191 t , 



w as, gone. He could have wa'ked ten or twelve miles 

 with ease. And from that. very hour he lias continued 

 in a state of perfect health. 



What a clear proof' this, that the fire of lightning has 

 the same .nature and force with the electric ! 



The cymnotus, of South America, appears to possess 

 electrical powers greatly superior to those of the Euro- 

 pean torpedo. Some of them have been seen in the 

 Surinam river upwards of twenty feet. Ion?, whose 

 stroke was instantly fatal. That, on which the fol- 

 lowing experiment was made, was three feet seven 

 inches long, and was brought from Guinea to Phila- 

 delphia. 



On patting a small fis.li into the vessel in which it 

 swam, it was suddenly stunned, and killed by it. The 

 effect: was evidently produced by a concussion, which 

 was felt, by one whose fingers were dipped in the water, 

 at ihe very moment the fish was shocked by if. Eight 

 nr ten persons, forming a circle, were all shocked by it, 

 when the first, in the series touched the eel, and the last 

 put his hand iwto the \\ater. The commotion given by 

 it, was conveyed through the same metallic, or other, 

 conductors, as convey the electric fluid ; and was inter- 

 cepted by the common non-conductors of that fluid. 

 'Whatever therefore be thought of the torpedo, it is 

 plain this eel is an electric machine, and has the power 

 of .suspending or giving the electric shock, just at. its 

 own pleasure. 



Electricity has something in it common, both with 

 light, and with iTut^aetism. In common with M a r - 

 iietisni it counteracts, and in light substances ovenx-iiies 

 the force of gravity. Like that, it exerts its force in 

 vacua, as powerfully as- in the open air. And this force 

 extends to a considerable distance, through various sub- 

 stances of different textures and densities. 



In common with light, electricity pervades glass ; but 

 it suffers no refraction. Its direction is still in right 



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