196 



mena are produced ; thunderiftg, lightning, earthquake, 

 and whirlwinds ; f for there is now little doubt, ti.a'r all 

 these frequently depend on this sole cause. And again, 

 if we look down from the sublime of nature to its mi- 

 Dtitiae, \ve shall stiil find the same -power acting though 

 perhaps in less legible chaiacters; ti;r as the knowledge 

 of its operations, is still in its infancy, they are generally 

 misunderstood, or ascribed to some oilier cause. But 

 doubtless in process of* time these will be properly in- 

 vestigated 5 when men will wonder, hew much they 

 have been in the dark. It will then possibly be found, 

 that what we call sensibility of nerve*, and many of 

 those diseases known only by name, are owing to the 

 body's being possessed of too large, or too small a 

 quantity of this subtle and -active fl iid ; tluit very 

 fluid perhaps, that is the vehicle of all our feelings; 

 and which has been so long searched for in-vain in tlie 

 nerves. 



We all know that in damp and hazy weather, when it 

 seems to be blunted, and absorbed by the humidity ; 

 when its activity is lost, and little or none of it .can J>e 

 collected, cur spirits are more languid, and our sensibi- 

 lity less acute. And in the wind at Naples, when the 

 air seems totally deprived of it, the whole system is un- 

 strung, and the nerves seem to loose both their tension 

 and elasticity, ti ! ! the north or west wind awakens the 

 activity of this animating pov^er ; that soon restores the 

 tone, and enlivens ail nature, which seemed to droop and 

 languish during its absence. 



It is likewise well known, that there have been in- 

 stances of the human bndy becoming electric without 

 the mediation of any electric substance, -'ml even emit- 

 ting sparks of rue with a disagreeable sensation, and an 

 extreme degree of nervous sensibility. 



About eight or nine years ago, a lady of Switzerland 

 was sftected in l^s manner. She v as uncommonly sen- 

 sible of every change of weather, z d h*r.l her electri- 

 cal feeling strongest in a clear day, or during the pas- 



4 



