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Imitation Thunderclouds

To show the manner in which thunderclouds perform their operations in the air, A A is a wooden stand, on which are erected two uprights, B B; c c are two small pulleys, over which a silken cord can pull easily; E is another silken line stretched across from one upright to another; on these silken cords two pieces of thin cardboard covered with tinfoil, and cut so as to represent clouds, are to be fixed horizontally, and made to communicate, by means of thin wires F and G, one with the inside, and the other with the outside, of a charged jar, D. Now, by pulling the loop of the silk line, the clouds will be brought near the cloud 2; continue this slowly, until the clouds (which are furnished with two small brass balls) are within an inch of each other, when a beautiful flash, strongly resembling lightning in miniature, will pass from one cloud to the other, restoring electrical equilibrium.