Spontaneous Decomposition of a Fabric of Silk, 
the inner of wool and the outer of silk. When he strip- 
ped off the silk stockings, he let them drop on a woollen 
carpet lying by the bed-side ; and one of his garters, 
which was of white woollen ferretin, fell down with the 
stockings. The under- stockings, on being pulled off, 
were thrown at some distance, near the foot of the bed. 
He observed, on separating and removing the silk stock- 
ings from the woollen ones, that there was an unusual 
snapping and sparkling of electric matter. But aS he 
had been long acquainted with the appearance, it attract- 
ed but transient notice. 
He fell asleep, and remained undisturbed until morn- 
ing, when the servant entered to kindle the fire. The 
man observed that one of the leather slippers, lying on 
the carpet, and partly covered by one of the stockings, 
was very much burnt. Mr. Dayton then rose, and found 
that the leather over which the stockings had lain was 
converted to a coal. The stockings were changed to a 
brown, or what is commonly called a butternut colour. 
And although, to the eye, the stitches of the legs, and 
even the threads of their clocks, appeared to be firm and 
entire, yet, as soon as an attempt was made to touch and 
handle them, they were found to be wholly destitute of 
cohesion, their texture and structure being altogether de- 
stroyed, Nothing but a remnant of carbonic matter was 
left, except that a part of the heel of one of the stock- 
ings was not decomposed. 
Though this destruction of the stockings took place 
during the night, when nobody saw the manner and cir- 
cumstances of the process, yet there was evidence enough 
of the evolution of much caloric while it w as going on : 
for every thing in contact with the stockings was turned 
to coal or cinder. Beside the slipper before mentioned, 
the garter was burned. It had fallen partly on the car- 
pet, and partly on and between the stockings. As far as 
