294 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [anNO 1752. 



nual large quantity of rain, which lasted near 1 hours, without the least discon- 

 tinuance of the thunder. 



I felt no commotion in putting my finger towards the wire, nor could I draw 

 any sparks from it. I was on the point of giving it over, when the wire happened 

 to touch the leads and the balustrade of the gallery ; and it instantly produced as 

 many sparks, as it touched places on the balustrade and leads. I then took the 

 wire in my hand, and threw it strongly against the bars of iron ; and as the wire 

 extended, and successively touched the bars, it always produced the same effect. 

 There were prodigious multitudes of these shining sparks, like those produced by 

 the finger in common experiments. I only wanted an electrical magazine to 

 accumulate electrical matter in, which would have produced me all the usual 

 phenomena. 



The Abbe then communicates the observations that Mr. Ludolf made at 

 Berlin. ] . That the sparks drawn from the wire were half an inch long ; and they 

 caused so horrible a shock, that the entire body of the person who attracted them, 

 was shaken ; but the small sparks produced only a light sensation in the fingers. 

 1. It is also remarked, that this electricity communicates itself to all bodies else- 

 where, that are susceptible of it, provided they are placed on electrical bodies, 

 while they are made to communicate by a wire. 3. When there was plenty of 

 rain, they scarcely remarked any thing of the force of the electricity, though the 

 lightning and claps of thunder were very strong. 4. At every clap of thunder the 

 electricity seemed extinct, and returned not till after about 30 seconds, and some- 

 times longer. 5. When the wire was surrounded with drops of rain, it was 

 observed that only some of them were electrical, which was remarkable by the 

 conical figure they had ; while the others remained round as before. It was also 

 perceived, that the electrical and non-electrical drops succeeded almost alternately; 

 which made them call to mind a very singular phenomenon, that happened some 

 years ago to 5 peasants, who passed through a corn-field near Frankfort on the Oder 

 in a storm. The thunder killed the 1st, the 3d, and the 5th, without injuring the 

 2d and the 4th. 6. The storm of the 1st of August was very considerable, 

 with very great rain every minute they remarked 3 or more flashes of lightning ; 

 in the mean time some electrical sparks were observed on the wire. They put 

 upon a chain, which communicated with the wire, a thread, the 2 ends of which 

 hung down ; which showed electricity by mutually repelling each other ; for at 

 every flash of lightning they approached each other suddenly, as if they had been 

 pushed one against the other by some force. 7- Sometimes the electricity con- 

 tinued in the wire with great strength to 45 minutes, after the thunder and 

 lightning had entirely ceased, &c. Conformable to the 6th observation of Mr. 

 Ludolf, the Abbe says he has often observed, that in presenting dust or dried 



