VOL. XLIX.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 635 



the end, which was joined by a string, to which hung a handle for ringing the 

 bell, it being close by the side of the bed : but the greatest force of the lightning 

 seemed to fall perpendiculaily down the side of a wall in the chamber. Against 

 the chimney were hung several barometers, the glasses of which were all shat- 

 tered to pieces, and forcing away the plastering of the wall, entered the shop, 

 piercing through the two upper shelves, and the parcels of nails, &c. that were 

 on them. And here it is observable, that from the perpendicular course it took 

 the same direction in the shop, as in the chamber over it, but in almost as many 

 lines as there were shelves, leaving very visible marks of its course. Near its 

 perpendicular course in the shop, on one of the shelves, it pierced through 7 

 box irons, making a small hole about the size of common shot on one side, and 

 leaving a roughness on the opposite side of each box where it came out. The 

 several parcels of nails, tacks, hinges, &c. that lay in the course it took, were 

 very plainly affected by it : some of the small tacks in particular were soldered 

 together, 6, 7, 8, or 10 in a clump, as if scalding metal had run over them. 

 The papers of the parcels were burnt in small holes. At one end of the shelves 

 hung several long pendulums, the springs of which were melted so that they fell 

 to the ground ; and the lightning spreading its remaining force to some littered 

 straw and packing paper, that lay about the shop, set fire to them, which was 

 happily extinguished without doing any further damage. Mr. Worsfold was in 

 his shop the whole time, but received no hurt. 



LIF^. On the great Benefit of Blowing Showers of Fresh Air up through Distil- 

 ling Liquors. By Stephen Hales, D. D; F. R. S. p. 3 J 2. 



The great importance of having a sufficient supply of fresh water in ships, has 

 been the occasion of many laudable attempts to make sea-water fresh and whole- 

 some : but all the attempts and discoveries hitherto made have laboured under this 

 great and material objection, viz. the great quantity of fuel that was necessary to 

 distil, with a slow progress, a small quantity of water, by any methods of distilla- 

 tion hitherto known. But Dr. H. had discovered an easy and effectual method 

 to distil great quantities of water with little fuel ; which he was led to by the fol- 

 lowing incidents; viz. Mr. Shipley, secretary of the society for the encouragement 

 of arts, manufactures and commerce, brought him acquainted with Mr. William 

 Baily of Salisbury-court, the author of many ingenious contrivances ; who 

 showed him, in a small model of a tin vessel, a method, by which he has happily 

 increased the force of the engine to raise water by fire, viz. by lifting up some of 

 the boiling water, at every stroke, by means of a conical vessel, with small holes 

 in it, full of tow ; by which the quantity gf the ascending steam was consitlerably 

 increased. This led him to think, that a greater quantity of liquor might also by 

 this means be distilled ; but on trial he found the increase to be only a twelfth 



4 M 'i 



