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bodies of any other figure. From a cube it is more 
eafily drawn at the corners than at the plane fides, 
and fo from the angles of a body of any other form, 
and {till moft eafily from the angle thatismoft acute; 
and for this reafon points have a property of draw- 
ing on, as well as throwing off the electrical fluid, 
at greater diftances than blunt bodies can. 
From various experiments recited in our author’s 
treatiie, to which the curious may have recourfe, the 
preceding oblervations are deduced. You will obferve 
how much they coincide with andfupport thofe which 
I fome time fince communicated to the Society upon 
the fame fubject. 
To give even the fhorteff account of all the experi- 
ments contained in Mr. Franklin’s book would ex- 
ceed greatly the time allowed for thefe purpofes by 
the Royal Society : I fhall content myfelf therefore 
with laying a few of the moll lingular ones before 
you. 
The effeCts of lightning, and thofe of electricity, 
appear very fimilar. Lightning has often been known 
to lfrike people blind. A pigeon, ffruck dead to ap- 
pearance by the eleCtrical (hock, recovering life, 
drooped feveral days, eat nothing, tho’ crumbs were 
thrown to it, but declined and died. Mr. Franklin 
did not think of its being deprived of fight ; but af- 
terwards a pullet, ffruck dead in like manner, being 
recovered by repeatedly blowing into its lungs, when 
fet down on the floor, ran headlong againff the wall, 
and on examination appeared perfectly blind : hence 
he concluded, that the pigeon alfo had been abfolutely 
blinded by the fhock. From this obfervation we 
ffiould be extremely cautious, how in eleCtrifing we 
draw 
