evolved chlorine gas, then assumed a dingy appearance, and ultimately
became nearly colourless; after which it had an astringent and saline
taste. Being evaporated to dryness at a very moderate temperature, it
left a saline mass, consisting of much common salt, a considerable
quantity of chlorate of soda, and a trace of carbonate of soda. This
mixture had no bleaching powers. The dingy appearance, assumed in
the first instance, was found to be occasioned by a little manganese
which had passed over into the solutions, notwithstanding the care
taken in evolving and washing the gas.
7. From these experiments it was evident that when chlorine was
passed _in excess_ into a solution of carbonate of soda (3), the
carbonic acid was expelled, and the soda acted upon as if it were
caustic, a mixture of chloride of sodium and chlorate of soda being
produced; with the exception of the small portion of carbonate of
soda which, it appears, may remain for some time in the solution in
contact with the excess of chlorine at common temperatures, without
undergoing this change. The quantities of chloride of sodium and
chlorate of soda were not ascertained, no doubt being entertained
that they were in the well-known proportions which occur when caustic
soda is used.
8. The Labarraque’s soda liquor which had been prepared as described
(2), was now examined relative to the part the chlorine played in
it, or the change the alkali had undergone, and was soon found to
be very different to that which has been described, as indeed the
experiments I had seen made by Mr. Phillips[32] led me to expect. The
solution had but little odour of chlorine, its taste was at first
sharp, saline, scarcely at [p087] all alkaline, but with a persisting
astringent biting effect upon the tongue. When applied to turmeric
paper, it first reddened and then bleached it.
9. A portion of the solution (2) being boiled, gave out no chlorine;
it seemed but little changed by the operation, having the same
peculiar taste, and nearly the same bleaching power as before. This
is a sufficient proof that the chlorine, though in a state ready to
bleach or disinfect, must not be considered as in the ordinary state
of solution, either in water or a saline fluid; for ebullition will
freely carry off the chlorine under the latter circumstances.
10. A portion evaporated on the sandbath rather hastily, gave a dry
saline mass, quite unlike that left by the _saturated solution_
already described (6); and which, when dissolved, had the same
astringent taste as before, and bleached solution of indigo very
powerfully: when compared with an equal portion of the unevaporated
solution, which had been placed in the mean time in the dark, its
bleaching power upon diluted sulphate of indigo was 30, that of the
former being 76. Another portion, evaporated in a still more careful
manner, gave a mass of damp crystals, which, when dissolved, had the
taste, smell, and bleaching power of the original solution, with
almost equal strength.
11. These experiments shewed sufficiently that the whole of the
chlorine had not acted upon the carbonate of soda to produce chloride
of sodium, and chlorate of soda; that much was in a peculiar state of
solution or union which enabled it to withstand ebullition, and yet
to act freely as a bleaching or disinfecting agent; and that probably
little or none had combined with the sodium, or been converted into
chloric acid. To put these ideas to the test, two equal portions of
the Labarraque solution were taken; one was put into a large tube,
closed at one extremity, diluted sulphuric acid was added till in
excess, and then air blown through the mixture by a long small open
tube, proceeding from the mouth, for the purpose of carrying off
the chlorine; the contents of the tube were then heated nearly to
the boiling point, air being continually passed through. In this
way all the chlorine which had combined with the carbonated alkali
without decomposing it, was set free by the sulphuric acid, and
carried off by the current of air and vapour, whilst any which had
acted chemically upon the alkali would, [p088] after the action of
the sulphuric acid, be contained in solution as muriatic and chloric
acids, and from the diluted state of the whole, would not be removed
by the after-process, but remain to be rendered evident by tests. The
other portion being diluted, had sulphuric acid added also in excess,
but no attempt was made to remove the chlorine. Equal quantities of
these two portions in the same state of dilution were then examined
by nitrate of silver for the quantities of chlorine sensible in them,
and it was found that the latter portion, or that which retained the
whole of the chlorine thrown into it, contained above sixty times as
much as the former.
12. Now although it may be supposed that in the former portion that
part of the chlorine, which, in acting energetically, had produced
chloric acid, could not be detected by the nitrate of silver, yet
more than a sixth of the small portion which remains cannot be thus
hidden; and even that quantity is diminished by the sulphuric acid
present in excess, which tends to make the chlorine in the chlorate
sensible to nitrate of silver: so that the experiment shews that
nearly 59 parts out of 60 of the chlorine in M. Labarraque’s liquid
are in a state of weak combination with the carbonated alkali, and
may be separated by acids in its original condition; that this
quantity is probably wholly available in the liquid when used as a
bleaching or disinfecting agent; that little, if any, of the chlorine
forms chloride of sodium and chlorate of soda with the alkali of
the solution; and that the portion of chlorine used in preparing
the substance which is brought into an inactive state, is almost
insensible in quantity.
13. The peculiar nature of this compound or solution, with the
results Mr. Phillips had shewn me (8), obtained by evaporation of a
similar preparation to dryness, induced me to try the effects of slow
evaporation, crystallization, heat, and air upon it. In the first
place five equal portions of the solution prepared by myself were
measured out: two were put into stoppered bottles, two were put into
basins and covered over with bibulous paper, and one was put into a
basin which was left open; all were set aside in an obscure place,
and remained from July 16th to August 28th. Being then examined, the
portions in the basins were found crystallized and dry; the crystals
were large and flat, striated and imperfect, resembling those formed
[p089] in a similar way from carbonate of soda. They were not
small and acicular, were nearly alike in the three basins, and had
effloresced only on a few minute points. A part of one portion, when
dissolved, gave a solution, having an alkaline taste, without any
of the pungency of Labarraque’s liquid; and which, when tested by
turmeric paper, reddened, but did not bleach it.
14. One of these portions that had effloresced least was selected,
and being dissolved, was compared in bleaching power upon diluted
sulphate of indigo, with one of the portions of solution that had
been preserved in bottles. The former had scarcely any visible
effect, though sulphuric acid was added to assist the action; a
single measure of the indigo liquor coloured the solution permanently
blue, whereas seventy-seven such measures were bleached by the
portion from the bottle. Hence the process of slow crystallization
had either almost entirely expelled the chlorine, or else had caused
it to react upon the alkali, and by entering into strong chemical
combination as chloride and chlorate, had rendered it inert as a
bleaching or disinfecting agent.
15. From the appearance of the crystals there was no reason to expect
the latter effect; but to put the question to the proof, one of the
evaporated portions, and one of the fluid portions contained in the
bottles, were acted upon by sulphuric acid, heat, and a current of
air, in the manner already described (11), to separate the chlorine
that had not combined as chloride or chlorate. They were then
compared with an equal portion of the solution, which retained all
its chlorine, nitrate of silver being used as before: the quantity of
chloride indicated for the latter portion was 60 parts; whilst that
of the fluid portion deprived of as much free chlorine as could be,
by sulphuric acid and blowing, was 6 parts; and for the evaporated
and crystallized portion, similarly cleared of free chlorine, only
1.5 parts.
16. This result, as compared with the former experiment of a similar
kind (11), shewed, that though reaction of the chlorine on the
carbonate had taken place in the evaporated portion, it was only to a
very slight extent, since the chlorine was almost as much separated
from it by the process altogether, as it had been from the recent
preparation by sulphuric acid, blowing, and heat. The experiment
shewed also that there [p090] was a gradual reaction of the chlorine
and alkali in the fluid preparation, proceeding to a greater extent
than in the evaporated portion; for chlorine, equal to five parts,
was found by the nitrate of silver to remain. Hence this preparation
is one which deteriorates even in the small space of forty-three
days. Whether the effect will proceed to any great extent, prolonged
experiments only can shew.
17. From an experiment made upon larger quantities of the Labarraque
liquor, it would appear that the force of crystallization alone
is sufficient to exclude the chlorine. A quantity was put into an
evaporating basin, and left covered over with paper from July 16th
to August 28th. Being then examined, a few large crystals were found
covered over with a dense solution; the whole had the innocuous
odour of Labarraque’s fluid, and the fluid the usual acrid, biting
taste. The crystals being separated, one of the largest and most
perfect was chosen, and being well wiped on the exterior, and pressed
between folds of bibulous paper, was rubbed down in water, so as to
make a saturated solution. This had no astringent taste like that of
Labarraque’s fluid, or the mother-liquor, but one purely alkaline;
and when applied to turmeric paper, reddened, but did not bleach it.
Equal portions of this saturated solution and of the mother-liquor
were then compared in bleaching power, acid being added to the former
to assist the effect: it was found, notwithstanding that portions of
mother-liquor must have adhered to the crystal, that its solution had
not 1/21th part the power of the mother-liquor. This, in conjunction
with the other experiments, is a striking instance of the manner
in which the carbonate of soda acts, as a simple substance, with
the chlorine in the solution. The crystal itself had never been in
contact with the air: but whether it should be considered as the
excess of carbonate of soda only which crystallized; or whether it
is essential to the formation of these crystals that chlorine should
simultaneously be given off into the air; or what would take place,
if the water were abstracted without the evolution of chlorine, I
have not determined.
18. Notwithstanding the perfect manner in which the chlorine may be
thus separated by crystallization and slow evaporation to dryness,
yet it is certain that by quick evaporation a [p091] substance
apparently quite dry may be obtained, which yet possesses strong
bleaching power. In one experiment, where, of two equal portions, one
had been evaporated in the course of twenty-four hours to dryness
upon the warm part of a sandbath, when compared with the former, it
had not lost more than one-third of its bleaching power.
19. With the desire of knowing what effect carbonic acid would have
on Labarraque’s fluid, and whether it possessed in a greater or
smaller degree the power of ordinary acids to expel the chlorine,
portions of the solution were put into two Woulfe’s bottles, and
a current of carbonic acid gas passed through them. The gas was
obtained from sulphuric acid and whitening in a soda-water apparatus,
and was well washed in water. The stream of gas brought away small
portions of chlorine with it, but they were not sensible to the
smell, and could only be detected by putting litmus paper into the
current. An immense quantity of gas, equal to nearly 1300 times the
volume of the fluid, was sent through; but yet very little chlorine
was removed, and the bleaching powers of the fluid were but little
diminished, though it no longer appeared alkaline to turmeric paper.
Air was then passed through the solution in large quantity; it also
removed chlorine, but apparently not quite so much as carbonic acid.
20. One other experiment was made upon the degree in which the
carbonate of soda in Labarraque’s liquor resisted decomposition by
the chlorine, even at high temperature. Two equal portions of the
fluid were taken, and one of them boiled rapidly for fifteen minutes;
both were then acted upon by sulphuric acid, blowing, and heat, as
described (11), and the two were then tested by nitrate of silver,
to ascertain the quantity of chlorine remaining: it was nearly
three times as much in the boiled as in the unboiled portion; and
by comparing this with the results before obtained (11), it will be
seen that, after boiling for a quarter of an hour, not more than a
twentieth part of the chlorine had acted upon the alkali, to form
chloride and chlorate.
21. It would seem as if I were unacquainted with Dr. Granville’s
paper upon this subject, published in the last volume of this
Journal, p. 371, were I to close my remarks without taking [p092]
any notice of it. Unfortunately, Dr. Granville has mistaken M.
Labarraque’s direction, and by passing chlorine, to “complete
saturation,” through the carbonate, instead of using the quantities
directed, has failed in obtaining Labarraque’s really curious and
very important liquid; to which, in consequence, not one of his
observations or experiments applies, although the latter are quite
correct in themselves.
_Royal Institution, Sept. 3, 1827_.
FOOTNOTES:
[31] See the last volume of this Journal, pp. 211, 460.
[32] See Vol. I. of this Journal, p. 461; and _Phil. Mag._ N. S., I.
376.
HIEROGLYPHICAL FRAGMENTS; _with some Remarks on_ ENGLISH GRAMMAR.
_In a Letter to the Baron William Von_ HUMBOLDT. By a Correspondent.
My dear Sir,
I am happy to tell you that our prospects of new documents from Egypt
are very rapidly increasing: Mr. Burton has had the good fortune to
discover at length, in a mosque, the triple inscription for which he
has been some years in search; and he has been negotiating with the
Pacha for its removal. From its magnitude and state of preservation,
there is every reason to believe that it will rival the pillar of
Rosetta in its importance, and I sincerely hope that it will tend
to check the wildness of conjecture, which has been rioting without
bounds in the regions of Egyptian literature. Mr. Tattam is printing
a Coptic grammar, and I am preparing an Appendix, which is to contain
the rudiments of an Enchorial Lexicon: I ardently wish that Mr.
Burton’s inscriptions may come to my assistance before I complete
it. I have received nothing from France or from Germany for these
four years past: even what is published seems by some fatality to
have been withheld from me; and the booksellers send no answers to my
commissions. I trust your brother will not forget his kind promise to
think of me at Berlin.
I have to thank him and you for your obliging present of your _Letter
to Abel Remusat on the Genius of the Chinese Language_, which has
greatly interested me: the best return that I can make will be to
give you some remarks which have occurred to me on the language of
hieroglyphics in general, [p093] and on the character of the English
language, which seems to approach, in its simplicity, as you have
yourself observed, to the natural structure of the oldest languages,
immediately related to the hieroglyphical form of representation. I
fear, however, that I must apologize to you for the want of method
with which I shall be obliged at present to throw my fragments
together: but it may be allowable to make some difference between a
letter and a finished essay.
Hieroglyphics, in their primitive form, are scarcely to be considered
in any case as simply a mode of expressing an oral language: they
may be a direct and independent representation of our thoughts, that
is, of recollections, or sentiments, or intentions, collateral to
the representation of the same thoughts by the language of sounds.
We find, in many of the Egyptian monuments, a double expression
of the same sense: first, a simple picture, for instance, of a
votary presenting a vase to a sitting deity; each characterized by
some peculiarity of form, and each distinguished also by a name
written over him; and this may be called a pure hieroglyphical
representation, though it scarcely amounts to a language, any more
than the look of love is a language of a lover. But we universally
find that the tablet is accompanied by a greater variety of
characters which certainly do constitute a language, although we know
little or nothing of the sounds of that language; but its import is,
that “such a king offers a vase to the deity;” and on the other side,
that “the deity grants to the king health and strength, and beauty
and riches, and dominion and power.” It is common to see, in these
inscriptions, a number of characters introduced, which are evidently
identical with some of those in the tablets: and however some of
them may occasionally have been employed phonetically, there can
be no question of the nature of the changes which their employment
must have gone through before they assumed the character of sounds:
but this is altogether a separate consideration, and foreign to the
present purpose.
Now it is obvious that objects, delineated with the intention of
representing the originals to the eye by their form, must necessarily
be nouns substantive; and that the picture, containing no verb
whatever, can scarcely be said to constitute [p094] either a positive
or a negative assertion. At the same time, it must be allowed that
a picture of King George the Fourth’s coronation, with the date 19
July 1821, could scarcely be considered otherwise than as asserting
a historical truth; and if any emblem of Truth were attached to it,
or if it were deposited among the records of other historical facts,
it would be equivalent to the expression, “George IV. crowned in July
1821,” which _scarcely_ wants the verb _was_ to convert it into a
positive assertion of a fact.
Strictly speaking, however, there seems to be no direct mode of
supplying the want of the verb _is_ or _was_ in pure hieroglyphical
writing; and if any such sign was employed in the Egyptian or the
old Chinese hieroglyphics, its introduction must have been arbitrary
or conventional; like the employment of a postulate in mathematics.
Every other part of a language appears capable of being reduced,
with more or less circumlocution, to the form of a noun substantive;
and the English language appears to approach to the Chinese in the
facility with which all the forms of grammar may be shaken off.
There is, however, often occasion, in such cases, for a certain
degree of metaphor approaching to poetical latitude; and hence it
may happen that the least literary nations are sometimes the most
poetical. It is, in fact, impossible to exclude metaphor altogether
from the most prosaic language; and it is frequently difficult to say
where metaphor ends and strict logical prose begins; but by degrees
the metaphor drops, and the simple figurative sense is retained. Thus
we may say _liquid ruby_ with the same exact meaning as _crimson
wine_; and yet _ruby_ would never be called an adjective, though
employed merely to express the colour: in _coral lips_, however, the
_coral_, first used metaphorically, is converted by habit into an
adjective, and the expression is considered as synonymous with _labri
corallini_.
The general custom in English is to place the figurative substantive,
used as an adjective by comparison, or by abstraction, before the
name which retains its proper sense: thus a chestnut horse is a
chestnut like or chestnut coloured horse; a horse chestnut is a
coarse kind of chestnut: and in this manner we are enabled to
use almost every English noun substantive as an adjective, by an
ellipsis of the word _like_, which, [p095] if inserted entire or
abridged, would make a real adjective of the word, as war_like_,
friend_ly_. But this omission of the termination, like other figures
of speech, is easily forgotten in the ordinary forms of language;
and the Germans, as well as the English, make use of almost all
their substantives in the place of adjectives, though they are
more in the habit of continuing them into single long words. When,
however, the substantives are so used, they generally become by
abstraction real adjectives: for we seldom think of a _chestnut_,
in speaking of the colour of a horse; but the idea of a light brown
coat, with an ugly pale-red mane and tail, and a fidgety temper, is
very likely to occur to us: and in a horse chestnut the idea of a
horse is out of the question; we only think of a coarse fruit which
a man cannot eat: so that the true sense, in both these instances,
is that of a quality; but _coral lips_ and _ivory hands_ are rather
elliptical expressions, composed of two substantives, which might
fairly be represented hieroglyphically by the assistance of a branch
of coral and an elephant’s tusk. But to describe an abstract quality
by any hieroglyphic character, representative of form only, would
be generally impossible: colours might be imitated, if we supposed
coloured figures to be employed; but other simple ideas, such as
those of sound or touch, could never be immediately presented to the
eye; and some circuitous invention would always be required for their
representation.
Horne Tooke has shewn, with considerable felicity of illustration,
that all the parts of speech may be resolved into the noun and the
verb; but he has not pointed out so clearly that every verb may
be resolved into a noun and the single primitive verb is or was,
which, in this sense, may be said to be the only essential verb in
any language; as we find, indeed, in the Coptic, that almost every
noun becomes a verb, either by the addition of PE, or sometimes even
without it. Thus, _the morning_ BLUSHES is synonymous with _the
morning_ IS _red_; _he loves justice_, with _he_ IS _a lover of
justice_; and _I_ AM _an Englishman_, with _the person now speaking_
IS _an Englishman_. But this must be understood of is, was, or will
be, in all its tenses; the idea of time, if expressed, being an
essential part of the verbal sense.
I confess that some of these reflections have occurred to me in
looking over a very singular work, which I had the curiosity [p096]
to take up, in order to see what kind of information could be
possessed by a person notoriously and professedly ignorant of the
origin and relations of the language which he attempts to teach;
and, in short, what kind of light could be diffused by an apostle
of darkness. Blunders, and some of them ridiculous enough, must, of
course, be found in the works of such a person, but most of them are
such as every schoolboy might correct; and there really is so much of
sagacity in some of Mr. Cobbett’s remarks on the errors of others,
that they well deserve the attention of such as are ambitious to
write or speak with perfect accuracy.
I shall not attempt to enter into a regular criticism of this
_Grammar_; I shall merely make a few miscellaneous observations, as
they have occurred to me in reading it, several of which would be
equally applicable to the best of the existing works of a similar
nature.