^Qaturall HiJiory ; 



I20 



121 



123 



Experiments 

 j in Confort, 



touching Pro- 

 I du8ion,Confer- 

 I vat'M&nd De- 

 I latid of Sounds; 

 I And the o$ce 

 ; ofthej4ir 

 j therein. 

 ! 124 



There is a Conceit runneth abroad , that there fhould be a White Powder, 

 which will difcharge aPeece without Noife; which is a dangerous Expe- 

 rimental it fhould be true : For it may caufe fecret Murthers. But it feem- 

 eth to me unpoflible - For,if the Air pent , be driven forth, and ftrike the 

 Air open, it will certainly make a Noife .As for the white Powder, (if any 

 men thing be , that may excinguifh , or dead the Noife, ) it is like to be a 

 Mixture oiPetre, and Sulphur, without Coal. For Petre alone will not take 

 Fire. And if any Man think, that the Sound may be extinguilhed , or 

 deaded, by difcharging the Pent Air, before it cometh to the Mouth of 

 the Pace , and to the Open Air That is not probable For it will make 

 more divided S cnnds : As if you mould make a Crofs Barrell hollow tho- 

 row the Barrelfof a Peece , it may be, it would give feverall Sounds , both 

 at the Nofe 5 and at the Sides. But 1 conceive, that if it were polfible, to 

 bring to pafs , that there fhould be no Air pent at the Mouth of the Peece 

 \ the Bullet might flie with imall , or no Noife. For firft it is certain , there 

 • is no Noife in the Percuffion of the Flame upon the Bullet. Next the Bullet 

 ' in piercing thorow the Air, maketh no Noife - As hath been faid. And then 

 if there be no Pent Air , that ftriketh upon open Air , there is no Caufe of 

 Noife ; And yet the Flying of the Bullet will not be ihyed. For that M otion 

 (as hath been oft faid)is in the Parts of the Bullet, and not in the Air. So as 

 triall muft be made by taking fome fmall Cmavs of Hindi, no more than 

 you mean to fill with Powder 5 And laying the Bullet in the Mouth of it, 

 half out into the open Air. 



I heard it affirmed by a Man, that was a great Dealer in Secrets , but he 

 was but vain; That there was a Confpiracyi which himfelf hindred, ) to 

 have killed jgueen Mary, Sifter to gueen Elizabeth, by a Burning-Glafi 

 when fhe walked in Saint J'-ames Park, from the Leads of the Houfe. But 

 thus much(no-doubf)is true $ That if Burning-Glares could be brought to a 

 great ftrength , (as they talk genet ally of Burning- Glares, that are able to 

 burn a Navy, )the -Percuffion of the Air alone, by fuch a Burning-Glafi, 

 would make no Noife ; No more than is found in C or uf cat ions , and Light- 

 nings wi thou t T founders. 



I fuppofe that Imfrtffibn of the Air with Sounds , asketh a time to be 

 conveighed to the Senfe ; As well as the Impveffion or Species vifihle.. ur elfe 

 they will not be heard. And therefore, as the Bullet moveth fo/jw/f ,that it is 

 Invifible ; So the fame Smftnefi o\ Motion maketh it Inaudible : For we fee 

 that the Apprehenfion of the Ek, is quicker then that of the E/ir. 



All Eruptions of Air, though fmall and liight, give an Entity of Sound 3 

 which we call Crackling,Puffwg,Spitting,8ic. As in Bay- fait, and Bay-leaves 

 caft into the Fire So in Chefnuts, when they leap forth of the Allies ; So in 

 GreenWood laid upon the Fire, efpccialiy, Roots; So in Candles that fpit 

 Flame,if they be wet 5 So in Raffing, Sneezing ? &c. So in a Rofe /w/gathe- 

 red together into the fafhion of a Purfe, and broken upon the Forehead, or 

 Back of the Hand,as Children ufe. 



T He Caufe given of Sound, that it fhould be an Elifion of the Air ( where- 

 by ,if they mean any thing, they mean Cutting or Dividing , or elfe 

 an Attenuating of the Air)is but a Terme of Ignorance.: And the Motion 

 is but a Catch of the Wit upon a few Inib.Rces • As the Manner is in the 

 Philofophy Received.And it is common with Men, thac if they have gotten a 

 Pretty Expreffion by a Word of Art, that Exprefficn goeth cm ran:-, though 

 it be empty of Matter. This Conceit of Elifion, appeareth moft msnifefUy 



to 



