[ r 42 ] 
time, held towards the conductor, at the diftance of 
two feet, the point would draw off all the electricity 
of it filently, and not luifer a fpark to pals from 
thence to the ball ; and from this experiment I 
inferred, that a (harp point might probably, in fome 
meafure, produce the fame effect on a cloud highly 
charged with eledtricity, * and thus perhaps con- 
tribute to leflen a little, if not actually prevent, 
a ftroke. I alio obferved, that if the point of the 
wire, or lancet, was brought nearly into contact 
with the prime condudtor; yet no fenfation would 
be felt in the hand of the operator; and this, I 
imagined, was a kind of demonllration, that there 
could be no danger of inviting a ftroke of light- 
ning from a cloud, by a fharp pointed condudtor ; 
as it could make no difference in the experiment, 
whether the point moved towards the large prime 
condudtor, or the condudtor moved towards the 
point. It having, however, been objedted to this 
experiment, that it was not analogous to the effedt 
of nature operating by a cloud; forafmuch as the 
cloud being a lool'e and floating body, it might 
accede to, and ftrike upon the point with its con- 
tents ; which the condudtor, being a fixed body, 
was incapable of doing, I made the following ex- 
periment, 
EXPERIMENT VII. 
I procured, by means of my ingenious friend 
Mr. Coventry, a bullock’s bladder, of the largelt 
ft ze ; which bladder Mr. Coventry gilded for me 
with leaf copper, and fufpended it, by a filken 
Or rather on the eledbic atmofphere, furrounding the cloud. 
6 firing, 
