himself

Our Family were all born at Hackney in a large house that had been the Blue post Tavern with large garden & Fruit trees & Grounds with some large trees. I was born on the 21^st of November 1782. When about 4 y^r. old I fell head foremost out of a first floor window I was soon afterwards taken to see the deep impression of my head the softness of the ground saved me from any harm that I can remember (Gall the Phrenologist attributed to such a fall the starting into activity of his intelect) our mothers name was fleetwood regular descended from Gen^rl. Fleetwood who married Cromwells daughter).

We lost our Father before I was quite 10 y^r. when near 12 My Uncle S.^l Varley took charge of me he had always been progressing in Mechanical & Scientific knowledge

It was my good fortune to be with him during the most important of his ^experiments in Philosophical & Chemical progress science having to help him in every thing & so had to put my hand to all kinds of work When I was first there he was engaged in watch & watch escapment¹ making & in Jewelling them & had several pupils from the country Male & female learning those arts. It was there I first saw the wonders of Science & became eager to make some lenses then that my practice in polishing might be profitable I was set to work the jewels for jewell’d holes of watches. These ^are made of rubies the diamond is for ornament not for use, a thin polished ruby disk is under it to touch the pivot end. Thus I made many sets & fitted them accurately into their respective watches. ^ my Uncle having made excellent tools for that purpose Whilst soldering diamonds into their steel mountings with a blow pipe I saw one take fire a small flame rose from it (this was confirm’d some y^rs after when I saw diamonds purposely burnt under the Oxygen blow pipe).² After this I made lenses & the microscopes for them

Bees wax harden’d by much polishing powder³ in it was used for polishing all our lenses it is not strong enough to scratch & has no springing or yielding but fits perfectly close to the lens & so secures a perfectly continuous surface & a perfect figure to the very edge

The very deepest lenses required shell lac⁴ strengthened with polishing powder

With this I made ^many lenses 1/30 focus ^several lenses 1/60 of an inch focus & three of the 100^th. I used lenses of 1/10 & 1/20 focus to examine this very small work such lenses bear the largest apperture from being so finely perfect in surface & figure. When 14 ^ys. I made for myself a pocket microscope lenses brass work & all

In 1794 when my Uncle was 50y^rs. he began adding Chemistry to his many pursuits & afterwards gave me many courses of lectures he contrived much of the apparatus which has continued in use.⁵ In all these I had to help & to work at Philosophical & Chemical apparatus Electrical & Galvanic

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My Uncle held ^musical parties & also microscopic parties⁶ on one of these a lens of my making 1/30 focus was declared to greatly excel all the other Microscopes.^that were brought together on that occasion The longer a lens is being polished on the usual cloth surface the more is its figure spoil’d besides having a superfine wavy surface invisible to all but the most careful optical examination.

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I had to make large quantities of Oxygen & other gases both for his lectures & Patients he cured by Gas very many maladies that had baffled every other aid.⁷ I was eager after all the Chemical knowledge that were then opening on the world & had learnd that knowledge is no burden but it lightens all other burdens

In 1800 I commenced drawing & sketching from Nature taught myself & was soon engaged to teach others^ the Earl of Essex recommended me & told me what to change & in so doing I became acquainted with some of the most amiable & excellent of the human race. In ^June 1801 I was invited to a happy mansion in Norfolk to sketch from Nature The ladies⁸ coming to sketch with me when ever they liked, here the hardest work I cou’d ^have perform’d was Glorious holiday ^so closely following compar’d with the former indoors occupation tho’ ^that was among the wonders of science. The pure air the sense of liberty to ramble any where among the works of creation & when indoors to be amidst the most cultivated & amiable kindness that removed care & brighten’d hope, has left an impression that nothing will efface. I remain’d in Norfolk & then in Suffolk ⁹ till Midwinter sketching out of doors in frost & snow, whilst in Town I was engaged in teaching drawing & perspective ^this I learned by having to teach it till June ^1802 when I went into North Wales & was soon join’d by My Brother ^John & Webster.

In 1803 ^ [...] me & Cristall went ^ [...] into Wales ¹⁰ & was join’d by Havel. In 1804 I went to S^t Albans to sketch¹¹ I was one of the Party who held several meetings & determined on forming the Water Colour Society¹² & on their first Exhibition had Pencil drawings & Colour’d sketches ^from Nature of S^t Albans Abbey..¹³

In 1805 I travelled in North Wales quite alone, for the whole season was so Rainy that in most places I was the only traveller.

This apparent solitude amidst Clouds & Mountains left me more at large “To hold converse with Natures Charms & view her stores untold”.¹⁴ For having been familiar with most of the known Electrical experiments I was better prepared & more at liberty to observe & understand what I saw. But To keep a little order I will return to 1803 when I ascended Cader Idris from from Dolgelly with Cristal, Havel, & several others.¹⁵ When evening approached all the party except me & Cristal descended for prudence sake while there was light enough to ^see their way but the increasing grandeur & brilliancy of the scene ^above detain’d us (thro’ all risks) to enjoy the splendour ^we were much higher than the surrounding mountains the Sun surrounded by small bright & lofty clouds ^illum’d the whole heavens & was spreading his beams over ^a bright ocean of lower clouds

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which in one great sheet spread over all the lower Mountains causing a gloomy ^dark & early night in all ^the valleys, & ^distant cottage light cou’d be seen feebly glimmering.¹⁶ Thus night below & glorious sun shine above, then golden Vapour began to play on out Mountain, but on looking Eastward that end of the mountain was coverd by a luminous fog or Cloud on which we saw ^in perfection (what has been mysteriously described as the Spectre of the Brocken)¹⁷ a bright halo or ring of light with our distinct Shaddows within we were on the highest brow ^of the mountain the shadow of which intercepted the lower part of the ring & on it stood our whole shadows the head of my shadow was ^in the center of his ring & my shadow beside his we threw up our hats & moved about the shadow did the same & when we ^moved rather far apart ^each others shaddow quickly lost distinctness ^& faded away but not our own for each of us had a perfect shadow & concentric ring around it. These shaddows appeared to be distant & therefore gigantic (the only cause of mystery). The suns rays penetrated into the cloud quite as far as any vapour cou’d receive our shadows ^& as cloud light spreads laterally it therefore rendered our shaddows pale & the only light on the shadows was from the blue sky consequently they appeard exactly of the same pale milky grey as only the most distant clouds & mountains can appear this gives the notion that they ^also must be far off but their distinctness ^& their size is the real corrector of that error.

The sun at 10y.^ds – from our eyes measures 3 inches ^diameter consequently our shadows at that distance has 3 inches of penumbra all round ^causing just so much softening ^or indistinctness of their margin. but at 60y.^d the sun is 18 ^inches which is about the width of our body.

Consequently the two penumbra meet & soften the whole Shaddow leaving scarcely a bur¹⁸ to indicate its place. Therefore I conclude that our shaddows were not more that 10y.^d distant altho’ their pale grey colour impress’d us with a notion of their being 100 or more y^ds distant & exactly gigantic in that proportion. also appeared on the same angle which can be known & our shadows ^remain of one size keep to our size so measure the radius by our shadow its real diameter & its real distance may be known

This bright vision & the sun gradually disappeared leaving us in grey twilight

Clouds ^at such time are not visible when you are close to them so whilst we were being glad at the absence of clouds ^keeping from us we were sudden^ly enveloped in ^them clouds & they became so dense that at arms length our finger ends touching, we cou’d not see each other we then hastend down lower to get below these clouds & endeavord to find the horse ^track road but we cou’d not so we return’d close round the summit & hasten’d down the natural slope of many fallen stones sometimes sliding midst a number & having to jump aside to avoid the loosen’d ones which rolld after us I had stiff boots on so cou’d risk more

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& being in advance of Cristal had to avoid the stones which he loosen’d some of which we heard splashing into the pool below the light from it being our only guide. This slope was certainly dangerous in the dark & with a hurried descent but having escaped it we were fairly below the clouds & cou’d see about tho the darkness was rapidly increasing we then hasten’d to see the second lower lake & groped our way down to its margin with ^its light being our only guide no track to lead us but ^when then we follow’d a track which led us along its outlet till we found ourselves in a road & here we were lighten’d of our anxiety tho it was ^so very dark ^that we coud se but little before us this road led our really weary steps into Dolgelly were we arrived after 12 O clock nearly overcome by anxiety & fatigue (^having spent a day of 18 hours) but to our delight we found a hot substantial supper on the table to which (tho’ scarcely able to keep awake) we set to in good earnest*ⁱ

A Commencement of Clouds & then of Rain

In 1805 whilst seated on the North bank of the Vale of Llanllyfni ¹⁹ Snowden seen ^on my left hand over the East.ⁿ end the Sky was clear ^pale blue except a little lineⁱⁱ of small clouds sailing above the southern range & keeping their path over those summits proceeded ^eastward towards Snowdon over whose highest peak they all ^in succession passed but here they paid particular respect ^each cloud as it approached & passed ^over the peak or highest part took a very determinate & stratified form, but when passed & clear of its attraction they resumed their unshapely form, some ^whilst proceeding sent out projections towards 3 or 4 summits as they passed between & drew them in again when they got passed clear of those attractions. But while these clouds were passing eastward fresh formd one kept adding & following so they grew larger & longer towards the wind which fed them & carried them along till their size wrapped over & hid the top line of the whole southern range of hills. Then rain began at the eastern end & obscured that portion ^of the hills & ^the rain gradually extended westward ^over the range while the ^line of Clouds were growing for miles over the sea whose distant horizon was still clear ^and [...] but the rain gradually extended till over the sea & then ^progressively obscured the whole horizon. here was a single line of clouds & rain of many miles in length I was yet in fine weather on the northern side ^& the rest of the sky clear. At first the mountains renderd the air electrically minus ⁱⁱⁱ & as the ^moist air followed it ^ kept lost electricity enough so coud not hold its vapour in invisible solution but deposited it ^& kept adding small clouds & as these floated over the mountains they were kept minus so more clouds kept forming behind them, & when they began to descend

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A Theory of the Atmosphere shewing the formation of Clouds, their permanent existence, & their precipitation in rain or snow, & the consequent rise or fall of the Barometer, presented to the Public of Science for their examination;

by Cornelius Varley²⁰

I will first relate the Observations which led to this Theory which every one can easyly repeat

1.^st In a Thunder Storm I observ’d in the air Small specs of clouds appear which quickly grew larger & roundabout in every clear place others were forming which all kept uniting & form’d very large clouds which prov’d to be well charg’d with Electricity by discharging it in sparks on the Earth & then the cloud clos’d into drop of rain & fell in a heavy shower to the ground but as it well known that bodys charg’d with Electricity never discharge the whole of it at one shock, so this cloud had not discharg’d all for as much Electricity as it had lost so much of the Cloud fell

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fell down directly in rain & the small residium that remain’d held its portion of Cloud pendent in the air without raining which joind with larger ones that had just form’d & was then ready for another discharge

2.^d In fine weather when the wind was Easterly I observ’d the very reverse effect for I saw large Clouds one or two miles distance coming ^from over Cader Idris before the wind which were constantly breaking in pieces & disolving in the air & were quite disolv’d before the wind coud bring them over my head I have also been under clouds that were disolving & there was nothing like rain but when the Clouds touch the mountains I have seen them break & disolve quickest

3.^d when this same Fine weather had continued some days when there was no cloud the sky was very pale owing to the mist in the air which so obscur’d the distant mountain that you cou’d see little more than the^ir outline (which ^this proves that the air does not hold

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it ^quite in solution for if it did it wou’d be perfectly transparent) but directly some clouds came the sky round them & afterwards all over became quite bright & the distance more distinct

4.^th this weather with the same wind lasted about a fortnight on the first evening I saw no dew fallen on the second I perceiv’d a little on the third more which increas’d every evening till it became so thick that directly the sun was set it obscur’d the ground & the morning were very foggy & every day the sky became more misty as in third observation this prov’d that every day the Sun rais’d a quantity of vapour which found not enough Electricity to support it in the night & raise it up to the clouds, the Electricity being gradualy taken up from the Earth to form clouds during the fine weather towards the end there was so little left that almost all the vapour rais’d in the day fell down in the night & produc’d those foggy morning

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I give the following as laws

1.^st that no Cloud can be form’d or exist without Electricity
2.^d that no Cloud can rain till it parts with some of its Electricity
3.^d that it never can rain hail or snow unless the Electric state of the Earth is ^comparitively negative, as the clouds must always be ^more or less positive according to the Theory of one Electric fluid
4.^th that Electricity is the suspending power in Clouds b^y clothing each particle with an Electrical atmosphere ʘʘʘ
5.^h that in fine weather the clouds are separating & in stormy weather uniting
6.^th that water can exist permanently in 4 states & be in one temporary 2 by means of Electricity & 3 without it the first Electrical state is that of Cloud ^in which ^each particle is so much charg’d ʘʘ as to become lighter than air at the surface of the Earth the second is a complete saturation or solution of water in the Electric fluid which produces a transparent & elastic fluid light enough to float above the highest Cloud the first plain state is Ice the second is liquid the ▲ third which is quite temporary is ^steam vapour for directly the supply of heat which was raising it is stopt it begins to lose that heat & falls back into its first state of Water.

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Editorial notes