Luke Howard (1772-1864). His Correspondence with Goethe and his Continental Journey of 1816 (review)

Abstract

62QUAKER HISTORY Luke Howard (1772-1864). His Correspondence with Goethe and his Continental Journey of 1816. By Douglas F. S. Scott, Editor. York, England: William Sessions, 1976. vii, 98 pp. Douglas Scott, a British German scholar, has produced an interesting volume about an Englishman who was an active Friend, an enterprising businessman, and one of the founders of modern meteorology. Luke Howard 's "Essay on the Modification of Clouds," published in 1804, established his reputation as the founder of the modern classification of clouds and inventor of the terminology which is still in general use: "cirrus," "cumulus," etc. This essay was read with intense interest by the writer Goethe, whose mind and imagination were drawn to die phenomenon of clouds. Goedie composed a poem in honor of Howard, and in 1821 requested biographical material about him through an acquaintance in London. When Howard learned about the request by the world-famous poet, he at first thought it a hoax, but then supplied the information himself in a long letter which pleased Goethe so much that he published it in his own translation. The text of the autobiographical letter to Goethe forms the first of two pieces of writing by Howard in this volume. The other is his account of a journey to die continent in 1816, undertaken at the request of British Friends to see what measures might be taken to assist German Friends in Bad Pyrmont and Minden. This account has not been published before. The editor supplies a commentary on the background of the journey, as well as on personalities connected with it. He also includes an English translation of Goethe's poem to Howard. From the autobiographical letter and the travel account, Luke Howard emerges as a man who placed his faith both in science and good works, on the one hand, and in an evangelical Christ, on the other. He was a gifted scientific observer and the head of a chemical firm which still flourishes. He was a pioneer in war relief work who helped to collect a very large sum for the relief of German peasants left destitute after Napoleon's retreat in 1814. The account of his travels two years later on behalf of German Friends is further testimony to his sense for the practical in the service of furthering good in the world. At the same time, characteristically, he was an ardent worker for the British and Foreign Bible Society, in which he propagated die literal reading of Scripture. This side of him eventually brought him into conflict with the Society of Friends and led to his disownment. The autobiographical letter to Goethe offers a vivid portrait of the man, while the "Notes" on the 1816 journey include detailed vignettes of town and country life in northwest Europe on the verge of the Industrial Revolution . Altogether, this volume sheds light on a figure whose name deserves to be more than a household word among meteorologists. Haverford CollegeJohn R. Cary Friends in the Americas. By Francis B. Hall, Editor. Philadelphia: Friends World Committee, Section of the Americas, 1976. Pp. 130. $1.25 paperback . While this publiction is in some ways a new edition of American Quakers ...