50 



^aturall Hiflory: 



206 



Experiments 

 in Contort, 

 touching the 

 Lofting and 

 Perijhing of 

 Sounds ; And 

 touching the 

 Time they re- 

 quire to the 

 Generation-, or 

 Delation.. 

 207 



there feemeth to be more in it : For it may be, that Spiritual/ Spedesjboth of 

 Things Viftble,M\c\ Sounds do move better Downwards, than Upwards. It is a 

 ftrange Thing that to Men ftanding below on the Ground, thofe that be 

 on the Top of Pauls, feem muchlefs than they are, and cannot be known 5 

 But toMen above, thofe below feem nothing fo much leflened, and may 

 be known : yet it is true,that all things to them above, feem alfo fome- 

 what contracted, and better collected into Figure : as Knots in Gardens (hew 

 beft from an Upper window, or Tarras. 



But to make an exacl: Triall of it, let a Man ftand in a Chamber, not much 

 above the Ground, and fpeak out at the window, thorowa Trunk, to one 

 ftanding on the Ground, as foftly as he can, the other laying his Ear clofe 

 10 xhz Trunk: Then via verja, let the other fpeak betow keeping the fame 

 Proportion of Softnefs $ And let. him in the chamber lay his Ear to the 

 T runk. And this may be the apteft Meanes,to make a Judgement,whether 

 Sounds defcend,or afcend, better. 



A 



Fter that Sound is created, (which is in.; 

 eth fome fmall time, melting by little 



208 



209 



210 



moment,) we find it continu- 

 ed little. Jn this there is a 

 wonderfull Errour amongft Men, who take this to be a Continuance of the 

 Firft Sound : whereas (in truth')it is a Renovation,md not a Continuance : For 

 t he Body per cuffed, hath by reaibn of the Percufjion, a T npdation wrought in 

 the Minute Parts and fo reneweth the Percufjion of the Air. This appear - 

 eth manifeftly, becaufe that the Melting Sound of a Bell, or of a String 

 ftrucken, which is thought to be a Continuance, ceaieth as foon as the Bell 

 or String are touched. As in a Virginall, as foon as ever the Jackfalleth, 

 and toucheth the String, the Sound ceafeth And in a Bell, after you have 

 chimed upon it, if you touch the Bell, the Sound tzAtih. And in this you 

 muft diftinguifh that there are two T repidations t The one Manifeft,and Lo- 

 cally As of the Bell, when it is Penfile .• The other Secret, of the Minute 

 Parts fuch as is defcribed in the ninth Inftance. But it is true,that the Local 

 helpeth the Secret greatly. We fee likewife that in Pipes, and other wind 

 Inftruments,the Soundhfteth no longer, than the breath bloweth. It is true 

 /that in OrganSjthere is a confuted Murmur for a while, after you have play- 

 ed-,But that is but while the Bellowes are iri Falling. 



It is certain, that in the Noife of great Ordnance, where many are ihot off 

 together, the Somd will be carried, (at the leaft) twenty Miles upon the 

 land, and much further upon the Water. But then it will come to the Ear $ 

 Not in the Inftant of the Shooting off, but it will come an Hour, or more 

 later. This muft needs be a Continuance of the Firfl Sound ; For there is no 

 Trepidation which mould renew it. And the Touching of the Ordnance 

 would not extinguifh the Sound the fooner : So that in great Sounds the Con- 

 tinuance is more then Momentany. 



To try exa&ly the time wherein Sound is Delated, Let a Man ftand in a 

 Steeple, and have with him a Taper ; And let fome veil be put before the 

 Taper-, And let another Man ftand in the Field a Mile off. Then let him in 

 the Steeple ftrike the Bell And in the fame inftant withdraw the Veile 

 And fo let him in the Field tell by his Pulfe what diftanceof Time there is 

 between the Light feene,d,nd the Sound heard: for it is certain that the Dela- 

 tion of 'Light is in an Inftant. This may be tried in far greater* Diftances, 

 allowing greater Lights and Sounds. 



It is generally known and obferved, that Light, and the object of Sight, 

 move fwifter than S ound $ For we fee the Flafhof a Peece is feen fooner, 



than 



