78 Additional Notes. 



by them into each other's vicinity by the attraction of cohesion, and 

 become condensed on each side of the glass plane; and then when the 

 glass plane is withdrawn, the two electric ethers being now in contact 

 rush violently together, and draw along with them the pieces of moist- 

 ened sponge, to which they adhere; and finally the acid and alcaline 

 liquids being now brought into contact Combine by their chemical 

 affinity. 



The repulsions of distant bodies are also explicable by this idea of 

 their being surrounded with two ethers, which we have termed mas- 

 culine and feminine for the ease of conversing about them ; and have 

 compared them to vitreous and resinous electricity, and to arctic and 

 antarctic magnetism. As when two particles of matter, or two larger 

 masses of it, 'are surrounded both with their masculine ethers, these 

 ethers repel each other or refuse to intermix; and in consequence 

 the bodies to which they adhere, recede from each other; as two 

 cork-balls suspended near each other, and electrised both with 

 vitreous or both with resinous ether, repel each other; or as the 

 extremities of two needles magnetised both with arctic, or both with 

 antarctic ether, repel each other; or as oil and water surrounded both 

 with their masculine, or both with their feminine ethers, repel each 

 other without touching; so light is believed to be reflected from a 

 mirror without touching its surface, and to be bent towards the edge 

 of a knife, or refracted by its approach from a rarer medium into a 

 denser one, by the repulsive ether of the mirror, and the attractive 

 ones of the knife-edge, and of the denser medium. Thus a polished 

 tea-cup slips on the polished saucer probably without their actual 

 contact with each other, till a few drops of water are interposed be- 

 tween them by capillary attraction, and prevent its sliding by their 

 tenacity. And so, lastly, one hard body in motion pushes another 

 hard body out of its place by their repulsive ethers without being in 

 contact; as appears from their not adhering to each other, which all 

 bodies in real contact are believed to do. Whence also may be 

 inferred the reason why bodies have been supposed to repel at one 

 distance and attract at another, because they attract when their 

 particles are in contact with each other, and either attract or repel 



