1796. jET. 43.] COUNT EUMFOED. 51 



sign of exhaustion in the metal, notwithstanding the 

 large quantities of heat given off. 



' Did the heat come from the air ? Exclusion of the 

 air did not in the smallest degree diminish the heat. 



' It would be difficult,' he says, ' to describe the sur- 

 prise and astonishment expressed in the countenances of 

 the bystanders on seeing a large quantity of cold water 

 heated and actually made to boil without any fire. 



6 Though there was, in fact, nothing that could justly 

 be considered as surprising in this event, yet I acknow- 

 ledge fairly that it afforded me a degree of childish 

 pleasure which, were I ambitious of the reputation of a 

 grave philosopher, I ought most certainly rather to hide 

 than to discover.' 



The amount of heat given out in a continual stream by 

 his borer he estimated at that of nine wax candles each 

 of three-quarters of an inch in diameter. This was pro- 

 duced by the work of two horses. ' But,' he adds, ' no 

 circumstances can be imagined in which this method 

 of procuring heat would not be disadvantageous ; for 

 more heat may be obtained by using the fodder neces- 

 sary for the support of a horse as fuel.' 



He concludes thus : 



'Anything which any insulated body or system of 

 bodies can continue to furnish without limitation 

 cannot possibly be a material substance, and it appears 

 to me to be extremely difficult, if not quite impossible, 

 to form any distinct idea of anything capable of being 

 excited and communicated in these experiments except 

 it be MOTION. 



'I am far from pretending to know how that 



E 2 



