Identifier: magazineofamericv26stev (find matches)
Title: The magazine of American history with notes and queries
Year: 1877 (1870s)
Authors: Stevens, John Austin, 1827-1910. ed. cn DeCosta, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1831-1904. ed. cn Johnston, Henry Phelps, 1842-1923, ed. cn Lamb, Martha J. (Martha Joanna), 1829-1893. ed. cn Pond, Nathan Gillett, 1832-1894 ed Abbatt, William, 1851-1935, comp
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Publisher: New York : A.S. Barnes
Contributing Library: Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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s a dangerous lunatic* The story of Professor Muschenbroeks miraculous bottle, as it wascalled, was not long in crossing the Atlantic. Dr. Franklin was enchantedwith it. He went to Boston and there found that Dr. Spence had broughtwith him from Scotland one of the electrical tubes, and he was presentwhen Dr. Spence experimented with it before a large number of people.Dr. Franklin had already made thunder-storms a study, and had kept fullyabreast with scientific knowledge and progress in the old world. It wasnot long after he returned to Philadelphia before one of the tubes was sentto him from London in a parcel of books which Peter Collinson had * We are indebted to the courtesy of the publishers, Charles Scribners Sons, for the picture ofthe Sewing-Machine run by Electricity; also for the view of the Hoosac Tunnel, the Wiresunder the Switchboard, Operating the Train Telegraph, Search Light of a Ship of War,and the portrait of Otto Gericke. SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ELECTRICITY 189
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SEARCH LIGHT OF A SHIP OF WAR IN Outgrowth of the lessons learned in preceding century. shipped to the Philadelphia library. The tube was about two feet and ahalf long, and as thick as a man could conveniently grasp, and the direc-tions stated that it was to be rubbed with a piece of cloth or buckskin, andheld in contact with the object designed to be charged. As soon as it wasunpacked Dr. Franklin began to use it. He was then forty-one years old,with his future career of usefulness yet to be unfolded. To him this tubewas not merely a toy, as it was with many others, it. was a continuous les-son. I never was before engaged in any study that so totally engrossedmy attention and my time as this, he wrote to a friend ; for what withmaking experiments when I am alone, and repeating them to my friendsand acquaintances, who, from the novelty of the thing, come continuallyin crowds to see me, I have little leisure for anything else. He evolvedhis theory of plus and minus, or positive and neg

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