Nevertheless, in spite of disagreeables and dangers, the embryo philosopher worked on with a joyful heart, beguiling himself occasionally with a song, and in the evening playing tunes on his flute.
The change in Michael Faraday's employment naturally made him more earnest still in the pursuit of knowledge. He was admitted as a member of the "City Philosophical Society," a fraternity of thirty or forty men in the middle or lower ranks of life, who met every Wednesday evening for mutual instruction; and here is a contemporary picture of him at one of its debates:--
"But hark! A voice arises near the chair! Its liquid sounds glide smoothly through the air; The listening muse with rapture bends to view The place of speaking, and the speaker too. Neat was the youth in dress, in person plain; His eye read thus, _Philosopher in grain_; Of understanding clear, reflection deep; Expert to apprehend, and strong to keep. His watchful mind no subject can elude, Nor specious arts of sophists e'er delude; His powers, unshackled, range from pole to pole; His mind from error free, from guilt his soul. Warmth in his heart, good humour in his face, A friend to mirth, but foe to vile grimace; A temper candid, manners unassuming, Always correct, yet always unpresuming. Such was the youth, the chief of all the band; His name well known, Sir Humphry's right hand. With manly ease towards the chair he bends, With Watts's Logic at his finger-ends."
Another way in which he strove to educate himself is thus described in his own words:--"During this spring Magrath and I established the mutual improvement plan, and met at my rooms up in the attics of the Royal Institution, or at Wood Street at his warehouse. It consisted, perhaps, of half-a-dozen persons, chiefly from the City Philosophical Society, who met of an evening to read together, and to criticise, correct, and improve each other's pronunciation and construction of language. The discipline was very sturdy, the remarks very plain and open, and the results most valuable. This continued for several years."
Seven months after his appointment there began a new passage in Faraday's life, which gave a fresh impulse to his mental activity, and largely extended his knowledge of men and things. Sir Humphry Davy, wishing to travel on the Continent, and having received a special pass from the Emperor Napoleon, offered to take him as his amanuensis: he accepted the proposal, and for a year and a half they wandered about France, Italy, and Switzerland, and then they returned rapidly by the Tyrol, Germany, and Holland.