I lately acquainted you, that I had been able to fire Spirit of Wine, Phlogiston of Frobenius, and common proof Spirit, by the Power of Electricity. Since which (till Yesterday) we have had but one very dry fine Day; viz. Monday, April 15. Wind E. N. E.; when about four o'Clock in the Afternoon, I got my Apparatus ready, and fired the Spirit of Wine four Times from the Poker as before, three Times from the Finger of a Person electrified, standing upon a Cake of Wax, and once from the Finger of a second Person standing upon Wax, communicating with the first by means of a walking Cane held between their Arms extended. The horizontal Distance in this Case between the glass Tube and the Spirit was at least ten Feet.

You all know, that there is the repulsive Power of Electricity, as well as the attractive; inasmuch as you are able, when a Feather or such-like light Substance is replete with Electricity, to drive it about a Room, which Way you please. This repulsive Power continues, until either the Tube loses its excited Force, or the Feather attracts the Moisture from the Air, or comes near to some non-electric Substance; if so, the Feather is attracted by, and its Electricity lost in, whatever Non-Electric it comes near. In electrified Bodies, you see a perpetual Endeavour to get rid of their Electricity. This induced me to make the following Experiment. I placed a Man upon a Cake of Wax, who held in one of his Hands a Spoon with the warm Spirits, and in the other a Poker with the Thread. I rubbed the Tube amongst the Thread, and electrified him as before. I then ordered a Person not electrified to bring his Finger near the Middle of the Spoon; upon which, the Flash from the Spoon and Spirit was violent enough to fire the Spirit. This Experiment I then repeated three Times. In this Method, the Person by whose Finger the Spirit of Wine is fired, feels the Stroke much more violent, than when the electrical Fire goes from him to the Spoon. This Method for the Sake of Distinction, we will call the repulsive Power of Electricity.

The late Dr. Desaguliers has observed in his excellent Dissertation concerning Electricity, "That there is a Sort of Capriciousness attending these Experiments, or something unaccountable in their PhÆnomena, not to be reduced to any Rule. For sometimes an Experiment, which has been made several Times successively, will all at once fail." Now I imagine that the greatest Part, if not the Whole of this Matter, depends upon the Moisture or Dryness of the Air, a sudden though slight Alteration in which, perhaps not sufficient to be obvious to our Faculties, may be perceived by the very subtle Fire of Electricity. For

1st, I conceive, that the Air itself (as has been observed by Dr. Desaguliers) is an Electric per se and of the vitreous Kind; therefore it repels the Electricity arising from the glass Tube, and disposes it to electrify whatever non-electrical Bodies receive the Effluvia from the Tube.

2dly, That Water is a non-Electric, and of Consequence a Conductor of Electricity; this is exemplified by a Jett of Water being attracted by the Tube, from either Electric's per se conducting Electricity, and non-Electric's more readily when wetted; but what is more to my present Purpose, is, that if you only blow through a dry glass Tube, the Moisture from your Breath will cause that Tube to be a Conductor of Electricity.

These being premised; in proportion as the Air is replete with watery Vapours, the Electricity arising from the Tube, instead of being conducted as proposed, is, by means of these Vapours, communicated to the circum-ambient Atmosphere and dissipated as fast as excited.

This Theory has been confirmed to me by divers Experiments, but by none more remarkably than on the Evening of the Day I made those before-mention'd; when the Vapours, which in the Afternoon by the Sun's Heat, and a brisk Gale were dissipated, and the Air perfectly dry, descended again in great Plenty upon the Absence of both, and the Evening was very damp. For between seven and eight o'Clock, I attempted again the same Experiments in the same Manner, without being able to make any of them succeed; though all those mention'd in this Paper with others of less Note, were made in Half an Hour's Time.

I am the more particular in this, being willing to save the Labour of those, who are desirous of making these Kind of Trials; for although some of the lesser Experiments may succeed almost at any Time, yet I never could find that the more remarkable ones would succeed but in dry Weather.