pins, and who at the fame time stands upon dry filk, is to all intents and purposes an electrical conductor infolated, and prepared for collecting the fire from the atmosphere: And it is not at all furprizing, that during thunder-ftorms, or when the air is extremely replete with electrical matter, fhe fhould emit fparks, and exhibit other appearances of electricity.-I imagine a very trifling change of drefs, which from the conftant versatility of their modes may fome day take place, would render this lady's disease altogether epidemical amongst the sex. -Only let the foles of their fhoes be made of an electric fubftance, and let the wires of their caps, and pins of their hair, be fomewhat lengthened and pointed outwards; and I think there is little doubt, that they will often find themselves in an electrified ftate-But, indeed, if they only wear filk, or even worsted ftockings, it may sometimes prove fufficient; for I have often infolated electrometers as perfectly by pla

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ting them on a piece of dry filk or flannel, as on glafs.

How little do our ladies imagine, when they furround their heads with wire, the moft powerful of all conductors; and at the fame time wear stockings, fhoes, and gowns of filk, one of the most powerful repellents, that they prepare their bodies in the fame manner, and according to the fame principles as electricians prepare their conductors for attracting the fire of lightning! If they cannot be brought to relinquish their wire caps and their pins, might they not fall upon fome fuch prefervative as thofe which of late years have been applied to objects of less confequence?

Suppofe that every lady should provide herself with a small chain or wire, to be hooked on at pleasure during thunderftorms. This fhould pafs from her cap over VOL. I.

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the thickest part of her hair, which will prevent the fire from being communicated to her head; and fo down to the ground.

-It is plain this will act in the fame manner as the conductors on the tops of steeples, which from the metal fpires that are commonly placed there, analogous to the pins and wires, were fo liable to accidents. You may laugh at all this; but I affure you I never was more ferious in my life. A very amiable lady of my acquaintance, Mrs. Douglas, of Kelso, had almost lost her life by one of those caps mounted on wire. She was ftanding at an open window during a thunder-ftorm: The lightning was attracted by the wire, and the cap was burnt to afhes; happily her hair was in its natural state, without powder, pomatum, or pins; and prevented the fire from being conducted to her head; for as fhe felt no kind of fhock, it is probable that it went off from the wires of the cap to the wall, clofe to which the then ftood. If it had

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found any conductor to carry it to her head or body, in all probability fhe must have been killed. A good ftrong head of hair, if it is kept perfectly clean and dry, is probably one of the best preservatives against the fire of lightning. But fo foon as it is stuffed full of powder and pomatum, and bound together with pins, its repellent force is loft, and it becomes a conductor *. -But I beg pardon for these furmises: I throw

Since the writing of these letters, the author has made fome experiments on the electricity of hair; which tend ftill to convince him the more of what he has advanced. A lady had told him, that on combing her hair in frofty weather, in the dark, fhe had sometimes obferved sparks of fire to iffue from it. This made him think of attempting to collect the electrical fire from hair alone, without the affiftance of any other electrical apparatus. To this end, he defired a young lady to ftand on a cake of bees-wax, and to comb her fifter's hair, who was fitting on a chair before her. Soon after she began to comb, the young lady on the wax was greatly aftonished to find her whole body electrified; darting out sparks of fire against

I throw them in your way only for you to improve upon at your leifure: For we have it ever in our power to be making experiments in electricity. And although this fluid is the moft fubtile and active of any we know, we can command it on all occafions; and I am now fo accustomed to its operations, that I feldom comb

my hair, or pull off a stocking, without obferving them under fome form or other. How furprifing is it then, that mankind should have lived and breathed in it for so many

every object that approached her. The hair was extremely electrical, and affected an electrometer at a very great distance: He charged a metal conductor from it with great ease; and in the space of a few minutes collected as much fire immediately from the hair, as to kindle common fpirits; and by means of a small phial gave many smart shocks to all the company. A full account of thefe experiments was lately read before the Royal Society. They were made during the time of a very hard froft, and on a strong head of hair, where no powder or pomatum had been used for many months.

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