460 Recent Progress of Electricity. [August, 
to be possessed. His favourite resting place of retirement 
is, as I have said, deep in the interior of the world, from 
which, however, he is continually emerging, and gliding to 
and fro through the earth and the air, doing an infinite 
variety of useful and beneficent work ; after accomplishing 
which he, by the law of his existence, quietly retires to his 
place of concealment. But if anything should stand in his 
way or resist his passage, woe be to that person or thing. 
Personal injury, or even destruction or death, is sure to be 
the result. 
Notwithstanding the amount of work he is known to 
perform, Electron is also fond of dancing, and his favourite 
place for enjoying this pastime is in the neighbourhood of 
and around the poles of the earth. There, in a bright frosty 
evening, mortals may often get glimpses of his holiday 
garments corruscating in all the beautiful hues of the rain- 
bow, mysteriously vanishing and re-appearing as he disports 
himself in the fantastic evolutions of his mystic dance. 
He exerts a mysterious but powerful influence on the 
sensations of living creatures. The behaviour of many of 
the lower animals gives well-understood indications and 
warnings of changes of weather to be expected from his 
approach. In the human body he can, by his presence, 
induce either the most pleasurable and salubrious feelings, 
or sensations of the most disagreeable and unbearable nature. 
There were various ways in which the Magi at first suc- 
ceeded in conjuring this potent spirit and making him give 
indications of his presence. Sometimes this was done by 
making a grateful and rapid friction with a metallic or other 
substance of which he is known to be fond, through the 
medium of a suitable receptacle placed in communication, 
or en rapport, with the earth where he resides. The result 
is that he comes gradually into the vessel (or trap), and 
indicates his presence by a crackling noise and the emission 
of sparks, just as is done when the back of a cat is treated 
in a similar manner. At other times he was tempted by a 
dish of metals stewed in an acid, for which he has a pre- 
dilection. 
But now, by God’s permission, the power has been given 
to the wise men of various countries, more especially those 
of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and America, 
to secure, bind, and imprison him in a leaden vessel or 
casket, and to seal it with the seal of Solomon the Wise, so 
that he can be kept there as the submissive slave of his 
captor, carried to a distance, and when released, forced to 
perform whatever work may be appointed him to do. In 
