Whilft Franklin was waiting for the erection of a fpire, it occurred to him, that he might have more ready access to the region of clouds by means of a common kite. He prepared one by attaching two cross sticks to a filk handkerchief, which would not fuffer fo much from the rain as paper. To this upright ftick was fixed an iron point. The ftring was, as ufual, of hemp, except the low. er end, which was filk. Where the hemp ftring terminated, a key was faftened. With this appa ratus, on the appearance of a thunder-guft approaching, he went out into the commons, accom panied by his fon, to whom alone he communicated his intentions, well knowing the ridicule which, too generally for the intereft of fcience, awaits unfuccefsful experiments in philofophy. He pla ced himself under a fhed to avoid the rain. His kite was raised.. A thunder cloud paffed over it. No fign of electricity appeared. He almoft defpaired of fuccefs; when fuddenly he observed the loofe fibres of his ftring to move towards an erect pofition. He now prefented his knuckle to the key, and received a ftrong fpark. How exquifite must his fenfations have been at this moment! On this experiment depended the fate of his theory. If he fucceeded, his name would rank high amongst thofe who have improved fcience; if he failed, he must inevitably be fubjected to the derifion of mankind, or, what is worse, their pity, as a well-meaning man, but a weak, filly projectThe anxiety with which he looked for the refult of his experiment, may eafily be conceived. Dubts and defpair had begun to prevail, when the fact was afcertained in fo clear a manner, that even the moft incredulous could no longer with

pr.

hold their affent. Repeated sparks were drawn from the key, a vial was charged, a fhock given, and all the experiments made, which are usually performed with electricity.

About a month before this period fome ingenious Frenchman had completed the discovery, in the manner originally prope fed by Dr. Franklin. The letters which he fent to Mr. Collinfon, it is faid, were refused a place amongst the papers of the Royal Society of London. However, this may be, Collinfon published them in a separate vo lume, under the title of New Experiments and Obfervations on Electricity, made at Philadelphia in America. They were read with avidity, and foon tranflated into different languages. A very incorrect French tranflation fell into the hands of the celebrated Buffon, who, notwithstanding the difadvantages under which the work laboured, was much pleased with it, and repeated the experiments with fuccefs. He prevailed upon his friend, M.. D'Alibard, to give his countrymen a more correct. tranflation of the work of the American electrici

This contributed much towards fpreading a knowledge of Franklin's principles in France.The king, Louis XV. hearing of thefe experi ments, expreffed a wish to be a spectator of them. A courfe of experiments was given at the feat of the Duc D'Ayen, at St. Germain, by M. De Lor. The applaufes which the king bestowed upon Franklin, excited in Buffon, D'Alibard, and De Lor, an earnest defire of afcertaining the truth of his theory of thunder-gufts. Buffon erected his apparatus on the tower of Montbar. M. D'Alibard at Mary-la-ville, and De Lor at his houfe in the Etrapade at Paris, fome of the highest ground in

that capital. D'Alibard's machine firft fhewed figns of electricity. On the 10th of May, 1752, a thunder cloud paffed over it, in the abfence of M. D'Alibard; and a number of fparks were drawn from it by Coiffier, a joiner, with whom D'Alibard had left directions how to proceed, and by M. Raulet, the prior of Mary-la-ville. An account of this experiment was given to the Royal Academy of Sciences, in a memoir by M D'Alibard, dated May 13th, 1752. On the 18th of May, M. De Lor proved equally fuccefsful with the apparatus erect ed at his own houfe. Thefe difcoveries foon ex cited the philofophers of other parts of Europe to repeat the experiment. Amongst thefe, none fig nalized themfelves more than father Beccaria of Turin, to whofe obfervations fcience is much in debted. Even the cold Regions of Ruffia were penetrated by the ardor for difcovery. Profeffor Richman bade fair to add much to the ftock of knowledge on this fubject, when an unfortunate flash from his rod put a period to his exiftenceThe friends of fcience will long remember with regret the amiable martyr to electricity.

By thefe experiments Franklin's theory was efta. blished in the moft firm manner. When the truth of it could no longer be doubted, the vanity of men endeavoured to detract from its merit. That an American, an inhabitant of the obfcure city of Philadelphia, the name of which was hardly known, fhould be able to make difcoveries, and to frame theories, which had efcaped the notice of the enlightened philosophers of Europe was too mortifying to be admitted. He muit certainly have taken the idea from fomebody elie. An American, a being of an inferior order, make

discoveries! Impoffible. It was faid, that the Abbe Nollet, in 1748, had fuggefted the idea of the fimilarity of lightning and electricity, in his Leçons de Phyfique. It is true, that the Abbe mentions the idea, but he throws it out as a bare conjecture, and propofes no mode of afcertaining the truth of it. He himself acknowledges, that Frankin first entertained the bold thought of bringing ightning from the heavens, by means of pointed tods fixed in the air. The fimilarity of electricity and lightning is fo ftrong, that we need not be urprised at notice being taken of it, as foon as eectrical phanomena became familiar. We find it mentioned by Dr. Wall and Mr. Grey, while the cience was in its infancy. But the honour of forming a regular theory of thunder-gufts, of fuggefting a mode of determining the truth of it byexperiments, and of putting these experiments in practice, and thus eftablishing his theory upon a irm and folid bafis, is inconteftibly due to Frankin. D'Alibard, who made the experiments in France, fays, that he only followed the track which Franklin had pointed out.

It has been of late afferted, that the honour of completing the experiment with the electrical kite, does not belong to Franklin. Some late English paragraphs have attributed it to fome Frenchman, whofe name they did not mention; and the Abbe Berthelon gives it to M. De Romas, affeffor to the prefident of Nerac; the English paragraphs probably refer to the fame perfon. But a very flight attention will convince us of the injuftice of this procedure: Dr. Franklin's experiment was made in June 1752; and his letter, giving an account of it, is dated October 19, 1752, M. De

Romas made his first attempt on the 14th of May 1753, but was not fuccefsful until the 7th of June; a year after Franklin had completed the difcovery, and when it was known to all the philofophers in Europe.

Besides these great principles, Franklin's letters on electricity contain a number of facts and hints, which have contributed greatly towards reducing this branch of knowledge to a science. His friend, Mr. Kinnerfly, communicated to him a difcovery of the different kinds of electricity excited by rub bing glass and fulphur. This, we have faid, was firft obferved by M. Du Faye; but it was for many years neglected. The philofophers were difpofed to account for the phenomena, rather from a difference in the quantity of electricity collected; and even Du Faye himfelf feems at laft to have a dopted this doctrine. Franklin at firft entertained the fame idea; but upon repeating the experiments, he perceived that Mr. Kinnerfley was right; and that the vitreous and refinous electricity of Du Faye were nothing more than the fofitive and negative ftates which he had before obferved; that the gla globe charged pofitively, or increafed the quantity of electricity on the prime conductor, while the globe of fulphur diminished it natural quantity, or charged negatively. These experiments, and obfervations opened a new field for investigation, upon which electricians entered with avidity; and their labours have added much to the stock of our knowledge.

In September, 1752, Franklin entered upon courfe of experiments, to determine the ftate of e lectricity in the clouds. From a number of expe riments he formed this conclufion: that the