82 



THE EFFECTS OF LIGHTNING. 



the 19th of May, 1809, during a violent storm, saw distinctly the drops of rain 

 emit light when they struck the ground. 



On the 25th of January, 1822, the miners of Freyburg informed Lampadius 

 that the sleet which fell during a storm, emitted light when it struck the 

 ground. 



This emission of light is not peculiar to water, whether in a liquid or frozen 

 state. 



During the eruption of Vesuvius, which took place in 1794, a shower of dust 

 as fine as snufFfell in Naples and its environs. This dust emitted light, which, 

 though pale, was distinctly visible at night. Mr. James, an English gentleman, 

 who happened at the time to be in a boat near Terra del Greco, observed that 

 his hat and those of the boatmen and the parts of the sails where the dust 

 lodged, shed around a sensible light. 



These several phenomena seem capable of easy explanation, by admitting 

 the rain, hail, or snow, coming from the clouds, and the surface of the earth 

 and objects upon it, to be in opposite electrical states. 



