THE FIRST ELECTRICAL OBSERVATION IN AMERICA. 425 



about it. Later we fiiid Wiiithrop writing to Boyle from 

 Boston, to inquire whether lightning could kill fish, as the 

 Indians had told him; and Leonard Hoar from Cambridge, 

 about the Indian canoe, anent which "if you lay your 

 tongue on one side of your mouth it may overset;" and 

 William Penn from Philadelphia, telling him of the val- 

 uable resources of the tracts newly bought from the natives. 

 Through this correspondence, there came to be recorded 

 an observation which mightily disturbed the reverend 

 John Clayton, who had settled in James City in Virginia. 

 He had taken great interest in Boyle's experiments, and 

 had sent him accounts of the great luminosity of the 

 American fire-flies; but the new occurence was far more 

 surprising. It had been communicated to Clayton through 

 the following epistle: 



"MARYLAND, ANNO 1653. 



"There happened about the month of November to one 

 Mrs. Susanna Sewall, wife of Major Nicholas Sewall, of the 

 province aforesaid, a strange flashing of sparks (seem'd to be 

 of fire), in all the wearing apparel she put on, and so continued 

 to Candlemas; and in the company of several, viz., Captain 

 John Harris, Mr. Edward Braines, Captain Edward Poneson, 

 etc., the said Susanna did send several of her wearing apparel, 

 and when they were shaken it would fly out in sparks and 

 make a noise much like unto bay leaves when flung into the 

 fire; and one spark lit on Major Sewall' s thumb-nail, and there 

 mtinued at least a minute before it went out, without any 

 teat; all which happened in the company of 



"WILLIAM DIGGES." 



Clayton transmitted this to Boyle with the following an- 

 notation: 



"My Lady Baltimore, his mother-in-law, for some time be- 

 fore the death of her son, Caecilius Calvert, had the like hap- 

 pened to her, which has made Madam Sewall much troubled 

 as to what has happened to her. They caused Mrs. Susanna 

 Sewall, one day, to put on her sister Digges' petticoat, which 

 they had tried beforehand and would not sparkle; but at night 



