Chapter M: D'Alibard chose for this purpose, a garden situated at Marly, (1)

where he placed upon an electrical body a pointed bar of iron, of forty feet high. On the 10th of May, twenty minutes past two in the afternoon, a stormy cloud having passed over the place where the bar stood, those that were appointed to observe it, drew near, and attracted from it sparks of fire, perceiving the same kind of commotions as in the common electrical experiments.

M. de Lor, sensible of the good success of this experiment, resolved to repeat it at his house in the Estrapade, at Paris. He raised a bar of iron ninety-nine feet high, placed upon a cake of resin, two feet square, and three inches thick. On the 18th of May, between four and five in the afternoon, a stormy cloud having passed over the bar, where it remained half an hour, he drew sparks from the bar, like those from the gun barrel, when, in the electrical experiments, the globe is only rubbed by the cushion, and they produced the same noise, the same fire, and the same crackling. They drew the strongest sparks at the distance of nine lines, while the rain, mingled with a little hail, fell from the cloud, without either thunder or lightning; this cloud being, according to all appearance, only the consequence of a storm, which happened elsewhere.

I am, with a profound respect,

Your most humble and obedient servant,

G. MAZEAS.

FOOTNOTE:

[93] See the paragraph between brackets, page 267.

_A more particular Account of the Circumstances and Success of
this extraordinary Experiment was laid before the Royal Academy
of Sciences at Paris, three Days afterwards, in a Memorial by M.
D'Alibard, viz._

EXTRAIT D'UN MEMOIRE

DE M. D'ALIBARD,

_Lû à l'Académie Royale des Sciences, le 13 Mai, 1752._

"En suivant la route que M. Franklin nous a tracée, j'ai obtenu une satisfaction complette. Voici les préparatifs, le procédé & le succès.

"1º. J'ai fait faire à Marly-la-ville, située à six lieues de Paris au milieu d'une belle plaine dont le sol est fort élevé, une verge de fer ronde, d'environ un pouce de diametre, longue de 40 pieds, & fort pointue par son extrémité supérieure; pour lui ménager une pointe plus fine, je l'ai fait armer d'acier trempé & ensuite brunir, au défaut de dorure, pour la préserver de la rouille; outre cela, cette verge de fer est courbée vers son extrémité inférieure en deux coudes à angles aigus quoiqu'arrondis; le premier coude est éloigné de deux pieds du bout inférieur, & le second est en sens contraire à trois pieds du premier.

"2º. J'ai fait planter dans un jardin trois grosses perches de 28 à 29 pieds, disposées en triangle, & éloignées les unes des autres d'environ huit pieds; deux de ces perches sont contre un mur, & la troisieme est au-dedans du jardin. Pour les affermir toutes ensemble, l'on à cloué sur chacune des entretoises à vingt pieds de hauteur; & comme le grand vent agitoit encore cette espéce d'édifice, l'on a attaché au haut de chaque perche de longs cordages, qui tenant lieu d'aubans, répondent par le bas à de bons piquets fortement enfoncés en terre à plus de 20 pieds des perches.

"3º. J'ai fait construire entres les deux perches voisines du mur, & adosser contre ce mur une petite guerite de bois capable de contenir un homme & une table.

"4º. J'ai fait placer au milieu de la guérite une petite table d'environ un demi-pied de hauteur; & sur cette table j'ai fait dresser & affermir un tabouret electrique. Ce tabouret n'est autre chose qu'une petite planche quarrée, portée sur trois bouteilles à vin; il n'est fait de cette matiere que pour suppléer au defaut d'un gâteau de résine qui me manquoit.

"5º. Tout étant ainsi préparé, j'ai fait elever perpendiculairement la verge de fer au milieu des trois perches, & je l'ai affermie en l'attachant à chacune des perches avec de forts cordons de soie par deux endroits seulement. Les premiers liens sont au haut des perches, environ trois pouces au-dessous de leurs extrémités supérieures; les seconds vers la moitié de leur hauteur. Le bout inférieur de la verge de fer est solidement appuyé sur le milieu du tabouret electrique, où j'ai fait creuser un trou propre à le recevoir.

"6º. Comme il étoit important de garantir de la pluie te tabouret & les cordons de soie, parce qu'ils laisseroient passer la matiére électrique s'ils etoient mouillés, j'ai pris les précautions necessaires pour en empêcher. C'est dans cette vue que j'ai mis mon tabouret sous la guérite, & que j'avois fait courber ma verge de fer à angles aigus; afin que l'eau qui pourroit couler le long de cette verge, ne pût arriver jusques sur le tabouret. C'est aussi dans le même dessein que j'ai fait clouer sur le haut & au milieu de mes perches, à trois pouces au-dessus des cordons de soie, des especes de boîtes formées de trois petites planches d'environ 15 pouces de long, qui couvrent par-dessus & par les côtes une pareille longueur des cordons de soie, sans leur toucher.

"Il s'agissoit de faire, dans le tems de l'orage, deux observations sur cette verge de fer ainsi disposée; l'une étoit de remarquer à sa pointe une aigrette lumineuse, semblable à celle que l'on apperçoit à la pointe d'une aiguille, quand on l'oppose assez près d'un corps actuellement électrisé; l'autre étoit de tirer de la verge de fer des étincelles, comme on en tire du canon de fusil dans les expériences électriques; & afin de se garantir des piqûres de ces étincelles, j'avois attaché le tenon d'un fil d'archal au cordon d'une longue fiole pour lui servir de manche....

"Le Mercredi 10 Mai 1752, entre deux & trois heures après midi, le nommé Coiffier, ancien dragon, que j'avois chargé de faire les observations en mon absence, ayant entendu un coup de tonnerre assez fort, vole aussitôt à la machine, prend la fiole avec le fil d'archal, présente le tenon du fil à la verge, en voit sortir une petite étincelle brillante, & en entend le pétillement; il tire une seconde étincelle plus fort que la premiere & avec plus de bruit! il appelle ses voisins, & envoie chercher M. le Prieur. Celui-ci accourt de toutes ses forces; les paroissiens voyant la précipitation de leur curé, s'imaginent que le pauvre Coiffier a été tué du tonnerre; l'allarme se répand dans le village: la grêle qui survient n'empêche point le troupeau du suivre son pasteur. Cet honnête ecclésiastique arrive près de la machine, & voyant qu'il n'y avoit point de danger, met lui-même la main â l'oeuvre & tire de fortes étincelles. La nuée d'orage & de grêle ne fut pas plus d'un quart-d'heure à passer au zénith de notre machine, & l'on n'entendit que ce seul coup de tonnerre. Sitôt que le nuage fut passé, & qu'on ne tira plus d'étincelles de la verge de fer, M. le Prieur de Marly fit partir le sieur Coiffier lui-même, pour m'apporter la lettre suivante, qu'il m'ecrivit à la hâte."

_Je vous annonce, Monsieur, ce que veus attendez: l'expérience est complette. Aujourd'hui à deux heures 20 minutes après midi, le tonnerre a grondé directement sur Marly; le coup a été assez fort. L'envie de vous obliger, & la curiosité m'ont tiré de mon fauteüil, où j'êtois occupé à lire: je suis allé chez Coiffier, qui déja m'avoit dépêché un enfant que j'ai rencontré en chemin, pour me prier de veenir; j'ai doublé le pas à travers un torrent de grêle. Arrivé à l'endroit où est placée la tringle coudée, j'ai présenté le fil d'archal, en evançant successivement vers la tringle, à un pouce & demi, ou environ; il est sorti de la tringle une petite colonne de fer bleuâtre sentant le soufre, qui venoit frapper avec une extrême vivacité le tenon du fil d'archal, & occasionnoit un bruit semblable à celui qu'on feroit en frappant sur la tringle avec une clef. J'ai répeté l'expérience au moins six fois dans l'espace d'environ quatre minutes, en présence de plusieurs personnes, & chaque expérience que j'ai faite a duré l'espace d'un pater & d'un_ ave. _J'ai voulu continuer; l'action du feu s'est ralentie peu à peu; j'ai approché plus près, & n'ai plus tiré que quelques étincelles, & enfin rien n'ai paru._

_Le coup de tonnerre qui a occasionné cet événement, n'a été suivi d'aucun autre; tout s'est terminé par une abondance de grêle. J'étois si occupé dans le moment de l'expérience de ce que voyois, qu'ayant été frappé au bras un peu au-dessus du coude, je ne puis dire si c'est en touchant au fil d'archal ou à la tringle: je ne me suis pas plaint du mal que m'avoit fait le coup dans le moment que je l'ai reçu; mais comme la douleur continuoit, de retour chez moi, j'ai découvert mon bras en présence de Coiffier, & nous avons apperçu une meurtrissure tournante autour du brass, semblable à celle que feroit un coup de fil d'archal, si j'en avois été frappé à nud. En revenant de chez Coiffier, j'ai recontré M. le Vicaire, M. de Milly, et le Maître d'école, à qui j'ai rapporté ce qui venoit d'arriver; ils se sont plaints tous les trois qu'ils sentoient une odeur de soufre qui les frappait davantage à mesure qu'ils s'approichient de moi: j'ai porté chez moi la même odeur, & mes domestiques s'en sont apperçus sans que je leur aye rien dit._

_Voilà, Monsieur, un récit fait à la hâte, mais naif & vrai que j'atteste, & vous pouvez assurer que je suis prêt à rendre témoignage de cet événement dans toutes les occasions. Coiffier a été le premier qui a fait l'expérience & l'a répétée, plusieurs fois; ce n'est qu'à l'occasion de ce qu'il a vu qu'il m'a envoyé prier de venir. S'il étoit besoin d'autres témoins que de lui & de moi, vous les trouveriez. Coiffier presse pour partir._

_Je suis avec une respectueuse considération, Monsieur, votre, &c. signé_ RAULET, _Prieur de Marly. 10 Mai, 1752._

"On voit, par le détail de cette lettre, que le fait est assez bien constaté pour ne laisser aucun doute à ce sujet. Le porteur m'a assuré de vive voix qu'il avoit tiré pendant près d'un quart-d'heure avant que M. le Prieur arrivât, en présence de cinq ou six personnes, des étincelles plus fortes & plus bruyantes que celles dont il est parlé dans la lettre. Ces premieres personnes arrivant successivement, n'osient approcher qu'à 10 ou 12 pas de la machine; & à cette distance, malgré le plein soleil, ils voyoient les étincelles & entendoient le bruit....

"Il résulte de toutes les expériences & observations que j'ai rapportées dans ce mémoire, & surtout de la dernière expérience faite à Marly-la-ville, que la matiere du tonnerre est incontestablement la même que celle de l'électricité. L'idée qu'en a eu M. Franklin cesse d'être une conjecture: la voilà devenue une réalité, & j'ose croire que plus on approfondira tout ce qu'il a publié sur l'électricité, plus on reconnoîtra combien la physique lui est redevable pour cette partie."

_Letter of Mr. W. Watson, F. R. S. to the Royal Society, concerning
the electrical Experiments in England upon Thunder-Clouds._

Read Dec. 1752. Trans. Vol. XLVII.

GENTLEMEN,

After the communications, which we have received from several of our correspondents in different parts of the continent, acquainting us with the success of their experiments last summer, in endeavouring to extract the electricity from the atmosphere during a thunder-storm, in consequence of Mr. Franklin's hypothesis, it may be thought extraordinary, that no accounts have been yet laid before you, of our success here from the same experiments. That no want of attention, therefore, may be attributed to those here, who have been hitherto conversant in these enquiries, I thought proper to apprise you, that, though several members of the Royal Society, as well as myself, did, upon the first advices from France, prepare and set up the necessary apparatus for this purpose, we were defeated in our expectations, from the uncommon coolness and dampness of the air here, during the whole summer. We had only at London one thunder-storm; viz. on July 20; and then the thunder was accompanied with rain; so that, by wetting the apparatus, the electricity was dissipated too soon to be perceived upon touching those parts of the apparatus, which served to conduct it. This, I say, in general prevented our verifying Mr. Franklin's hypothesis: but our worthy brother, Mr. Canton, was more fortunate. I take the liberty, therefore, of laying before you an extract of a letter, which I received from that gentleman, dated from Spital-square, July 21, 1752.

"I had yesterday, about five in the afternoon, an opportunity of trying Mr. Franklin's experiment of extracting the electrical fire from the clouds; and succeeded, by means of a tin tube, between three and four feet in length, fixed to the top of a glass one, of about eighteen inches. To the upper end of the tin tube, which was not so high as a stack of chimnies on the same house, I fastened three needles with some wire; and to the lower end was soldered a tin cover to keep the rain from the glass tube, which was set upright in a block of wood. I attended this apparatus as soon after the thunder began as possible, but did not find it in the least electrified, till between the third and fourth clap; when, applying my knuckle to the edge of the cover, I felt and heard an electrical spark; and approaching it a second time, I received the spark at the distance of about half an inch, and saw it distinctly. This I repeated four or five times in the space of a minute, but the sparks grew weaker and weaker; and in less than two minutes the tin tube did not appear to be electrified at all. The rain continued during the thunder, but was considerably abated at the time of making the experiment." Thus far Mr. Canton.

Mr. Wilson likewise of the Society, to whom we are much obliged for the trouble he has taken in these pursuits, had an opportunity of verifying Mr. Franklin's hypothesis. He informed me, by a letter from near Chelmsford, in Essex, dated August 12, 1752, that, on that day about noon, he perceived several electrical snaps, during, or rather at the end of a thunder-storm, from no other apparatus than an iron curtain rod, one end of which he put into the neck of a glass phial, and held this phial in his hand. To the other end of the iron he fastened three needles with some silk. This phial, supporting the rod, he held in one hand, and drew snaps from the rod with a finger of his other. This experiment was not made upon any eminence, but in the garden of a gentleman, at whose house he then was.

Dr. Bevis observed, at Mr. Cave's, at St. John's Gate, nearly the same phenomena as Mr. Canton, of which an account has been already laid before the public.

Trifling as the effects here mentioned are, when compared with those which we have received from Paris and Berlin, they are the only ones, that the last summer here has produced; and as they were made by persons worthy of credit, they tend to establish the authenticity of those transmitted from our correspondents.

I flatter myself, that this short account of these matters will not be disagreeable to you; and am,

With the most profound respect,

Your most obedient, humble servant,

W. WATSON.

No. 2.

_Remarks on the Abbé Nollet's Letters to Benjamin Franklin, Esq. of
Philadelphia, on Electricity: by Mr. David Colden, of New York._

_Coldenham, in New York, Dec. 4, 1753._

SIR,

In considering the Abbé Nollet's Letters to Mr. Franklin, I am obliged to pass by all the experiments which are made with, or in, bottles hermetically sealed, or exhausted of air; because, not being able to repeat the experiments, I could not second any thing which occurs to me thereon, by experimental proof. Wherefore, the first point wherein I can dare to give my opinion, is in the Abbé's 4th letter, p. 66, where he undertakes to prove, that the electric matter passes from one surface to another through the entire thickness of the glass: he takes Mr. Franklin's experiment of the magical picture, and writes thus of it. "When you electrise a pane of glass coated on both sides with metal, it is evident that whatever is placed on the side opposite to that which receives the electricity from the conductor, receives also an evident electrical virtue." Which Mr. Franklin says, is that equal quantity of electric matter, driven out of this side, by what is received from the conductor on the other side; and which will continue to give an electrical virtue to any thing in contact with it, till it is entirely discharged of its electrical fire. To which the Abbé thus objects; "Tell me (says he), I pray you, how much time is necessary for this pretended discharge? I can assure you, that after having maintained the electrisation for hours, this surface, which ought, as it seems to me, to be entirely discharged of its electrical matter, considering either the vast number of sparks that were drawn from it, or the time that this matter had been exposed to the action of the expulsive cause; this surface, I say, appeared rather better electrised thereby, and more proper to produce all the effects of an actual electric body." _P._ 68.

The Abbé does not tell us what those effects were, all the effects I could never observe, and those that are to be observed can easily be accounted for, by supposing that side to be entirely destitute of electric matter. The most sensible effect of a body charged with electricity is, that when you present your finger to it, a spark will issue from it to your finger: now when a phial, prepared for the Leyden experiment, is hung to the gun-barrel or prime-conductor, and you turn the globe in order to charge it; as soon as the electric matter is excited, you can observe a spark to issue from the external surface of the phial to your finger, which, Mr. Franklin says, is the natural electric matter of the glass driven out by that received by the inner surface from the conductor. If it be only drawn out by sparks, a vast number of them may be drawn; but if you take hold of the external surface with your hand, the phial will soon receive all the electric matter it is capable of, and the outside will then be entirely destitute of its electric matter, and no spark can be drawn from it by the finger: here then is a want of that effect which all bodies, charged with electricity, have. Some of the effects of an electric body, which I suppose the Abbé has observed in the exterior surface of a charged phial, are that all light bodies are attracted by it. This is an effect which I have constantly observed, but do not think that it proceeds from an attractive quality in the exterior surface of the phial, but in those light bodies themselves, which seem to be attracted by the phial. It is a constant observation, that when one body has a greater charge of electric matter in it than another (that is in proportion to the quantity they will hold) this body will attract that which has less: now, I suppose, and it is a part of Mr. Franklin's system, that all those light bodies which appear to be attracted, have more electric matter in them than the external surface of the phial has, wherefore they endeavour to attract the phial to them, which is too heavy to be moved by the small degree of force they exert, and yet being greater than their own weight, moves them to the phial. The following experiment will help the imagination in conceiving this. Suspend a cork ball, or a feather, by a silk thread, and electrise it; then bring this ball nigh to any fixed body, and it will appear to be attracted by that body, for it will fly to it: now, by the consent of electricians, the attractive cause is in the ball itself, and not in the fixed body to which it flies: this is a similar case with the apparent attraction of light bodies, to the external surface of a charged phial.

The Abbé says, _p._ 69, "that he can electrise a hundred men, standing on wax, if they hold hands, and if one of them touch one of these surfaces (the exterior) with the end of his finger:" this I know he can, while the phial is charging, but after the phial is charged I am as certain he cannot: that is, hang a phial, prepared for the Leyden experiment, to the conductor, and let a man, standing on the floor, touch the coating with his finger, while the globe is turned, till the electric matter spews out of the hook of the phial, or some part of the conductor, which I take to be the certainest sign that the phial has received all the electric matter it can: after this appears, let the man, who before stood on the floor, step on a cake of wax, where he may stand for hours, and the globe all that time turned; and yet have no appearance of being electrised. After the electric matter was spewed out as above from the hook of the phial prepared for the Leyden experiment, I hung another phial, in like manner prepared, to a hook fixed in the coating of the first, and held this other phial in my hand; now if there was any electric matter transmitted through the glass of the first phial, the second one would certainly receive and collect it; but having kept the phials in this situation for a considerable time, during which the globe was continually turned, I could not perceive that the second phial was in the least charged, for when I touched the hook with my finger, as in the Leyden experiment, I did not feel the least commotion, nor perceive any spark to issue from the hook.

I likewise made the following experiment: having charged two phials (prepared for the Leyden experiment) through their hooks; two persons took each one of these phials in their hand; one held his phial by the coating, the other by the hook, which he could do by removing the communication from the bottom before he took hold of the hook. These persons placed themselves one on each side of me, while I stood on a cake of wax, and took hold of the hook of that phial which was held by its coating (upon which a spark issued, but the phial was not discharged, as I stood on wax) keeping hold of the hook, I touched the coating of the phial that was held by its hook with my other hand, upon which there was a large spark to be seen between my finger and the coating, and both phials were instantly discharged. If the Abbé's opinion be right, that the exterior surface, communicating with the coating, is charged, as well as the interior, communicating with the hook; how can I, who stand on wax, discharge both these phials, when it is well known I could not discharge one of them singly? Nay, suppose I have drawn the electric matter from both of them, what becomes of it? For I appear to have no additional quantity in me when the experiment is over, and I have not stirred off the wax: wherefore this experiment fully convinces me, that the exterior surface is not charged; and not only so, but that it wants as much electric matter as the inner has of excess: for by this supposition, which is a part of Mr. Franklin's system, the above experiment is easily accounted for, as follows:

When I stand on wax, my body is not capable of receiving all the electric matter from the hook of one phial, which it is ready to give; neither can it give as much to the coating of the other phial as it is ready to take, when one is only applied to me: but when both are applied, the coating takes from me what the hook gives: thus I receive the fire from the first phial at B, the exterior surface of which is supplied from the hand at A: I give the fire to the second phial at C, whose interior surface is discharged by the hand at D. This discharge at D may be made evident by receiving that fire into the hook of a third phial, which is done thus: In place of taking the hook of the second phial in your hand, run the wire of a third phial, prepared as for the Leyden experiment, through it, and hold this third phial in your hand, the second one hanging to it, by the ends of the hooks run through each other: when the experiment is performed, this third phial receives the fire at D, and will be charged.

When this experiment is considered, I think, it must fully prove that the exterior surface of a charged phial wants electric matter, while the inner surface has an excess of it. One thing more worthy of notice in this experiment is, that I feel no commotion or shock in my arms, though so great a quantity of electric matter passes them instantaneously: I only feel a pricking in the ends of my fingers. This makes me think the Abbé has mistook, when he says, that there is no difference between the shock felt in performing the Leyden experiment, and the pricking felt on drawing simple sparks, except that of greater to less. In the last experiment, as much electric matter went through my arms, as would have given me a very sensible shock, had there been an immediate communication, by my arms, from the hook to the coating of the same phial; because when it was taken into a third phial, and that phial discharged singly through my arms, it gave me a sensible shock. If these experiments prove that the electric matter does not pass through the entire thickness of the glass, it is a necessary consequence that it must always come out where it entered.

The next thing I meet with is in the Abbé's fifth letter, _p._ 88, where he differs from Mr. Franklin, who thinks that the whole power of giving a shock is in the glass itself, and not in the non-electrics in contact with it. The experiments which Mr. Franklin gave to prove this opinion, in his _Observations on the Leyden Bottle_, p. 179, convinced me that he was in the right; and what the Abbé has asserted, in contradiction thereto, has not made me think otherwise. The Abbé, perceiving, as I suppose, that the experiments, as Mr. Franklin had performed them, must prove his assertion, alters them without giving any reason for it, and makes them in a manner that proves nothing. Why will he have the phial, into which the, water is to be decanted from a charged phial, held in a man's hand? If the power of giving a shock is in the water contained in the phial, it should remain there though decanted into another phial, since no non-electric body touched it to take that power off. The phial being placed on wax is no objection, for it cannot take the power from the water, if it had any, but it is a necessary means to try the fact; whereas, that phial's being charged when held in a man's hand, only proves that water will conduct the electric matter. The Abbé owns, _p._ 94, that he had heard this remarked, but says, Why is not a conductor of electricity an electric subject? This is not the question; Mr. Franklin never said that water was not an electric subject; he said, that the power of giving a shock was in the glass, and not in the water; and this, his experiments fully prove; so fully, that it may appear impertinent to offer any more: yet as I do not know that the following has been taken notice of by any body before, my inserting of it in this place may be excused. It is this: Hang a phial, prepared for the Leyden experiment, to the conductor, by its hook, and charge it, which done, remove the communication from the bottom of the phial. Now the conductor shews evident signs of being electrised; for if a thread be tied round it, and its ends left about two inches long, they will extend themselves out like a pair of horns; but if you touch the conductor, a spark will issue from it, and the threads will fall, nor does the conductor shew the least sign of being electrised after this is done. I think that by this touch, I have taken out all the charge of electric matter that was in the conductor, the hook of the phial, and water or filings of iron contained in it; which is no more than we see all non-electric bodies will receive: yet the glass of the phial retains its power of giving a shock, as any one will find that pleases to try. This experiment fully evidences, that the water in the phial contains no more electric matter than it would do in an open bason, and has not any of that great quantity which produces the shock, and is only retained by the glass. If after the spark is drawn from the conductor, you touch the coating of the phial (which all this while is supposed to hang in the air, free from any non-electric body) the threads on the conductor will instantly start up, and shew that the conductor is electrised. It receives this electrisation from the inner surface of the phial, which, when the outer surface can receive what it wants from the hand applied to it, will give as much as the bodies in contact with it can receive, or if they be large enough, all that it has of excess. It is diverting to see how the threads will rise and fall by touching the coating and conductor of the phial alternately. May it not be that the difference between the charged side of the glass, and the outer or emptied side, being lessened by touching the hook or the conductor; the outer side can receive from the hand which touched it, and by its receiving, the inner side cannot retain so much; and for that reason so much as it cannot contain electrises the water, or filings and conductor: for it seems to be a rule, that the one side must be emptied in the same proportion that the other is filled: though this from experiment appears evident, yet it is still a mystery not to be accounted for.

I am in many places of the Abbé's book surprised to find that experiments have succeeded so differently at Paris, from what they did with Mr. Franklin, and as I have always observed them to do. The Abbé, in making experiments to find the difference between the two surfaces of a charged glass, will not have the phial placed on wax: for, says he, don't you know that being placed on a body originally electric, it quickly loses its virtue? I cannot imagine what should have made the Abbé think so; it certainly is contradictory to the notions commonly received of electrics _per se_; and by experiment I find it entirely otherwise: for having several times left a charged phial, for that purpose, standing on wax for hours, I found it to retain as much of its charge as another that stood at the same time on a table. I left one standing on wax from ten o'clock at night till eight the next morning, when I found it to retain a sufficient quantity of its charge, to give me a sensible commotion in my arms, though the room in which the phial stood had been swept in that time, which must have raised much dust to facilitate the discharge of the phial.

I find that a cork-ball suspended between two bottles, the one fully and the other but little charged, will not play between them, but is driven into a situation that makes a triangle with the hooks of the phials: though the Abbé has asserted the contrary of this, p. 101, in order to account for the playing of a cork-ball between the wire thrust into the phial, and one that rises up from its coating. The phial which is least charged must have more electric matter given to it, in proportion to its bulk, than the cork-ball receives from the hook of the full phial.

The Abbé says, p. 103, "That a piece of metal leaf hung to a silk thread and electrised, will be repelled by the bottom of a charged phial held by its hook in the air:" this I find constantly otherwise, it is with me always first attracted and then repelled: it is necessary in charging the leaf to be careful, that it does not fly off to some non-electric body, and so discharge itself when you think it is charged; it is difficult to keep it from flying to your own wrist, or to some part of your body.

The Abbé, p. 108, says, "that it is not impossible, as Mr. Franklin says it is, to charge a phial while there is a communication formed between its coating and its hook." I have always found it impossible to charge such a phial so as to give a shock: indeed, if it hang on the conductor without a communication from it, you may draw a spark from it as you may from any body that hangs there, but this is very different from being charged in such a manner as to give a shock. The Abbé, in order to account for the little quantity of electric matter that is to be found in the phial, says, "that it rather follows the metal than the glass, and that it is spewed out into the air from the coating of the phial." I wonder how it comes not to do so too, when it sifts through the glass, and charges the exterior surface, according to the Abbé's system!

The Abbé's objections against Mr. Franklin's two last experiments, I think, have little weight in them: he seems, indeed, much at a loss what to say, wherefore he taxes Mr. Franklin with having concealed a material part of the experiment; a thing too mean for any gentleman to be charged with, who has not shown as great a partiality in relating experiments, as the Abbé has done.

END OF VOLUME THE FIRST.

J. CUNDEE, PRINTER,

IVY-LANE.

INDEX.

A.

_Accent_, or emphasis, wrong placing of, a fault in modern tunes, ii. 345.

_Accidents_ at sea, how to guard against, ii. 172.

_Adams_, Mr. Matthew, offers the use of his library to Franklin, i. 16.

_Addison_, Franklin an assiduous imitator of, in his youth, i. 13.

_Advice_ to youth in reading, ii. 378.
to emigrants to America, iii. 398.
to a crafty statesman, 430.
to a young tradesman, 463.
to a young married man, 477.
to players at chess, 490.

_Æpinus_, his hypothesis of magnetism, i. 412.

_Agriculture_ takes place of manufactures till a country is fully settled,
iii. 107.
the great business of America, 393.

_Air_, some of the properties of, ii. 226.
its properties with respect to electricity, i. 204.
properties of its particles, 205. ii. 1.
its currents over the globe, i. 207.
resists the electric fluid and confines it to bodies, 241.
its effects in electrical experiments, 253.
its elasticity not affected by electricity, 254.
its friction against trees, 270, 323.
has its share of electricity, 333.
its electricity denser above than below, 335.
in rooms, electrified positively and negatively, 353.
attracts water, ii. 1.
when saturated with water precipitates it, 2.
dissolves water, and, when dry, oil, 4.
why suffocating, when impregnated with oil or grease, _ibid._
supports water, 5, 46, 49.
why less heated in the higher regions than near the earth's surface,
6.
how it creates hurricanes, _ibid._
winds, 8.
whirlwinds, 10.
effects of heat upon, 50.
its effects on the barometer, 92.
condensed, supposed to form the centre of the earth, 119, 127.
noxious, corrected by vegetation, 129.
observations on the free use of, 213.
rare, no bad conductor of sound, 337.
fresh, beneficial effects of, in bed-rooms, iii. 495.

_Air-thermometer_, electrical, experiments with, i. 336.

_Albany_ plan of union, short account of, i. 127.
its singular fate, 129.
papers relating to, iii. 3.
motives on which formed, 4.
rejects partial unions, 6.
its president and grand council, 9.
election of members, 12.
place of first meeting, 13.
new election, _ibid._
proportion of members after three years, 15.
meetings of the grand council and call, 16.
allowance to members, 17.
power of president and his duty, 18.
treaties of peace and war, _ibid._
Indian trade and purchases, 19.
new settlements, 21.
military establishments, 23.
laws and taxes, 24, 26.
issuing of money, 25.
appointment of officers, 27.
rejected in England, 29.

_Almanack._ _See Poor Richard._

_Alphabet_, a new one proposed, ii. 357.
examples of writing in it, 360.
correspondence on its merits, 361.

_Amber_, electrical experiments on, i. 403.

_America_, North, air of, drier than that of England and France, ii. 140.
why marriages are more frequent there than in Europe, 385.
why labour will long continue dear there, _ibid._
argument against the union of the colonies of, under one government,
401.
state of toleration there, 457.
reflections on the scheme of imposing taxes on, without its consent,
iii. 30.
thoughts on the representation of, in the British parliament, 37.
interest of Great Britain with regard to, 39.
forts in the back settlements of, no security against France, 99.
wars carried on there against the French, not merely in the cause of
the colonies, 105.
preference of the colonies of, to the West Indian colonies, 113.
great navigable rivers of, favourable to inland trade, 118.
what commodities the inland parts of, are fitted to produce, 119.
the productions of, do not interfere with those of Britain, 123.
union of the colonies of, in a revolt against Britain, impossible but
from grievous oppression, 132.
reasons given for restraining paper-bills of credit there, 144.
intended scheme of a bank there, described, 155.
attempts of Franklin for conciliation of Britain with, 286.
feeling of, as to Britain, in May 1775, 346.
conciliation of Britain with, hopeless, 355.
account of the first campaign of the British forces against, 357.
application of, to foreign courts, for aid in its independence, 360.
credit of, with that of Britain, in 1777, compared, 372.
true description of the interest and policy of, 391.
information to those emigrating thither, 398.
terms on which land may be obtained for new settlements there, 409.

_Americans_, their prejudices for whatever is English, i. 144.

_Anchor_, a swimming one proposed, ii. 181, 185.

_Ancients_, their experimental learning too often slighted, ii. 146.

_Anecdote_ of Franklin's early spirit of enterprise, i. 11.
of a Swedish clergyman among the Indians, iii. 386.
of an Indian who went to church, 389.

_Animal_ food, Franklin's abstinence from, i. 20.
return to, 47.
humorous instance of abstinence from, 49.
heat, whence it arises, ii. 79, 125.
magnetism, detected and exposed, i. 150.

_Animalcules_, supposed to cause the luminous appearance of sea-water,
ii. 89.

_Animals_, how to kill them by electricity, i. 415.

_Antifederalists_ of America, comparison of, to the ancient Jews,
iii. 410.

_Apprentices_ easier placed out in America than in Europe, iii. 407.
indentures of, how made in America, 408.

_Argumentation_, bad effects of, as a habit, i. 17.
best method of, 22.

_Armies_, best means of supporting them, ii. 400.

_Armonica_, musical instrument so called, described, ii. 330.
manner of playing on it, 334.

_Asbestos_, specimen of, sold by Franklin to Sir Hans Sloane, i. 60.
letter relating to it, iii. 513.

_Astrology_, letter to the Busy-body on, iii. 448.

_Atmosphere_ sometimes denser above than below, ii. 6.
electrical, its properties, i. 294.

_Aurora borealis_ explained, i. 212.
conjectures respecting, 257, ii. 69.
query concerning, i. 293.

B.

_Badoin_, Mr. letters from, i. 314, 324.

_Ballads_, two, written by Franklin in his youth, i. 16.

_Balls_ of fire in the air, remark concerning, ii. 337.

_Barometer_, how acted on by air, ii. 92.

_Barrels_ for gunpowder, new sort proposed, i. 376.

_Bass_, unnecessary in some tunes, ii. 343.

_Bathing_ relieves thirst, ii. 104.
observations on, 211.

_Battery_, electrical, its construction, i. 193.

_Baxter_, Mr. observations on his enquiry into the nature of the soul,
ii. 110.

_Beccaria_, character of his book on electricity, i. 310.

_Beer_, not conducive to bodily strength, i. 62.

_Bells_, form in consecrating them at Paris, i. 384.

_Belly-ache_, dry, lead a cause of, ii. 220.

_Bermuda_, little thunder there, i. 216.

_Bermudian_ sloops, advantages of their construction, ii. 173.

_Bernoulli_, Mr. his plan for moving boats, ii. 179.

_Bevis_, Dr. draws electricity from the clouds, i. 429.

_Bible_, anecdote of its concealment in the reign of Mary, i. 7.
travestied by Dr. Brown, 31.

_Bills_ of mortality, reasonings, formed on those for capital cities,
not applicable to the country, ii. 383.

_Birth_, noble, no qualification in America, iii. 400.

_Bishops_, none in America, and why, ii. 456, 458.

_Black clothes_ heat more and dry sooner than white, ii. 108.
not fit for hot climates, 109.

_Blacksmith_, trade of, hereditary in Franklin's family, i. 4.

_Blindness_ occasioned both by lightning and electricity, i. 228.

_Boats_, difference of their sailing in shoal and deep water, ii. 160.
management of, best understood by savages, 176.
how rowed by the Chinese, 177.
methods of moving them by machinery, _ibid._
improvement of Mr. Bernoulli's plan for moving them, 179.
proposal for a new mode of moving them, _ibid._
double, advantage of, 173, 174.
one built by Sir W. Petty, _ibid._

_Bodies_, electrified negatively, repel each other, ii. 294.
effect of blunt, compared with pointed ones, i. 172, 223.

_Body_, human, specifically lighter than water, ii. 208.
political and human, compared, iii. 115.

_Boerhaave_, his opinion of the propagation of heat, ii. 58.
of steam from fermenting liquors, 59.

_Boiling_ water, experiments with, i. 332, 344, 345.
pot, bottom of, why cold, 387.

_Bolton_, Mr. experiment by, i. 346.

_Books_ read by Franklin in his youth, i. 15, 18, 20, 21.

_Boston_, the birth-place of Franklin, i. 8.
why quitted by him in his youth, 27,
its inhabitants decrease, ii. 210.
preface to proceedings of the town meeting of, iii. 317.

_Boyle's_ lectures, effect of, on Franklin, i. 79.

_Braddock_, general, defeat of, i. 131.

_Bradford_, printer at Philadelphia, i. 34, 102.

_Brass_, hot, yields unwholesome steams, ii. 249

_Brientnal_, Joseph, a member of the Junto club, i. 83.

_Brimstone_, when fluid, will conduct electricity, i. 256.

_Bristol waters_, an alledged fact concerning, ii. 95.

_Britain_, incapacity of, to supply the colonies with manufactures,
ii. 386.

_British empire_, an union of several states, iii. 310.

_Brown_, Dr. acquaintance of Franklin's, i. 30.
travestied the bible, 31.

_Bubbles_ on the surface of water, hypothesis respecting, ii. 48.

_Buchan_, earl of, letter to, on the price of land for new settlements
in America, iii. 409.

_Buildings_, what kind safest from lightning, i. 379.

_Bullion_, causes of its variation in price, iii. 153.

_Bunyan's_ Voyages, a book early read by Franklin, i. 15, 28.

_Bur_, cause of, round a hole struck through pasteboard, i. 280.

_Burnet_, governor, his attention to Franklin in his youth, i. 44.

_Busy-body_, essays under the title of, i. 86. iii. 422.

C.

_Cabinet-work_, veneered in England, shrinks and flies in America,
ii. 140.

_Cables_, why apt to part when weighing anchor in a swell, ii. 167.
this defect of, remedied, 168.

_Cabot_, Sebastian, his commission from Henry VII., iii. 348.

_Calvinism_, Franklin educated in the principles of, i. 79.

_Campaign_ in America, account of the first, iii. 357.

_Canals_, observations on their depth, ii. 159.

_Canada_, importance of, to England, i. 136.
visited by Franklin, 147.
its extent, iii. 20.
pamphlet on the importance of, 89.
easily peopled without draining Britain, 139.

_Cancers_, specific for, i. 260, 261.

_Candles_ lighted by electricity, i. 176.
distance at which the flame of, may be seen, ii. 90.

_Cann_, silver, a singular experiment on, i. 307.

_Canoes_ of the American Indians, their advantages, ii. 176.

_Canton_, Mr. John, experiments by, i. 286, 346.
draws electricity from the clouds, 428.

_Capitals_, their use in printing, ii. 352.

_Caribbees_, possession of, only a temporary benefit, iii. 142.

_Carolina_, South, see _Lightning_.

_Cavendish_, lord Charles, his electrical experiments, i. 348.

_Cayenne_ would be a great acquisition to Britain, iii. 140.

_Centre_ of the earth, hypothesis concerning, ii. 119, 127.

_Cessions_ from an enemy, on what grounds may be demanded, iii. 93.

_Chapel_, nickname for a printing house, i. 63.

_Character_, remarks on the delineation of, iii. 445.

_Charcoal-fires_, hurtful, ii. 235.

_Charging_ and discharging, in electricity, explained, i. 190.
a number of bottles at once, how done, _ibid._

_Charters_ of the colonies could not be altered by parliament, iii. 332.

_Chess_, morals of, iii. 488.
not an idle amusement, _ibid._
teaches various virtues, 489.
advice to those who play, 490.
too intense an application to, injurious, 500.

_Chimnies_, different kinds of, enumerated, ii. 228.
inconvenience of the old-fashioned ones, 229.
defect of more modern ones, 230.
have not long been in use in England, 277.
Staffordshire, described, 285.
have a draft of air up and down, 289.
may be used for keeping provisions in summer, 290.
may be of use to miners, 291.
funnels to, what the best, 292, 295.
method of contracting them, 317.
smoky. See _Smoky_.

_China_, provision made there against famine, ii. 407.

_Chinese_ wisely divide the holds of their vessels by partitions, ii. 171.
how they row their boats, 177.
their method of warming ground floors, 292.
improvement in this method suggested, 293.
their method of making large paper, 349.

_Circle_, magical, account of, ii. 327, 328.

_Cities_, spring water gradually deteriorates in, i. 163.
do not supply themselves with inhabitants, ii. 384.

_Clark_, Dr. of Boston, quoted, on the instigation of the American
Indians against the English, iii. 95, 100, 102.

_Clothes_, wet, may preserve from lightning, i. 213.
will relieve thirst, ii. 104.
do not give colds, _ibid._
imbibe heat according to their colour, 108.
white, most suitable for hot climates, _ibid._

_Clothing_ does not give, but preserves, warmth, ii. 81.

_Clouds_, at land and at sea, difference between, i. 207.
formed at sea, how brought to rain on land, 208.
driven against mountains, form springs and rivers, 209.
passing different ways, accounted for, 211.
electrical, attracted by trees, spires, &c. 213.
manner in which they become electrised, 257, 305.
are electrised sometimes negatively and sometimes positively, 274,
277, 284, 292.
electricity drawn from them, at Marly, 420.
by Mr. Cauton, 428.
by Dr. Bevis, 429,
by Mr. Wilson, _ibid._
how supported in air, ii. 5.
how formed, 7.
whether winds are generated or can be confined in them, 57.
have little more solidity than fogs, _ibid._

_Club_, called the Junto, instituted by Franklin, i. 82.
rules of, ii. 366, 369.
questions discussed in, 369.

_Coal_, sea, letter on the nature of, ii. 128.

_Cold_, why seemingly greater in metals than in wood, ii. 56, 77.
sensation of, how produced, 57.
only the absence of heat, 81.
produced by chemical mixtures, _ibid._
evaporation. See _Evaporation_.

_Colden_, Mr. his remarks on Abbé Nollet's letters, i. 430.
meteorological observations, ii. 51.
observations on water-spouts, 53.

_Colds_, causes of, ii. 214, 230.

_Coleman_, William, a member of the Junto club, i. 84, 89.

_Colica pictorum_, caused by lead, ii. 219.

_Collins_, John, an early friend of Franklin's, i. 17, 27, 41, 43, 44.

_Collinson_, Mr. some account of, iii. 514.

_Colonial_ governments in America of three kinds, iii. 50.

_Colonies_, the settlement of, does not diminish national numbers,
ii. 391.
their prosperity beneficial to the mother country, iii. 113.
are intitled to distinct governments, 303.
American, preferable to the West Indies, _ibid._
not dangerous to Britain, 132.
aids to government, how given by, 225, 226.
originally governed by the crown, independent of Parliament,
291.
not settled at the expence of Britain, 348.

_Colonists_ in America, double their number in 25 years, iii. 113.
from Britain, their rights, 299.

_Colours._ See _Clothes_.

_Comazants_, or corposants, are electrical appearances, i. 248.

_Commerce_, influence of, on the manners of a people, ii. 400.
is best encouraged by being left free, 415.
should not be prohibited in time of war, 417.
by inland carriage, how supported, iii. 116.

_Common-sense_, by Paine, Franklin supposed to have contributed to,
i. 148.

_Compass_, instances of its losing its virtue by lightning, i. 248.
how to remedy the want of, at sea, ii. 191.

_Conductors_ of lightning, very common in America, i. 113.
first suggestion of the utility of, 227.
construction of, 358.
particulars relating to, 377.
of electricity, difference in the action of, 200, 303.
which the most perfect, 253, 256.
and non-conductors, other terms substituted for, _ibid._
of common fire, their properties and differences, ii. 76, 77.
experiments on, ii. 77.

_Congress_, Franklin appointed a delegate to, i. 146.
proposed overture from, in 1775, iii. 347.

_Consecration_ of bells in France, form of, i. 384.

_Conspirators_, electrical, meaning of the term, i. 196.

_Controversy_, benefit of, iii. 92.

_Conversation_, advantage of useful topics of, at dinner, i. 12.

_Cook_, captain, circular letter concerning, iii. 515.
copy of the voyages of, presented to Franklin, by the Admiralty, 517.

Cookery, at sea, generally bad, ii. 194.

_Copper_, manner of covering houses with, ii. 318, 320, 322.

_Copper_ plate printing-press, the first in America, constructed by
Franklin, i. 77.

_Corn_, ill policy of laying restraints on the exportation of, ii. 413,
418.

_Countries_, distant and unprovided, a plan for benefiting, ii. 403.

_Creation_, conjectures as to, ii. 118.

_Credit_, that of America and Britain in 1777, compared, iii. 372.
depends on payment of loans, 373.
industry and frugality, 374.
public spirit, 375.
income and security, 376.
prospects of future ability, _ibid._
prudence, 377.
character for honesty, 378.
is money to a tradesman, 464.

_Criminal_ laws, reflections on, ii. 439.

_Crooked_ direction of lightning explained, i. 316.

_Cutler_, circumstance that prevented Franklin's being apprenticed to
one, i. 14.

_Currents_ at sea, often not perceivable, ii. 185.

_Cyder_, the best quencher of thirst, ii. 195.

D.

_Dalrymple_, Mr. scheme of a voyage under his command to benefit remote
regions, ii. 403.

_Damp_ air, why more chilling than dry air that is colder, ii. 56, 77.

_Dampier_, account of a water-spout by, ii. 33.
references to his voyage, on the subject of water-spouts, 58.

_Dampness_ on walls, cause of, ii. 50.

_Day-light_, proposal to use it instead of candle-light, iii. 470.

_Deacon_, Isaac, from an underling to a surveyor, becomes inspector-
general of America, i. 78.
prognosticates the future eminence in life of Franklin, _ib._

_Death_ of Franklin, i. 153.
letter from Dr. Price on, iii. 541.
of relatives, reflections on, 507.

_Deism_, effects on Franklin of books written against, i. 79.

_Deluge_, accounted for, ii. 127.

_Denham_, a quaker, a friend of Franklin's, i. 54.
extraordinary trait of honesty of, to his creditors, 67.
Franklin's engagement with, as a clerk, 68, 70.

_Denmark_, the people of, not subject to colds, ii. 244.

_Denny_, governor, remarks on his official conduct in Pensylvania,
iii. 170.

_Desaquiliers_, his experiment on the vapour of hot iron, ii. 249.

_Dew_, how produced, i. 207.

_Dialogue_, between Franklin and the gout, iii. 499.

_Dickenson_, Mr. his remarks on the views of England in framing laws
over the colonies, iii. 234.
remarks on his conduct, 192.
on his protest, 202.

_Discontented_ dispositions satirized, iii. 485.

_Discontents_ in America before 1768, causes of, iii. 225.

_Dissentions_ between England and America, letter on, iii. 310.

_Dissertation_, early one of Franklin's, that he repented having written,
i. 58.

_Disputation_, modesty in, recommended, i. 21. ii. 317.

_Disputes_ between Franklin and his brother, to whom he was apprenticed,
i. 24.

_Domien_, a traveller, short account of, i. 302.

_Drawling_, a defect in modern tunes, ii. 345.

_Dreams_, art of procuring pleasant ones, iii. 493.

_Dumas_, Monsieur, letter to, on the aid wanted by America in her struggle
for independence, iii. 360.

_Duna_ river, not to be confounded with the Dwina, iii. 119, note.

_Dust_, how raised and carried up into the air, ii. 3.

_Duties_, moral, the knowledge of, more important than the knowledge of
nature, ii. 95.

_Dutch_ iron stove, advantages and defects of, ii. 233.

E.

_Early_ impressions, lasting effect of, on the mind, iii. 478.

_Earth_ will dissolve in air, ii. 2.
dry, will not conduct electricity, i. 206.
the, sometimes strikes lightning into the clouds, 274.
grows no hotter under the summer sun, why, ii. 86.
different strata of, 116.
theory of, 117.

_Earthquakes_, general good arising from, ii. 116.
how occasioned, 120, 128.

_Eaton_, in Northamptonshire, residence of Franklin's family, i. 3.

_Ebb_ and flood, explanation of the terms, ii. 100.

_Economical_ project, iii. 469.

_Edinburgh_, an ordinance there against the purchase of prize-goods,
ii. 447.

_Education_ of women, controversy respecting, i. 17.

_Eel_, electrical, of Surinam, i. 408, 409.

_Effluvia_ of drugs, &c. will not pass through glass, i. 243.