'Mr. cavallo’s 
4it> 
in cafe, that, if the electricity fhould increafe farther, it 
might be filently conduced to the earth, without canting 
any bad accident by being accumulated in the infulated 
ltring. To effeCt this, as I had no proper apparatus near 
me, I thought to take away the filk lace, and fatten the 
tiring itfelf to the chair; accordingly I difengaged the 
wire that connected with the electrometer, laid hold of 
the tiring, untied it from the tilk lace, and fattened it to 
the chair. But while I effected this, which took up lefs 
'than half a minute, I received about a dozen or fifteen very 
hard tliocks, which I felt all along my arms, in my breatt 
and legs, fhaking me in fuch a manner, that 1 had hardly 
power enough to effect my purpoie, and to warn the peo- 
ple in the room to keep their dittance. As foon as I took 
my hand off of the tiring, the electrical fluid, in confe- 
•quence of the chair being a bad conductor, began to fnap 
between the tiring and the fhutter of the window, which 
was the neared body to it. The fnappings, which were 
audible at a good dittance out of the room, feemed at firft 
ifochronous with the tliocks I had received ; but in about a 
minute’s time they became more frequent, lb that the peo- 
ple of the houfe compared their found to the rattling noife 
of a jack going when the fly is oft'. The cloud was now 
juft over the kite ; it was black and pretty well defined, of 
almott a circular form, its diameter appearing to be about 
40°. The rain was copious, but not remarkably heavy. 
As the cloud was going off, the eleCtrical fnappings began 
to weaken, and in a fhort time became unaudible. I went 
then near the firing, and finding the electricity weak, 
but 
5 
