n at the battery behind me, and we will
put a platinum-wire across to connect the poles, and then if I find I can
ignite a pretty good length of this wire, we shall be safe in our
experiment. Now you will see the power. [The connection was established,
and the intermediate wire became red-hot.] There is the power running
beautifully through the wire, which I have made thin on purpose to shew
you that we have those powerful forces; and now, having that power, we
will proceed with it to the examination of water.

I have here two pieces of platinum, and if I lay them down upon this piece
of paper [the moistened paper on the tinfoil], you will see no action; and
if I take them up, there is no change that you can see, but the
arrangement remains just as it was before. But, now, see what happens: if
I take these two poles and put either one or the other of them down
separately on the platinum-plates, they do nothing for me, both are
perfectly without action; but if I let them both be in contact at the same
moment, see what happens [a brown spot appeared under each pole of the
battery]. Look here at the effect that takes place, and see how I have
pulled something apart from the white--something brown; and I have no
doubt, if I were to arrange it thus, and were to put one of the poles to
the tinfoil on the other side of the paper--why, I get such a beautiful
action upon the paper, that I am going to see whether I cannot write with
it--a telegram, if you please. [The Lecturer here traced the word
"juvenile" on the paper with one of the terminal wires.] See there how
beautifully we can get our results!

You see we have here drawn something, which we have not known about
before, out of this solution. Let us now take that flask from Mr.
Andersen's hands, and see what we can draw out of that. This, you know, is
a liquid which we have just made up from copper and nitric acid, whilst
our other experiments were in hand; and though I am making this experiment
very hastily, and may bungle a little, yet I prefer to let you see what I
do rather than prepare it beforehand.

Now, see what happens. These two platinum-plates are the two ends (or I
will make them so immediately) of this apparatus; and I am about to put
them in contact with that solution just as we did a moment ago on the
paper. It does not matter to us whether the solution be on the paper or
whether it be in the jar, so long as we bring the ends of the apparatus to
it. If I p