a letter from the reverend henry miles d. d. and f. r. s. to the president; containing observations...

A Letter from the Reverend Henry Miles D. D. and F. R. S. to the President; ContainingObservations of Luminous Emanations from Human Bodies, and from Brutes; With SomeRemarks on ElectricityAuthor(s): Henry MilesSource: Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 43 (1744 - 1745), pp. 441-446Published by: The Royal SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/104491 .

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1

XV. SLeter frwn he Reverend Henry Miles D. D. and F. R. & to the Pref1dent; con tazirg Ogervatons of luminous Emana- tionsfiom human Bodies, andfrom Brutts; withJ^oene Remarks or Eledricity.

S I R ¢vd June z3 THE many Expetiments latelt made

1745* - 1 in EleEtricity, and the furpriSng Efeds which-have been produced, are Encourage- ments to proceed in fach Trialss that by an adsTancing Knoxvledge in the Nature of there Ptran>e iPho- ena} we may have growilag Hopcs fome Benefit xvill acctue tO Mankind from tluem, as well as Elltertain- ment to the Curious.

I ffiould thereforc thilzk myGelf very happy) could I contribute any thing toxvards an Improvemcne in tllis Branch of natural lEl}ossledbeX were it but by X geRing wllat PerCol1s of happier Talents mi$11t make a more fucccfsful U[c of, tllanoI am!able to do.

The follonving AccountsX wllicll relaite to an odd Phnotnenon} that has bcen feveral tilllcS obfbrStCd in Iome human Bodies.> as well as in tlloSe of fom: brute Alzimals, I xvas, fbr a good xvhile, backnrard to ohr tO .thC Confideratson of tlzoSe rllo are attellt tive to eleAa^ic Experiments fearilzg tllCy NVOtllli bc thought a little foreibn tQ the Subjed; but thos Ape prehenfion has, in a great-meaEure, been removedX by confidering the- Remark swhich vlle 1ate inDeliotls

and induftrlous Men}ber of the Ray/ <Monety ^llr iStoph$..



t 73 &Ch. Gry llladeJ il-< couScqucrtce of the Expertment

of; Boy X+t}ended*ontHart LinWs; t+ t4creby

<< \v2 @C, fat Animals tcceive a gratct %atltity of ¢ CiCalriC >viA *^}}* An0> NViti] tll- teSt?C of t rery + {earned P int atld an 11o+ourabl: N1C1NIDCZ of thc famc S *ty I wiil ald liils lkenlark ota t!zc L}id Fxpcrin^ctlt. (t It is (fiys 11z) vc*y ot{Ctvableotiat tlle C3otunlunicaticen of Eledricity is £mc11 greatcr < tllroy aninnal tliall t.rQ} indnimate Bodics : tt.zaF is

XC Tilc ciaRic Fluidy pafl[in^, tllro} tilcfc} tnects svitl t+ a gtcatcr tantity <f tllc fatn: Matter xn tlncm << tllan in tlue othcr > tlle Xlid antazal Fibles beinO

nlorc 2dapted to receix it*t' And} a littiC aRerfi

hc adds ti encouraging Words) _ < Perllaps tllC < Pro(k<tltion of filcll Trials upon livin;> Creatures < may:> in time make us more acqusintcd wtith the ¢t Laws and Adliorls of this impetuous P^rt (as + a povratres cAllSit*$) ti. tlle ncrstous FIuid in tlue ¢¢ animal Machine lta rr acreaint; 1as sc reb7wstt

Ill the late Edition of tlle W<3rks of tllC HonourF ablc Mr. BQY>} Sl. VV 5P4Ze 646. is a Lctter fFom A4r. Clkytany dated 2#nP 2 3 . I 684* at yames city in giataX itz wllich he gives Mr Beyban Account of a Erange Accident (as 11e calls it); and adds} tllat he had inclofed thc stery Paper Coloncl 9Zgges tavc

him of itX under his osvn Halld and Nanzc} to atteA the Trutl> and that flle fime was alb acrtcd to

him

* p*Xt >a; N9- 4I7* t DrF MevG Mechan Account of PoiMns lxtroul#a. p 38> 39* Ed. 3d *$ Hipp Epidemf 1ib a. 5 8. T ogywTx Stsuct¢4;4 t4* Xctet 1i5+ l. Yer IX IO



I

him by Madam i)igges, his Ladys SiPter to the-Wife of Major Sewall, and Dallghter of the Lord Balti- 7nore, tO whom this Accident happened.

This Paper, very unhappily, came not to hand till after Mr. BoyZe's Works were printed; and therefore could not be inferted with Mr. Claytons Letter: But, havin:, fince met with it, I preSent the following exaft Copy of it to youX and, if you judOe fi, by your Hands to the Royal Soaiety.

MarySand, =4nna r 683, THERE happened, about the Month of Novem

cc 6er, to one lKlrs JlW/anna Sewall, Wife to 'f Major lViC. SetalZ of the Province abovefaid,. a ": llrange Fla{hing o£ Sparks (feem'd to be of Fire) ' in all the wearint Apparel the put on, and fo con <' tinued till Ca7?dlemvs: And, in the Company of ' feveral, qviz. Captain 3tohn Harris, Mr. Edard

Braines, Captain Edward (PoglJ4on, &c. the laid " S@nna did fend feveral of her wearir}g Apparel; ' and, nvhen they were Ihaken, it would fly out in. 's Sparks, and nlake a Noite much Sike unto Bay ' leaves svllcn flung into the Pire; and one Spark ' litt on Ma jor Sewall s Thumb-nail, and there con- sc tinucd at leaft a Minute before it svent out, nvith- " out any Heat.: A11 which llappened inthe Com*- ts pany of

Mn. vDiggesX



- a

... 11. m. | "._.._ S . - zL

* Tke ar3dittonal Linec tte not in Colonel D^ggeM Hand, but t. eln to be n iNtr. ¢.b)*roX2s.

t 44s 1 * ¢ ?ly Lady BaltixnoreX her Mother-il:-las^> for

< fome tinze before the Deatlu of her Son Cr: se Xizls Galvert, had tlle like happened to her;

xvllicll has alads Madam Setall much trou ts blcd ar xallat has happened tO her.'

t; They cauScd NIrs. Szxfanv SewaAZ one Day to fc put on 11er SiLler t)*gges's Petricoar, whicll ts tlacy had tried beforchand} and would not <i Epa. kle ; but tat NX ight, svhen -2f ad am Sewall (' pUt it O it would Epalkse as the ren of her <; OW11 Gatm¢lltS did.

The celebrated Bdrtholin of Cope"Dagen, in his CollcAion cyf- allatomical HiRories that are unufuala Grz?ry sI1. fl.-LXX, which he intitles MSer ApAendenss g}ves us a paralAel InLlallce in a noble Lady of Verona in Italy, which} 11e fays, he laad from an Account of the Phnomeaon publifEed by rPetrgs a Cfro, a learlled Playfiian of the fanze Piace, in a fmall Treatife intituled iC)e Igne Lam- ent-e. There is th,s Circumftance not mentioned in Mrs. SewaAlJs CaCe (tho perllaps it xrould llavc hap- pelled, if Trial had beirs made, as well as in the CaSe of the ItaZian Lad) s wvlaiwh I think not ialproper tO

nzention, in Bartholivss owrl 47OrdcX _ cs tlO-

" txens lesiter linteo corptss tetiger-t, f intiAZ ex <' artgbgs sopio./e proJZiv,t, cgnAis dotneUtivis (o;- "Rirg) nonferxs 4r Jie jZiceexvuterentgr.' At the ConcluSon of this Relation he reters us tO a Book of llis, intituled, De Lve JlaimaliamZ for lnore In-

Inllanccs



t443 ] fances of thefe lucid Ef>wa; and fays, he has there Illown the CauSe of them at large; l5ut, as I have not yet gOt a Sight of that Book, I can fay nothing fuF

thcr only, ttC ins thc fecond Century of the

Hillories aboure-mentioned, HiJ?ory XII. he affiertss that-he 11as prow'd, in his Book de Lgre, &c. that Ligllt ls connatural or illnate to all, as well Vegetables as Animals.

There is another Author, Dr. S Non, who pub- lifficd a Philofophical Dificourfe of Fermentation, dedicated to thc-Roy4Z Soriety, Snno t675* who- takes notice of Lighe proceeding from Animals, on the Frication or PeAation (as he calls it) of them; and illllances in ttle Combtng a Woman's Head, the Currying of a Horfe, and tlle Fricsation of a Catss Back; tfue twn lall of whicll are known tO mo0. I cannotvtell whetller it be tnaterial to add, that, ac- cording to this Gentleman's Hypothelis, he would aS1gn the Principlcs of FermentationX wllictu hc fup pofes to be Saidxm & Salph14r, as tlle CauCe of theSc lucid Efffatia in Animals. His Hypothefis 1 may not tike upon me to 1udge of; but I humbly appre- hend, the Properties of the ESasiv in animal Bodies are many ofthem common with thoSe produced from GlaSs, et.; ruch as their being lucid, tlleir SnappingX and their not being excited without fome Degree of FriEtion, and, I prefumc, I may add, EleEtricity; for I harrey by repeated Trials, found a Cat's Back to be firongly eleCtrical, when flroakJd.

I muR iDtreat your Candor in excufing the Errors and Imperfedrions you may obServe in this Paper to my prefent weak State of Health; and I was un- willing to delay any longer a fmall TeRimony of

Lll my



r 446 nzy Defire to promote the Defigns of the RoyaZ: Society; to which and its worthy 'PreJ>dent, I am

X faithfS h"bte Sersant? noting,. y 9.

74Sw

He£lry Mliesv

p. 5. In the kccourlt of fome- of the carllcr eleXtrio cal Experiments made by Mr. Gray, Phil. EramgJ N°. 366. we are infolmedX thav h; eled-rificd l¢* veral otller I;Mies, befides qlwinlai ;SubEances, 1v¢ drawing them betrecn his Thumb arxd Flngers; in particular, Linneru of divers Sorts, Paper7 alld Firw SllavinDs, whicll would not only be attradred to his Hand, but attrad;t all fmall Bodies to them, as other eled:tric Bodies do. Now, notwitllAanding this la& CircurnRance of eheir attrading, as well as beitlg attraAed, may it not be queRioned, Whe- tluer, in this Way o-f Trial, it appears that they are eleEtlical Bodies, or EleEtrics per Je .2 Is it not doubtful (fin£e his Fingers muA be excited con- fderably in this Expcriment) wllether he diid xlot conumllnicate Eledrici-ty tO them from his HandX ratller tllan excite it in tllern > I have no doubt but tllat tlle Principle is inllerent in many other Bodies befides Animal, pofliblar, in all Bodies >hatevcr; 13ut as it is allow'd, I fuppofc gellerally, that Arli nl1als have a greater euantity of it refilding in thems than other SubPtances, thcrt Scems Room to admit the Doubt I have mention'd, which I fubmit to the Confideration of Ellch as are cutsous in Expe; tinzeruts of this kitld.

XVL



a letter from the reverend henry miles d. d. and f. r. s. to the president; containing observations...

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