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wood, living bodies, and other eledrifable fubflances. 
Thirdly, that it was not abfolutely neceffary to place 
thefe bodies at the tops of buildings j and that it was 
fufficient for them to be placed about four feet from 
the ground in an open fituation, and at fome di- 
stance from large buildings. Fourthly, that bodies 
eledrifed in this manner produced the like pheno- 
mena with thofe eledrifed by glafs after the ufual 
manner. It was afterwards difcovered, that electrifa- 
ble bodies, thus difpofed in open air, were fometimes 
eledrifed under thick clouds, but without thunder, 
lightning, or even without rain or hail. 
The Abbe Nollet recommends, that thefe experi- 
ments fliould be made with circumfpedion, as he 
has been informed by letters from Florence and Bo- 
logna, that thofe, who have made them there, have 
had their curiofity more than fatisfied by the violent 
Blocks, which they have fufiained, in drawing off 
the fparks from an iron bar electrifed by thunder. 
One of thefe in particular fays, that once, as he was 
endeavouring to fallen a fmall chain, with a copper 
ball at one of its extremities, to a great chain, which 
communicated with the bar at the top of the build- 
ing, in order to draw off the electrical fparks by 
means of the ofcillations of this ball, there came 'a 
flafii of lightning, which he did not fee, but which 
affected the chain with a noife like wild-fire. At 
that infiant, the electricity communicated itfelf to the 
chain of the copper-ball, and gave the obferver lb 
violent a commotion, that the ball fell out of his 
hands, and he was Bruck backwards four or five 
paces. He never had been fo much Blocked by the 
experiment of Leyden. 
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