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may be almost sure of them, every dark night, as near 

 the bridge Delia Salcarata, and in the fields of Bagnara, 

 these are large : sometimes equal to the light of a 

 faggot, rarely less than that of a link. That at Bagnara 

 not long since-kept a gentleman company for a mile, 

 moving just before him, and casting a stronger light on 

 the road than the link he had with him. 



All of them resemble aflame, and are continually in 

 motion, but the motion is various and uncertain. In 

 winter, when the ground is covered with snow, they are 

 most frequent of all. Nor does rain hinder them : nay, 

 in wet weather they give the strongest light: wind also 

 does not disturb them. As they are not hindered by 

 wet, and set nothing on fire, though ever so combustible, 

 may it not reasonably be supposed that they have some 

 resemblance to that kind of phosphorus which shines 

 indeed in the dark, yet does not burn like common fire. 



The following experiments shew a little more of the 

 nature of this strange substance. 



Salt of phosphorus, kept in a vitrifying heat, at last 

 runs into perfect grass, What 'a wonderful subject is 

 this ! And now surprising it is that so inflammable a 

 body should become glass \ Here then is perfect trans- 

 mutation of bodies : the phosphorus being transmuted 

 into a transparent glass of a bluish green, coming nearer 

 the hardness of a diamond than any other glass what- 

 ever: and the glass is in the very same quantity with the 

 phosphorus, which produces it ounce for ounce. 



Another odd circumstance relating to phosphorus is, 



cut it small, or scrape it with a knife, and lay it on a 



glass dish in moist air. In a week it resolves into a 



liquid near eighty times its original weight. This liquid 



is the same in all respects with that which conies from 



" the sublimed flowers by deflagration. And this may be 



turned into the same glass with the original phosphorus.' 



One of the most singular kinds of lambent fires is 



that discovered at certain times on sea-water. Where 



