ABSTRACT
John Tobin had been a medical student at Heidelberg; he acted as Davy’s secretary. Although Davy, in letters to his wife, sometimes complained of the young man, calling him his wildeman, and referring to his laziness and slovenly ways, he seems on the whole to have been well served by him as well as by his servant, George, who had more of his confidence. During the journey, Davy’s passion for natural history still burned; he retained his relish of light mountain air, his pleasure in diverse scenery, his eye for sport when his hand had failed him, and even his memory of the delicate savours of food. Davy’s contention that bodily pain could be met by abstracting the mind was partly borne out in this last month. Perhaps Jane Davy was, after all, a better wife for Humphry than is generally supposed.
