86 Royal InjTitutlon of Great Britain. 



Volta. He has obviated the difficulty which occurred from 

 the fluid pafling more or lefs in the form of fparks, by em- 

 ploying a gold and a filver wire, infulated in oppofite ends of 

 a glafs tube, and prefenting to each other as fine a point as 

 they could poifibly be made to take. The tube in which 

 they were inferted contained the water to be decompofed, 

 and made part of an electric circuit. 



Some valuable additions to Mr. Afhley Cooper's paper on 

 the membrana tympani were read the fame evening, giving 

 an account of feveral cafes of perfons being reftored to hear- 

 ing by this membrane being limply punctured. 



ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



Since our lad notice, a fhort courfe of lectures on pneu* 

 matic chemiftry have been delivered by Mr. Davy. They 

 were extremely ingenious, and excited a confiderable degree 

 of intereft. The concluding lecture was on the 20th of June, 

 on refpiration ; and after the leclure an opportunity was given, 

 to fuch as wifhed it, to breathe fome of the nitrous oxide, the 

 gas of which we gave fo full an account in our fixth volume 

 under the name of gafeous oxide of azote. 



Mr. Grofvenor Bedford, Mr. Stodart, and Mr. Under- 

 wood, breathed the gas; and the effects it produced, espe- 

 cially on the laft, were truly wonderful, He experienced fo 

 much pleafure from breath ins it, that he loft all fenfe to every 

 thing el Pe, and the breathing-bag could only be taken from 

 him at laft by force. The irrefittible tendency to mufcular 

 action produced bv this gas was fuch as cannot be defcribed; 

 it muft be witneffed to be conceived. 



Profeffor Picket, of Geneva, who is now on a viiit in this 

 country, count Rumford, and other philofophers of eminence 

 were prefent, and feemed not a little gratified with the exhi- 

 bition of this gas. 



On the 23d of June a felect party met at the Institution to 

 try the effects of the gafeous oxide. Count Rumfml, Sir 

 Charles Bl-igclen, Dr. Woolafton, Profeffor Picket, and 

 other I'cientili.c gentlemen were prefent. Several of them 

 breathed the gas, and were more or lefs affected with plea- 

 furable lenfations and other effects ufually produced by the 

 inhaiation of this gas. 



Another galvanic courfe was alib given by Mr. Davy, 

 which, being delivered in the fore part of the day, was at- 

 tended not only by men of feience but by numbers of people 

 of rank and faihion ; a proof that this Institution bids fair to 

 promote a talle for philofophical purfuils among thofe whofe 



wealth 



