Now, that water was
produced by the candle. In the same manner, if I put this spirit-lamp
under that jar, you will soon see the latter become damp, from the dew
which is deposited upon it--that dew being the result of combustion; and I
have no doubt you will shortly see by the drops of water which fall upon
the paper below, that there is a good deal of water produced from the
combustion of the lamp. I will let it remain, and you can afterwards see
how much water has been collected. So, if I take a gas-lamp, and put any
cooling arrangement over it, I shall get water--water being likewise
produced from the combustion of gas. Here, in this bottle, is a quantity
of water--perfectly pure, distilled water, produced from the combustion of
a gas-lamp--in no point different from the water that you distil from the
river, or ocean, or spring, but exactly the same thing. Water is one
individual thing--it never changes. We can add to it by careful
adjustment, for a little while, or we can take it apart, and get other
things from it; but water, as water, remains always the same, either in a
solid, liquid, or fluid state. Here, again [holding another bottle], is
some water produced by the combustion of an oil-lamp. A pint of oil, when
burnt fairly and properly, produces rather more than a pint of water.
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