While Franklin was still making plans, he heard that the experiment had been performed successfully near Paris. A man named Dalibard had mounted a metal rod forty feet high on the roof of a small cabin and rested the foot of the rod on a table inside the cabin. Dalibard set an old dragoon to watch for thunder clouds, and had a wire ready near the rod to draw off any sparks that might be obtained. After several days a thunder cloud appeared, and sparks flew from the rod to the wire. The dragoon thought they smelt of sulphur and that some demon was at work. He sent for the priest, but the priest knew that this was not the work of a demon; and he proceeded to draw sparks out of the rod with the wire, after which he told Dalibard what had happened. The latter was delighted, and exclaimed that Franklin’s idea was no longer a guess but a reality. Franklin, however, did not regard the experiment as a sufficient proof, and he conceived the new idea of sending up a kite with an iron point in order to draw electricity from the clouds. He sent up a kite, holding the string by a silk ribbon, so as not to get the sparks into his hand. A thunder storm came on, but no effect was observed although Franklin had tied a key to the end of the string. But when the rain began to fall and the string got wet, a strong spark was obtained on bringing the knuckle near the key. This conclusive experiment had a great effect all through the civilised world. It was repeated in every country, and Franklin’s idea of drawing electricity out of the clouds by means of pointed rods connected with the earth was adopted in many places. Such rods were called Lightning Conductors. Sometimes these lightning conductors were not connected with the earth, but with some apparatus for measuring the amount of electricity, or with a Leyden jar for collecting it. Such an arrangement was put up in St Petersburg by a man of the name of Richmann. But while he and a friend were observing the measuring instrument, the friend suddenly saw a ball of blue fire come out of the rod and hit Richmann on the head, killing him instantly. This death of an experimenter did not excite horror, but rather envy. One great discoverer is said to have exclaimed that it was not given to every electrician to die in so glorious a manner. Men of science were interested greatly in the manner in which the electric shock had affected the head and body of Richmann, and those effects were investigated closely. Richmann himself was so devoted to the cause of science that we may well believe that he would have been proud of being the first to be killed in an experiment of this kind. Besides, he was also the last, as his successors were able through his death to protect themselves from similar dangers. CHAPTER X THE ELECTRIC CURRENT