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The Story of Coal-Gas 51 the orifice. In a short while this ceased. Then he applied a light to the opening, and, as he had con- fidently expected, a tongue of flame burst forth and continued to burn for a few seconds. He had pro- duced “ spirit ” gas, such as was found in the aban- doned well, in his laboratory. As a result of this discovery Dr. Clayton devised a new means of entertaining his friends. Instead of burning the gas as it came from the little furnace, he led it through a small length of pipe into bladders which became inflated therewith. Upon a bladder be- coming fully charged its mouth was tied tightly, and in this manner the gas was stored. When his friends visited him he would take one of these bladders, puncture it with a needle, and, holding it in his hand, would apply a light to the hole. The gas instantly caught fire, and continued burning until the contents of the bladder had been consumed. Watching the “ spirit ” gas burn itself out in this manner con- stituted a source of infinite amusement, and his wizardry became a topic of enthusiastic conversation, not only in the neighbourhood, but far and wide. In 1739 Dr. Clayton gave a lecture upon his discovery before the Royal Society, and repeated his experi- ments for the satisfaction of his learned colleagues. Such was the discovery of coal-gas and its illu- minating properties, but it was dismissed as being only an interesting laboratory experiment. The possi- bility of turning the discovery to commercial account was emphatically negatived and ridiculed. Accord- ingly, nothing more was heard of coal-gas for nearly a century. It even lost its novelty as a laboratory experiment and a source of amusement.