Letter 2 from Alessandro Volta to 3rd Earl Cowper

6th November, 1778

Gill Cordingley & Maria Porter

Cowper will forward Volta’s papers to the Royal Society. He is reproducing Volta’s experiments in his own laboratory. He promises to send on the results. He would like to have more information about the glass bomb, the lamp and the lighter.

It is possible that Volta will be asked to speak at one of the meetings of the Royal Society. He would like further information about Volta’s experiments.

Volta’s second letter is dated 6 November 1778.

Altezza

Il viaggio di un mese e alcuni altri più piccoli giri, e diverse occupazioni mi hanno impedito di scrivere a V. A. la lunga lettera promessa contenente la descrizione della lucerna ad aria infiammabile ed altre cose analoghe. Non poco ancora di tempo mi ha tolto la memoria sulla capacità de’ Conduttori Elettrici, che in due parti ho pubblicato negli Opuscoli Scelti, e che qui tutta unita trasmetto a V. A. S’Ella giudica che possa esser degna d’essere trasmessa alla Società Reale di Londra, lo avrò per grand’onore, come anche solamente se saprò che piaccia a V. A. In poi mi farò pregio di spedirLe, tosto che terminata l’avrò manuscritta l’altra memoria che dee venire in seguito. Intanto profitterò di qualche giorno d’ozio per comunicarLe le varie cosette ch’Ella attende ancora intorno alle sperienze sull’aria infiammabile. Ciò procurerò d’eseguire prima di passare all’Università di Pavia, ove la Corte, senza mia richiesta, anzi malgrado la difficoltà da me interposta, mi vuol collocare in qualità di Professore di Fisica Sper.tle io spero però ancora di potermi disimpegnare: in ogni caso non sarò per trasferirmi a Pavia il mese venturo.

Ho l’onore di protestarmi col più profondo ossequio di V. Altezza.

Como li 6 9.br~e 1778

Umill.m~o Dev.m~o Obb.mo Servo

Alessandro Volta

Your Highness

The month long journey and other shorter trips, and other engagements have prevented me from writing to Y. E. the long letter I promised containing the description of the gas lamp and other similar things. It has also taken me a while to compile the papers about the capacity of the Electric Conductors, that I published in two parts in the “Opuscoli Scelti”and that I send as a whole to Y. E. If you judge that it could be worthy of being forwarded to the Royal Society in London, it will be a great honour for me, as it would, even if I know that it only pleases Y. E. I shall then be pleased to send you, as soon as I shall finish it, the other handwritten compilation which has to follow. In the meantime, I shall take advantage of few days of leisure to communicate to you various small things that you are still awaiting regarding the experiment about the gas. That I will endeavour to execute before going to the University of Pavia, where the Court*, without my request but rather notwithstanding the difficulty I interposed, wants to place me as Professor of Experimental Physics, I still hope to be able to disengage myself: in any case I shall not move to Pavia until next month.

I have the honour of professing myself with the most profound respect.

Como the 6th November 1778

Your Most Humble, Most Devoted, Most Obsequious Servant

Alessandro Volta.

* He means the Austrian decision makers in Vienna and Milan

This page was added on 26/06/2013.