86 
Mr. henly’s Experiments and 
over thofe parts of the mafts of the flfips which were 
covered with lamp-hlack and tar, or painted with lamp- 
black and oil, without the leaft injury, Ihivered the un- 
coated parts (tearing out fplinters five or fix feet in length, 
and fix or eight inches deep) in fuch a manner as to ren- 
der the mafts entirely ufelefs. A very curious inftance 
of this kind hath lately been communicated to me by a 
learned and ingenious member of the Royal Society, from 
whom I received the account which I fliall here infert ver- 
batim, 
“ On the firft of April, 1776, being on board a brig 
u in the latitude 34 0 N. our veffel was ftruck with light- 
“ ning, which difabled our fore-maft. Upon getting the 
“ whole of the top-mafts down upon the deck, I ob- 
“ ferved the following particulars, with regard to the 
“ courfe and effects of the electrical matter. The light- 
“ ning had firft ftruck the pinnacle of the fore-top-gal- 
“ lant-maft (on which, at that time, there happened to 
“ be no iron fpindle, as ufual) which it juft fplit flightly 
“ for about two feet and a half, where it was painted 
“ with lamp-black and oil (I could not, however, afcer- 
“ tain whether this part of the maft had been newly 
“ fplit or not : it might have been firft occafioned by 
“ driving in the iron fpindle, whereon a vane is ufually 
•“ placed; for there was a hole where fuch a fpindle had 
“ been 
