draught and the dampness of the air. So the smoke from one flue will
descend another, into some unused room, on such occasions. Another class
of these electrical signs are felt by those who are suffering from chronic
diseases, which have affected the nerves and made them sensitive. Thus
Jenner:

"Old Betty's joints are on the rack."

And Hone adds:

"Her corns with shooting pains torment her,
And to her bed untimely send her."

But Old Betty's rheumatism or corns are not alone in this. Those whose
bones have been broken feel it. All invalids feel it. And, indeed, all
observing healthy persons may, and do, although all are not distinctly
conscious of it. It is common for such to say, I feel sleepy, or I feel
dull, or, It _feels_ like snow, or _feels_ like rain, and thus from their
own feelings to be able to predict, not only falling weather, but its
_character_, whether snow or rain, at a time when either may occur
consistently with appearances.

This change is a change from the positive electricity which is so
congenial to the active--"bracing" is the usual term--to negative and
damp--for this change is accompanied by condensation, as I believe all
changes from positive to negative are. Certain it is, if the atmosphere is
highly charged with negative electricity, condensation takes place; if
with positive, evaporation. Perhaps it is a change of the associated
electricity which accompanies magnetism, and not of the free atmospheric
electricity alone. Hence another phenomenon alluded to by Jenner:

"The walls are damp, the ditches smell."

There are localities where this dampness is very obvious. The celebrated
William Cobbett, many years since, when a farmer on Long Island, observed
and published the fact that the stones grew damp before a storm. I know of
flagging stones that usually grow damp two or three hours before rain,
especially in spring and fall, and every step taken upon them is made
visible by a corresponding increase of condensation.

The reverse of this takes place just before the close of storms. Flagging
stones, and walls under cover, will frequently become dry before the rain
ceases. The negative electricity becomes less as the positive prevails,
although the clouds above are still dropping rain.

In the comparatively moist, showery climate of England, these changes from
positive to negative alternate rapidly between successive showers; but
observations of electric phenomena, or of clo