BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 43 



eating with that surface. The electricity expelled from the 

 outside of this second jar was conveyed, in like manner, into 

 the inside of a third ; and, in this way, a great number 

 of jars were charged with the same facility as a single one. 

 Then, having connected all the inside coatings with one 

 conductor, and all the outside coatings with another, he had 

 merely to bring these two general conductors into contact 

 or communication, in order to discharge the whole ac- 

 cumulation at once. This contrivance he called an Electrical 

 Battery. 



The general sketch we have thus given will put the reader 

 in possession, at least, of the great outlines of the Franklinian 

 theory of electricity, undoubtedly one of the most beautiful 

 generalizations to be found in the whole compass of science. 

 By the aid of what we may call a single principle, since 

 the law with regard to the electric fluid and common matter 

 is exactly the same, it explains satisfactorily not only all the 

 facts connected with this interesting subject which were 

 known when it was first proposed, but all those that have 

 been since discovered, diffusing order and light throughout 

 v/hat seemed before little better than a chaos of unintelligible 

 contradictions. We must now, however, turn to a very 

 brilliant discovery of this illustrious philosopher, the reality 

 of which does not depend upon the truth or falsehood of any 

 theory. 



Franklin was by no means the first person to whom the 

 idea had suggested itself of a similarity between electricity 

 and lightning. Not to mention many other names which 

 might be quoted, the Abbe Nollet had, before him, not only 

 aitimated his suspicion that thunder might be in the hands 

 of Nature what eleclricity is in ours, but stated a variety of 



