IS ELECTRICITY LIFE? 479 



gramme, as at Manchester and throughout Yorkshire this season ; and 

 their friendly distribution of fire sometimes fails to reach the intended 

 cloud, and strikes down towers, churches, trees, and houses, and occa- 

 sionally destroys a human body not possessed of its proper quantity 

 of electricity. For that is, most probably, the reason why we so often 

 find one person struck by lightning in a place where several others are 

 assembled and escape. 



A singular instance of the friendly interchange of civilities among 

 clouds was observable at Bridlington Quay this summer. Those who 

 know the place will remember the long stretch of table-land lying north 

 and south, and facing the ocean. A large cloud over the sea lowered 

 and approached the south point of the table-land. Immediately a flash 

 ascended from the earth to the cloud, and this again occurred more 

 than twenty times as the cloud sailed majestically over the fringe of 

 the table-land from south to north. And now overhead might be seen 

 a succession of minor clouds, arriving from all directions, but all 

 evidently having their eye upon the big cloud that was approaching 

 them, until they hovered round it like a parcel of school-boys round a 

 newly-arrived cake. At length the cake was cut. A flash came out 

 from the big cloud, then another and another ; then the nearest clouds 

 flashed out again to those which were farther removed. Down came 

 a deluge of rain, the thunder rolled incessantly, till, the distribution of 

 good things having been completed, the clouds sailed away, and the 

 sun shone again merrily. 



That all created living bodies are electric there can be no question ; 

 and as little that some persons, animals, and plants, are more electric 

 than others. Two forms of the latter are familiar. Few school-boys 

 are guiltless of experiments on poor puss, from whose much-enduring 

 back electric sparks may be drawn, especially in dry, frosty weather ; 

 and most young ladies have admired the elegant sensitive-plant, whose 

 leaves seem to move and feel, 



" And with quick horror fly the neighboring hand " 



that draws from it the electricity which it contains more than other 

 plants ; and its leaves at once fall flaccidly, until a new supply of 

 electric force renders them once more turgid. 



But bodies have not only electricity within them, but an electric 

 atmosphere, of the form of the body which it surrounds, and which is 

 attracted by it. Without this, we could not shake hands with a friend, 

 or kiss a lip, without the danger of the excess of electricity flying off 

 and destroying us, or the he or she that we would greet or kiss. Per- 

 haps it is the commingling of these electric atmospheres that makes 

 kissing so nice. 



Two conditions of the human body are also illustrative of its varied 

 electrical action. A person who has the small-pox cannot be electrified, 

 while sparks of electricity may be drawn from the body of a patient 



