138 . ESSAYS AND OBSERVATIONS 



to the earth, confifted of fquare iron 

 nail rods, not much above a quarter of 

 an inch thick, connetfled together by in- 

 terlinking joints. It extended down the 

 cedar roof to the eaves, and from thence 

 down the wall of the boufe, four ftories 

 and a half, to the pavement, in Water- 

 flreet, being faftened to the wall in feve- 

 ral places by fmall iron hooks. The 

 lov^er end was fixed to a ring in the top 

 of an iron (lake that was down about 

 4 or 5 feet into the ground. The above 

 mentioned iron rod had a hole in the top 

 of it, about two inches deep, wherein 

 was inferted a brafs-wire about two lines 

 thick, and, when firfl: put there, about 

 ten inches long, terminating in a very 

 acute point ; but now its whole length is 

 no more than feven inches and a half, 

 and the top very blunt. Some of the 

 metal appears to be miffing, the flender- 

 efl part of the wire being, as I fufpedl, 

 confumed into fmoke. But fome of it, 

 where the wire was a little thicker, be- 

 ing only melted by the lightning, funk 

 down while in a fluid (late, and formed 



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