zotero/storage/T3MXTHJP/.zotero-ft-cache

SUBTIL MEDI
P R O V’D :
OR, THAT
Wonderful P O W E R of Nature,
So long ago conjedturd
BY THE
Moft Ancient and Remarkable Philofophers,
Which they call’d fometimes
& T H E R,
But oftener
ELEMENTARY FIRE,
V E R IF Y'D.
Shewing, That all the diftinguijhing and eflential Qualities afcrib’d to AEther by them, and the moft eminent modern Philofophers, are to be found in electrical hire, and that too in the utmoft Degree of Perfection.
GIVING
An Account not only of the Progrefs and feveral Gradations of Electricity, from thofe ancient Times to the*prefent;
But alfo accounting,
firfi, For the natural Difference of eleCtrical and non-ele&rical Bodies.
Secondly, Shewing the Source or main Spring from whence the eleCtric Matter proceeds.
‘Thirdlyy Its various Ufes in the animal (Economy, particularly when apply’d to Maladies and Diforders incident to the hu¬ man Body. Illuftrated by a Variety of known Fads.
fourthlyy The Method of applying it in each particular Cafe, And,
Laftlyy The feveral Obje&ions brought againft it accounted for and anfwer’d.
By R. LOVETT,
Of the Cathedral Church of Worcester.
LONDON:
printed for J. Hinton, in Newgate-jlreet > W. Sandby, in Fleet-Jireet, and R. Lovett, at Worcejltr. 1756.
[ Price Two Shillings. ]

♦ f

I \

TO THE

reader.
A r'' S no fmall Part of my Time and Thoughts have, for fix or feven Years paft, been em¬ ploy’d in ele&rical Experiments, and particularly fuch Experiments as were found to have falutary Effects on the animal CEconomy, when apply’d to Diforders, incident to the human Body ; lo, I am fully fatisfy’d, the more they are encjuir d into, the more wonderful they will appear : And, obferving a Series of fuch falutary Effe£ts, I was deter¬ min’d to publilh fomething of this Kind, in Hopes to excite others, of greater Abilities and more Leifure, to purfue the fame laudable Practice, being thoroughly convinc’d Mankind would find their
Account in io doing. But, before I fet about it, I confider d, that*, to
fhew I proceeded on rational Principles, fomething ought alfo to be faid concerning the Nature and Qualities, in general, of the fubtil Agent, which was the Caufe of fuch falutary Effects •, and not only fo, but alfo endeavour, in a rational Way, to explain the Manner of its A&ing, that fo it might appear agreeable to Reafon to exped the great Things from it, which I was going to relate : Tms muft be the firft and chief Apology for the follow*
ino- Rffay* And the “ Second, Becaufe I had obferv’d, that not a few, even of the judicious Part of Mankind, feem’d thoroughly perfuaded, that the electrical Phasnomenon was of fo abftrufe a Nature, as to be fcarce explicable on any rational Principles whatfoever.

j*-

tf

To the READER.
Thirdly? Becaufe no Pen whatever had, I thought* piirfu d the Suhjed 10 thoroughly as might have been wifh’d : Thofe who had wrote their Thoughts concerning its Nature, Properties, and Production, being, for the moft Part, quickly after the late great Improvement or Difcovery of the Shock; for this Realon, they feem’d to have done it too precipitantly, and perhaps the Subject was treated too fuperficially ; becaufe here they flopp’d, al-tho’ there was fufficient Room to have proceeded flill much, farther . Thefe were undoubtedly tne Reafons why it was not more fully explain’d, before this Time, at lead, fo as to have left lefs Room to pronounce it inexplicable ; particularly as many of the Gen¬ tlemen who wrote their Thoughts on Electricity, "weie pofiefs d both of eminent Parts and great Learning, and therefore far better qualify’d to un¬ dertake it than I could pretend to be, who, I rnuft confefs, am quite unequal to the Talk. And mult therefore.
Fourthly, Beg to be excus’d for prefuming to undertake it, who am unhappily depriv’d of thofe acquir d Abilities of polite Education, which are,, in tne Eye of the World,, thought neceflary to diaw the Attention of others, or raife their Expec¬ tation of Succefs : But, as an ingenious Author hath very juftly obferv’d, Truths,"Facts, and de~ monflrative Experiments are no Slaves to Latin and Greek, whatever Aden are ; therefore, fo much as can be plainly and clearly made appear by one in inch a Situation as the Author, will be allow’d to be the Effed of undifguis’d Truth only, as de¬ pending principally on Fads.

. *

MeaninS VS: The ^nments and Chain of Reafon-

ing thereon were difcontmu’d, before a competent Number of

inch leading Experiments were made as were neceffary to con-

a: wont0d;aerffuml,°PDhuCe‘neoamr Deni{ocn0,Very of tJls C™{e

produc’d fuch

But

To the READER.

But as it will be obvious to all, that great Dif¬

ficulties mull occur to one thus circumftanc’d,

more than to fuch as are accuftomsd to write j lo

it is hoped the candid Reader will make fuitable Allowances.

My Meaning is, that the Style and Di&ion may be excus’d, if it does not always keep up dri&ly

to the Nicety of Grammar Rules, fuch as a falfe

Roint, a fmall Tautology, an unphilofophicalTerm, or even an undue Connection ; yet, I fhall not, I

hope, be deny’d the Advantage of a fair Hearing, as tar as I can be fupported by plain Fads and Ex¬

periments. And, that there might not fometimes

feem a Chafm, when I, perhaps defign’d a Con¬

nection, was the chief Reafon for my writino- bv

Way of Dialogue.

°

As to the Subjed-matter, I neither exped or defire any other Favour, than fuch a candid Hear¬

ts > for, as the Realoning is chiefly founded on

proper Experiments, it is prefum’d, that Part will be found capable of fupporting itfelf.

In order, therefore, to proceed on the mod ra¬

tional Principles, and to fhorten the Work as much

as poffible, I have not only taken Sir -Ifaac Newton

for my Guide, whenever it was confident with what

I was explaining, but have alfo taken for granted

whatever he has deliver’d on the Subjed of a uni-

verfal /Ether, as to its Nature, Properties, and

great Utility; and then proceeded by Way of i^W-

Yies, and Proofs by Experiments ; and, where Ex¬

periments could not be fairly produc’d, have en¬

deavour’d to account for it by the mod rational Arguments alone.

But perhaps it may be thought, that the greated Reafon of all, for an Apology, ought to be for my

advancing fome Things which may appear a little

heterodox, and fomething different from certain

Philofophical Points, which, for a conilderable

2

Time

To the R E A D E R.
Time paft, have been fettled, as undeniable, by the greateft Philofophers. Whereas,
If I were allow’d to fpeak my Mind freely, it is my humble Opinion, that, were thofe great Phi¬ losophers ftill living, to fee the wonderful Experi¬ ments which are made in Ele6lricity, they would not be fo tenacious of their former Opinions, as to think there was not fufficient Reafon, now, for al¬ tering many of their Sentiments, how differently foever their prefent Difciples or Devotees may think, or ad.
Thofe great Philofophers, notwithftanding their former fettled and undeniable Principles, would, no doubt, after fo grand a Difcovery, have fet to work, and new-modell’d^many of their philofophical Plans, or ereded new ones, in order to have pe¬ netrated ftill deeper into the Recedes of the Works of Nature, and, if poflible, to have really account¬ ed for fome Things, which, before fuch Difcove¬ ry, were judg’d inexplicable.
I have made Ufe of the Terms, Fire> Electricity, electrical Fire, electrical ALther, setherial Spirit, &c. as fynonymous.
Sometimes, when fpeaking of the Conveying or Leading-wire of the Condenfing-phial, I have call’d it by that Name ; fometimes, the hooked Wire of the Condenfing-phial ; at other Times, the Wire piercing the Cork of the Condenfingphial, juft as they occur’d when I was writing ^ my chief Aim being, not fo much a Compleatnefs of the Didion, as the Delivering myfelf in an intelli¬ gible Manner.
1 N T R Q-

INTRODUCTION.

On the federal Gradations oj the Progrejs of
Electricity.

f- '»■-^ H E Term Electricity explains itfelf, be-

| ing deriv’d from Electron, which is the

I

Greek Name for Amber, and the Thing

is of great Antiquity. The Ancients, fo long ago as the Days or ry-
thagoras, according to fome, and very probably long before, were not unacquainted with that Pro¬ perty in Amber, ol attracting light Bodies when lying in the Sunihine, but more particularly after rubbing it *, perhaps from rubbing an Amber Bead, or the like •, for which Reafon all other Things, that were afterwards found to be en¬ du’d with the like Qualities of Attraction, C5Y. were call’d EleCtrics, and all others, Non-eledncs
The Reafon why EleCtricity made fuch How Ad¬ vances, in the experimental Way, for fo many hundred Years, was, from their not knowing that it efcap’d thro’ almoit all Bodies into the Earth and more particularly from their not knowing that all fuch Bodies, which are now call d Electrics per le^ were the only Bodies which couid pi event iueh

Efcape.

., ,. ^ r

Of Bodies which are endu’d with this Quality,

Glafs is found to be one of the greateft of all, even

much to exceed Amber itfelf-, and,when tnu was

difcover’d, it might very well be look’d on as no

fmall Improvement * for,when this Power was ob-

*

ierv a

2

INTRODUCTION,

ferv’d to be fo increas’d, they not only found that it had a Property of Repelling, equal to that of Attracting, but alfo that it was real Fire.
A ffcill greater Improvement was, the aCtual Difcovery that Glafs, Amber, Refin, Wax, Silk, Flair, and all other electric Bodies, did not convey this electric Matter to other Bodies, nor fuffer it to make its Efcape thro’ them ; for foon after this, it was difeover’d, that by fupporting a non-eledtrical Body with EleCtrics, the eieCtrical Fire could be convey’d inftantaneoufly to any Diftance upon any Perfon, or other non-eleCtric Body thus fupported, fo that any Part of them fhould aCt as powerfully as the Gun-barrel or Tube itfeif.
Thefe important Difcoveries were fir ft made by Mr. Stephen Gray, one of the Penfioners belonging to the Charter-houfe ; who fpent moft of his Time in making eleCtrical Experiments, and who may juftly be allow’d, from the great Variety of thofe made by lii-m, to be the principal Perfon who fet on foot all the late Difcoveries and Improvements : Many of his Experiments were communicated to the Royal Society, and were look’d on as fuch ex¬ traordinary Performances., as to merit a Place in the Philofophical TranfaClions.
It is to his Experiments we are indebted for fuch clear Hints concerning its Nature and Pro¬ perties, as to excite numbers of the Curious to purfue the fame Clue, and which conducted to fuch leading Experiments, particularly of its almoft inftantaneous Motion to the moll diftant Parts; he himfelf having prov’d it to be fenfibly inftantaneous, to the Diitance of 800 Feet.
It was he who difeover’d it to make, if poflible, its Efcape into the Earth \ to prevent which (he having before difeover’d, that what are call’d Eledrics per fey would prevent fuch Efcape) and to caufe it to remain on any particular Perfon, his
Method

INTRODUCTION.

3

Method was to fufpend him horizontally on two hair Lines ^ then rubbing his glafs Tube, and holding it near his Feet, his Face or Hands were inftantly capable of attracting and repelling light Bodies.
He alfo afterwards difcover’d, that, if a Perfon Food on a Cake of Refin, Glafs, or any other electrical Subftance, it was equally the fame as fupporting him with hair or fiik Lines.
A greater Improvement, yet,was the introducing of the glafs Globe, Cylinder, and Spheroid, whirl¬ ing on their Axis, initead of rubbing the glafs Tube *, for by that Means they obferv’d the Power increas’d to a very high Degree.
Thus having brought it to fuch Perfection, a great Number of various E periments were every where made ; particularly after it was difcover’d fo plainly to be Fire, as to kindle up many parti¬ cular Bodies into an aCtual Flame.
But the greateft Improvement of all, and what
conducted to the finifhing Stroke, was the acciden¬
tal and furprifing Shock, difcover’d to Profeilbr M. de Mufchenbroek of Leyden: An Account of which was communicated in a Letter from Paris, and was as follows:
“ Mar. 25th, 1746. M. de Mufchenbroek, a fa“ mous Profeilbr of experimental Phyfics at Ley“ den, has wrote a Letter to M. de Reaumur, of tc the Royal Academy of Sciences, containing an <c Account of a very fingular Experiment, which tc has led him to feveral Difcoveries concerning “ EleCtricity.”

H The Experiment.

<c

AVING fufpended an iron Cannon hori¬

< c

zontally, upon filken Cords, with one

End near the eleCtrical Globe, he fattened to the

other End a latten Wire, which defcended into

B 2

.DOC-

4

INTRO DUCT tO N.

“ a Bottle half full of Water ; that holding up the Bottle with one Hand, while the Cannon was cleCtrifing, he put forth a Finger of his other
“ Hand towards the Piece, in order, as ufual, to ic draw off a Spark, but was {truck fuch a violent “ Blow, that he thought his Life wras at an End ;
and adds, that, efteeming himfelf very happy in “ efcaping, he had no Mind to repeat the Experi-
meat, and that the Commotion he felt was like “ a Clap of Thunder.
“ As this Letter came at a Time when many learned Men were employ’d about Electricity ; cc the Abbe Ncllet and M. de Monniers, of the “ fame Academy, zealous to fearch into fo extratc ordinary a Phenomenon, divefted themielves of cc Fear, made the fame Experiment as M. de “ Mufchenbroek had done, and, in like Manner, “ found the Commotion very terrible.” London Evening Poft, April the ift, 1746. This fudden and wonderful Difcovery amazed the whole European World for fome Time ; for, before this, very little, if any Power or Force was perceiv’d in it, or even fufpeCted ; fo that new it appear’d fo much to exceed the Power of what was found in it before, as to bear fcarcely any Manner of Proportion •, for inftead of being ftrong enough to be felttopufh againft the Finger (which, before this, was counted a great Matter) it was then found much more capable of moving a Mountain, and, from the great Number of Experiments which were (bon made in all Places, the Progrefs of its clearer and clearer Difcovery was, from that Time, ex¬ ceedingly rapid. But, notwithftanding all this wonderful Pow-er was difeover’d in it, many were (till inclin’d to ac¬ count for its Production in the old Way, and after the fame Manner as when it appear’d in its feeble State, believing it to be emitted by the eieCtrical
Globe :

INTRODUCTION.

5

Globe : And though home of the more Judicious gave it, as their Opinion, to be no other than the rEther of the modern Philofophers, and others, the elementary Fire of the Ancients •, thefe were feverely lafh’d for it; io greatly are Prejudice, and confirm’d Habits, obferv’d to prevail, even with the moll ingenious Part of Mankind.

TA Defcription of the Condenfmg-phial. HIS Phial, being of the greateft Importance

in making eleCcrical Experiments, worthily

merits a particular Explanation. Without this, ora

like Contrivance, fcarce any other Way could have

been invented or thought of, capable of entrapping,

arrefting, and imprifoning this mighty Agent, long

enough to make the Experiments.

If this had not been wonderfully reveal’d to us,

we had Hill been ignorant of any great Strength,

Power, or Force, in electrical Fire.

The Way and Manner this great Secret was re¬

veal’d to M. de Mufchenbroek, was, as before-men-

tion’d, by Means of a Phial partly fill’d with Wa¬

ter ; for which Reafon all were at firft prepar’d in

that Manner: Viz. A Phial, nearly fill’d with Wa¬

ter, was fufpended to the Gun-barrel by a hooked

Wire, leading through the Cork to the Water,

whereby this invifible fire was convey dto it *, this

Principle, prevailing in the Non-eleCtrical denfe

Water, immediately conveys it to the Glafs, in

which the contain’d fEther remains fo fix’d, as is

not eafily remov’d •, and with which this eleCtrical

iEther appears to be moft intimately connected :

This is imagin’d to be the Reafon it is fo ftrongly

attach’d to the Glafs, as oftentimes not to return

by the Way it came for a long Time afterwards.

I once heard an Operator in Electricity affirm he

had fent one of thefe royal Prifoners, thus confin’d,

near a Mile, which afterwards burfi: through, both

B 3

his

6

INTRODUCTION.

his Prifon and Keeper, giving him a Blow on the Elbows at Parting.
Mr. Rackfirow, in Fleet-ftreet^ kept this Fire in a Phial, with Water, for ten Hours, and others, a longer Time, but Mr. A onniers kept it fo for thirty-fix Hours ; and every Operator in Electri¬ city very well knows that this pure Fire may be kept in dole Connexion with Water for a long Time, particularly if the Water be made and kept warm.
The more denfe the Fluid contain’d in the Phial, the more Power there appear’d of holding it toge¬ ther; for, when it wasfurnilh’d with Mercury, inftead of Water, fo much was oftentimes detain’d as to burft of its own Accord.
Afterwards, the common Method, in forming thofe eleCtrical Magazines, was to make Ufe of brafs or iron Filings, inltead of Liquids, and coat the Outfide of the Phial with a thin Plate of Lead ; which was found to be Fill better.
But the mold commodious Way is to line the Infide of the Phial with Gold-leaf, &c. and to coat it with Tinfoil, thin Lead, or the like, and to fallen fome Tinfel-fringe to the Bottom, or the End of the Wire within the Phial, fo as to reach to the gold Lining, by which Means the eleCirical Fire is convey’d to it.
It is not very material what Form the Glafs is of; to prove which, and to fhew the exceeding great Power of this Fire, when more is collected, by enlarging the Glafs, I fhall mention what Mr. F^ackfirow fays, after he had been giving his Opi¬ nion of the Way and Manner in which he conceiv’d Lightning and Thunder to be generated :
44 I fhall now endeavour farther to fhew the Si<c milarity of Thunder and Lightning to EleCtri-
city. The furprifing violent Shock that is to be given, even in a Degree greater than they can
“ well

INTRODUCTION.

7

cc well bear, to any Number of Perfons at once,

“ is fufflcient to fatisfy us, that the Electricity, paf-

“ fing through a Tree in the fame Manner, mult

cc fhock the Solids thereof, as it does the Animal

“ Body. If we could collect a great deal more E-

“ ledlricity, we might fplit the Tree, as we burft

ct the Veffels in Animals kill’d by Eledlricity *

“ whofe Bodies look livid, as when killed by

<c Lightning.

“ Mr. JVatfon communicated the following Ex-

<c periment to me, and fhew’d me fuch a large

<c Glafs as I am about to defcribe ; but his was

“ broke. He took the Hint from Dr. Bevis, who,

“ for the fame Experiment, made Ufe of a flat

“ Glafs, gilt on both Sides, excepting a Margin

<e round, no Matter what Form. This Glafs,

“ that was fhewn me, was blown very thin, in the

<c Shape of a Cylinder, like a Confedlioner’s, open

<c at Top, and gilt both on the Inflde and Outfide

<c to within two Inches of the Top. I cover’d

mine, which was about twenty Inches high, and

cc ten Diameter, with gilt Leather, as high as it

cc was gilt; which preferv’d it from breaking, and

“ made it adt the ftronger. The Metal within fuch

<c a Glafs as I have defcrib’d, when eledlrifled, wiil

adl with greater Vigour than 25,000 Times its

<c own Weight of iron File-dufl: in Bottles eledtri-

“ fled ; which proves that it is from the Number

cc of the Points in Contadl that it comes to adt fo

“ fbrongly, and not from the Quantity of the Me-

“ tal. I let a Piece of Chain hang down from the

“ Tube which l had eledlrifled, to eledlrify the

“ Metal within the Glafs ; I made Ufe of another

ic Piece of Chain, about ten Yards long ; one

“ End of which I laid under the Bottom of the

“ Glafs, and the other End I held to the Tube

“ eledlrifled, to caufe the Explofion, which was as

cc loud as the Report of a Piftol, and the Flafh of

B 4

Light

8

INTRODUCTION.

cc Light fo very bright, as to dazzle the Eyes of the cc Beholders ; the whole Chain that led the eledtri<c cal Explofion was not only illuminated, but <c darted Fire in molt Directions *, the Report, “ though as loud as that of a Piftol, was not fo tc fhort, but more like that of Thunder. Thefirft <c Time I tried this Experiment, I thought it had
broken the Glafs to Pieces. In Places where <c the Chain communicated, I have in a proper tc Manner, in one Place, put warm Spirits of cc Wine, in another File-duft, Vitriol, and Water cc mixed together, fome Oil of Turpentine in a <c Third, and, in trying the above Experiment, all cc thefe different Things would take Fire together;
which is a Proof, that Electricity is capable of <c fettingFire to all fulphureous Exhalations or Va<c pours in the Air ; and, thofe combuftible Clouds “ taking Fire one after the other, their different 66 Explofions caufe the fucceffive Noife of Thun66 der.” Mr, Rackfirovf s EJfayy p. 65.

A fhort

A fhort Introductory
DIALOGUE
ON THE
NATURE and PROPERTY
O F
Electrics and Non-EleCtrics.

B.

HAT mu ft we fuppofe to be the

Caufe of thofe remarkable Quali¬

ties, fo different in different Bo¬

dies, termed original EleCtrics,

and Non-eleCtrics *, or, as they are

now term5d,EleCtrics^rfe, andNon-eleCtrics? And

what Kind of Bodies are the moft remarkably fo ?

A. The circumambient Atmofphere is obferv’d

to be one of the moft remarkable of all original

EleCtrics, and the Body of the Earth as remarka¬

ble and powerful a Non-eleCtric.— But of thefe

farther on.

B. I fhould be glad to be inform’d in what

Manner the eleCtrical Fire is fuppos’d to be con¬

ducted by thefe Non-eleCtrics ?

A. Thefe

io

FJedlricity render'd ufeful.

A. Thefe Condudters, as they are called, are fuch Bodies only, in whofe Pores, the original fEther Hands fo loofe as well as rare, as to be freely driven on by the firft Impulfe, and thus makes Room for the Flux, of this newly colledted eledtrical iEther, which prefting, by accumulating on it, drives it forward, and then pofteffes its Place, and may be reafonably fuppos’d to execute the fame Office ; and, as this will conftantly and inva¬ riably appear to be the Cafe, I ffiall make Ufe of no more Words to explain it, till I come to the Experiment which proves it.
R. What is thought to be the Caufe of that par¬ ticular Quality in thofe Bodies, termed Eledlrics per fe ?
A,. Eledtrics per fe are fuch Bodies, in which the original /Ether feems to be more fix’d, and, confequently, cannot move freely on, to make Room for the newly colledted eledtrical fEther to take Place, as in the former Cafe : The moil pro¬ bable Conjedlure for its Prevalency, and what feems moft agreeable to Reafon and Obfervation, is, from a particular inherent Texture of the Parts of fuch Bodies, faturated, no doubt, with this Principle, in the firft; Formation ; of which, among Animals, the Torpedo or numbing Fifh is account¬ ed, by many, the moft remarkable, and the fenfitive Plant among Vegetables.
But the moft compleat of any, of fuch Bodies, feem to be thofe form’d of the minuteft Particles or Effluvia of Bodies ; which minute Particles in¬ corporate as it were, or adhere in fo remarkable a Manner to the setherial Particles, that they are not eaftly difunited, but by the Adtion of the elec¬ trical Machine; or elfe otherwife greatly agita¬ ted : A Quantity of thefe, when form’d into one -JVlafs, are obferv’d, in the Experiments, to be the moft remarkable.
Of

Electricity render d ufeful.

j i

Of this Sort is the common Air, which appears to be fuch a Mixture of this Alther, and the earthy Exhalations adhering and uniting lb firmly with it, as to be perhaps the greateft Eledtric per fe of any Thing in Nature j for, though a fmall Part of this Fire fee ms to be feparated from, and colledted out of the common Air, yet it fhews the utmoft Reludtance towards Returning into it again, and as we fhall foon find as great a Propenfity to return into the Earth, after being conduced to the Gunbarrel, or any other Non-eie&ric, fupported with original Eledtrics ; fo that the Air, particularly a dry Air, feems fo faturated with it as fcarce capa¬ ble of receiving more.
B. What other Bodies are the moil remarkable Eledtrics ?
A. All undtuous inflammable Bodies, in genera], appear to be faturated with this Fire, and alfo fix’d as abovemention’d : And of inflammable Subftances thofe of the fragile Kind, and fuch as break with a Polifh, feem to pofiefs this Quality the moll; as Refin, Pitch, Sealing-wax, &c. Sulphur alfo, and Bees-wax, though they do not break with fuch a Polifh as the reft, yet are they very remarkable Eledtrics, particularly the Former.
Alfo Glafs, Amber, and fome other hard brittle Bodies, although not of an inflammable Quality, are yet the moft noted in the whole Clafs of Elec¬ trics * they are therefore in all Probability faturated beyond other Bodies with this Fire, which remains alfo fix’d.
And, laftly, there is yet another Kind of Elec¬ trics per fe, of a more foft Texture ; fuch as Silk, and the Hair of many particular Animals; alfo many Infedts, as Bees, Flies, Moths, &c. befides many other animal Subftances, when dry.
Two chief Reafons why fuch foft Bodies as Silk, the Hair of Cats, &V. are fuch remarkable Elec¬
trics,

12

Eleclricity render d ufefuL

tries, are moil probably ; firfl, that they are latu-

rated with this Principle in their Formation, and

alfo fix’d as above •, fecondly, being of fo loofe a

Texture, their Pores or Interfaces are fo large, as

to admit of the common Air, which is always ob-

ferv’d to be the greateft Impediment to the Motion

of the pure /Ether •, and this feems to be confirm’d,

by obierving how, when their Pores are fill’d up,

by foaking them in Water, they are at once con¬

verted into vigorous Non-eledtrics ; fo that here,

as the denfe Water, whole Pores are fo fmall as not

to admit the coarfer ./Ether, or Air, but the finer

./Ether only, the Whole, to Appearance, is become

a Non-eleclric * but, as this can in no wife alter the

Nature of the Body itfelf, fo it can be no other than

a proper Vehicle which admits of the finer /Ether

only, wherein the inconceivable Strength and Ener¬

gy lies.

For the like Reafon, many Vegetables, which,

when green, and replete with j uices, appear to be

very powerful Non-eledirics j yet that Power, as

they become more dry, is found more and more

feeble, particularly thofe which are of the moll light

and loofe Texture ; and in Cork very little, if any

of that Quality remains, though no doubt but that

too, like other Vegetables, when green and full of

Sap, was as great a Non-elediric as the reft.— It

appears then, that, if the /Ether be fix’d in the

Body, it then mull conllitute an Electric ; if not

fix’d, then a Non-electric.

B. But why do you not rather imagine that fuch

Bodies as Amber, Glafs, Refin, Sulphur, &c. be¬

ing fo faturated with this electrical Fire, is the

Caufe of our Seeing it thrown out in fuch Plenty in

the fame Manner as has been imagin’d ?

A. Becaufe, were it fo, and if the Glafs could

eafily part with it, like a Non-electric Body, there

would be no electrical Fire produc’d from it, any

2

more

Electricity render d ufefuL

13

more than from a Globe of Metal it muft be own’d, that was the common Way, at fird, of ac¬ counting for its Produdion •, and that the eledric Matter, inherent in the glafs Globe, was put into fuch a vibrating Motion by the Attrition of the Hand or Cufhion on the Outfide of it, while in Motion, as to be thrown out thereby in fo copious a Manner but this Way of accounting for its Produdtion, not agreeing with Experience, was there¬ fore exploded : That the AEther is really fix’d in them, beyond what it is in other Bodies, fo as not to differ the newly collected JEther to move through them fo freely as through Non-eledrics, may be prov’d by Numbers of Experiments,—and if the circulating Experiment, viz. Experiment the IVth, be attempted, and the Circuit be divided in any Part by the Interpofition of the lead Piece of Glafs, it will not fucceed.
And though thefe Particles of AEther contain’d in Glafs, Amber, &V. feem fo fix’d as, not eafiiy to be mov’d out; yet does it appear capable of being agitated and put in Motion, even by the ignited iEther or folar Rays only, fo as to ad' at fome Didance from the eledrical Body •, it being obferv’d that a glafs Tube, having only been fo long expos’d to the Sun, as to acquire a fmall De¬ gree of Warmth, will attrad light Bodies.
Note. What is here call’d Attradion is conceiv’d by many to be perform’d rather by Preffure, thus :
When the Power or Force of the excited elec¬ trical Body is extended to any Didance from the Body ; all Parts contain’d within that Didance, are by the Adion of the iEther become more rare than the Parts furrounding it; by which Means the groffer Air, preding to redore the Balance, drives thofe light Bodies towards it.

DIALOGUE

14

Electricity render d ufefuL

DIALOGUE XL
B. T TOW came it to be firft known, that fuch jl a fubtil Medium actually exifted ?
A. By its Effects only, before it was more clear¬ ly prov’d by Means of Electricity.
B. Can it feem credible that there fhould be no other Means of difcovering it, notwithstanding it was defcrib’d with molt of its great and efiential Qualities ?
A. However incredible it may feem, yet no¬ thing is more fure \ for no fuch Agent could ever be demonftrated to the Senfes, till it was perform’d by Means of electrical Experiments.
B. Who was the firft Difcoverer of the Exiftence of fuch a fubtil Medium in Nature, and how long lince the firft Difcovery ?
A. It is fomething uncertain who was the firft Difcoverer, but we are aftur’d from Hiftory, that it was known by the ancient Philofophers, fome thoufand Years ago, who not only difcover’d the molt efiential Properties afcrib’d to iEther by all the greateft Philofophers ever fince, but they alfo difcover’d it to be an invifible Fire ; all which agrees with this eledtrical fubtil Medium.
They alfo pronounc’d it an Element, which is now the Opinion of many Moderns likewife, par¬ ticularly fince the late great Improvements in Eledtricity.
The Ancients not only thought themfelves fure of the Exiftence of fuch an univerfal fubtil Me¬ dium, but they alfo afcrib’d to it the greateft Power and Efficacy ^ for, according to thofe Phijofophers, it was the moft neceftary mechanical Agent of all created Beings.
The JEther of Des Cartes was his Materia fubtilis, or his firft Element; by which he under-
ftood

Electricity render'd ufefuL

\ §

flood a cc molt lubtil Matter very fwiftly agitated, fluid, and keeps to no certain Figure, but which iuits ltfelf to the P igure ol thole .Bodies that are
“ about it.

“ His fecond Element confifts of fmall Glo<c bules ; that is, Bodies exactly round and very “ folid, which do not only, like the flrfl Element,

nil up the Pores or Bodies, but alfb conflitute “ the purefl Subfiance of the ASther and Heaven.”
Blome s 'Tranflat. oj Des Earnest Philof. p. ioi.
fEther, according to Sir Ifaac Newton, is a thin lubtil Matter, much finer and rarer than Air.

Sometimes term’d a fubtil Spirit, as in the lat¬ ter End of his Principia; and fometimes a fubtil setherial Medium, as in his Optics.

To fay the Truth, there were Abundance of Confiderations, which feem’d to evince the Exiftence of fome Matter in the Air, much finer than the Air itielf, and an unknown lomething always

remain d behind, when the Air was taken away,
as appear d irom certain Effebts which were pro¬ duc’d in Vacuo.

This f£ther was fuppos’d to be univerfally difpers d, fo as to fill up all the Parts of Space, even

all that Space, which is, by fome others, term’d the immenfe Void *, and not only fo, but all the Interfaces or minuteft Pores of the mofl denfe and compared Bodies.

cc The Exiflence of fuch an univerfal jctherial Medium being fettled, Sir Ifaac Newton pro“ ceeds to its Properties, inferring it to be not only rarer and more fluid than Air, but ex-

ceedingly more elaflic and adive : In Virtue cc of which Properties he fhews that a great Part

of the Phenomena of Nature may be produc’d by it, as Gravitation, &c. to its Elafticity he “ attributes the elaflic Force of the Air, and of “ nervous Fibres, and the Emiffion, Refradion,

3

.

“ Reflexion,

16

'Electricity render'd ufefuL

44 Reflexion, and other Phenomena of Light;

44 as alfo Senfation, mufcular Motion, &c. In

44 Fine, this fame Matter feems the Primum Mo-

44 biky the firft Source or Spring of phyficai

44 Adion in the modern Syftem.’# ChambersJs

Dictionary.

At the End of the Principia, Sir Ifaac Newton

fpeaks of a mod fubtil Matter, which, he fays,

44 pervades, and lies hid in all grofs Bodies ; by

44 the Force and Adion of which Spirit, the Par-

44 tides of Bodies mutually attrad one another at

44 fmall Diftances, and cohere when in Contad;

44 and eledric Bodies operate at greater Diftances,

44 as well by repelling as attrading the neighbour-

44 ing Corpufcles; and Light is emitted, refleded,

44 refraded, infleded, and heats Bodies, and all

44 Senfation is excited, and the Members of ani-

44 mal Bodies move, at the Command of the Will,

44 namely, by the Vibrations of this Spirit, mu-

44 tually propagated along the folid Filaments of

44 the Nerves, from the outward Organs of Senfe

44 to the Brain, and from the Brain into the Muf-

44 cles : But, fays he, thefe are Things that can’t

44 be explain’d in few Words j nor are we fur-

44 niftfd with that Sufficiency of Experiments,

44 which is requir’d to an accurate Determination

44 and Demonftration of the Laws, by which this

44 eledric and elaftic Spirit operates.59 Thus ac¬

counting for that otherwife unaccountable Pheno¬

menon, animal Motion.

Quary. Whether we may not moft reafonably

conclude,

The elementary Fire of the Ancients,

The Materia fubtilis of Des Cartes,

The iEther, or elaftic fubtil Medium of Sir

Ifaac Newton, and

The remarkable Phenomenon, eledrical Fire

, '

(juft

Electricity render'd ufefuL

17

juft difeover’d *, to be one and the fame fubtil Subftance :—Particularly, as we can obferve fuch a remarkable Agreement, Similarity, and Coinci¬ dence among the ieveral fuppos’d fubtil Mediums.
That it fhould be reafonable to fuppofe eledrical Fire to be that very identical fubtil Subfiance, or Medium, can’t well be doubted, fince all the mod; efiential Properties which they aferib’d to their elementary Fire, fEther, or expanfive fubtil Fluid or Medium, are found in ele&rical fEther, and that alfo in the utmoft Degree of Perfection.
B. Flow do you prove the eleCtrical Matter to be endu’d with thole elfential Properties ?
A. By the molt convincing Experiments : But I (hall not dwell on a long Series of Experiments, for if the invifible, expanfive, fubtil Medium, which has been fo long fuppos’d, and fo clearly explain’d by Sir Ifaac Newton, is, or is not, that very identical Subltance, which is now render’d vifible, and realiz’d to the other Senfes, and of which we have fuch effectual Means put into our Hands to examine it by, infomuch that we can’t eafily miftake its Nature and Properties ; a few capital Experiments mult neceffarily be abundant¬ ly fufficient to determine it : For, if we can pro¬ duce one fuch powerful, elaftic fEfher, or fubtil Medium in Nature, as he has deferib’d, and en¬ du’d with fuch other furprifmg Properties as he has aferib’d to his JEther, it is prefum’d there can’t be left much Room for Doubt or Plefitation ; becaufe none will expeCt to find, at the fame Time, two fuch univerfal, expanfive, attracting, repelling, inconceivably fwift, and powerful, fubtil, fluid Mediums in Nature, form’d fo exaCtly alike, as

* The complete Difcovery of Electricity is fuppos’d to take

pate at the Difcovery of the Shock.

c

that

18

Electricity render'd ufeful,

that one can’t be diftinguifh’d from the other.

Again,

None will expect to find unerring frugal Na¬

ture grown all at once profufe, as it mu ft unde¬

niably be, and that too in the moft fuperlative

Degree, if this could be prov’d ; and, every one

would allow, ought jeftly to be chronicled, as the

firft Time it was ever known to be fo.

B. But how will the greateft Qbjedtion, brought

again ft thofe kind of Arguments to prove a fubtil'

Medium, be remov’d $ namely, fuch as this : Can

it be thought probable, not to fay poftible, that

the moft ftupendious and moft powerful mecha¬

nical Agent in Nature, as the fubtil Medium of

Philofophers is allow’d to be by the very greateft

of them, even capable of being the firft and only

inftrumental Caufe of the greateft Operations we

behold in it; I fay, can it be fuppos’d reafonable,

that fo mighty an Agent iliould be lo clearly dif-

cover’d, by fo fimple a Method as the eledtrical

Machine ?

A. But, fince we are capable of difcovering fuch

a powerful fubtil Medium by that fimple Method^

what Reafon have we for quarrelling with the Me¬

thod ; for, as all Things are alike eafy to the great

Revealer of Secrets, have we Reafon to be out of

Humour, merely becaufe his Method of difcover¬

ing it to us is eafy and plain ?

Can fuch Objedlions be really juft ? Are they

not indeed moft ridiculous ? What can be faid for

Men, when we find them thus quarrelling with the

only Method that was ever found capable of difco¬

vering any fuch powerful fubtil Medium ? For,

Was it ever clearly prov’d before ? Was not all

that was affirm’d by thofe Philofophers, concerning

it, mere Conjedlure ?

Whereas, by Means of eledlrical Experiments,

we are as fure that fuch a Medium really exifts, as

4

we

Electricity render'd ufefuL

19

we are of any one Thing of which the Senfes can inform us—nor can the Expofing fuch a Method of Reafoning be derogatory or injurious to the illuHrious Characters of thofe eminent Philofophers, who, we are fure, were far from being mifiaken, in the Thing itfelf, by our finding them fo conHandy defcribing it, with all the great and effential Qualities which we actually behold in it, now it is fo plainly difcover’d *, but the very greateH of them, even the great Sir Ifaac Newton himfelf, never pretended to prove the Certainty of its ExiHence otherwife than by its Effects.
And, notwithfianding his ardent Defire to find it out, and his many fagacious Experiments to prove it, yet none could be thought of, or in¬ vented, that were fufficient to make a clear Difcovery : One of thofe inquifitive Experiments we find in his Optics, Qu<er. the 18th—and, although he infers very largely from the Premiffes, yet is he far from giving his Opinion, whether it was an invifible- Fire, or not, but frankly owns he does not know what it is, Qu*er. 21.
How the ancient Sages were furnifh’d with Hints fufficient to difcover it to be an invifible, pure Fire, is not eafily to be conceiv’d, notwithftanding they defcrib’d it fo very exadtly.
B. How is the eledtrical Fire immediately pro¬ duc’d ?
A. Out of the Earth and Air, but particularly the former.

Experiment I.

Tending to point out the Source, or mam Springs

I from whence it is deriv'd. F a Perfon, Handing on the Floor, lays his

Hand on the glafs Globe in Motion, the e-

ledtrical Matter is produc’d in great Plenty, as we

C 2

find

2 0

Electricity render d ufejul.

find by its Adting fo vigoroufly on the Gun-barrel*
or other Apparatus of Wires j but if he fteps on a Cake of Refin, &c. it is very much weaken’d, and very little Fire or Attraction is to be found on the lame, notwithstanding the Fridtion be con¬ tinu’d at the glafs Globe * : To prove that this is no Deception, let him put a Foot again to the Floor, and they will that Inftant act vigoroufly as before, and be again as inftantly depriv’d of that Power at Lifting it up again, and vieeverfa.
B. But if this fubtil Agent can be fo plainly prov’d to be produc’d from the Earth, it would be but natural to find in it as perpetual a Ten¬ dency to efcape into it again ; which it you can alfo prove, it will be a farther Confirmation of your Aflertion and Experiment.
A. Nothing can be much caller prov’d *, for which Reafon, and to fhew like wife, that a few capital Experiments will, as above, be fufficient for my Furpofe, I fhall produce a Angle one, which alone proves the electric Matter to be en¬ du’d with a moil furprifing Stibtiky and an in¬ conceivable Velocity j and which alfo proves or greatly il luff rates the Doctrine of Sir Ifaac Newton, viz. that this fubtil Medium is contain’d in all denfe Bodies : Alfo, that in denfe non-eledfrical
Bodies it Will, upon the firft Impulfe of the electri¬
cal Matter, rufli out and give Place to it, to oc¬ cupy the fame Space, and may be reafonably pre¬ fum’d to execute the fame Office.
Alfo, that the Air, particularly a dry Air, ap¬ pears to be one of the greateft of Eleftrics per fey and the Body of the Earth, the moil complete Non-ele6tric.

* The fmall remaining Part on the Apparatus is fuppofed to be fupplied by the Air.
Ex-

Electricity render d ufefuL

21

Experiment IL

Electricity unveil'd, or an Experiment tending

to prove what it really is ; alfo its great In¬

clination to return into the Earthfrom whence

it came.
IF Wires are fupported with filken Strings to any given Length whatfoever, and then elec¬

tris’d ; although they will fhew as great an Energy, and produce as (mart a Crack, or Fxplofion, at the

greateh Extremity as near the Machine, particu¬

larly if the Air and filk Supporters are very dry,

yet, if they are touch’d but with a Finger of a Perfon handing on the Floor, at the fame, or any

other Dihance, the whole Length of the Wire will be, that Moment, depriv’d of its electrical Cirtue,

and not the lead Sign of Fire or Attraction will be found at any Part of the Apparatus, and will be

again as inhantaneoufly rehor’d to its former Acti¬

vity by taking off the Finger. What Experiment can poifibly prove any Thing
more effectually than this does that of extreme Sub-

tilty and inconceivable Velocity ?

For although when a Finger is on, even at the

farther End, no Fire or Attraction is to be found

throughout the Whole, yet it muft, at the fame

Time, be undeniably palling through the internal Parts of the Wires, and through the Perfon into

the Earth, otherwile it could not again fo inhantaneoufly accumulate and form an Atmofphere on them, at Removing the Finger : Or if, inftead of

removing the Finger, he fteps upon a Cake of Re¬

fin or Bees-wax, the EffeCt will be the fame ; and again, if he but touch the Floor with one of the Toes of his Shoes, while handing on the Refin, and

a Finger on the Wire, the Whole will again, that

C 3

very

22

Electricity render'd ufefuL

very Inftant, be depriv’d of its Activity, and fo continue as long as he either keeps his Foot on the Floor, or it but touch a Perfon with a Finger of the Flaad at Liberty.

QjtJ SERIES,

O E S not the Air, in this Experiment, aA the Part of an EleCtric per fe? and that in a
moil remarkable Manner ? Were it not fo, in all Probability, there never could haVe been the lead: Appearance of what is call’d EleCtricity *, it mult neceffarily vanilh into it again, as lbon as excited, notwithftanding the contiguousWires and filk Sup¬ porters ; but, inftead of that, does it not cling and accumulate on the Wire, as we find by its Attract¬ ing light Bodies; forming an Atmofphere to a confiderable Diftance from the envelop’d non-elec¬ tric Body, rather than depart again into the hetero¬ geneous Mafs, from whence * Part of it feems juft collected •, and will it not, as it were, fuffer itfelf to be taken Captive in the Condenfing-phial, rather than return thither again ?
u
And does it not feem to have as great a Propenfity to efcape into the Body of the Earth, as a Re¬ luctance towards Returning into the Air ? Does it not, at the Touch of a Finger, &c. though at the greateft Diftance, dart, that Moment, into the Earth, through the Perfon and all the interme¬ diate Wires *, or if, by this or any other Means, thefe Wires are brought in ContaCf with any Non¬ electric which has a Communication with the

* Although the principal Part of the ele&rical ./Ether is fo undeniably attra&ed from the denfe Non-ele&rics near the Glafs, and fupply’d from the Earth; yet, in all Probability, a fmall Portion likewife is rubb’d or ground out of the Air, as no fmall Quantity of Air mud neceffarily pafs between the Hand and revolving Globe.
Earth,

EleStricity render'd ufeful.

23

Earth, the EffeCt is always the fame, and not the

lead Sign of Fire or Attraction is to be found on

any Part of the Apparatus. Does not the original /Ether, in this Experiment,

quit the internal Parts of the Wires, and give Place to the newly collected fEther or eleCtrical Fire, to enter and occupy the lame Space •, and, confequent-

ly, execute the fame Office, which it mult neceffa-

rily do, all the Time the Wire has this fuppos’d Communication with the Earth, and the Machine

in Motion; and does it not, as it were, leap into

the Earth through the Perfon and the internal

Parts of the Wires fo inftantaneoufly as not to al¬

low Time fufficient to accumulate or form any

Manner of Atmofphere on the external Parts ? For,

if the fmalleft Degree of Accumulation were on the external Parts, fome lmall Degree of Attrac¬

tion would be alfo found, which yet is not the

Cafe, Does not the eleCtrical Fire as effectually pals

from the Machine, through the internal Part ol

the Wire, and through the Perfon into the Earth,

as furely as Water is convey’d through a Pipe, all

the Time the Machine is in Motion, and the Per¬ fon with his Finger on the Wire 5 and is not this

Communication with the Earth as effectually fepa-

rated by his Stepping on the eleCtrical Cake, fince

the whole Line that Moment aCts vigoroufly ? What much adds to the marvellous Part, is, that the Wires being touch’d, though at the greateft

Diftance, ffiould fo affeCt it, as to put an entire Stop to the Appearance of either Fire or Attrac¬

tion throughout the whole Length of the Line, as

effectually as if done ever fo near the Machine. Upon the Whole, if this Experiment alone is

not allow’d to beconclufive, I ffiould be very glad

to be inform’d of the Reafon why ; particularly if

we are to fuppofe, with Sir Ifaac JSfewtgn, tnat the

C 4

Pores

Electricity render d ufeful.

Pores of the Wire were replete with the Particles

of /Ether, before the Machine was in Motion : If

the electrical Fire were not actually the fame Sub¬

ftance with the /Ether, why would the original

/Ether in the Wire be found fo naturally to rufh

out firft into the Earth, and give Place to the elec¬

trical /Ether to follow it ? For it is imagin’d it

will not be reply’d, there was Room enough in

the Wire for both, or for the eletftrical Fire to pafs

by the Side of the original /Ether, contain’d in the

internal Parts of the Wire.

N. B. I have infilled the more on this Experi¬

ment, becaufe, though it is moll eafily perform’d,

yet no Experiment can well be more clear and con-

eiufive, or prove any Thing more effectually than

this does, that they are one and the fame.

B. But although the original /Ether in Ani¬

mals, Metals,

appears fo naturally to move

out at the firft Impulfe of the eleClrical /Ether, and

refign its Place and Office at once ; yet, furely, it

can be no abfolute Proof that they are the very

fame Subftance *, becaufe we know Water will

drive Air out of a Calk, Tube, or Pipe, and then

poffefs the fame Space; yet, no-body will affirm

that Water and Air muff for this Reafon be the

fame Subftance.

A. This would appear like a formidable Objec¬

tion indeed, if Water was fo much like Air, that

one could not be diftinguiffi’d from the other, and

endu’d with the moft effential Properties afcrib’d

to Air ; but, if not, it can be but of little Weight,

nor can any Arguments to prove the Contrary be

admitted, but fuch as are equally ftrong* and fup-

ported with Experiments equally clear and conclu-

five ; this being what is expected in all other Cafes,

it will be thought but reasonable, that the prefent

Cafe ffioiild reft where the p relent Arguments and

Expert

Electricity render d ufeful.

25

Experiments leave it, till fuch equal Arguments

and Experiments are produc’d againlt it. &

B. But how can it be known that this fubtil Sub-

Eance is palling, as you fay, through the internal

Parts or the W ire, in the above Experiment, ali

the Time the Perfon on the Floor keeps his Finger

on the Wire ? Why may it not be more reafonably fuppos’d to pals along the Surface ?

. Not °nly beeaufe there is no Fire or Attrac¬ tion to be found throughout the Surface of the

whole ele&rify’d Line, but many other Experi¬

ments fo clearly prove it to pals through the inter¬

nal Parts of Bodies, as to put it beyond Difpute,

iuch as the Experiment of the capillary Syphon* and many others.

In the Experiment of the capillary Syphon, for

Example, it muff necefTarily pervade the whole

Body of the Water, before it can come to the lower

End of the Syphon at the Bottom of a glafs Cup:

I have alfo prov’d it, through a glafs Veffel of Wa¬

ter, twenty-feven Inches in Length : Alfo by bring¬

ing a Chain from thecondenfing Phial to the Cock

of an upright Barrel of Liquor, then putting a

Finger to the Liquor at the Bung, in the Top, and

bringing a F inger of the other Hand to the excited

Apparatus; the eledrical ASther was obferv’d to

pafs through it molt freely, becaufe a fmart Shock was felt as ufual in the Elbows.

In the preceding fecond Experiment appears fomething molt wonderful,

Fhe aetheriai Spuit, or fubtil IVIedium, is not

only undeniably found to poffefs and fill up the

Pores of the denfe Wire, where it is confequently

exceeding fine and rare ; but it appears alfo quite

loofe and free, and fo a&ive as to quit its Place at

the very firft Impulfe of the eledrical .Ether at the Machine, notwithftanding the Machine be at ever fo great a Diftance from the Part where the Wire

4 *

commit

2 6

Electricity render d ufefuL

communicates with the Earth; and though the metallic Tube, for fo I can’t help calling the Wire, with Regard to the moving /Ether, be ever fo of¬ ten turned and returned, and ever fo many Angles form’d *.
Let us then once more, for the Sake of Illuftration, fuppofe a Wire, of fome thoufand Miles in Length, fupported as above with filken Strings -y from any Thing that appears to the Contrary, we can have no Reafon to believe but that the Effect would be, to Senfe at leaf!:, equally the fame as if it were no more than fo many Inches or Barley¬ corns in Length.
Or, inftead of fuch a Length of Wire, let a Num¬ ber of Men continu’d to the fame Length be fuppos’d Handing on Cakes of Refin, ail joining Hands, or communicating with each other by Means of metallic Bodies, yet Hill the Effect muft be the fame \ and if the Perfon, at the utrnofi: Ex* tremity, were but to put his iron Rod to the Earth, or put a Foot on it, the whole Length will that Moment be (as prov’d above) depriv’d of its Fire and Attraction, even quite to the very Machine itfelf ^ and the former Activity as inftantaneoufiy reftor’d throughout the Whole, at Lifting up of the Foot or iron Rod, particularly if the Air be fuppos’d perfectly dry.
B' How is it pofuble to account for fuch an amazing Paradox ?
A No other wife than by conceiving its Motion to be perform’d in the fame Manner as the folar Rays, ignited /Ether, or Lightwhich by Means of an aftonifhing Elafticity, their Motion is pro-

* This is fuch a Property belonging to electrical 2Ether, which, before it was difeover’d by electrical Experiments, was fcarce ever imagin'd to belong to any Kind of fubtil Fluid in Mature.
v pagated

Electricity render d ufeful.

pagated or refleded to the Diftance of ten Millions

of Miles in a Minute ; viz, by conceiving each

elaftic Particle to drive the next Particle forwards

in the very fame Manner as Solids do.

And, notwithftanding the Velocity of Light is fo

great, yet is there no left Reafon to conclude,

from the Experiment, but that the Motion of the

eledrical iEther is equally inftantaneous, from the

eledrical revolving Globe, into the Earth.

N. B. It is to be obferv’d, that by the two fore--

going Experiments a Circulation is perform’d, al-

though we feem quite ignorant of it, as well as

many other Kind of Circulations in Nature, of

which thofe Experiments furnifh us with various

Hints.

By the firft Experiment we plainly perceive it to

Ibe fupply’d from the Earth, through the Inftru-

iment of Fridion to the prime eledrical revolving

Globe, where the violent Force of Attradion is

form’d: And by the fecond Experiment we as

plainly perceive it to return from the Globe to the

Wires, and through the Perfon into the Earth

again.

So that if a Perfon, with a'Hand on the Globe in

Motion, touch any Part of the excited .Apparatus

with his other Hand, a Circulation of the eledrical

JEther is perform’d through him at the fame Time;

Iviz. attraded by the glafs Globe from his Hand

and Body, and fupply’d by the Earth -, and back

from the Apparatus, through the other Hand into

the Earth again.

B. Sir Ifaac Newton frequently makes Mention

Df a violent rapid vibrating Motion in his Atther,

iwhich communicates Motion to other Bodies,

r So that, by its Pulfes or Vibrations, he accounts

for many of the Operations of Nature.

And even that of Senfation is faid to be per¬

form’d by the Vibrations of this fubtil Spirit pro-

h

pagated

2$

'Electricity render'd ufeful.

pagated along the folid Filaments of the Nerves, begun by external Objects, and convey'd to theBrain.
The different Sorts of Rays of Light alfo he conceives to make Vibrations of different Bigneffes \ which, according to their different Size, excite Senfations of different Colours; much after thefame Manner as Vibrations of the Air, according to their differentBignefs,exciteSenfationsoffeveralSounds*.
I fhould be glad therefore to know if you have any Experiment which proves fuch a vibratory Motion in eleCtrical CEther ?
A. There is one in particular that appears very much to illuftrate fuch a Suppofition, which Ex¬ periment feems to be perform’d by Means likewife of a violent elaftic Force ft, inherent in the electri¬ cal iEther, and is as follows :

I Experiment III. F a downy Feather, or a Piece of Thiftle-down, be laid near the Edge of a fmooth Plate of Me¬ tal, and brought to the Diftance of two Inches, more or lefs, of the excited Gun-barrel or Wires, &c. which proper Diftance by Trials is foon found, laying a Finger, at the fame Time, on the excited Apparatus, till it be brought to a proper Diftance ; the Feather will, at Taking off the Finger, be at¬ tracted and repelfd with fuch an aftonifhing Cele¬ rity, that we even lofe Sight of it, both as to its Form and Motion ; and all that will be difcern’d, is its Colour only ft, which fills up the wrhole Space in which it vibrates ; for which Reafon it is impoffible to form any tolerable Conjecture or Computation of the Number of Vibrations per*

* Chambers ’s Di&ionary. ft Sir Jfaac Newton, when fpeaking of yEther, fays : That the ehflic Force of this Medium is exceeding great, may be ga* ther’d from the Swiftnefs of its Vibrations. Opt. Qu&r. 21. J This is not to be feen in Perfe&ion, except the Machine
vigorously,
form’d.

Electricity render d iifefuL

29

form'd, which poflibly may be fome Thoufands in the Space of a Minute, fo inconceivably fwift is its Motion: If the Piece of Metal be held ever fo little farther off, the Motion will be much retarded ; but if it be brought nearer, or to about an Inch and an Half of the eletffris’d Body* * it makes a full Stop all at once ; it then communi¬ cating the Fire as faff to the Non-ele£tris’d, as it receives it from the eledtris’d Metal ; but the pro¬ per Diftance is fometimes greater, fometimes lefs, according to the Size of the Thiftle-down *,
B. What do you infer from this vibrating Mo¬ tion, as you call it, of the Feather which is thus mov’d backward and forward like a Shuttle-cock* by the attradting and repelling Quality of the elec¬ trical Matter ? Can this Motion of the Feather fhew a vibrating Property in the electrical Matter ? This feems to prove no more than what is gene¬ rally allow’d, namely, that, where Attraction ends, Repulfion begins.-
A. But the Reafon, why an equal Repulffon fhould begin where Attraction ends, does not ap¬ pear quite plain : We are told that a Body which receives an Impreflion, but does not retain it, is call’d an elaffic Body, and,
If the Force of Reftitution be equal to the Force of Compreflion, it is faid to be perfectly elaffic.
Here feems indeed to be a Reafon pointed out* why it may be expedted, that, where the repulffve Power ends, there an attractive Power, or a Power in the oppoffte Diredtion, fhould begin \ namely* the different and alternate Motions of an adtivc •elaffic Agent ; or, to fpeak more intelligibly* where the Force of Pulfion or Compreflion ends*

4*

'

'

* In this Experiment the Feather is oftentimes obferv’d to move circularly when brought to a little farther Diftance, aws, where the Motion is more How.
there

30

Electricity render d ufefuL

there the Force of Reftitution, or what is otherwife often call’d Attradtion, begins ; and ele&rical Experiments furniffi us with various Hints, which feem to countenance an Hypothecs, even of a per¬ fect elaftic Quality in fEther : Sir Ifaac Newton " himfelf fuppofes it to be 700,000 Times more elaftic than Air, and 700,000 more rare, in his Optics, Queries 21 and 22 *.
ghicery I. If the Suppofition of fuch a perfedt Elafticity in thesetherial Medium be not agreeable to the conftant vibrating Motion which it is fuppos’d to be endu’d with ?
On the Suppofition of fuch a univerfal vibrato¬ ry Motion throughout Nature, and of complete Elafticity in the Farts of the univerfal .ZEther.
§u<ery II. Whether it is not arguing confiftently to fay (inftead of faying, where Attradtion ends, there a repulfive Force begins) where Repulfion or Compreflion ends, there an equal Power of Elafticity or Reftitution muft confequently be¬ gin ? Since, by fuch a Suppofition, a univerfal mechanical Motion, when once begun, muft be perpetuated ? All which appears, likewife, not only agreeable to the above fuppos’d conftant Vibration of the Parts of ZEther, but fimple, and therefore fo much the more like Nature ; agreeable alfo to the Ooinion of the renown’d Boerhaave, viz. that Fire is the Caufe of all the Motion in the Univerfe.
B. Which is the chief or moft prevailing Pro¬ perty in eledtrical ZEther ?
A. The Properties are fo numerous, and withal fo remarkably gre#t, it is fomething difficult to de¬ termine which is the Chief; but, when it.is arrefted

* Sir Ifaac Newton fays, the elaftic Force of the ^Ether muftbe more than 490,000,000,000 Times greater, in Proportion to its Denfity, than the elaftic Force of the Air is, in Proportion to its Denfity. Optics, ^ucer. 21,
and

Electricity render d ufefuL

31

and detain’d in the Phial, the moft prevailing Quality appears to be a Tendency to circulate, which is always remarkably confpicuous, whene¬ ver a Shock, as it is call’d, is produc’d, which Cir¬ culation is obferv’d to be ’perform’d from the charg’d Condenfing-phial to the fame Place again , and, whatever be the Form of the Circuit, the Refult will fbill be the fame, nor can any Shock be given, except a Circuit of fome Form or other be contriv’d, from the Body of the Phial to the Lead¬ ing-wire *, viz. the Wire which enters into the Phial, or elfe to fome Non-eledtric in Contact with it, as the Gun-barrel, &c. on which it is ge¬ nerally fufpended.
But it is by no Means necefiary that the Phial be fufpended on any Part of the Apparatus, for a Shock may as eafily, and many Times much more commodioufly, be given by holding it in the Hand,

Experiment IV.
In which appears the moft remarkable, elaftic, or violent expanjive Force that can pofjibly be conceivd, and which may not improperly be term d
I the circulating Experiment. N Order to explain this Phenomenon the more clearly, I ihall firft take Notice of the fhortefi Circuit of all, which may be perform’d thus :
Lay the hooked Leading-wire, piercing the Cork of the Condenfing-phial, either to the glais Globe in Motion, or elfe to the excited Gun-barrel or Wires, by which Means it will foon be fufficiently charg’d *, which done, put one End of any metallic Body to the Coating of the Phial, and then bring the other End to the Wire which con¬ veys the Fire into it, through the Cork, where it will burft and produce a fmart Crack or Explofion, but the Perfon who makes the Experiment will
receive

32

Electricity render'd ufeftih

receive no Shock; the Reafon of which is, th$ eonftant Rule it obferves, in always pafiing the neareft and fhorteft Way pofhble, which in this Experiment is through the connecting Wire, or that which comes from the leaden Cafe of the Phial, to the Wire palling through the Cork.
In this fhorteft Circuit, the moll Fire and the greateft Explofion is produc’d * ; and thofe Effects are, as may reafonably be fuppos’d, according to the Size of the glafs Veffel prepar’d for its Recep¬ tion.
R. How can you be fure that any Circulation is perform’d in this Experiment, by only feeing it burft at the Meeting of the two Wires ?
A. To prove that there will always be a Circuit form’d in this Experiment, and that from the Part where it is generated to the fame Part again, viz. from the Infide of the Phial to the Infide of the fame Phial again : Let the Circuit be enlarg’d, thus:
Xnftead of bringing the connecting Wire from the Coating of the Phial to the Wire leading into it, as in the laft Experiment; let a Perfon grafp the charg’d Phial, and bring a Finger of his other Hand to the Wire which leads through the Cork, at which Place it will crack or explode as before ; but, in thisExperiment, the Perfon receives a Shock, particularly at his Elbows or Wrifls *, for, as the greateft Part of this Circuit was form’d by the Per¬ fon, the neareft Way it could circulate muft be through his Arms and Breaft, which being per¬ form’d with the utmoft Violence, is the Reafon why thofe Parts are fo affefted, particularly the Elbows or Wrifts, where it meets with the greateft Refiftance.

* The Explofion is very fmall when the Circuit is large, proved by Mr. Watfiri* Experiments. See his ‘Treatifeon larg$ Circuits, Page 54,
Again,

Elefiricity render'd ufefuL

33

Again, to increafe the Circuit, let two* three*

Or more Perfons, all join Hands, and the Perform

at one Extremity either touch the Coat of the

Condenfing-phial, or elfe hold it in the Hand at

Liberty \ then let the Perfon at the other Ex¬

tremity bring his Eland to the aforefaid Wire

which leads into the Bottle, and they will all at

the fame Indant receive an equal Shock ; and

this, as is well known, will equally fucceed, let

the Number of Men be ever fo great, and the

Circuit ever fo much enlarg’d.

This Experiment may be otherwife vary’d.

Let the aforefaid Number of Men, or, if you

pleafe, a whole Army, form themfelves into a

Circle, or a Circuit in any other Form, all join¬

ing Hands, excepting two only *, one of which tak¬

ing the prepar’d Phial into the Hand at Liberty,

holding it by the coated Part ; then let the Perfon

at the other Extremity touch the conveying Wire

which leads thro’ the Cork, and the Circulation

will be inftantly compleated throughout the whole

Army, and every Individual will that Moment

receive the Shock,

B. Is it not reafonable to fufpecl fome great

Deception in this Experiment; for how can it be

jfuppos’d credible, that the larged Circle can be

compleated, fo as to move all round it in the fame

Space of Time as round the dualled, unlefs it

were to move all at once, like a folid Wheel on

its Axis, which, if the lead Part of the Circum¬

ference were mov’d forward/ the Whole mud

move ; or like any folid Body of the greated

Length, which could not be pufh’d forward ever

fo little at one of the Extremities, but every Part

mud be equally affeded *, but this, it is imagin'd,

cou’d never be the Cafe in that Experiment, if it

were for no other Reafon than that it is a Fluid,

D

and

Electricity render'd ufefitL
and moves not in a Circle, but generally in an irregular Circuit ?
A. As to its being incapable of moving like a folk! Wheel, becaufe it is a fluid Body, perhaps can he no juft Reafon ; for, if it be compleatly elaftic, the Compleatnefs of its Fluidity may be fo far from an Impediment, that it may poflibly very much contribute towards the Motion being equally free, whether its Paflage be regular or irregular. And, that a Motion may be fo fwift as to appear inftantaneous, we need only conflder the Velocity of the folar Rays.
B. It was always much queftion’d, whether there was any fuch Thing in Nature as a com¬ pleatly elaftic Body ?
ABut this was before the Properties of ZEther were fo well known ; we then were acquainted with nothing in Nature, except the Rays of Light, fo elaftic, as to propagate a Motion fo inftantaneoufly to the greateft Diftance, by aim oft the leaft Impreftion or Impulfe, and this, though the Wire in which it is contain’d, be ever fo often turn’d and return’d. It is true, this appears fo great a Para¬ dox, that, if it were poflible, we fhould be ready to difbelieve our very Senfes ; but as Fadls are fo ftubborn as to yield to no Arguments, however fubtle or nicely form’d; fo we are at length forc’d to fubmit, and it is prefum’d the greateft Philofophers will never be able to account for this won¬ derful Phenomenon, unlefs they afcribe to ZEther fuch a Property as was imagin’d to belong to no kind of Matter in Nature, namely, that of perfe<ft Elafticity, or what makes#a very near Ap¬ proach to it; altho’, as above, fuch a perfect Elaf¬ ticity in the fubtil Medium muft feem abfolutely neceflary to perpetuate that vibratory Motion, which Sir Ifaac Newton conceives not only to fub-
flft

Electricity render'd ufeful.

3 J

lift in it, but alfo to be the Caufe of many of the greateft Operations in Nature.
This Tendency to circulate, and that in the fhorteft and neareft Way poffible, is fo remark¬ ably great, that no Length or Breadth even of Waters can prevail with it to difperfe or lpread itfelf from the Point of Direction given •, it having been prov’d along the Sides of Rivers, and acrols large Lakes of home Miles; fome of thefe Ac¬ counts being firft communicated from Paris, Mr. tVatfon* and feveral other Members of the Royal Society, try’d the fame Experiment with Succefs* acrofs the River Thames, at the new Bridge* Weftminfter *.
Another Time at Shooters-Hill, about eight Miles from London, he* with nine more of the Royal Society, made other Experiments, in order to prove whether the eledlrical Fire would revolve in larger Circuits, and whether the Shocks could be fenfibly felt at greater as well as leiler Diftanees 5 and alfo to afcertain its Celerity : They were there¬ fore made with the greateft Circumipedfion and Exatftnefs ♦, which thoroughly convinc’d them, it was not in their Power to form a Circuit fo large* but that the Revolution always appear’d as inftantaneous as Light from the Sun, notwithftanding one was form’d of four Miles* at which Diftance they alfo found the Shocks to be exceeding great.
B. In what Manner are we to conceive this furprifing Shock and Circulation to be generated or produc’d ?
A. Before any adequate Idea can be formed* it will be neceffary to coniider*
Firft, That Univerfality and extreme Subtilty

* From the Condenfing-phial oh the South Side of the Wa¬

ter, were Wires convey’d over the Bridge, to the Water on the

North Side, which convey’d it back to the Phial again, or to

Wires contiguous to it,

D 2

of

36

Electricity render d ufefut-

of iEther, which is obferv’d by Sir Ifaac Newton, and many other eminent Philofophers, to be fuch, as to fill all Space as well as the minute Pores of all grofs Bodies, and is moft remarkable in thofe that are the moft denfe and compabted; for in thefe only it appears the moft pure, abtive, and moft formidable, agreeable to what we obferve in the elebtrical Experiments : Thofe grofs Bodies, which are lefs denfe and compacted, being obferv’d to admit of the more grofs and lefs abtive Particles of the common Air, which are ever found to Be a moft remarkable Obftacle to the free Abtion of the pure iEther.
Secondly, A general Law, which is obferv’d to obtain in homogeneous Fluids, not only of an apt and ready Unition, but alfo of the lefter conftantly efcaping or vanifhing into the greater ; as when two Drops of Water, a greater and a lefs, are brought in Contabt; they will not only co¬ here and unite, but the lefter Drop is always ob¬ ferv’d to rufh or efcape with Violence, or be at¬ tracted, into the greater •, and, in two fuch Drops or Globules of Mercury, this Propenftty feems much greater, for, the greater the Denfity of the Fluid, the more this Principle is obferv’d to pre¬ vail ’, and, the more compleat the Fluid,, ftill the greater this Propenftty ^ this fubtil Medium then being, in all Probability, a moft compleat denfe Fluid *, fuch Propenftty is obferv’d in a moft eminent Degree.
Thirdly) The fix’d iEther, contain’d in the Pores of the Glafs, is obferv’d to be a moft firm Bond to the elebtrical Matter, and confequently no fmall Contributor towards producing the Shock, by firft arrefting and detaining a fufficient Quantity of it \

* Sir Ifaac Newton tells us, it fills all Space adequately with¬ out leaving any Ppres, and by Confequence is much denfer thau Quickfilver or Gold. Optics, Queer, zz.
and

ElcHricity render d nfefuL

37

and we may be well affur’d, by many Experi¬ ments, that this fubtil Medium, when convey’d into the Phial, is molt powerfully attach’d to the fix’d TEther in the Glafs, where the Attraction alio appears remarkably aCtive •, for, if we darken the Room, when the Machine is in Motion, and the Condeniing-phial fufpended on it, we no fooner lay a Finger on the Phial, or any Piece of Chain or Wire hanging to it, not reaching to the Floor, but the original fEther contain d in the Pores of the Finger is inftantly attracted into it with fuch Violence, as to caufe a fmall Flafh of Light in the
Phial *. That this is caus’d by an additional Supply at¬
tracted from the Finger, and again fupply’d by the Earth, will appear by confidering, that, when the Phial is fufpended on the Gun-barrel, ifc. it receives not fufficient Strength to produce a Shock, till a Hand, Finger, or lome oth£r denfe Non¬ electric, in Contadt with the Floor, be laid on it, or to any Bit of Wire, CjC. hanging to it : T. his may be prov’d, by attempting to produce a Shock as foon as the Fingers are laid to tne Phial, which will not then fucceed •, but, after Continuing it on a fmall Time, and it has receiv’d a greater Supply from it, the Shock will then fucceeu, and conie-
quently the Circulation, as above ff. And, farther to prove that the Condenfing-phial
does aCfually attrad fuch a Supply from the Earth, let the Perfon who tries the Experiment ftep on a Cake of Refin, which cuts off its Communication

* This is fcarccly .perceptible, except the Phial, in {lead of be-
ills furnilh’d with Filings, be lin’d with lea: Co.d ; but thtn, if
the Room be darken’d, it always appears f By this it appears, that the Phial, by hanging on the Ma¬
chine is only put into a State of Attrition-nut, when the Hand’ is laid onit, it does then aftually attraft a luffic.em Supp.y

fromit-

D 3

with

I

g8

EleSfricity render d ufefuL

with the Earth* and then no Shock will be pro?? duc’d, although hi$ Hand be continu'd on the Phial ever fo long.
And ftill, if farther Proof were neceffary, that the moft remarkable Attraction is towards the ex¬ cited original Electric, whether Glafs, Amber, &c? Mr. Rackftrow's Experiment on his Sulphur Globe puts it beyond Difpute •, in which Experiment* Streams of Fire are feen iffuing out of the Pores of the Fingers, though at three Inches pittance, rufhing on the Globe with fuch Violence, making fuch a whizzing Noife, and caufing fo great a Light, as to be fufficient to ftartle the Perfon who tries the Experiment.
B. If Mr. Rackjirow9s Experiment prov’d ever fo plainly, that the Motion of the electrical fEther was from the Fingers to the revolving Globe, yet that can be no Proof, that the Motion is from the Fingers, or other Non-electric, to the Condenling-phial j for, although the electrical iEther be accumulated at each, yet, the one being excited by the Attrition of the Hand and Glafs, and the other not, the Direction of the Motion might be determin’d by fuch different Caufes, as to have Very different Effects ?
A. But as the Accumulation in both Cafes ap¬ pears fo plainly to be furnifhed immediately by the Earth, Experiment p?, p. 34 and p. 58. it will be natural to expect the Effect to be the fame at the Phial and at the Globe, after Accumulation, whether it be caus’d bv Attrition, or not; and the abfojute Caufe ot the Attraction and firm Adhefion pf the electrical iEther to the Phial and Globe appears to be the fix’d iEther in their Pores; and phis will always be the Cafe, whether the Globe be pf Glafs, Amber, Sulphur, Sealing-wax, &c.
Upon the Whole, the fix’d zEther, contain’d in the Pores pf the glafs Phial, appears to be the
firft

'Electricity render'd ufeful.

39

fir ft and principal Caufe of all the late great Im¬ provements, consequently the Caufe of our behold¬

ing it act in fo formidable a Manner ^ for, had it

not been for the fix’d iEther in the Phial, Pro-

feffor Mufchenbroek had never difcover’d the Shock and the loofer iEther uniting with the fix’d iEther

in Glafs, or other original Electrics, will, I am

throughly perfuaded, be found a much more pow¬

erful Caufe of the late great Improvements in

Eledtricity than is generally imagin’d, and the

only Caufe we are able to detain it, at any Rate,

long enough to make the Experiments. But the greatefl and chief mechanical Caufe,

why Motion* is fo inftantaneoufty propagated to

diftant Parts, Philofophers afcribe to a perfe&ly

elaftic Quality of the fubtil fluid Atther, or at

Jeaft, I fay, to what feems to make a very near

Approach to it; and this muft undoubtedly be the

only Caufe of the Shock, and why the Motion is

fo inftantaneoufty communicated from the Con-

denfing-phial to diftant Parts.
J3L What is the chief Property of a perfectly

-elaftic Body ? J, That the Force of Reftitution be equal to

the Force of Comprefiion, as above, at p. 48 • According to Dr Quincy, in his Phyftcal Dic¬

tionary, “ If two fuch Bodies ftrike one againft another,

cc there will be, or remain in each, the fame re-

“ lative Velocity as before, i. e. they will recede « with the fame Velocity as they met together

«« with. For the compreflive Force, or the Mag-

nitude of the Stroke in any given Bodies, ariles

<c from the relative Velocity of thofe Bodies, and is proportional to it : And Bodies perfedlly

“ elaftic will reftore themfelves compleatly to the

cc Figure they had before the Shock; or, in othei

“ Words, the reftitutive Force is equal to the

D 4

46 com-

4°

Electricity render'd ujeful.

*• Compreflive, and therefore mull be equal to the “ Force with which they acceded, and confer “ quently they mutt, by Elafticity, recede again
from each other with the fame Velocity. Flence,

£i taking equal Times, before and after the Shock, ££ tke Diftanc.es between the Bodies will be equal:
And therefore the Diffances of Times, from
<c ^e common Center of Gravity, will, in the fame T imes, be equal. And hence the Laws
^ of meeting Bodies, perfedly elaftical, are eafily deduc d. 3 —-■ Accordingly he proceeds to a
Demon ftrati on.

B. But, tho this be allow’d in folid and firm Bodies, yet, as the component Parts of a Fluid are iuppos d to be Inch as freely to flow by or over £acn other, and, the more freely thofe Particles Aide by each other, fo much the more perfect is the Fluid ; Flow can it be reafonably imagin’d,

that fuch a yielding Sqbftance fhould propagate
Motion fo inftantaneoufly to diftant Parts, as we obferve it to do in thofe electrical Operations ?
A♦ You mull take Care not to confound an elaftic Fluid with other Fluids, for an elaftic Fluid

will, on Examination, be found as different from
all other Fluids, as if they were quite contrary Things.

To prove which, I fhall tranfcribe the ninth

Page of the Tjwiverfctl JvLayazme for yanu&vy iyrr

on Fluidity :

J Ho*

“ Tlie Nature and Caufe of Fluidity has been £6 varioufiy affign’d. The Gajfendifts and ancient it Corpufcularians requir’d only three Conditions as it neceJTary thereto, viz. a Smallnefs and Smooth¬ tt es of the Particles of the Body, Vacuities in4* terfpers’d between them, and a fpherical Figure.
The Cartefians, and, after them, Dr Hooke5
Mi Boyle, &c. be frees the Circum fiances above£* mention’d, require a various, perpetual, inteff
a tine

Electricity render d ufefuL
“ tine Motion of the Particles of the Body, as that “ which principally contributes to Fluidity.
“ According to chefe Philofophers, therefore, 54 Fluidity confifts in this : That the Parts of the
Body, being very fine and final], are fo difpos’d, by Motion or figure, as that they can eafily Hide over one another s Surfaces all IVIanner of Ways ; and that they be in conftant, various, fepaiate Agitation to and fro *, and that they only touch one another in fome Parts of their 44 Surfaces.
Mr Boyle, in his Hiftory of Fluidity, mem tions thefe three, as the principal Conditions re■c quir’d to Fluidity.
1. 46 The Minutenefs of Parts : As, in Effeft, •tc we find that Fire, by dividing Metals into fine]
final! Paits, renders them fluid ; and that acid “ Menftruums diffolve and render them fluid after 44 the like Manner; and that Fire turns the hard 44 Body of common Salt aimed wholly into a Li~ “ quor, by Didillation : Not but that the Figure
of the Pai tides may have a confiderable Share 44 in Fluidity.
44 Thus Mercury, whofe Parts are, doubtlefs, “ much groffer than thofe of Oil and Water, is 44 yet more fluid than either of them : And thus 44 Oil, by the Action of Fire, may be converted
into a confident Subdance, like Butter. 2. 64 Store of Vacuities * interfpers’d between 44 the Corpufcles, to give Room for the feveral 44 Particles to move among themfelves. 3. 44 A Motion and Agitation of the Corpuf¬ cles, either from fome Principle of Mobility “ within themfelves, or from fome extraneous A-

The elaftic fluid -^Ether is fo widely different from a com¬ mon Fluid, as to have no Vacuities, but fills up all Space ade¬ quately, without leaving any Pores. Optics, %u*r. 22.

^

44 gent.

^2

EleBricity render d ufefuL

w gent, penetrating and entering the Pores, mov¬ es ing varioufly among them, and communicating
** to them Part of its Motion. « That this lad is the Qualification chiefly reqiiir’d in Fluidity, he argues from ciiveis Ob-
*4 fervations and Experiments. Thus, a little dry Powder of Alabafter, or
« PJaifte.r of Paris finely fifted, being put in a « Veffel over the Fire, it foon begins to boil like
Water, exhibiting all the Motions and Phaeno** mena of a boiling Liquor : It will tumble va-
jioufly in great Waves, like that ; will bear Stirring with a Stick, or Ladle, like that, with“ out Refilling ; nay, if ftrongly ftirr’d near the Side of the Veffel, its Waves will apparently « dafh againfl them j yet is it, all the While, a
« dry, parched Powder. cc The like is obferv’d in Sand : A Difh of which being fet on a Drum-head brifkly beaten
« by the Sticks, or on the upper Stone of a Mill, 65 it in all Relpetls emulates the Properties of a « fluid Body : A heavy Body, gr. will imme64 diately fink in it to the Bottom, and a light one 44 emerge to the 1 op. xtach Gram of Sand has « a con flan t vibratory and dancing Motion ; and, 44 if a Hole be made in the Side of the Difh, the
46 Sand will fpin out like Water. 44 That the Parts of Fluids are in continual
44 Motion, the Cartefians bring divers Confidera44 tions to prove : As, iji^ 1 he Tranfmutation 44 of Solids into Fluids, e. gr. Ice into Water, 44 and vice verfd ; the chief Difference between 44 the Body, in thofe two States, confiding in this, 44 that the Parts, being fixed and at Reft in the 44 one, refill the Touch *, whereas, in the other, 44 being already in Motion, they give Way up44 on the flighted Impulfe. idly, The Effects of 44 Fluids, which commonly proceed from Mo-
44 tion ;

EleEtricity render'd ufeful.

43

*{ tion : Such are the Infinuation of Fluids among “ the Pores of Bodies ; the Softening and Dii-

“ Solving of hard Bodies ; the Actions of corro“ five Menftruums, &c. Add, that no Solid can “ be brought to a State of Fluidity, without the “ Intervention of fome moving or moveable Bo“ dD Fire, Air, or Water. Air the fame “ Gentlemen hold to be the firft Spring of thefe “ Caufes of Fluidity, it being this that gives Mo¬
tion to fire ana Water, though itielt receives “ its Motion and Adion from the fiEther. or fub“ til Medium.

“ Boerhaave pleads ftrenuoufly for Fire’s being “ the firft Mover and Caufe of all Fluidity in “ other Bodies, as Air, Water, &c. Without this, “ he fhews, that the Atmofphere itfelf would fix 51 into one lolid Mafs.” So much for a common Fluid.

But as we can form no adequate Conception concerning an elaftic Fluid, but what is both di¬ latable and comprefilble, which other Fluids are not, or very few, and thofe in a final] Degree; and as common Air is the moft remarkable etaftic Fluid, .ve aie well acquainted with ^ let an elaftic Fluid, like the Air, be imagin’d to be compos’d of Parts that are both dilatable and compreflible; then, although in a common Fluid, the Parts are fuppos’d to Hide eafily over each other, we can’t help conceiving the elaftic Fluid to be very fo¬ reign, and widely different from any of the abovemention’d Fluids : And iffEther be 700,000 Times more elaftic than Air, which is Sir Ifaac Newton’s Proportion, then iEther muft endeavour to expand gfelf more than Air in the fame Proportion.

If then the Difproportion of the elaftic Force be¬ tween Aither and that of common Air be fo ex¬ ceeding great, notwithftanding the Expanfivenels pf Air has been magnify’d to an extravagant De-

2

gree.

44

TLleBricity render dufefid.

gree, viz. that if it were poffible to place a cubi¬ cal Inch of Air, of the fame Denfity it is of, in its natural State at the Earth’s Surface, in a Vacuum, where there was fufficient Room , that then it would probably expand itfelf, till it had fill d a

Sphere, whofe Diameter was equal to the Diame=

ter of the Orbit of Saturn. If there be any Probability of Truth in fuch a
Suppofition, and if all the elaftic Particles which are capable of filling fo large a Sphere, are alio capable of being reduc’d, by the Weight of the Atmofphere, or by any other Means, into the opace of a cubical Inch ♦, in what a wonderful State of Compreffion muft then the elaftic Particles of ei¬ ther be, even in its natural State, if its expanfive Force be 700,000 Times greater than that of Air; or, indeed, if a cubical Inch of iEther itfelf were only fuppos’d in fo comprefs d a State, as to be ca-

pable of expanding, fo as to fill fo large a Sphere
as above *, even that muft oe almoft infinitely moie
than fufficient to exceed our very Comprehen-
f10n, for the Number of cubical Miles, contain d
in fuch a Sphere, is more than 1964 x 1000000 x iooooco x 1000000 x 1000000, viz. more than

1964000000000000000000000000.

.

This exceeding great Propenfity to expand itfelf from fo violent a comprefs d State, (particularly when fo much more than is natural is crowded into the Condenfing-phial) is naturally fuppos d to be the Reafon of the feveral Parts puihing eacn other in all Dire&ions, efpecially thofe in that particular Direction which receives the Imprefiion ^ but more efpecially in that particular Direction of the Cir¬ cuit, which is form’d for the fame Puipofe, from the Phial to the Phial again •, for that appears to be the only Canal for the free Pafiage of the tEther, to the Vacuum form’d at the Phial, by Means of the violent Explofion ; fo that the Mo-

. Electricity render'd ufefut
tlon to reftore the Equilibrium is, to Appearance, inftaneous throughout the whole Circuit.
What ftrengthens and confirms the above Me¬ thod of Reafoning, is, that fuch inftantaneous Mo¬ tion to great Diftances is never obferv’d in the open Air ; for that, being fo remarkable an Ele&ric per fe, proves the greateft Obftacle imaginable to fuch a free Motion of the fEther.
But when the above-mention’d Canal is open’d, viz. when there is a Continuity of the elaftic Par¬ ticles of vEther to diftant Parts, I mean, when the non-elebtrical Circuit is form’d, in order to convey the Shock; then, and not till then, the Theory feems confirm’d by the Experiment, and we find the Motion inflantaneoufly propagated throughout the Circuit, be it ever fo great and irregular.
Thele Things being premis’d, I fhall next endea¬ vour to explain the Experiment by Delineation.

Electricity render'd iifefut1

Let eii r, be the Cotfdenfing-phkl. PC, joining to the Phial at P, be call’d the COflk ne£Hng-wire, or Conne6ting-line. D E A, leading through the Cork, be call’d the Leading-wire. A c B J, the tinfel Fringe, reaching from A, the Bottom of the Leading-wire to the Bottom and Sides of the Phial, that fo the electrical Matter de~

The fiery Arrows in the Conne£ting-wire and Leading*

wire*

are to reprefent the Gourfe fleer’d by theiEther.

Lending

Electricity render'd ufeful.

47

fcending through the Leading-wire may be con¬ vey’d to the gold Lining of the Phial.
P. The electrical Fulciment, Fulcrum, or Prop, viz. that Part of the original AEther contain’d in the lower End of the ConneCting-wire.
Note. That, whereas the eleCtrical Matter and the univerfal dEther fo plainly appear to be one and the fame identical Subftance, it is prefum’d it will be thought a fufficient Reafon for my Taking the Liberty of calling the eleCtrical Matter, by Way of Diftinotion, the eleCtrical /Ether.
Firff then : Let the Condenfing-phial be fup* pos’d charg’d with eleCtrical /Ether, and held in the Hand , and, if all Things are replete with the univerfal /Ether, confequently the internal Parts of the ConneCting-wire C P are replete with the fame Principle as alfo of the Leading- wire DE A, which Leading-wire is likewife invelop’d in an Atmofphere, furrounding it, to a considerable Diftance, with the electrical /Ether; the eleCtrical /Ether is alfo conceiv’d to be molt intimately con¬ nected with the original ./Ether contain’d in the Pores of the gold Lining of the Phial; and alfo to the fame in the Pores of the leaden Coat of the Phial *, but more efpecially to the fix’d /Ether in the Pores of the Glafs : /Ether, then, feems to co¬ here with /Ether fo firmly, as to caufe the Condenfing-phial to appear a moil flrong Hold *, and all the great and powerful Attraction is for the above Reafons conceiv’d to be there.
As then the Condenfing-phial, with its Contents when thus charg’d, in Conjunction with the Lead-

* Although the fix’d /Ether, in the Subftance of the Glafs, does not fuffer the ele&rical ^Ether to fly through it fo freely as through Non-ele&rics; yet it is obferv’d to pervade the Glafs, fo as to fnap againft the Finger from the leaden Cafe, when fufpended to the Gun-barrel.
inS“

4 8

’Electricity render d ufefuh.

ing-wire, is obferv’d to be fo powerful an Attrac¬ tor ; all other Parts of /Ether appear to be attract¬ ed towards it, and the /Ether contain’d in all other non-eledtrical Bodies, when brought near enough* is obferv’d to efcape, or be attra&ed into it; there¬ fore the original /Ether contain’d at C, in the Conne6ting-wire or Line, reaching from the Coating of the Phial at P, when brought to D, efcapes, or is attracted into it.
But, at the Inftant the /Ether is attrated from C into D, the whole remaining Column, quite to the other End at P, of the Connecting-wire or Line C P, inftantly expands, and is confequently weak¬ en’d ; thus, the Prop P giving Way, the whole Quantity in the Phial burfts from its State of Confinement and follows it ; fo that the End C of the Connecting-wire may be fuppos’d faintly torefemble a feeble Waterdluice, which, by being brought near to D, fails, and the whole Flood con¬ fequently rufhes forward ; in a fimilar Manner, the /Ether in the Wire is conceiv’d to at, and there¬ fore muil ratify throughout ; by which Means P, the feeble Prop, may naturally be expeted to fail, particularly as the Compreffion or Condenfation of the /Ether in the Phial was fo great as to caufe it to be juft ready to burft of its own Accord, which it very frequently does, without joining the Circuit at CD ; or, if it will render it more eafy to be conceiv’d by any who may not clearly appre¬ hend me,
Let the whole Quantity of condens’d /Ether in the charged Phial be compar’d to an exceeding ftrong Spring, which, from the moft perfect: comprefs’d State, inftantly flies open and drives all be¬ fore it; efpecially through the Channel P C, which is form’d for its Paflfage ; and thus the Circuit is compleated through the Connedting-wire P C, and through the Leading-wire D E A, to the Part
where

Ekdriciiy render'd ufeful.

4-9

ivhere this inteftine Eruption was firfb generated i

that is to fay, to rejioire to an Equilibrium the hun-.

gry Vacuum generated in the Phia], by Means of

that violent and hidden Expanfion made at the

Burfting of the Fire in it; which Flafh of Fire we

always behold, if the Infide of it be lin'd as before-,

directed; inftead of being furnifhed with Filings of

Metal ; fuch Reftoration\ there is the greateil Rea-

fon to believe, never fails of being perform’d at

thelnftant the Circuit is compleated ; viz. at bring¬

ing the Point C, either to the Point D, or elfe to

any other Part of the excited Apparatus, which has

a Communication with the Point D, hnce we ne¬

ver fail of Feeling the Effects of it, particularly if

our Arms arid Bread: form any Part ot the Circuit

And this is obferv’d to be invariably the fame*

whether the Line P C be long or fhort, crook¬

ed or ftraight; whether it be compos’d of Metals,;.

Animals, Waters, or green Vegetables ; o‘r Whe¬

ther it be compos’d of fome, or all thefe toge¬

ther.

;

iV. B. If what I have faid is not fatisfaffory, I

*wifh I was capable of conveying my Meaning in

a more intelligible Manner,

I have in this Experiment confider’d the Con-

dendng-phial, as held in the Hand, though the

EffeCt is equally the fame, whether it be took off

from the Gun-barrel when excited, as was fuppos’d

above; or whether it remains fufpended on it.

If the Phial be fufpended on the Gun-barrel Of

Wires, when the Circuit is form’d, it is not mate¬

rial whether it be touch’d at the Leading-wire as be¬

fore ; for (as was obferv’d above) the Etta C of the

Conne6ting-line may be -brought in ContaCt with

the excited Apparatus of Wires, either near the

Phial or at any Diftance from it, arid it iticceeds

equally if it has but a Communication with it: -

• As to the Shocksthey appear to be entirely ow-

E

' tog

5°

Electricity render d ufefuL

ing to the Violence of the Motion, when palling, through Parts which make the greateft Refinance?
B. Since you fay, if the End C of the Conneding-line be caus’d to compleat the Circuit*, though it be not near the Phial, but at any other Part "of the excited Apparatus, yet the Effed is the fame ^ how then do you know whether a Circulation to thelnfide of the Phial again is compleated or not?
J. To prove this, and whether a Shock could be given without forming a Circuit, I made the following Experiment.
Having two Machines in the fame Room, I put them both in Motion, and endeavour’d coproduce a Shock by taking Hold of the Conneding-line from the Phial fulpended on one of the Machines* and bringing a Finger of my other Hand to the Leading-wire of the Phial which hung on the other Machine : This had not the leaf: Effed in produ¬ cing a Shock, but was in all Refpeds the very fame as if I had had no Communication with the Phial on the other Machine.
That I might not be miflaken, I repeated the. Experiment feveral Times.
du^ry. If a Circulation was not perform’d, when a Shock is given, what probable Reafon can be affign d, why no Shock fhoulcl be felt in the latter Experiment ? For,, notwithflanding, according to the general Law of Fluids, the leffer ought to efcape or be attraded. into the greater, viz. from, the k inger to the Leading-wire of the Phial on the fecond Machine; yet this we find not fufficient to caufe it to expand, fo as to weaken the eledrical Prop, at the lower End P of the Connedingwire of the Phial fulpended on the firfi: Machine?
Does not the Caufe feem manifefily to be for Want of a proper Communication ?
At the Breaking forth of the Fire from C to D, m the former Experiment, does not the univerfal
or

Ele&rkity render d ufefuL

$ f

oforiginal iEther, contain’d in the whole Connedl-

Ing-line from C to the Prop at P, appear to move

or expand itfelf, all at once, i. e. not only at C,

but alfo at P, as well as all the intermediate Parts?

And, when the Prop gives Way, does not the in-

vifible Fire in the Phial that Inftant become vifl-

ble, and appear to burft out from its confin’d State

in the Phial, and follow it ? And, as fo violent an

Expanfion had caus’d fo compleat a Vacuum in

the Phial, does not the original iEther in the in¬

ternal Parts of the Leading-wire, hurried on by

the Impetuofity of what ifiu’d from the Connedt-

ing-wire, as infcantaneouily feem to move on to

reftore the Equilibrium ? For, without all thefe

Requifites, neither Circulation is perform’d nor

Shock felt, as is evident in the latter Experiment.

And, though it is not eafy to conceive that all

this can be perform’d in the fame Moment of

Time, yet the Effedt undeniably proves it to be

Fadt ; and that not only in fhort Circuits, but even

when the Connediing-line has been of the greateff

Length that could poffibly be form’d * and* per¬

haps, compos’d, as above, of Animals* Metals,

and Waters jointly ; and though Part of the Earth

itfelf has been fometimes made a Part of the Cir¬

cuit.

But that neither Shock or Circulation is per¬

form’d v/ithout a Communication of the Parts as

above, may be farther prov’d, by fufpending the

Condenling-phial on the Gun-barrel, grafping it

with one Fland, and bringing the other Hand ei¬

ther to the hooked Leading-wire, or to any other

Part of the excited Apparatus, and the Shock is

produc’d, and confequently the Circulation per¬

form’d but, if the Phial be lifted off with the

Hand, and the Gun-barrel touch’d with the other

Hand, no Shock will be felt; but, touching the

E 2

Hook

J2

'Electricity render d ufefuL

Hook of the Leading-wire, a Shock is receiv’d in both Elbows.
Having had many Thoughts concerning the Manner in which the Circulation and Shock was perform’d, I thought I would try if the Experi¬ ment could be fo inverted, as that, inftead of pro¬ ducing a Shock by touching the Leading-wire of the Phial, it were touch’d at the Coating of the PhiaJ, when lufpended on the Gun-barrel ; but as this Experiment could not be made, while handing on the Floor, with the other Hand on the excited Gun-barrel ; becaufe, if it be touch’d by any one handing on the Floor, it efcapes from the Gunbarrel, diredly into the Floor, fo that no Fire or Attraction is to be found (by Experiment the Se¬ cond) ; I thererore coniider’d that the Experiment would be the fame, and anfwer in all Reipeds, if I was eledris d in the common Way, by ftandinp* on the Refin, holding the Condenfing-phial by the Leading-wire, in one Hand, and, in Order to pro¬ duce the.Shock, touched the Coating of it with the other: This, when it was fir ft try’cl, would by no Means fucceed, but by Accident a Perion hand¬ ing on the Floor took Hold of the Phial ; at which Time I touch’d it again, and receiv’d a ftronoShock in my Elbows as ufual; but what feem’d yet more furprifing, was, that the Experiment would equally fucceed, though the Hand were taken off again a confiderable l ime before I touch’d it.

This Experiment feems to confirm the other at Pa§e 375 by Ading fo much like it, each one proving that the eledrical FEther colleded in the Phial was not fufficient to produce the Shock,, till the Phial had attraded an additional Supply from the Finger j and that this was furnifh’d from the Earth is quite clear in both Cafes : In the Former,, by finding it not ftrong enough to produce the
Shock

Electricity render'd ufefuL

53

Shock at the firft Putting on of the Plane], and by
the Latter, till touch’d alio by the Perfon Hand¬ ing on the Floor : And both thefe Experiments, as
well as Mr. Rackjlrow*s, on his Sulphur-globe, ei¬
ther feparately or jointly, illuftrate and confirm the Truth of the firft Afiertion and capital Expe¬ riment, Page 19.

In a Word, let this Experiment be diverfify’d and aiter d into ever fo many different Shapes ^ yet. Hill, the greatefl and molt wonderful Attraction imaginable appears to be not only towards the glafs Globe in Motion, but towards the Condenfing-phial alio, in whole Pores this powerful Prin¬ ciple feems fo fix’d, and cohering fo firmly with the electrical JEther.
N. B. The Way and Courfe it fleers in this Ex¬
periment I have taken the more Pains to difeover, as it may be neceffary to be known, when treating of bodily Diforders.

The Knowledge, alfo, of the Courfe which the

eletrical ./Ether takes, when convey’d on the Ap¬

paratus and touch’d by a Non-electric, may for the

Erne Reafon appear neceffary to be known,.

B. But I am not yet fully fatisfy’d concerning

the Courfe and Direction of the violent Motion ;

whether from the Connecting-wire to the Leading-

wire ; or whether from the Leading-wire to the

Conneting-wire, that is, whether from the Fin¬

ger of the Perfon who holds the Connecting-line,

and fo to the Phial; or whether from the Phial

into the Finger, and from thence into the Earth ;

particularly as we find in it fo throng an Inclina¬

tion to return thither.

A. Notwithftanding its great Tendency to return

into the Earth, this will by no Means be found

equal to that of compleating a Circuit, in which

Experiment, that Tendency is fo remarkable, as

even to pafs through a Part of the Earth, and out

E 3

' of .

Electricity render d ufefuL
of it again, in Order to arrive at the Phial where the Motion was generated to reftore the EquL librium.
Another Reafon for Believing that the Attrac¬ tion is from the Finger or Conne£ting-line towards the Leading-wire, is, that, wThen the elebbrical Ae¬ ther is convey’d to the human Maladies, with fuch a Suppofition of its Motion, no bad Accident has ever been obferv’d to happen, but of this farther on.
N. B. This laft Reafon I mention, on no other
Account than becaufe fome who are no Friends to the Method of electrical Treatment of bodily Diforders, have endeavour’d to perfuade the World, that the morbific Matter, which, before, was only lodg’d at a fuperifcial P$rt, was by thofe elebtrical Operations forc’d inwardly on the more noble Parts; which muft be very unlikely, if the Mo¬ tion of the elebtrical iEther be outwardly.

Another Experiment, which points out the ex¬ ceeding Elafticity of the elebtrical JEther, is the following:
When the Operation is perform’d of limply electrifing a Perfon on the Refin, and drawing off Sparks at the fame Time with a large Wire or fmall iron Rod : At the Inftant the Perfon is touch’d, it is not only felt like a Pulfe under the Finger, when laid on any other Part of the Per¬ fon lo elebtris’d; but if feveral Perfons Hand in a Row, or in any irregular Form *, and the firlt lay a Finger on the Face or the Back of the Hand of the Second, the Second lay a Finger on the Face or Back of the Hand of the Third, the Third in
like Manner on the Fourth, &c. when the Firft
brings the iron Rod in the Hand at Liberty to

•*-. 1 : BBT—.--T |.| - - - | -- - U

-

-

- r- rI- 7T_ I .

' II ~7 ct

$ See Mr Wafans's Treatifeon large Circuits} Page 54.

the

EleBHcity render'd ufeful.

55

the Flefh of the Perfon eledlris’d on the Refin ; at the Burfting of the Fire from the eledris’d Perfon to the iron Rod, every Perfon, at the Part in Con¬ tact, feels a Puliation ; this is equally the fame at any Part of the Body ; and when it ads vigoroully, and the Room is darken’d, the Fire is vifible
where the Pulfation is felt, viz. at the Motion of
the fEther when palling through Air out of the
finger of the one into the Hand, &c. of the other,
particularly when they touch but very lightly ; this I have obferv’d in the Day-time, even when I have been at the Difiance of two or three Perfons from him who touch’d the eledris’d Perfon : So that the Aether plainly difeovers itfelf to be Fire, by the
leall^ Agitation, viz. by Palling fwiftly through
the fmallefl Space of Air, out of one denfe Body into another; this will always be found the Cafe, when its ads flrong, and when carefully view’d *. But, as each Perfon flood on the Floor, it feem’d to lofe a Part of its Virtue by Efcaping into the Earth ; for at the firfl Perfon it was flronger than at the Second, and at the Second than at the Third, C r. but, if all had flood on Cakes of Refin, except the lafl of all, it would have been equally the fame throughout the whole Length, though ever fo great. .
1 he Motion of the BEther in this Experiment
feerns widely different from the Motion of the JE-
ther in the foregoing Experiment, for in this the fame Motion may be obferv’d to be alike continu’d in' all Parts of the Body or Bodies ; but in the other, that is, when the Shock is given, it appears to ad the moil vigorously in a dired Line, as,

* The Vifibility of the Fire, in this Experiment, and in all others, feems to be occafion’d by its Faffing fo fwiftly through the Air into the next denfe non-eleftrical Body, that fo it may arrive at the Earth, or elfe to the Fhial.

E 4

(where

Electricity render'd ufeful•

(where it is not by the Air, or otherwife hinder’d)

when paffing through Waters,

to or frorq

the Condenfing-phial ; for then the violent Mo-

Ron feems to be propagated rather in a Column!

from and to the Phial.
jV. Be Sometimes, when the Air is moift, thi§

laft mention’d Experiment will not eafily fucceed,

but as I have two Machines in the fame Room,

one of which is furnifh’d with two Globes, it is

very feldom but I can procure as much of the Fire

as is fufficient for any Experiment.
B. But how can you be fo vain as to imagine

you have made a plainer Difcovery, not only of the

Source or main Spring from whence the eledrical

iEther is deriv’d, and where it returns, but alfoof

|ts Motion and the Courfe it fleers, than any other ?

Pray what have you done in this more than Mr.

Watfon f Has not he long ago, by a great Number

pf Experiments, prov’cl that this fubtil Medium

is produc’d out of the Earth, and as plainly fhewn

the different Ways and Manner wherein it may be

obferved to pafs from the Earth to the Machine ;

which may be feen at large in his Sequel, at the

47th and feveral of the following Experiments ?

You feern, indeed, to differ with him in your Ima¬

gining that his Eledricity never paffes out of the

Earth diredly to the Gun-barrel or Wires, but

from the Earth to the prime eledrical Globe or

Tube only *, whereas he hath plainly fhewn, in va¬

rious Cafes, that the Motion, or the Courfe it takes,

is as diredly from the Earth, or Finger, to the

Gun-barrel and Wires likewife.

A. I hope that ingenious Gentleman will excufe

me for differing with him in Opinion, particularly

wheq I have given my Reafons for it: As to his

Opinion that the iEther is furnifhed from the Earth

|q the revolving Globe, this is fo obvious as net

to

Electricity render d ufefuL

57

to be deny’d } and my firft Experiment exactly agrees with thofe he has produc’d to prove it.
But that its Tendency is alfo from the Earth, or pther unexcited Non-eleCtric, direCtly towards the .excited Gun-barrel, or Apparatus or Wires, £sV. mu ft feem a Contradiction, and is accordingly as plainly coqtradiCted by my fecond Expeiiment, which conftantly and invariably fhews the Courfe of its Motion to be determin’d from the excited Non-eleftrics the neareft Way, thro’ the firft denfe unexcited Non-eleCtric in ContaCt with it, into the Earth from whence it came, as fwftt as Light; but if no unexcited Non-eleCtric in Contact w7ith the Earth comes near the excited Gun-barrel or Wires, it is then, after it has feemingly ding’d as long to them as it can, forcibly driven ott, patticularly at their Extremities, into the Air * but into which it will never pafs, if it can find any Canal whereby it mayefcape into the Earth ; and, tnat this can be no Deception, wre are well affur d by its Invanablenefs : And this Experiment is likewife io eafily made as to be in the Power of almoft any one, who comes near an electrical Machine, to piove it.
As for the feveral Experiments you mention, they are far from proving the Contrary •, I fliall therefore atttempt to diicover wherein the Fallacy

lies.
In his Sequel, from Experiment forty-fourth or
forty-fifth to Experiment fifty-fecond, he has taken
Notice of many remarkable Circumftances, which

were difcover’d, while the Machine was mounted

pn original EleCtrics ; moft of which, indeed,

plainly prove the Current of iEther to be deter¬

min’d by the mighty Attraction at the glafs Globe

excited by the violent Attrition oi the Hand, &c,

but he thinks they plainly difcover that the Cur¬

rent of iEther is direCtly from the Earth to the

Gun-barrel or Wires, in thefe and all other Cales,

v,t" " ''

" ''

I

equally *

5 8

EleStricity render’d ufeful.

equally; and tells us at Experiment fifty-fecond, ‘ If, when the Machine is mounted on oricrinal
Eledtrics, any one, while Handing on the Floor

d j®S 3 *in§er’ ^ut e!Pecial]y a pointed iron „ ’ 'lefr the Gun-barrel, or even to the iron

„

Wheel, it may be plainly difcover’d

to lffue from the Point of the Rod (viz. when

“ the Room is darken’d) in diverging Rays, towards the Gun-barrel, &V.”

This he conceives to be a plain Proof that the

Tendency is always equally from the Earth to the

excited non-eledrical Apparatus, as from the

Earth to the excited prime eledtrical glafs Globe

But as never any Thing like this will be obferv’d

except the Machine is plac’d on original Eledricsi

c* Gbnnderation will be fufficient to point out the Deception : For, while the whole Machine is

fupported by original Eleftrics, the Gun-barrel, or Bofs at the End of it, which at all other Times

receives the PEther from t’ e prime eledtrical glafs

Globe only, is by this Means become the Inftru-

xuent of Fn&ion ; or, at leaft, a£ts the fame Part,

by fupplymg or furmfhing the Globe with vEther -

which Supply is furnilh’d from the Earth, as be¬

fore, though more indirectly, viz. through the

Perfon on the Floor, who holds the pointed Rod

near the Gun-barrel or iron Axis of the Wheel,

fc’c.foras the Perfon with his Hand on the Glafs,

in this Experiment, is alfo fupported with original

Electrics, and for that Reafon is incapable of fur-

mihing a Supply as in the common Experiments

U°r all that he now feems capable of, is, by the

Attrition of his Hand, to put the Globe into a

Ptateo Attraction) the faid Supply muft neceifa-

nly be furmfh’d from the tinfel Bofs at the End of

the Gun-barrel, in Contadl with the. revolving

ulobe; the Bols fupply’d from the Gun-barrek

tae Gun-barrel from the pointed Wire abovemen-

tion’d5

Electricity render'd ufeful.

59

tion’d, the pointed Wire from the Perfon who holds it, and the Perfon fupply’d from the Earth: So that in this Experiment, although the Gunbarrel, or rather the Bofs, fee ms to ad the Part of the Inftrument of Fridion ; yet the Surplufage ap¬ pears to be return’d again from the Globe to the Gun-barrel, becaufe it will then ad again, he tells us, as in the common Experiments, when the Ma¬ chine is not thus fupported with original Eledrics.
The next Experiments he produces to prove it *, are the 58th and 59th, where, by the Power of Eledricity, a filver L<?af is fufpended between two Plates, when the Uppermoft is eledrify’d, the other not: “ This he oblerves muft neceffarily be
effeded by tw^o oppofite Motions, for he fays no “ Body can be fufpended in Equilibrio, but by “ the joint Adion of two different Diredions of “ Power: So here the Blaft of eledrical Ether “ from the excited Plate blows the filver Leaf
towards the unexcited Plate; thislaft,in its Turn, “ by the Blaft of eledrical .Ether from the Floor ‘‘ fetting through it, drives the Silver towards the “ Plate eledrify’d ; and adds. We find from hence “ likewile, that the Draught of eledrical-Ether “ is always in Proportion to the Quantity thrown “ by the Globe over the Gun-barrel ; or the E“ quilibrium by which the Silver is fufpended, tc could not be maintain’d.” And fays,
“ Now I conceive that the Space occupied by “ the Leaf of Silver, is that, where the Equili“ brium of the eledrical Ether is reftor’d; bem caufe, if you take away the under Plate, through “ which, from the Floor, the Flux of this Ether ^ is furnifh’d ; or if that Plate be placed on an “ original Eledric, by which this Flux is likewife

* Here the Machine is fuppos’d not to be mounted on ori¬

ginal Eledrics as before.

prevented.

60

EJeSiricity render’d ufeful.

“ prevented, the filver Leaf will be blown awav ”

But,

J'

.11 this were lo, and whenever an unexcited Noneledric was brought near an excited Non-eledtric, nothing more was perform’d than the Reftoring the Equilibrium ; how comes it to pafs that, when this unexcited is brought near the excited Body, fo very little Fire or Attraction is to be found through out the whole Apparatus of the Gun-barrel and \Vires . Particularly as this feems always in exadt Pi oportion to theNearnefs of the excited and nonexcited Bodies, infomuch that, when they are brought in Contact, not the leaft Fire or Attrac¬ tion is to be perceiv’d on any Part of the Apparatus. Qiieery* Does not my fecond Experiment plain¬ ly prove it to be all the Time making its Efcape into the Earth ? But

He takes Notice that it may perhaps be reply’d, That the lufpended Silver may only lerve as
a Canal of Communication, which difeharges <c the Elediricity from the excited Non-eledtric to
the unexcited; and tnat when an originally Electric is placed between the lower Plate, in this “ Experiment, and the Floor of the Room ; that then the filver Leaf is attracted only, until the lower Plate is faturated with Elediricity, and no “ longer”. Then he adds,

4c This is as much as Saying, that this Effedl

aiifes fiom Electricity, without mentioning in

what Manner.”

&

I anfwer, Fie has fuppos’d that which appears

to be the only true Manner whereby it is effected;

theiefore, no other fatisfadlory Reply can po/Tiblv

be given.

J

B, But his both Experiment feems to prove it fo undeniably to pafs from the unexcited towards the excited Non-eledlric Body, that I beg Leave to relate the Whole.

hen the Silver lies Hill (thopgh the Motion

of

Electricity render'd ufefuL

6 X

cc of the Globe is continu’d) between the two Plates,' “ one fufpended to the Gun-barrel, and the other “ placed upon an eledrical Cake; a Perfonftand<c ing upon the Floor needs only bring a fmall cc glafs Syphon, in a Veil'd of Water, and apply “ the long Leg thereof near the Plate plac’d upon “ the Wax : For, upon this, the Silver is imme“ diately fufpended ; and the Water, which be“ fore only dropp’d, now runs in a full Stream, <c and appears luminous. Does nor, in this Cafe, “ the Current of the Water point out the Direc“ tion of the Current of eledrical iEther
A, I anfwer, no, for the capillary Syphon in this Experiment ads either Way, juft as it happens to be, either the excited or unexcited Body ; in the fame Manner as when we fire Spirits of Wine, which, if they are eledrify’d, are kindled into a Flame, by bringing an unexcited Non-eledric near them ; or elfe, when they are not eledrify’d, are as effedualiy kindled by the Finger of an eledrify’d Perfon,
Thus, in the Experiment of the Syphon, when unexcited, as in his abovemention’d Experiment the Current was from the unexcited Hand which held it towards the excited Plate ; yet, if the Syphon be plac’d on the Gun-barrel, and eledrify’d, the Cur¬ rent of the Water will then be found to be towards an unexcited Finger, when brought near it. And
Whereas you feem’d inclin’d to believe that my Attempt, in this Eftay, had not thrown the leaft Light on Eledricity, as I might find by examining Mr. JVatfori*s Sequel; I can’t help obferving that there is not in that Trad, or any other, I ever faw, the leaft Mention made of the Reafons or Caufes of two fuch different Qualities among natural Bo¬ dies, namely, thofe term’d Eledrics and Non-elec-

* It is far from an abfolute Proof in other Cafes.
tries $

6 2

EleBricity render d ufefuL

tries; which Caufe, if I have mifs’d in original

EleCtrics, I fhall be very glad to find a more ratio¬

nal Account appear.

As to Non-eleCtricals, the Experiments are fo

very clear, that the Way and Manner whereby the

Phenomena are exhibited, cannot eafily be mif-

taken : Again, as for our different Ways of ex¬

plaining and accounting for the violent Shock

given to the Parts of Animal Bodies, I fhall not

prefume to determine concerning them, but fhall

leave them to the judicious Reader to determine,

whether his Method or mine appears the moil

plaufible; for which Reafon, and that they may

be the more readily compar’d, I take the Liberty

to tranferibe his Method of explaining it.

Sequel^ Experiment 64th. 46 It remains now, that

4C I endeavour to lay before you a Solution, why

*£ our Bodies are fo fhock’d in the Experiments

4C with the electrify’d Water, &c. &c. &c.

4C When the Phial of Water held in one Hand

u of a Man is highly eleCtrify’d, and he touches

<£ the Gun-barrel with a Finger of his other 5 upon

4C the Explofion which arifes herefrom, this Man

inftantaneoufly parts with as much of the Fire

46 from his Body, as was accumulated in the Wa-

44 ter and Gun-barrel, and he feels the EffeCts in

both Arms ; from the Fire of his Body rufhing

44 through one Arm to the Gun-barrel, and from

46 the other to the Phial.”

N. B. Thefe Animadverfions on Mr. Watfon’s

Sequel had never been made, had not fome of the

very fame Objections been offer’d to my Manu-

feript, and the very fame Effay of Mr. Watfon'3

mention’d in Oppofition to mine.

I have an ingenious Friend, who is an Operator

in EleCtricity, and who, though he differs with

Mr. IVatfon in his Manner of explaining the Shock,

particularly when he affirms that the Eire from the

2

Body

Electricity render'd ufefuL

63

Body ruffies through one Arm to the Gun-barrel, and through the other Arm to the Phial; yet, in my humble Opinion, is guilty of an Error equal to the former, though juft the reverfe, he imagining the Fire to rufhfrom the Gun-barrel up one Arm, and from the Phial up the other Arm to the Body,' when the Shock is given.
Firft, If either of thefe Hypothefes are juft, how comes it to pafs that the Fire breaks forth in fuch Abundance in the fmalleft Circuits, and in fuch Miniature in Mr. Watfor?s large Circuits? And,
Secondly, How was the Fire lent from the north to the louth End of IVeftminJler-bridge, in Mr. JVatfot?s Experiment ? And at what Point, on the north Side, did it begin to run over to the fouth Side ? Whether juft in the Middle-way ; or whe¬ ther juft at the Water-fide, through the great Wa¬ ters, and, at the fame Time, through the (lender Wires, through both, from North to South ?
Thirdly, In Mr. Watfon's large Circuit, at Shoo¬ ter’s-bill, which were fometimes compos 5d of Ani¬ mals, Metals, Waters, and Earth jointly :
Qutery^ At what Part of the Circuit, muft it be¬ gin to ruffi both Ways through the Circuit towards the Machine ; whether at one of thofe particular Parts, or whether juft in the Middle of the Cir¬ cuit? And,
Laftly, Why the rapid Motion of the Aither is expeded to begin fo far from the Machine, rather than at the Infide of the Phial, where fuch a Va¬ cuum was generated, by Means of that violent and fudden Expanlion, occafion’d by the Burfting of the Fire in the Phial ?
And, doubtlefs, many like Difficulties muft prefs equally hard in my worthy Friend’s Plypothefis, which accounts for that violent Motion and Direc¬ tion of the Fire, juft the contrary Way.
As there is no Doubt, but both thofe very inge¬ nious

+ ', \

I

r

•

*

‘Electricity render d ufefuL

nioiis Gentlemen are fincere, and that their oft If Aim is to difcover the Truth ; fo I can by no Means imagine, that either of them will be difpleas’d at any juft Objection that can be brought againft their Hypothefes ; becaufe, if Objedtions were not allow’d in all Difputes, and afterwards, in a cool Manner, to confider the Objedlions tho¬ roughly, and debate the fame deliberately *, then* Farewel to all future Improvement in every Art, and, particularly, in whatever appears any Way myfterious. And,
As to my own Part, I folemnly declare, I have no other View in Making any Objection, than to difcover, if poflible* the very Truth in this impor¬ tant Subjecft : And,
Therefore, if I am miftaken, and confequently my Hypothefts wrong, I fhall be heartily glad to be corrected, by a more rational Scheme.

dialogue III,

B* TS this setherial Medium neceffary to the anP

X tnal CEconomy ?

A. Yes, fo abfolutely neceflary, that* without

it, every Animal would very foon expire.

Though God alone is the Author and Preferver

of all Things, and which he continually upholds

with his immediate Hand; yet, the only inftru-

mental Gaufe of our Being is this fubtil Spirit, or

celeftial Fire, which in its natural State is doubt-

lefs too much for us in our prefent Exiftence *, for

which Reafon, the all-wile and moft beneficent

Father of Nature has provided, for our Safety*

the circumambient Atmofphere, to temper and

bring it down to us in fuch a Manner as is moft

convenient for us, as well as all other earthly Be¬

ings* animate and inanimate.

This Fire, fo temper’d, fitted, and adapted, is

2

the

EleBricity render’d ujeful.

6j

the Caufe of all the neceffary Circulations in Bo¬ dies : The immediate Agent and Inftrument in all

earthly Things. In a Word, the pure /Ether or Fire, contain d lit

Air, is the Caufe of all Motion, animal, and ve-

getable. This is the Opinion not only of the Ancients,
but of many modern Chymitts, as well as many

other eminent Philofophers. The learned Bifhop Bevkely, in his Sins, ipeax-

ing of Air, reafons thus :

4 .

That there is fome latent vivifying Spirit dil-

cc pers’d throughout the Air, common Experience fheweth j inalmuch as it is neceiiaty both to feo-etables and Animals, whether Lerrcftiial oi
- aquatic : Neither Beafts, Infers, Birds, nor cc Fifties, being able to fubfift without Air, nor “ doth all Air*fuffice ; there being fome Quality <><. qj- Ingredient, of which when Air is depriv d, it
becometh unfit to maintain eitnei Fife or Flame. f,( And this, even though the Air fhould retain its « Elafticity ; which, by the Bye, is an Argument
that Air doth not a61 only as an Antagonist to the

66 intercoftal Mufcles. It hath both that, and many other Ufes. Ifc
gives and preferves a proper 1 one to the \ eftels . This elaftic Fluid promotes all Secretions •, its «« Ofcillations keep every Part in Motion j it per« vades and adfuates the whole animal Syftern, producing great Variety of E fie As, and e\en

oppofite in different Parts ; cooling at the lame « Time and heating, diftending and contraAing,
coagulating and relolving, giving and taking, M fuftaining Life and impairing it, preffing withfC out and expanding within, abrading fome ‘c Parts, at the fame Time infinuating others, pro-
ducing various Vibrations in the Fibres, and

Ferments in the Fluids •, all which mult needs

p

cc enfue

66

Elelfrmty render'd ufefuL

enfue from fuch a fubtil, aCtive, heterogeneous., “ and elaftic Fluid.” Sins, Section 143,
That this Fire or iEther is the Caufe of animal Motion, Sir Ifaac Newton feems to think, is paft Difpute, as well as many other Things, which he affe&s to put as Queries. Thus,
“ Is not animal Motion perform’d by the Vi“ brations of this Medium, excited in the Brain “ by the Power of the Will, and propagated from “ thence through the folid, pellucid, and uniform *c Capiilamenta of the Nerves into the Mufcles* C£ for Contracting and Dilating them ? I fuppofe*
that the Capiilamenta of the Nerves are each of tc them folid and uniform, that the vibrating Mocc tion of the aetherial Medium may be propagated tc along them, from one End to the other uniform4C ly, and without Interruption : For ObftruCtions “ in the Nerves create Palfies.” Optics, Qu<ery 24.
Which, by the Bye,, was Spinning it out to a great Length ; for, although he had many Times view d this, his fubtil JMedium, under theFIand, in eleCtrical Experiments ; yet might he, not very Improperly, be faid, never to have feen it, becaufe he did not apprehend it to be fuch ; therefore to cai ry it fo far, as to imagine it the Caufe of anitrial Motion, muft fhew an exceeding penetrating Genius ; and, though many are now of that Opi¬ nion, yet they can’t think it Working fo much in the Dark, becaufe they are now Jure, there is fuch a powerful fubtil Medium exifting.
B. Why do you think it has a Power fufficient3. as well as a Tendency to communicate Activity and Motion to Fluids in general ?
A. Not only from the foregoing Reafoning, and that of many conliderable Authors, but as it is confirm’d by various Experiments in Electricity ; iuch as the capiliaiy Syphon, where, from drop¬ ping gently before it is deftm’d, it will afterwards
flow

EleBrichy render'd ufejut.

6j

flow in a Stream : Likewife the Droppings from

a Spunge full of Water, which, when eledris’d, are

much accelerated j with many others.

B. Is there any particular Experiment in Elec¬

tricity, which proves it to accelerate the Motion of

the Blood in a human Body ?

yf. Yes, one in particular* which feems to put

it pad Difpute* it is an Experiment mention’d by

Mr. Rackftrow, in his ElTay, who fays,—If a Per-

fon is electris’d (landing on a Cake of Refin, the

Number of Pulfes will be increas’d two, three, or

four* in Half a Minute ; this furprifing Account

of it* I own, I could hardly credit* for which Rea-

fon I was determin’d to prove it on myfelf* this I

did by firft counting the Number of my Pulfes in

Half a Minute, leveral Times* when flariding on

the Floor, and wrote them down in the Window.

That the Experiment might be made as accu¬

rately as pofflble, I kept at a due Didance from

the Clock* lb as not to be didurb’d in my Reckon¬

ing by hearing the Vibrations of the Pendulum i

Then* Handing on the electrical Cake, the Perfon

at the Clock gave me Notice, by naming the firft

Vibration, loud enough for me to hear •, and alfo

the lad: This Method of knowing the Time of

Only the fird and lad Vibration left no Room for

Midake, particularly as I repeated the Experiment

leveral Times, which I found to anfwer fo truly

to his Account of it, that it left as little Room for

Doubt; his whole Paragraph is as follows :

“ The Circulation is increas’d by a Perfon only

Handing upon a Cake of Refin, and fo eledri-

“ fy’d * and the Effeds are fo moderate, that they only ferve to chear and raife the animal Spirits %■

cc for, when it ads the dronged, it will increafe the

tc Number of Pulles three or four in Plalf a Mi-

nute, and, when weak, about two ; and even

that, as I apprehend, may prove of very great

E 2'•

“ Ser-

68

iLlc&ricity render'd ufeful.

cc Service; but what tends to the greateft Good, cc are the Shocks given moderately, and with feme cc Judgment •, and I am well allur’d, that it will tc remove many Qbflrudfions, and be of great Ufe
in paralytic Cafes *, it helps Digeftion, quickens t£ the Circulation of the Blood, provokes Urine, <c and caufes a freer Refpiration and Perfpiration. c* All thefe I have often obferv’d, and doubt not “ but that many other Things, beneficial to Man, £C may farther be difeover’d ; fuch as may help in t£ Colic, iliac Pains,'Sp'afms, Convulfions, Apo“ plexies, hylleric, rheumatic, and arthritic Dif-
, cc orders.55 Mr. Rackflrow*s EJJay p- 2.
For my own Part, I am thoroughly convinc’d that, as a greater or lefis Quantity of this Fire is. convey’d into the Lungs, the Motion of the Blood is thereby either accelerated or retarded.
B. Though y%u feem to make it very plain, don’t you think you may pollibly be miftaken ?
A. Yes, moll certainly very pollibly, but what makes it probable that I am not, is, that as the above Experiment clearly proves the one Part to be Fa£t, viz. of a greater Quantity ; fo the other Part is as clearly proved, by obferving, that, when¬ ever we attempt to breathe the fame Air over and over again, it will by no Means ferve for the fame Purpofe ; nor is it only unfit to preferve Life, but even common Flame, as above.
That it is unfit to preferve Life, feems abun¬ dantly confirm’d, Ty obferving the Mortality fo frequently found in Dungeons, and on Shipboard, particularly the latter, elpecially in long Voyages ; and, the more fo, the greater the Number of Men, who are crowded under Hatches, where they are oblig’d to breathe the fame vitiated Air again and again *, this, together with their fait Provifion, feems greatly to increafe the Mortality, which is found to lefien, when they come to Land, particu¬
larly

EleUriclty render'd ufeful.

69

larlv if they are not oblig’d to lodge in the Ship ; what yet more confirms the Truth of it, is, mat, where Ventilators have been made Ufe of to convey frefh Air to their under Decks, thole bad Directs

feem to vanifh.

. .

r

The Gaol-Diftemper, as it is call d, leems like-

wife to be the bad Effefts of the fame vitiated Air;

and, doubtlefs, the whole Caule of all this great

Mortality is from their Breathing fo much lels

Fire or iEvher than what is contain’d in common

Air And, alt ho’ the Heart is indeed commonly Op¬

pos’d to be the principal Seat of all that Motion

ib abfolutely neceffary to fuftain ammai Lite, yet,

on Examination, it will appear reafonable to be¬

lieve, that the Organs of Refpiration may rather

claim the Office of Primum Mobile; for, if we

trace the Subject back to its Original, we need but

confider, that, during the Time of Geftation,

when the Foetus in the Womb is to be confider u

as a temporary Appendage only, engrafted on t e

Parent’s Body, and its Nounfhment and Growth

fcarce refembling an Animal more than a ege-

table • the Circulation, when in that otate^bemg

perform’d, to and from it, by the Parent’s Lungs

and Heart, in the fame Manner as it is, to and

from the feveral Parts of her own Body; but, at

the Time of the Birth, when the fame Means of

Circulation is at an End, there evidently appeals

fomething wanting; fomething, abfolutely necef¬

fary to continue the Circulation, which the Heart

alone can, by no Means, accomplish; nor can it

yet aft as an Animal, till this fluid Fire, mis vivi¬

fying Spirit, contain’d in Air, has found Admit¬

tance into the Lungs, and from thence communi¬

cated Activity to the languid Motion of the Blood ,

for, till then, the new-born Babe continues in a

Kind of lifelefs Condition, but, after tms Engine

F 3

1S

7°

Electricity render'd ufeful.

?s once in Motion, the increas’d Motion of the Heart immediately follows, Life is produc’d, and the whole animated Machine continues to live, fo Jong as tnefe two Engines continue in joint Mo¬ tion, to maintain a perpetual Round of Blood and
\lre ;when once the Motion of either of ?hem is flopp'd, the Motion of the other, depend¬ ing on it, will loon ceafe likewife, and the Animal intrant! y expires.

And, tho’ many Children are actually born dead

yet many others, which are quite given over as

- , ’ might very probably be recover’d, and many valuable Lives fav’d, if timely Help could be ad-

rmniflter d ; particularly, if it were poffibie to form

^n Inftrument fo fitly adapted to the Mouth of the Child, as that the Air, the Noftrils being clos’d

might be that Way convey’d into the Trachea, by

Ventilation, which would, in all Probability, re-

coveryt; I mean, while any moderate Degree of the Circulation is remaining.. ' ' "

induc'd me to meddle with any Thino'fo tar out of my Province, was, not only being°led
to it by tne Nature of the Subject, but what I

once heard'affirm’d by a Midwife, which was, that

me had many Times recover’d a Child which was

i.i Appearance, dead, by forcing in her Breath at

the Mouth of it; which, if poffibie to be perform’d

py P-cing tne vitiated Air out of her own Lungs into the Child’s, then how much rather mio-ht the

Experiment fucceed, if perform’d by the^above
Method, with frefh Air endu’d with (fll its adtive enlivening Qualities ?

, Mr- Martin likewife, in his Effay on Ekttricity,

ferns firmly perfuaded, that the eledrical Matter

XVI! 5 ln

be found very beneficial to the

animal (Economy; and fays, “ Moreover we

I;

11 h^s a confiderable Influence on fluid

V Otibftances: A glaring Inftance is that of the

Ekdtrkity render'd ufefuL

71

Syphon and Sponge *, by which it appears, that

“ Fluids in Motion have their Motions greatly

<c accelerated by the eledric Virtue: Thus, if a

“ Vein be open’d in a Perfon eledrifv’d, the ef-

« fluent Blood will projed to a much greater Dil-

“ tance than it would otherwife do : And is not

this a promifing Indication of fome great Ufe,

that may be one 1 ime or other deriv d to the

animal (Economy from Elediicity ?

He likewife informs us, that, if an Attempt be

made to eledrife a Perfon when ill writh the Small-

Pox, it proves of no Effed. B. It fhould feem natural then, from what you

have been pleading for, that if a Perion juft ftran-

o-led, fuffocated, or by any other Means had iut-

fer’d a Collapfion of the Lungs, fo us to be in Ap-

pearance dead ; if a Pair of your Ventilators could

be readily apply’d, he might be recover d. A. That many who die fuddenly might be re¬

cover’d, if the above Method were as pradicable

as it appears to be, and were timely apply’d; and

alfo that there is a moft aftonifliing enlivening

adive Quality in the astherial Spirit contain d in

Air, on which Life immediately depends;, feems

abundantly confirm’d by the three following x-
periments, mention’d by Mr. Derham, in his 1 &}]•

Theol. under the Article Refpiralion.

?

The Firft of which is an ingenious tuo cruel

Experiment, of the renown’d Dr. Hook, before

the Royal Society who cut away the Ribs, Dia¬

phragm, and Pericardium of a Dog; alio the Top

of the Wind-pipe, that he might tie it on to the

Nofe of a Pair of Bellows *, and, by Blowing into

the Lungs, he reftor’d the Dog to Life ; and, then

ceaflng Blowing, the Dog would loon fall into

dying Fits, but by Blowing again he recover a;

and fo alternately would die and recover or a

confiderable Time, as long and often as they

F 4

choie

yt

Electricity render'd ufeful

chcfe to repeat the Experiment. Philof front

N° 28,

y

Another Experiment of this Sort was made by Dr. Walter Needham, before Mr. Boyle and others, at Oxford; who hang’d a Dog, To that the Heart ceas’d Moving, but haftily opening him, and by blowing Wind into his Lungs, put the Blood in Motion, and by that Means the Heart, and lb recover’d the Dog to Life.

c i ne third Experiment was made by Dr. Croon, of Grejham College, before the Royal Society, on a Puller, which he ftrangled, fo as no Sign of Life appear d, but by blowing Wind into the Trachea, ancmo fetting the Lungs a Playing, brought the Bird to Life again.

A* Though this muft be allow’d to be mod: wonderful, yet as we are inform’d by the greateft Philofophers, as well as many modern Chymifts,
Art her, or the ^theriai Spirit, univerfally difpers d, is the Caufe not only of mufcular Mo¬ tion, but of all the Motion in the Univerfe, and as all this feems lo probable, we have not fo

much Reafon to wonder at all thefe ieffer Effects ^ however, fuch Things as thefe muft be fufficient to inform 11s, that fomething more is perform’d, than what is commonly apprehended by moil, when they (imply, and in the common Phrafe, (peak of Blowing Wind down the Throat.

Mirely as this aetherial Medium is obferv’d fo abfoluteiy neceffary, not only at the far ft Forma¬ tion of the Fabric, but like wile all the Time of tne Increafe, or, if I may be allow’d the Expref^on, ah the I ime of its Building up ; it muft na¬ turally difcover a cpnftant Tendency to the Re¬ pairing of many of the Breaches that may cafually happen to it *, which Repairs, if your electrical ./Ether weie capable of performing, this perhaps might prove more convincing, that it was the

very

Electricity render d ufeful.

73

very etherial fubtil Medium of Philofophers, than all your former Reafoning and Experiments put together.
A. Nothing can be more plainly difcover’d than the falutary Effects of/Ether, even of that Portion contain’d in Air, if we were only to confider how much a fine and pure Air contributes towards the Recovery of loft Health : And if ele&rical /Ether, and the univerfal /Ether, or fubtil Medium of Philofophers, are the very fame identical Subftance; that then eledtrical /Ether miift necefiarily, as you obferve, difcover a natural Tendency to heal ; and that it does adtually difcover fuch a Tendency, the following feveral Cafes feem clearly to prove : And, to fay the Truth, it was Accounts of fome very remarkable Cures mention’d in the public Papers, which induc’d me at firft to get an eledtrical Apparatus, and with no other View than to make Experiments of that Kind, being fully perfuaded, that fo extraordinary a Pheno¬ menon was never difcover’d to us, but to anlwer fome very valuable End ; and, tho51 began Expe¬ riments of this Kind at all Adventures, and at the greateft Random poffible, yet I had the Pleafure and Happinefs to fucceed, far beyond my Expec¬ tation, and will therefore give you a faithful Ac¬ count of various Cafes, wherein I have had the Opportunity to find eledtrical Treatment of Ufe.

. Eledlricity apply d to the Cure of bodily Diforders

1. t\ Servant of Mr. T/Z, of Bromfgrove, ten f~\_ or twelve Miles from JVorcefter, afflidted
with a violent and conftant Plead-ach for near a Fortnight, was twice electris’d, at Half an Flour diftant from each other, and cur’d ; who, coming again that Day Fortnight, declar’d he never had any Return of it afterwards.
The

Electricity render d ufefuL
The Manner of the Operation was a few light
Shocks in the Head. 2. Mr. Robert Souk, in IVorceJier, troubled with
a Sciatica for many Years, was cur’d at one Ope¬ ration •, after which, I did not remember to have feen him for near a Year, at which Time he de¬ clar’d, that he had ever fince been free from it. .
The Operation was Shocks iikewife, convey’d
to the Part affected. 3. William Jinks, of the Hofpital in Fryer-ftreet,
Woreefter, troubled with a Rheumatic Pain in the Knee for eight Years, and, at fome Times, fo bad, as to have but little Reft Day or Night, particu¬ larly when in Bed ; but, after Making Ufe of the electrical Machine a few Days, was eas’d of his Pain, fo that he could reft well; and, tho’, before, it was with Difficulty that he walk’d with a.Staff, yet was, foon after, able to go without it.
The Operation was fometimes Shocks, fometimes fimply Drawing off Sparks, which is com¬ monly perform’d thus :
Let the Perfon ftand on the eledtrical Cake, and another, ftanding on the Floor, bring an iron Rod, or a Finger, near to the Part affeCted, at which Time Sparks of Fire will be feen to dart
from it. 4. John Broome, having, for fome Days, complain’d
of a very bad Pain juft above his Eye-brow, which, he faid, was much like the Head-ach, only fixed to that particular Part, was cur d in a
few Minutes. The Operation was Shocks at the Part affedted. 5. Mr. Higgins, in the Lich-fireet, IVorceJier,
troubled wkh a partial as well as periodical Headach for near fix Weeks, from the 1 op of his Fore¬ head, or right Temple, down to his Ear, which
commonly bettan at b ive or Six o Clock in the
Evening,

EleSfricity render'd ufeful.

yr

Evening, and held till he went to Bed, was cur’d in a few Minutes.

The Operation was limply Drawing Sparks

from the Part affected.

P

6. Margaret Duncocks, near Sidhury-gate, Wor-

cejter, was afflicfted with an almofl: conftant as well

as violent Pain in the Plinderpart of her Head, for

near three Quarters of a Year ; but worft of all,

when ike firft lay down in her Bed, being then fo

intolerable, Ihe could not forbear Shrieking • ha-

r

Ufe of all Means in her Power, to no

Tiled, was very foon reliev’d of the Violence of

tne Pain, by being eledris’d once a Day, and, af-

ter continuing it fome Time longer, declar’d herielf perfectly cur’d.

1 he Operation was Drawing Sparks, and fome
Jignt Shocks, convey’d to the Part affeded.
7- 1 he fame Perfon had been afflided with the

in her Le§s 1 ever heard of, wmen Diforder feiz’d her before fhe was twenty Years of Age, and continu’d till the Operation wai perform d, when fhe was upwards of Seventy • i his was mod violent always when in Bed, at which Time fhe was forc’d to tumble out on the ™’r and ^ere continue till it was over, were the Weather ever fo fharp, and this, fometimes, twice or thrice the fame Night; the violent convuls d mufcular Parts forming themfelves into diftorted Riages, attended with exquifite Pain, burfling the fmail Blood-veffels, which afterwards appear d of a livid Hue for a confiderable Time • 1 his was entirely cur’d in a few Days.
1 he Operation was Shocks only, and perform’d once a Day, thus: Having taken off her Shoes* fhe Put one Foot on the End of the Chain which came from the charg’d Phial; then, putting the lower End of a large Wire, or fmail iron Bar, to tne ot.ier Foot, and, at bringing the other End to

the

<-6

EleBricity render'd ufeful.

the excited Apparatus, the electrical Matter was convey’d thro’ both Legs at the fame Time. By
Experiment IVth.
8. Another, who hud ridged Knots in the
Thigh, in Form like what appear in violent Cramps, tho’ much more loft, and lefs painful : Thofe were entirely diffipated, in a Minute or two, by fimply Drawing Sparks from the Parts aftefted.
9. Mary Bradley, of St. Peter’s, V/orcefter, very much afflicted with a Rheumatic Pain in her Shoul¬ der and Atm, for near three Quarters of a Year, but moftly when in Bed ; nor was fire able to dreis herfelf: Her Diforder was luch, as feem’d out of the Power of Medicine to cure, having been an Out-patient of the Infirmary for lour Montns, without Succefs ; was, by Help ot the eleCtric.,! Machine, foon reliev’d of her Pain, and able to do her Bufinefs ; and, tho’ it is now a Year fince,
fhe ftill continues eafv and well. The Operation was fometimes by Shocks, fome-
times Drawing Sparks from the Part affeCted. 10. Anne Tbcmafon, in Little FiJh-Jhreet, Wor-
afier, was troubled with a Fiftula near the inner Corner of her Eye, which healed, and bioke agaiti^ feven Times, yet was fearful of putting herfelf into the Hands of a Surgeon, becaufe fhe was in¬ form’d it would be necelfary to make an Incifion
in her Noftril. The laft Time it heal’d, it continu’d well a con-
fiderable Time ; after which, it began, at the fame Place, with a very fmall Swelling, and con¬ tinu’d growing larger, till it was as big as a bilbeard ; at which Time one of her Neighbours ad¬ vis’d her to try the eleCtrical Machine, which fhe did, and foon found it grow lefs and lefs, and fo continu’d doing, till it was entirely difflpated, and has continu’d well lor more than two /eais, with¬
out

Elacbicity render d ufefuL

yy

out the lead Symptom of any Return of the Dis¬

order.

The Operation was Simply Drawing Sparks from

the Part affedted.

The following Account was written by the Gen¬

tleman himfelf, on whom the Cure was perform’d :

ii. 46 A Gentleman in JVorcefter had the Mif-

“ fortune of running the Point of a Bodkin into

44 the Infide of his Hand, near the fore and mid-

44 die Fingers : The Wound was fo Small, it was

44 Scarce to be Seen the fourth Day, and afterwards

44 not at all, and v/as, in Reality, no more than

44 the Prick of a large Pin ; yet, in three or four

44 Days, a Swelling came on, not only in the

44 Palm, but likewife on the Back of the Hand.

44 The fifth Day, upon a greater Uneafinefs in

44 the Hand, a Surgeon was call’d in, who, du-

44 ring the Space of three Months, apply’d Pul-

44 tices, Fomentations, the ftrongeft drawing Plaif-

44 ters, &c. both to the Infide and Outfide of the

44 Hand, yet all to no Purpofe : As no Medicine

44 would affedt the Swelling, a Cauftic was ap-

44 ply’d, but with no more Succefs than all the

44 other Means ; whenever this inveterate Swelling

44 was touch’d or prefs’d, it left a Dent in the Back

44 of the Hand, like what we fee in the Flefh of

44 dropfical Perfons.

44 The Swelling hill continu’d, and no Altera-

44 tion, nor Likelihood of any. Upon Reading the

44 Gentleman’s Magazine ior 1749, he obferv’d great

44 Things had been done by Means of Eledtricity;

44 he therefore applied to one in the Neighbour-

44 hood, who had an eledtrical Machine, and v/as

44 eledtrify’d twice on the Infide of his Hand, at

44 the Bottom of the middle Finger; in four Days

44 it broke there; he was then eledtrify’d on the

44 Back of the Hand, oppofite to the Infide ; juft

4 4 at the fame Space of Time it broke on the Back.,

2

44 and

Electricity render d ufeftih
tc and difcharg’d a good Deal of Matter, and* iri “ about three Weeks, heard.”—This Operation was fimply Drawing off Sparks.
12. The very fame Gentleman, about two Years after, had the Misfortune of a Mortification, which began in his Toe, and gradually increas’d, notwithfianding all the bell Methods were us’d which could be thought of.
As the Ufe of the Machine had fo good an Ef¬ fect on his Hand, I prevail’d with him to try it twice on his Toe.
Soon after this the Surgeon faw me, and afk’d me, when I ele£lrify’d Mr, W——’s Toe •, I told him, two or elfe three Days before : He reply’d, the Mortification was flopp’d. But, notwithflanding this promifmg Afpedt, together with the falutary Effedl on his .Hand beforementioned, he, like one infatuated, negledled the Ufe of thofe Means* and the Mortification came on again •, which he Buffer’d to increafe very much, before he could be prevail’d on to make Ufe of it again. This caus’d me to tell him, if he would not make Ufe of it in Time, I fhould much rather he would give over all Thoughts of it , but he feem’d, notwithflanding thefe Negledls, to have a very great Opinion of it; that he dream’d of it, and that he muft and would be eledlrify’d again : Accordingly he got an eledlrical Machine into his Houfe, though I mull own, by that Time, I had not much Hopes of its being of any confiderable Service to him ; how¬ ever, Eledlricity was again made Ufe of, and the eledlrical Yirtue to pafs, with fome Violence, thro5 the mortify’d Part.
The next Morning, when it was opened, the Surgeon feem’d aflonifh’d at feeing fuch an Alte¬ ration, and afk’d Mrs. W—-, who flood by* what had been done to it ? She defir’d to know Why he feem’d fo furpris’d, and if he thought it
better. ?

Electricity render'd ufefiiL

yg

better ? Better, yes, reply’d he, by fifty per Cent.

for now it diicharges good Matter, and ftill defir’d

to know what had been done to it: She told him,

nothing but ele&rify’d, and faid, that that mull needs be the Caufe of the fudden Change for the

better ; and, though he told her he could not be*

lieve it was capable of producing fuch EffeCts, yet he order’d, that, whatever had been done,

might be repeated *, it was accordingly twice elec-

triiy’d that Day ; and though, next Morning, it

had not dilcharg d quite l'o much as before, yet fhe faid he told her, there had been more good

Matter difcharg’d, at thofe two Drefiings, than

there had been for five or fix Weeks before, and

defir’d it might ftill be continu’d, not twice, but once a Day.

As the Diforder was at this Time far advanc’d, and as all other Means prov’d ineffectual, if find¬ ing it ftill yield to this Sort of Treatment would be

thought fomething furprifing, how much more fo,

to find, that, after fo many favourable Circumftan-

ces, he fhouid refute to make Ufe of it again ?

But this was the very Cafe ; and his Reafor?was,

it gave him Pain, which in all Probability was, in that Diforder, no bad Symptom.

Had he purfu’d it at firft, it might, in all Pro¬ bability, have had as falutary an EffeCt as before

on his Hand ; for, in all Likelihood, if that had

been negleCled much longer, that too mult have

mortify’d, becaufe it appear’d as if the Circula¬

tion was nearly ceas’d, and Medicine not to have the leaft Effecft ; but, as foon as the Palm of the

Hand was eleCtrify'd, the Fluids, which were be¬

fore almoft at a Stand, began then to move, as if they had been juft infpir’d with new Life; for, from

that Time, the very Part gradually arofe, came to a Head, and broke.

And, notwithstanding all the Appearances above-

2

mentioned.

go

'Electricity render d ufeful

mentioned, this might be thought to be nothing

more than a lucky Turn of the Diforder, which

happen’d juft at that Time ; yet the Eleftrifying

the Back of the Hand afterwards, and which, as

the Gentleman himfelf informs us, nad the lame

Effed, and brought it to a Suppuration in the ve¬

ry fame Space of Time, is not only a plainer Proof

that Electricity was the Caufe, but alio, in fome

Meafure, feems to promife ftill greater Advanta¬

ges to Mankind, when more frequently apply’d to

Diforders incident to the human Body> and when

Time and Experience fhall have pointed out the

particular Diforders which feem beft adapted to

iuch eledrical Treatment.

■

The Operation was Shocks only ; thole were

brought from the Toe, outwardly, through the

Dreffino- and feveral Folds ol Flannel, by bringing

the Chain from the Coating of the Phial to the

Knee, then laying one End of a large Wire, or

fmalf iron Rod, to the Extremity of the Toe, and

bringing the other End of the Rod to the excited

Apparatus/ The Circuit being thus form’d, the

Shock was given, and the Circulation perform d,

fo as to pafs outwardly from the difeas u Part.

iV. B. The Fire could be plainly feen, between

the End of the fmall Rod and the flannel Drelfing

at the End of his Toe, every Time the upper End

of the Rod was brought to the excited Apparatus.

13. A young Lady had the Misfortune of a

Strain of the Knee-joint, or rather the crural Li¬

gament, together with a low-fpirited Diforder, per¬

haps hyfterical •, this feem’d to be heighten’d by

the other Misfortune, and increas’d to that De¬

cree as to bring on a Kind of fainting Fits, which

fometimes follow’d each other fo fait, as to have

two or three of them lucceftively. Thole, though

they were in Appearance exadtlv like fwooning

Fits, yet, in this feeniing infenuble State, fhe could

J

‘

hear

1

TLieffficiiy render d ujefuL

81

hear and underftand what was faying or doing;

but had no Power to ftir. This Diforder feem’d as itubborn as the other

Malady ; and the Surgeon was of Opinion, that,

fo long as it continu’d; the Lamenefs would grow

worfe, which accordingly happen’d. As all Attempts had hitherto prov’d unfuccefs-

ful, fhe try’d the Bath; but to little Effed. About three Quarters of a Year after the Acci¬

dent happen’d, eledrical Treatment was advis d, and accordingly made ETfe of. When fhe Hrfb

came to me there appear’d no Swelling, out, on the contrary, the mufcular Part of the Leg much'

fallen away ; a continual Coldnels alio attended the

Foot.

- .

Eledricity, for the firft Month, feem’d to have

but little Effed ; but, the fecond, there was a vifi-

ble Alteration for the better *, the next Month af¬

ter, it mended furprifingly; fo that fhe began to*

exercife it, by firft attempting to walk a few Steps

each Day, without Crutch or Staff, which, as fhe

inform’d me, fhe could perform without Pain. I

advis’d her to find out the Number of Steps fhe

could accomplifh without Pain; and then to add

One to the Number each Day, which fhe^did; and

afterwards two each Day *, thus it continu d, mend¬ ing in the fame furprifing Manner, this fecond Month, particularly after leaving oh the cold Bath: At the End of the next Month; which was the

third after it began to mend, fhe was grown fd

well as to attempt the going down with a Country

Dance; and began to think of leaving off the Ufe

of Eledricity.

,

•. ^

Finding fhe did not attend as ufual, I fent her

-z fmall Epiftle, to inform her, that, although flie

might think herfelf nearly well, yet I could not

help thinking, that what had been fo long and fd

eonftantly pradis’d, ought not to be left off all at

G

oricei

82

Electricity render d ufefuL

once, for Fear of a Relapfe ; but, notwithftanding this, fhe came not again, till hie was convinc’d that what I fufpeded was coming on her, for Hie loon found a very vifible Relapfe, and was oblig’d to return to thelJfe of /Ether again, and, when fhe had recover’d the Relapfe, to leave off the Ufe of it more gradually * : But when fhe left it quite off* it appear’d a finilh’d Cure, of not only the Lamenefs, but of the Fits likewife, and the Coldnefs of the Foot; the Leg alfo, which had been in a Kind of pining Way, appear’d as full of Flefh, and as tight and well braced as the other.
The Operation was Shocks chiefly for the grand Complaint, but, to help the Fits, the Manner in which it was perform’d was thus :
To a Chamber,, at four Rooms Diitance from, the Machine* were Wires convey’d, fupported with filken Strings, where the young Lady fat in a Chair, each Leg of the Chair being fupported with a Cake of Refin ; her Feet were alfo fupported with ano¬ ther large Cake, fo that a Communication, of the eledtrical /Ether, with the Earth, was entirely cut off; thus hie fat fupported for Half an Hour at leaf!:, in which Operation nothing is felt , the Whole of which appears to be perform’d by Refpiration only.
The Shocks were always firft- perform’d before fhe fat in the eledlrical Chair f, and perhaps fifty* fixty, or more every Night; at each Shock, the Fire was made to pafs through that Fart of the Knee where the Diforder lay ; as to the Operation, fhe, with the Affiftance of a Maid-fervant,, could,.

* After the Relapfe, the Progrefs of the Cure was much more tedious than before ; and it was four or five Months lon¬ ger, e’re the Ufe of Electricity could be quite left off.
f Becaufe, fometimes after Heating by long Friction, the Globe ads not ftrong enough to caufe a Shock. °
witR

Electricity render d kfefuh

83

with proper Directions, perform it herfelf, thus : The Condenfing-phial was fufpended on a conve¬ nient Part of the Apparatus of Wires, and, a Piece of Chain being fatten’d to it, the other End of ie was brought to one Side of the Knee ; then taking a Wire in the other Hand, one End of which be¬ ing laid to the oppofite Side of tile Knee, the Shock was produc’d by guiding the other End of the laid Wire to any Part of the excited Apparatus * by Which Means the electrical fEther pais’d through the Part affected, by being made-a Part of the Cir¬ cuit *, as at Experiment the 4th,
14. A young Lady was very much afflicted with Fits for near feven Years, which feiz’d her without giving any Warning, and threw her flat on her Face ; for which Reafon it was dangerous to go near the Fire, or even walk abroad by herfelf, notwithftanding lh.e fcarce ever, excepting once, con¬ tinu’d in that infenfible State fo long as a Minute,* and oftentimes not half fo long.
Their Returns were very frequent, fometimes twice in a Day, though fometimes perhaps, after beginning with a frefli Medicine, the would find fome Relief ^ but nothing could be found which was likely to prove an abfolute Cure, till Electri¬ city was advis’d and comply’d with : What ren¬ der’d the Cure the more difficult, was a very great Coldnefs in the Feet, and Phyficians were of Opi¬ nion, that the Fits would not be eafily conquer’d, except the Coldnefs of the Feet could be fir it re¬ mov’d this I did not know till afterwards^ but* as ffie told me, it fometimes feem’d to begin in her Stomach, I was not much at a Lofs to know how to convey the Fire through both Stomach and Head at the fame Time , for* whatever be the Part

* Some like Operations were ihade Ufe of] to convey it to

the Knee, Leg, and Foot, all at once.
G 2

affected.

8:4

Electricity render'd, ufeftrf,

affe&ed, and I have a Defire to pafs the Fire through that particular Part, it is only to form a Circuit as in the Manner defcrib’d by Experiment the 4th,. and to caufe that particular Part to make a Part of the Circuit, and it is done : And lince it is equal, by the fame Experiment, whether the Circuit be long or fhort, the mod eligible Way mud be to have her dand upon the Wire or Chain coming from the leaden Coat of the Condenfingphial, and then to compleat the Circuit by laying another Wire to any particular Part of her Head, by which Means the Fire will be convey’d to that particular Part of it •, for, as the Line of Direction of the Fire is always the fhorted pofiible, by al¬ ways taking the neared Way, as is evident by that Experiment, it may be guided to a very great Exadtnefs *, this being the Method which was taken, and the Fire going through the Feet, as well as the Stomach and Head, all feem’d to receive an equal Share of the Benefit, and a compleat Cure was effected, both of the Fits and Coldnefs of the Feet; and both appearing to be gradually con¬ quer’d at the fame Time.
The Operation was Shocks only •, and the fubtil Medium perform’d the Circuit from the Sole of the Foot, through the Crown of the Head.

Concerning Motion being communicated to extravafated Blood.

Ehe Experiment was this
15. A Perfon having a dark livid Spot under \ the Eye, from a Blow three Days be¬
fore ; it was, in lefs than a Quarter of an Hour fo taken out, or rather the Circulation fo carry’d on, that there only remain’d a faint Mark where it had been.
The

Electricity render'd ufefuL

85

The Operation was limply Drawing Spa rks from

the Part affeCted.

16, The fame Perfon had a Swelling between

the Neck and Shoulder-blade as big as an Egg,

and nearly as hard, which had been growing to

that Size for feveral Years : She had not been

many Times electris’d before it began to loften,

and, foon after this, to difcharge a thin Kind of

Humour thro’ a lmall Orifice, and continu’d

difcharging, and gradually foftening, till it was

entirely diffipated.

The Perfon call’d it a Wen; but I thought it

much harder than they commonly are.

Thefe Kind of Operations are belt perform’d by

eleCtrifing the Perfon on a Cake of Refin, and an¬

other Handing on the Floor, to bring an iron Rod,

large Wire, or elfe his Finger, fo near the Part,

that the Sparks may be drawn from it; and this

to be repeated each Day, for five or fix Minutes.

17. A young Woman, by Drinking too freely

at a cold Spring, when over-heated, was after¬

wards feiz’d with a feverifh Diiorder, which con¬

tinu’d for a Quarter of a Year, or more ; at which

Time a Number of red Spots began to appear on

her Arms, out of which feem’d to breathe ftich

Effluvia, as foon condens’d into a thin, dry, crufty

Subftance, that appear’d rather as Scales than

Scabs, and thefe from her Elbows down to her

Fingers : This Diforder continu’d on her for near

three Years, which the firft and fecond Winter

very much leffen’d, but the third Year it continu’d

the fame in the Winter likewife.

The next Summer fhe began to make Ufe of

Electricity, and, in three Weeks or a Month,

tnofl of thofe Scales difappear’d : Before this, fhe

had a remarkable dry Hand, but, after thefe Elec-

trifations, as remarkably moift, infomuch as to

be ttoublefome when at her Needlework.

G 3

The

The Operation was limply Drawing Sparks from fhe Parts affected, once a Day.
28. Elifabeth Bund? near the Old Hills, in the Parifh of Powick, a few Miles from Worcefter, had, for fifty Years pail, been afflidted with fevere Fits j which, like an Epilepsy, gave her no Warning of the approaching Danger, but threw her down in an Inftant on the Ground, and continu’d her in a State of total Infepfibility for a coniiderable Time : As the Number of Attacks were fometimes twice, and fometimes thrice in a Day, fhe found it ex¬ tremely dangerous to go near either Fire or Wa¬ ter ; from the Fir ft, by being too near it when the Fit came, fhe has twice been a dreadful Sufferer, having two of her Fingers burnt off, and her Face and Neck greatly disfigur’d by the Fire, during her infenfible State.
But being in Worcefter, the latter End of the Year 1752, and accidentally relating her unhappy Situation to me, I was ftrongly inclin’d to try if the ek&rical Shock might prove of any Efficacy jn fuch a Cafe,
She defir’d earneftly to make the Trial, as fhe had try’d other Means in vain ; and found, upon her Return Home, fuch a furprifing Amendment in herfelf, as encourag’d her to come to Worcefter, Tom that Time to the Year 1754, as often as fhe had an Opportunity, to repeat the Operation •, the ponfequence of which was the gradual Decreafe pf an inveterate Head-ach, which attended her Piforder, and, at laft, the total Ceftation of the Fits themfelves *, for, inftead of being feiz’d with them twice pr thrice a Day, after fhe had began theie electrical Operation^, fhe had no more than about four of them, and thofe greatly weaken’d, Tom that Time to Chriftmas, 1753 ; and as, fince fjfat| they have not return’d again, there is fuffi-
cien£
C. < ;

EleBricity render'd ufefuL

87

dent Reafon to hope they never will. Sign’d Sep¬

tember the i2th, 1754*
The Operation was Shocks chiefly, and, in thofe,

the Fire was guided, for the moft Fart, thro5 the

Arm and Head, for Want of better Knowledge at

that Time ; for, if a fimilar Cafe were now to of¬

fer, I fhould be more inclin’d to pafs it quite thro*

the whole Body as well as the Head, as at Cafe

the 14th. 19. A young Gentlewoman, of the Parifh of

Clifton, about ten Miles from IVorcefter, fome Time

after, being recover’d of a Fever, was leiz d witn

violent Hyfterics ; the Effebts of which were fo

bad, as very foon to deprive her of both Memory

and Underftanding-, and fo continu’d for a confi-

derable Time, notwithftanding the bed Advice of

two eminent Phyficians. In this melancholy State fhe was brought to

Worccfter, to try the Effebt of Electricity; I told

the Perfon who brought her, it would be neceflfary

to perform the Operation, at firft, in a very flight

Manner, left it fhould ftartle her, and by that

Means fo intimidate her, as to prevent her Coming

again ; but fhe reply’d, there was no Danger of

that, for fhe could not remember Half an Hour

to an End. As the Head was the Part affected, I guided
the Fire chiefly to that Part, in as plentiful a

Manner as I well could, and caus d it to pafs

quite thro5 feveral Times each Day, fo long as fhe

ftaid in Town, which, tho’ fcarce a Week, yet it

feem’d to have the deflr’d Effebt; for altho5, be¬

fore fhe came to tVoTceJlsv^ fhe could not remem¬

ber Half an Hour to an End, yet, foon after her

Return Home, fhe could remember moft remark¬

able Things fhe faw done in IVarcefter and not

only her Memory, but her Underftanding alfo re¬

turn’d, and fhe very foon became perfectly well.

G 4

The

88

Electricity render d ufefuh

fl

The Operation was fometimes Shocks, fome-

fumes Drawing off Sparks from the Head.

20. Mrs. Higgins in the Lich-ftreet, Worcejter?

troubled with a low-fpirited hyfterical Diforder,

was afflicted alfo with a Coldnefs in the Feet for

many Years: From this Coldnefs in the Feet, a

Coldnefs could be plainly perceiv’d to move gra¬

dually quite up to her Head, in Half a Minute’s

Time, or lefs, which would then appear like a

Palfy in her Head ; and, very foon after, fuch a

Chattering of the Teeth would enfue, as we fome¬

times behold in the moff violent fhivering Fit of

an Ague ; from thence this Shaking proceeded to

her Arms, and all over her Body ; and, as Hyf-

terics, mimic mod other Diforders, the Shaking

was fo violent, and appear’d fo a6tive, as if it was

rather inclin’d to mimic the St. Vitus's Dance than

the Palfy.

The Returns, or Fits of this fhaking Diforder and low-fpirited Complaint, were very frequent for upwards of ten Years, notwithftanding all the Means made life of ; but, after being eie&ris’d once a Day, in lefs than a Fortnight’s Time, went entirely off; and, by continuing the Ufe for fome Time longer, was much higher in Spirits, and the Coldnefs of her Feet quite cur’d.

The Operation was forqetimes Shocks, fome¬ times limply Drawing off Sparks ; but the longeft Operation was fjmply Electrifying, viz. Standing on the electrical Cake only,* and Breathing the peJeftial Fire, which, perhaps, was performed for the greateft Part of Half an Hour.

21. Efiher Hopkins, of Eedmy near Whitbourn, about feven or .eight Miles from Worcefter, was troubled with a very painful Swelling in the Ball of her^ great Toe for fome Years; the Pain was greatdt of all, y/hen in her Bed ; having, in vain,

made

EleBricity render'd ufefuh

89

made Ufe of other Means, came to Worcefter to try the Effedt of Electricity.
After the firft or fecond Operation, the Pain was much abated \ and fhe told me, with Pleafure, the next Morning, fhe had flept comfortably, and had more Reft than in any Night for a confiderable Time before ; and, after continuing the Ufe of it for a fmall Time longer, the Swelling gradually affwag’d, and the Pain left her.
The Operation was Setting her on a Cake of Refin, and, after conveying the electrical ^Ether on her, a Finger, or Piece of Metal, was brought fo near to the Part affeCted, as to draw off Sparks. --This is oftentimes call’d, fimply, Drawing off Sparks.
22. John JVebb^ in Fifh-ftreet, Worcefter^ feventy Years of Age, was troubled with a very painful Diforder in his Feet, for ten or twelve Years,
which, he had been inform’d, was the Gout; a
general Coldnefs alfo of the Feet attended the Dif¬ order, which was fometimes fo great, that, if he fat Fill in cold Weather, he was almoit infenfib e of the other Pain; and, if he warm’d them by the Fire, it caus’d them to rage in fuch a Manner, as fcarce to be borne ; and alfo in Bed, when any Warmth came on, efpecially in the Ball of one of his great Toes, which was fo intolerable, that, many Times, after two or three painful Hours, he was forc’d to get up, and perhaps fit ftarving with Cold in a Chair, being fcarce able to walk, for the Greatnefs of the Pain : If he made fhift to flay ;n Bed, to make it tolerable, he was oblig’d to prop up the Bed-clothes with his other Foot.
The Nails of his Toes, very frequently, dropp’d off all at once, if he did not prevent them, when they were become loofe, by pulling them off*; the Toes in general appear’d of a livid Hue, and the Circulation was fo much retarded in the whole
Foot,

go

Electricity render d ufeful.

Foot, as to produce Symptoms of a Mortification large black or dark livid Spots were frequently form’d on the Top and Sides of his Feet, and at the Ends of his Toes ; thofe, when they firft came, were exceeding painful, and, at that Time, • he durft not much tamper with them : but, in fome longer Time, they grew quite dry and hard, and then he could cut them out with a Penknife, and, perhaps, without making them bleed ; but, if he attempted to open them, before they were grown dry, they continu’d fore for a long Time *, thefe were fo frequent, and fo painful, particularly at the End of his fecond Toe, he had fometimes determined to have it cut off, or, at leaft, the up¬ per Part of his Toe : Befides thefe, he had another Complaint in his Heels, which were generally puff’d up like blown Bladders.
Every one of thefe Complaints, by being elec¬ tris’d once a Day for fome Time, and afterwards twice a Week, gradually decreas’d ; and are now * fo far conquer’d, as to have no painful, reftlefs, and tedious Nights, no Nails dropping off as ufual, no Coldnefs in the Feet, nor bloated Heels, no intole¬ rable Pain in the Ball of the great Toe, no more Signs of Mortification * but the Blacknefs of the upper Side of the Toes $re changing to their natu¬ ral Colour, and the chief Remains of Complaints arc, now, rather a Sorenefs or Tendernefs in the Feet, attended fometimes with a Tingling, which is probably the falutary Effedts of the accelerated Motion of the Blood ^ as when any particular Part by being prefs’d or bound too hard, the Motion of the Blood has been fome Time retarded ; after which, at removing the Obftrudtion, when the Blood goes on again, we frequently, at fuch Time, find a Tingling.

* Sign’d February 20, 1756.

This

Electricity render d ufefnL

gi

This perhaps might be one of the bell of Symp¬ toms.
Qu<eyy^ Whether, inftead of the Gout, the Foun¬ dation of ail thofe Complaints were not a too lan¬ guid Motion of the Blood, particularly in the Feet; for, although fuch a Complication of Biforders, yet each one, in Appearance, was the Effect of fuch an undue Circulation; and what feem’d to confirm it, was, that, when the Motion of the Blood was accelerated, which was known by his Feet grow¬ ing warmer, every one of the other Complaints mended as it were together, or all at once.
Phe Operation. Sometimes at firft, when at worft, limply Drawing Sparks, but afterwards chiefly Shocks ; and, as the Diforder lay altogether in the Feet, the Method was? to bring the Chain from the Phial to the Part affebted of one Foot, and then lay one End of a Wire or fmall iron Rod to the Part aggrieved of the other Foot, bringing the other End of the Rod to the Gun-barrel, or other Part of the excited Apparatus; and the Shock fucceeded, and the Circulation was perform’d the neareft Way through the Patient, from one metal¬ lic Body to the other; which, in fuch a Cafe, muft be up one Leg and down the other, of which the Knees were very fenfible.
23. Mr. Jojhua JVade, in Perjhore, nine Miles from IVorcefter:
Troubled for feven or eight Years with a pain¬ ful Diforder in his fecond Toe, and though as ten¬ der as a Boil, yet was there nothing to be feen ; the Pain was fo great, particularly in Walking, he was determin’d to have it cut off at the firft Joint,
This troublefome Malady was cur’d at one Ope¬ ration, which was perform’d by elebtrifying him on a Cake of Refin, and with an iron Stile draw¬ ing Sparks from the Part affebfed.
24, Mr,

92

Electricity render'd ufeful.

24. Mr. Edmund Teates, of Hennick\-hilly near tVorceftery afflicted for two or three Months with a violent Pain in the lower Part of his Back, Loins, Hip, and down the Side of his Thigh ; was cur’d with a few of thefe electrical Operations, which were perform’d by conveying Shocks to the Parts affeCted.
25. Mr. Bibby of Henmck’s-hill, troubled with a violent rheumatic Pain in his Arm, which had continu’d ten or twelve Years, particularly when in Bed •, this was fometimes fo intolerable, as to caufe him, in a Kind of Frenzy, to ftrike it with Violence againft the Bed-poft; and by Degrees he had brought himfelf to fucha Habit of ftriking it, that he imagin’d it affwag’d the Pain :
Was cur’d by the fame Kind of eleCtricai Treatment, as above, viz. Shocks convey’d to the Arm.
26. A Perfon in Mealcheapen-ftreet, IVorceJler> had, within the Space of two or three Years paft, feveral Attacks of the Gout, fince the firft of which, he had always a StifFnefs and Pain in the Joint of one of his great Toes, and for a confiderable Time in both, particularly if he walk’d much ;/ was quite cur’d with a few of thefe eleCtricai Ope¬ rations, which were perform’d by fetting him on a Cake of Refin, and fo eleCtrifing him, while a Perfon on the Floor brought his Finger fo near to the Part affeCted, as to caufe the Sparks of Fire to burft from it.
27. ElifabetbTeylor, of HennicEs-hill, near IVorcefter, troubled with fo fevere a Head-ach, that it was thought to proceed from a Fever in the Brain ; having baffled all the Efforts of Medicine for ele¬ ven Years, was cur’d by Means of EleCtricity in a few Weeks,
The Method of Treatment was by conveying the eleCtricai iEther through her Head, by Way of Shocking,
28. The