95 
u ^ myself, says a dignified and learned prelate/ “ have made it more 
than once, but I have nothing material to add to his account, except that the 
flame, when the experiment is made in the open air, is of very short dura¬ 
tion, and that the whole mass, after the extinction of the flame, continues at 
intervals, for a longer or shorter time, according to its quantity, to throw out 
sparks; and that a ladlefull of the ignited mass, being dropped down from a 
considerable height, descends like a shower of red-hot ashes, much resem¬ 
bling the paintings of the eruptions of Mount Vesuvius.” 
It has been observed, that large quantities of such materials are not requi¬ 
site to make the experiment succeed, provided there be a due proportion of 
water: half a pound of steel-filings, half a pound of flowers of brimstone, and 
fourteen ounces of water, will, when well mixed, acquire heat enough to oc¬ 
casion the mass to take fire.-f 
But that heat and fire, continues the learned Bishop, should be generated 
from the spontaneous actions of mineraid upon each other, is a phenomenon 
not altogether singular of its kind. 
In minerals, as well as vegetables, a definite quantity of moisture is alone 
requisite to enable them to commence that intestine motion of their parts, 
and those decompositions, which are necessary for the production of flame. 
* Dr. Watson, Bishop of Landaff, vide his Chemical Essays, in five volumes. In Yol. IV. 
we find the following very curious Preface: “ Above two thousand copies of the former volumes of 
my Chemical Essays, have been sold in less than five years. I mention not this circumstance out of 
vanity, or as if I thought it contained any proof of their merit; but I produce it as a solid proof of the 
disposition of the public to become acquainted with chemical subjects, when they are treated in a po¬ 
pular way. This disposition has been long prevalent in foreign countries; it seems to be gaining 
oround in our own; and if I have endeavoured to contribute a little towards its establishment amongst 
us, I hope the utility of the design will plead my excuse with those who, in the severity of their judg¬ 
ments, may think that I have contributed to it more than, from the nature of my profession and situation, 
I ouafit to have done. When I was elected Professor of Divinity in 1771, I determined to aban¬ 
don for ever the study of chemistry; and I did abandon it for several years: but the —veteris vestigia 
flamma —still continued to delight me, and at length seduced me from my purpose. When I was 
made a Bishop in 1782, I again determined to quit my favourite pursuit: the Volume I now offer to 
the public is a sad proof of the imbecility of my resolution. I have on this day, however, offered a 
sacrifice to other people’s notions, (certainly some Goths of the 18 th century) I confess, rather than 
to my own opinion of Episcopal Decorum .—I have destroyed all my remaining chemical manu¬ 
scripts.”. . But it is yet to be hoped, that this Bishop will become a sinner again, and the public cannot 
fail to be benefited, as well as agreeably instructed; for as this most learned and elegant writer expresses 
himself elsewhere, “ The book of Nature and of Revelation, equally elevate our conceptions and in¬ 
cite our piety, they mutually illustrate each other-, they have an equal claim to our regard, for 
they are both written by the finger of One eternal, incomprehensible God, to whom be 
GLORY, FOR EVER AND EVER, AMEN. 
f Vide Sage's Miner. Vol. I. p. 42 . 
