file which includes the original illustrations4 ,see #dbbde-;h4htm or #dbbde-;h4zip3 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/cache_/epu b_/#dbbde_/pg#dbbde-;images4html7 or 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/files_/#db bde_/dbbde-;h4zip7 ,images of the original pages are available through ,internet ,archive4 ,see https3_/_/archive4org_/details_/thunderl ightning#jj;flamuoft ,,thunder ,,and ,,lightning 99 99 99 99 99 ,medium #hvo1 cloth extra1 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,flammarion',s ,,popular ,,astronomy ,translated from the ,french by ,j4 ,,ellard ,,gore1 ,f4,r4,a4,s4 ,with #c ,plates and #bhh ,illustrations4 ,the six books into which the book is divided give a very lucid and accurate description of the knowledge which has been acquired of the moving bodies of space1 both as respects their motions and physical constitutions4 ,of the translation we can only speak in terms of praise4 ,not only does it well represent the original1 but ,mr4 ,gore has added useful notes for the purpose of bringing the information up to date1 and has also increased the number--already very considerable--of the excellent illustrations1 so that the work is likely to become as popular in ,england as it has been in ,france4--,,athen,,um4 ,the work which ,mr4 ,j4 ,e4 ,gore has translated into ,english has made for itself a name and reputation in ,france 444 and has gone into general circulation to the number of a hundred thousand copies4 ,this last fact is proof how well within the bounds of possibility it is to make the latest discoveries of science comprehensible and fascinating to the common mind4 ,m4 ,flammarion has attained this triumph through the grasp of his knowledge1 the lucidity of his style1 and his power of bringing home the most stupendous and complicated of the things revealed to us in the depths of space4 ,m4 ,flammarion's pages should find almost as great acceptance in this country as in his own4 ,simplicity of arrangement and of statement are part of his charm and of his success4--,,scotsman4 ,m4 ,flammarion's latest volume1 if it does not displace its ,english rivals1 may well take a high place in the rank to which they belong4 ,it is full1 lucid1 and1 thanks to ,mr4 ,gore's careful revision1 well up to date4444 ,mr4 ,gore's edition is so carefully brought abreast of the latest discoveries that the ,english student may now congratulate himself on being in an even better position than the countrymen of ,m4 ,flammarion4--,,daily ,,chronicle4 ,young students of astronomy who wish to obtain a general idea of the most wonderful and fascinating of all sciences will find precisely what they seek in ,m4 ,flammarion's eloquent and poetic chapters4444 ,there are many illustrations in this able and attractive treatise4--,,speaker4 ,it is a fascinating work1 extending to nearly seven hundred pages1 and dealing in popular language with some of the most interesting of the discoveries and speculations of astronomers4--,,daily ,,news4 ,m4 ,flammarion is a sound practical astronomer2 he has rendered good and laborious service to the science1 and he possesses a valuable faculty of popular exposition4444 ,the volume is profusely and well illustrated1 some of the best plates making here their first appearance4--,,saturday ,,review4 ,a high place must be accorded to ,flammarion's ',popular ,astronomy4' ,never before has the science of the heavens been treated with such fulness and interest as in this fascinating book2 for ,flammarion is a man of letters as well as a man of science--a man of letters1 too1 endowed with the wondrous gifts of lucidity and charm which distinguish the best ,french writers4444 ,flammarion's book is much more absorbing than most novels1 more romantic than most romances1 more poetic than most poems1 yet strictly and scientifically accurate4--,,ludgate ,,monthly4 ,it must be confessed that ,m4 ,flammarion not only arrests the attention1 but assists the reader to grasp astronomical theories--a task in which less popular writers often fail when they make the attempt4--,,literary ,,world4 ,the book is a most fascinating one1 and holds the reader from start to finish4444 ,as a manual for those who wish to obtain a good general knowledge of astronomy this work will be found unsurpassed4--,,science ,,gossip4 ,,london3 ,,chatto ,,windus1 #aaa ,,st4 ,,martin',s ,,lane1 ,w4,c4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,thunder ,,and ,,lightning by ,,camille ,,flammarion ,translated by ,walter ,mostyn ,illustration ,,with ,,illustrations ,london ,chatto ,windus #aije ,printed by ,william ,clowes and ,sons1 ,limited1 ,london and ,beccles4 ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,i4 ,,the ,,victims ,,of ,,lightning #a ,,ii4 ,,atmospheric ,,electricity ,,and ,,storm-,,clouds #ag ,,iii4 ,,the ,,flash ,,and ,,the ,,sound #ca ,,iv4 ,,fireballs #eg ,v4 ,,the ,,effects ,,of ,,lightning ,,on ,,mankind #hi ,,vi4 ,,the ,,effects ,,of ,,lightning ,,on ,,animals #abh ,,vii4 ,,the ,,effects ,,of ,,lightning ,,on ,,trees ,,and ,,plants #aee ,,viii4 ,,the ,,effects ,,of ,,lightning ,,on ,,metals1 ,,objects1 ,,houses1 ,,etc4 #ahh ,,ix4 ,,lightning ,,conductors #bdj ,x4 ,,pictures ,,made ,,by ,,lightning #bdi ,,thunder ,,and ,,lightning ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,victims ,,of ,,lightning ,it would be an interesting thing to make a careful study once a year1 towards the end of the summer1 of the habits and customs of thunder and lightning4 ,perhaps in this way we should succeed one day in determining the still mysterious nature of these elusive forces4 ,i1 for my part1 have been engaged upon the task for many years past4 ,it has produced a big accumulation of records1 and in this volume ,i can find room but for a rsum of them1 as varied as possible4 ,in my first chapter ,i shall present a few characteristic examples1 just to give my readers some hint of this variety4 ,not to go too far back1 let us begin with a harmless--,i might almost say playful--fireball performance1 of which ,m4 ,schnaufer1 ,professor at ,marseilles1 has given me the particulars4 ,in ,october1 #ahih1 the fireball in question made its appearance in a room and advanced towards a young girl who was seated at the table1 her feet hanging down without touching the floor4 ,the luminous globe moved along the floor in the girl's direction1 began to rise quite near her and then round and round her1 spiral fashion1 darted off towards a hole in the chimney--a hole made for the stove-pipe1 and closed up with glued paper--made its way up the chimney1 and1 on emerging into the open air1 gave out upon the roof an appalling crash which shook the entire house4 ,it was a case of coming in like a lamb and going out like a lion6 ,a similar occurrence is recorded as having been observed in ,paris1 on ,july #e1 #aheb1 in a tailor's room1 including the same curious detail of the departure through the hole in the chimney1 closed up with paper4 ,it was in the ,rue ,saint ,jacques1 near the ,val de ,grce4 ,the fireball burst into the room from the chimney1 knocking over the paper guard in front of the fireplace4 ,in appearance it suggested a young cat1 gathered up into a ball1 as it were1 and moving along without using its paws4 ,it approached the tailor's legs as though to play with them4 ,the tailor moved them away to avoid the contact1 of which he naturally was in terror4 ,after some seconds1 the globe of fire rose vertically to the height of the man's face as he sat1 and he1 to save himself1 leaned quickly back and fell over4 ,the fireball continued to rise1 and made its way towards a hole which had been made at the top of the chimney for the insertion of a stove-pipe in the winter1 but which1 as the tailor put it afterwards1 the fireball couldn't see1 because it was closed up with paper4 ,the ball stripped off the paper neatly1 entered the chimney quite quietly1 and having risen to the summit1 produced a tremendous explosion1 which sent the chimney-top flying1 and scattered it in bits all over the neighbouring courtyard and surrounding roofs4 ,there we have a unique occurrence1 recorded for us by ,babinet and ,arago1 and of which ,i have given here the exact particulars4 ,in both these cases we have to note the attraction of the hole in the chimney and the explosion of the thunderbolt on getting to the top4 ,but it is not easy to detect the law underlying these phenomena4 ,in one of the latest volumes of the ,association ,franaise a somewhat similar case is dealt with4 ,a violent storm1 says the writer1 ,m4 ,wander1 had descended upon the commune of ,beugnon 7,deux-,svres74 ,i happened to be passing through a farm1 in which were two children of about twelve and thirteen4 ,these children were taking refuge from the rain under the door of a stable1 in which were twenty-five oxen4 ,in front of them extended a courtyard1 sloping downwards towards a large pond1 twenty or thirty yards away1 beside which grew a poplar-tree4 ,suddenly there appeared a globe of fire1 of the size of an apple1 near the top of the poplar4 ,we saw it descend1 branch by branch1 and then down the trunk4 ,it moved along the courtyard very slowly1 seeming almost to pick its way between the pools of water1 and came up to the door where stood the children4 ,one of them was bold enough to touch it with his foot4 ,immediately a terrible crash shook the entire farm to its foundations1 the two children were thrown to the ground uninjured1 but eleven of the animals in the stable were killed6 ,who is to explain these anomalies8 ,the child who touched the fireball escapes with a fright1 and a few feet behind him eleven animals out of twenty-five perish on the spot6 ,during the storm which broke out at the town of ,gray1 on ,july #g1 #ahhf1 my friend ,m4 ,vannesson1 ,president of the ,tribunal1 saw a fireball of from thirty to forty centimetres in diameter1 which exploded on the corner of a roof1 cutting clean off the end portion of the central beam to the length of about half a yard 7like a bundle of matches1 but without setting it on fire71 scattering the splinters over the upper story and loosening the plaster upon the walls below4 ,it then rebounded on the roofing of a little outside staircase1 made a hole in it1 smashing and sending flying the slates1 came down upon the road1 and rolling right in the midst of some passers-by--who1 like the child in the farm1 escaped with a fright--disappeared4 ,my learned fellow-member of the ,astronomical ,society of ,france1 ,dr4 ,bougon1 has discovered an account of one of the most remarkable fireballs ever recorded in ,la ,gloire des ,confesseurs1 a work written by ,gregory of ,tours1 the twentieth bishop of that town4 ,on the dedication day of an oratory which he had constructed in one of the outer buildings of the episcopal palace1 all the participants in the procession from the cathedral1 while approaching the oratory with the sacred relics and singing the litanies1 saw a globe of fire1 so intensely brilliant that their eyes were dazzled1 and they could scarcely keep them open4 ,seized with terror1 priests1 deacons1 sub-deacons1 choristers1 together with the distinguished citizens of the town1 who were carrying the relics upon their shoulders1 all with one accord threw themselves on the ground1 face downward4 ,then ,gregory1 remembering that on the occasion of the death of ,st4 ,martin1 some of whose bones were among the relics being carried from the cathedral1 a globe of fire was said to have been observed to leave the saint's head and ascend heavenwards1 believed himself to be in the presence of a miracle1 vouchsafed as evidence at once of ,st4 ,martin's sanctity and the genuineness of his relics4 ,this globe of fire did no damage and burnt nothing4 ,discurrebat autem per totam cellulam1 ,,tanquam ,,fulgur1 globus igneus4 ,there is to be seen at the ,louvre a picture by ,eustache ,lesueur1 entitled ,la ,messe de ,saint ,martin1 which seemed to me at first to illustrate this narrative1 but the spectators are shown in silent wonder instead of being prostrated as in the story4 ,moreover1 ,gregory of ,tours tells us in his life of ,st4 ,martin1 that one day during ,mass a globe of fire was seen to appear above the head of the bishop1 and then to rise heavenwards1 to the great edification of the devout4 ,it was this miracle1 evidently1 that ,lesueur intended to represent4 ,here is another case of a remarkably harmless fireball which is often cited4 ,the ,abb ,spallanzani it is who tells the story4 ,on ,august #bi1 #agia1 a young peasant woman was in a field during a storm1 when suddenly there appeared at her feet a globe of fire of about the size of a billiard ball4 ,slipping along the ground1 this little fireball reached her feet1 caressed them1 as it were1 made its way up under her clothes1 and issued again from the middle of her bodice1 and1 still keeping its globular form1 darted off into the air and exploded noisily4 ,when it got under her petticoats1 they blew out like an umbrella1 and she fell back4 ,two witnesses of the scene ran to her assistance1 but she was unhurt4 ,a medical examination revealed only a slight erosion of the skin1 extending from the right knee to the middle of her breast2 her chemise had been torn in two along the same line1 and there was a hole through her bodice where the thunderbolt had got out4 ,in the ,memoirs of ,du ,bellay the following very curious narrative is to be found4 ,in all probability it is a fireball that is in question3-- ,on ,march #c1 #aeeg1 ,diane of ,france1 illegitimate daughter of ,henri ,,ii41 then the ,dauphin1 married ,franois de ,montmorency4 ,on the night of their wedding1 an oscillating flame came into their bedroom through the window1 went from corner to corner1 and finally to the nuptial bed1 where it burnt ,diane's hair and night attire4 ,it did them no other harm1 but their terror can be imagined4 ,perhaps it may be as well to take with a pinch of salt the statement that the lady's attire was burnt in this way without harm to her person1 yet there are other authentic stories of a similar kind almost as curious4 ,in #ahig1 at ,linguy 7,eure-et-,loire71 a man and his wife were sleeping quietly1 when suddenly a terrible crash made them jump out of bed4 ,they thought their last hour had come4 ,the chimney1 broken to pieces1 had fallen in and its wreckage filled the room1 the gable-end was put out and the roof threatened to come down4 ,the effects of the thunderbolt in the room itself were less alarming than its effects outside1 but were very curious4 ,for instance1 bricks from one wall had been dashed horizontally against the wall opposite1 with such extraordinary force that they were to be seen imbedded in it up above a dresser upon which pots and pans1 etc41 were ranged1 and within a few inches of the ceiling1 while the windows of the room had been smashed into bits1 and a looking-glass1 detached from the wall1 stood on end whole and entire upon the floor1 delicately balanced4 ,a chair near the bed1 upon which articles of clothing had been placed1 had been spirited away to a spot near the door4 ,a small lamp and a box of matches were to be found undamaged upon the floor4 ,an old gun1 suspended from a beam1 was violently shaken and had lost its ramrod4 ,the thunderbolt actually frolicked over the bed1 leaving its occupants more dead than alive from terror but quite unhurt4 ,it passed within a few inches of their heads and passed through a fissure in a partition into an adjoining dairy1 where it carried a whole row of milk-cans1 full of milk1 from one side of the room to another1 breaking the lids but not upsetting a single can4 ,it broke four plates out of a pile of a dozen1 leaving the remaining eight intact4 ,it carried away the tap from a small barrel of wine1 which emptied itself in consequence4 ,it ended by passing out through the window without further breakage1 leaving the husband and wife unscathed but panic-stricken4 ,one of the strangest tricks to which lightning is addicted is that of undressing its victims4 ,it displays much more skill and cleverness in such diversions than is to be found in animals or even in many human beings4 ,here is one of the most curious instances of this on record1 as narrated by ,morand3-- ,a woman in man's costume4 ,a storm suddenly comes on4 ,a flash of lightning strikes her1 carries off and destroys her clothes and boots4 ,she is left stark naked1 and she has to be wrapped up in a cloth and taken thus to the neighbouring village4 ,in #ahih1 at ,courcelles-les-,sens1 ,mlles4 ,philomne ,escalbert1 aged #ai1 ,adle ,delauffre1 aged #bb1 and ,madame ,lonie ,legre1 aged #dd1 were standing round a reaping-machine1 when a flash of lightning struck ,madame ,legre and killed her on the spot4 ,the two young girls were stripped to the skin1 even their boots being torn from their feet4 ,otherwise they were left safe and sound--and astonished4 ,on ,october #a1 #ahfh1 seven persons took refuge during a storm under a huge ash-tree near the village of ,bonello1 in the ,commune of ,perret 7,ctes-du-,nord71 when suddenly the tree was struck by lightning1 and one of them--a woman--was killed4 ,the six others were knocked to the ground without being seriously damaged4 ,the clothes of the woman who had been killed were torn into shreds1 many of which were found clinging to the branches of the tree4 ,on ,may #aa1 #ahfi1 a farmer at ,ardillats was tilling the ground with his two oxen1 not far from his dwelling-place1 about four in the afternoon4 ,the air was close and heavy1 and the sky covered with black clouds4 ,suddenly there was a great thunderclap1 and a flash of lightning struck both man and beasts dead on the spot4 ,the man was found stripped to the skin1 and his boots had been carried thirty yards away4 ,in ,july1 #ahif1 at ,epervans 7,sane-et-,loire71 a young man named ,petiot1 who was mowing in a meadow1 was struck dead by lightning while lighting a cigarette1 and left in a state of complete nakedness4 ,on ,august #aa1 #ahee1 a man was struck by lightning near ,vallerois 7,haute-,sane71 and stripped naked4 ,all that could be found afterwards of his clothes was a shirt-sleeve1 a few other shreds1 and some pieces of his hobnailed boots4 ,ten minutes after he was struck he regained consciousness1 opened his eyes1 complained of the cold1 and inquired how he happened to be naked4 ,there is no telling what lightning will not do4 ,sometimes it will snatch things out of your hand and carry them right away4 ,there is a case of a mug being thus spirited away from a man1 who had just been drinking out of it1 and deposited undamaged in a courtyard near--the man himself suffering no injury4 ,a youth of eighteen1 holding up a missal from which he is singing1 has it torn out of his hands and destroyed4 ,a whip is whisked out of a rider's hand4 ,two ladies1 quietly knitting1 have their knitting-needles stolen4 ,a girl was sitting at her sewing-machine1 a pair of scissors in her hand2 a flash of lightning1 and her scissors are gone and she is sitting on the sewing-machine4 ,a farmer's labourer is carrying a pitchfork on his shoulder2 the lightning seizes it1 carries it off fifty yards or so1 and twists its two prongs into corkscrews4 ,on ,july #bb1 #ahgh1 at ,gien 7,nievre71 a woman while sprinkling her house with holy water during a storm1 saw her holy-water bottle smashed actually in her fingers by the lightning1 which at the same time smashed up the tiled pavement of the room4 ,in a church at ,danc 7,loire7 during vespers1 one day in ,june1 #ahff1 a flash of lightning killed the priest and all the congregation1 knocked over the monstrance on the altar1 and buried the ,host in a heap of dbris4 ,on ,june #bh1 #ahhe1 the cupola of the ,javisy ,observatory1 which was not then provided with a lightning conductor1 was struck by lightning4 ,an enormous piece of oak from un angle de construction was torn to shreds1 and one splinter was lodged in the hinge of a window behind the pivot1 in the part between the pivot and the frame1 hardly a twenty-fifth of an inch apart1 and this without breaking the glass4 ,in other cases lightning has been known to split men in two1 almost as with a huge axe4 ,on ,january #bj1 #ahfh1 this happened to a miller's assistant in a windmill at ,groix4 ,the lightning struck him1 and split him from his head downwards in two4 ,in the course of ,july1 #ahdd1 four inhabitants of ,heiltz-le-,maurupt1 near ,vitry-le-,franoise1 took refuge under trees during a storm1 three of them under a poplar1 and the fourth under a willow1 against which doubtless he leaned4 ,in a few minutes this one was struck by lightning4 ,a bright flame was observed to be issuing from his clothes1 but he remained standing1 and seemed unconscious of what had happened4 ,you're on fire6 ,you're on fire6 exclaimed his friends4 ,getting no reply1 they went up to where he was1 and found to their horror that he was a corpse4 ,a clergyman named ,butler was a witness of the following incident1 which took place at ,everdon4 ,ten harvest-men took refuge under a lodge on the approach of a storm4 ,there was a thunderclap1 and in a moment four of them were killed by lightning4 ,one of them was found dead1 still holding between finger and thumb a pinch of snuff he had been in the act of taking4 ,a second had one hand upon the head of a small dog1 also killed1 and still sitting upon his knees1 and in the other hand a piece of bread2 a third was sitting1 his eyes open1 facing in the direction from which the storm came4 ,at ,castellane1 in ,august1 #ahih1 during a violent storm1 a flock of sheep was struck by lightning while crossing the mountain of ,peyresy4 ,seventy-five of them were killed4 ,the shepherd escaped4 ,the sheep probably were all wet from the rain1 and clinging together in one great mass4 ,in the same month a pond at ,vauxdmes 7,cte-d',or7 was demolished1 and all the fish in it killed4 ,quite recently1 a young man at ,franxault 7,cte-d',or7 was killed by lightning on his way home from work4 ,all the nails were found to have been torn out of his shoes1 and the links of his silver watch-chain were all moulded together4 ,to fuse silver in this way a heat of #ieg degrees is needed6 ,on ,july #e1 #ahhc1 at ,buffon 7,cte-d',or71 a woman had one of her earrings melted in the same way1 but she was not killed4 ,on the same day at ,void 7,meuse7 two workmen1 who had taken shelter under a willow1 were thrown a distance of four yards without being killed4 ,on ,august #aj1 of the same year1 at ,chanvres 7,yonne71 a vine-dresser was struck by lightning and killed1 but his heart continued to beat for thirty hours4 ,dr4 ,gaultier de ,claubry was struck by lightning1 with the extraordinary result that his beard was taken off him1 roots and all1 so that it never grew again4 ,at ,fresneaux 7,oise71 a young girl of twenty1 ,mlle4 ,laure ,leloup1 had her head shorn by lightning4 ,a wide furrow was to be traced on the crown of her head1 caused by the electric fluid4 ,her hair was removed right down to the skin as though by a razor4 ,on ,september #d1 #ahih1 a flash of lightning lit up all the electric lamps in the ,prefecture of ,lyon4 ,really it is extraordinary the queer things lightning will do6 ,death in one case1 an innocent practical joke in another6 ,i have hundreds of quaint records before me4 ,impossible to deduce any kind of law from them all4 ,you are tempted to believe that the electric current has a brain4 ,a young woman was picking cherries off a rather tall cherry-tree4 ,a young man stood underneath4 ,the young woman was struck by lightning1 and fell dead4 ,this was in ,july1 #ahhe4 ,in ,september1 #ahih1 at ,remaines1 near ,ramerupt 7,aube71 a certain ,m4 ,finot1 an innkeeper1 was standing on his doorstep looking out at a storm1 when a flash of lightning followed by a thunderclap sent him flying back into the hall4 ,he remained unconscious for a time1 and his sight was affected for ten hours4 ,the extraordinary thing1 however1 in his case was that he had been a victim of rheumatism until then1 and walked with difficulty and only with a stick1 and that ever since this occurrence he has been able to do without the stick1 and to pursue his avocations quite comfortably4 ,he feels that he has no reason to regret his experience1 though he is not anxious to go through anything of the kind again4 ,this kind of electrical phenomenon might be catalogued under the title ,medicinal ,lightning4 ,now for a case of ,judicial ,lightning4 ,on ,july #bj1 #ahgb1 a negro named ,norris was hanged in the ,state of ,kentucky for having killed a mulatto1 a fellow-workman of his4 ,at the moment of his setting foot upon the scaffold1 there was a terrible clap of thunder1 and the condemned man was struck dead by lightning4 ,the sheriff was so much moved by the occurrence that he resigned his office4 ,let us wind up this little collection of strange cases with another occurrence reported from the ,united ,states4 ,an immense grange had been built by a man named ,abner ,millikan1 an ardent republican1 who adorned the front walls of his farm with portraits of ,mac,kinley and ,hobart4 ,during a violent storm that broke out1 the building was struck by lightning several times1 and it looked as though it were enveloped in great sheets of flame4 ,millikan1 who had been at some distance from the spot1 rushed thither much alarmed1 and found to his relief that no damage had been done4 ,the portraits alone had been destroyed1 and--here is the strange detail--the lightning had traced the politicians' features upon the wall4 ,certainly lightning plays queer pranks4 ,and ,i have said nothing yet of the photographs lightning sometimes takes4 ,pranks they seem to us1 but we may be sure there is some method in their mischievousness4 ,it is the same with women4 ,women in their caprices are but obeying some law of nature4 ,they are not so capricious as they seem4 ,these strange facts teach us1 anyway1 not for the first time1 that our knowledge of the universe is still very incomplete1 and that its study is worth following up in all its chapters4 ,we may be certain that electricity exercises a much more important influence in nature than is generally supposed1 and that it plays a rle in our own lives which is still practically unrecognized4 ,in the oppression we feel before the coming of a storm1 and the sense of relief we experience when it has passed1 we have an instance of the way in which physical and moral influences are apt to blend or overlap4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,atmospheric ,,electricity ,,and ,,storm-,,clouds ,with such strange facts before us--facts the strangeness and diversity of which baffle all hypotheses and forbid all definite conclusions--we can but keep adding to our observations and accumulating other facts which may tend to elucidate the mystery4 ,the terrible ravages caused every year by lightning make it necessary for us to find some means of preventing the recurrence of certain memorable catastrophes4 ,it is only in the actual investigation of the phenomenon1 in the study of all its smallest manifestations1 that we can hope to discover the methods of the mysterious power4 ,from the earliest times mankind has devoted much thought to the subject4 ,if we glance back towards past centuries we find that thunder and lightning have ever been regarded as a terrible agent of the will of the powers above4 ,the strongest and subtlest brains of antiquity1 ,anaxagoras1 ,aristotle1 ,seneca1 were unable to form any kind of reasonable view regarding the fantastic phenomena resulting from the force of nature and held so mysterious to us moderns4 ,thunder and lightning were generally believed by them to be due to emanations from the earth or to vapours contained in the air4 ,the ,etruscans1 who flourished fifteen hundred years before ,christ1 and who were much given to the study of nature1 are said to have observed the tendency of lightning to make for points1 but no theory upon the subject has come down to us from them4 ,electricity for the ancients was an unplumbed ocean1 whose slightest fluctuations affected them in ways they could not understand4 ,in vain they appealed to their gods to help them to explain the enigma4 ,olympus turned a deaf ear to their prayers4 ,their imagination exhausted itself in researches into the nature of such things as amber1 in which they recognized the curious attribute of attraction and repulsion for objects of slight weight4 ,the poets attributed it to the tears of ,phaton's sisters1 lamenting over the dreams of ,eridan4 ,certain naturalists regarded it as a kind of gum issuing from trees during the dry days4 ,no one gave any thought to electricity1 by whose subtle fluid the earth and everything upon it is penetrated and enveloped4 ,the superstitions connected with lightning would furnish forth material in themselves for a very curious volume of stories--half comic1 half tragic4 ,with the ,romans the fall of a thunderbolt was always taken as an omen4 ,in the reign of ,domitian1 thunder was to be heard once so constantly during a period of eight months that the tyrant1 frightened by the bombardment from on high1 at last cried out in his terror3 ,let the blow come1 then1 where it will6 ,the stroke fell upon the capitol1 and upon the temple of the ,flavian family1 as well as upon the emperor's palace and the very room in which he slept4 ,the inscription beneath the triumphal statue was even torn away by the tempest and thrown into a neighbouring garden4 ,otto de ,gurike1 burgomaster of ,magdeburg and inventor of the air-pump1 was the first person to discover the means of producing the electric spark1 about #afej4 ,about the same time1 ,dr4 ,wall1 while watching electricity being released from a roll of amber1 noticed a spark and a sudden sharp report1 suggestive of a minute flash of lightning1 followed by a minute peal of thunder4 ,the analogy was striking4 ,this discovery opened out a new horizon to physicists1 and almost immediately the feeble electric light produced by the hand of man came to be associated with the monstrous sheaves of fire let loose in space by unknown forces4 ,l',abb ,nollet1 considered in the ,france of his time as an oracle in regard to natural philosophy1 expressed himself as follows upon this subject3--,if some one1 after comparing the phenomena1 were to undertake to prove that thunder is in the hands of nature what electricity is in ours1 that those electrical wonders with which we are now able to make so much play are petty imitations of those great lightning effects which frighten us2 that both result from the same mechanism2 and if he could make it evident that a cloud produced by the action of the winds1 by heat1 and by the mingling of exhalations1 bears the same relation to a terrestrial object as an electrified body bears to an unelectrified body in its close proximity1 ,i admit that the idea1 if well worked out1 would captivate me greatly2 and1 to work it out1 how many plausible arguments there are at the disposal of a man who is properly versed in electricity6 ,the invention of the ,leyden jar in #agdf1 and ,franklin's brilliant investigations1 make these conjectures the more probable4 ,since then electricity has gone ahead and become one of the most important branches of modern natural philosophy4 ,when ,franklin demonstrated that the air is in a permanent condition of electrification even when the sky is clear1 people began to study not thunder alone but the general electrical state of the atmosphere4 ,and ever since meteorological observatories have made it a practice to register every day the degree and nature of atmospheric electricity by the use of very ingenious instruments4 ,but the records obtained up till now leave us in doubt upon many points4 ,the subject is still full of new surprises4 ,whence come those masses of electricity which move about in the clouds1 sometimes escaping from them in thunderclaps and causing such tremendous ravages upon this earth of ours8 ,the evaporation of the sea is one of their principal causes4 ,the atmosphere is continually impregnated with electric effluvia which flow silently through the soil through the medium of all bodies1 organized or not1 attached to the earth's surface4 ,plants afford an especially welcome pathway to this fluid4 ,the green leaves you see rustling in the wind are often being traversed by electrical currents1 luckily harmless1 of precisely the same nature as those of the deadly lightning4 ,on the other hand1 the earth itself emits a certain quantity of electricity1 and it is from the attraction exerted by these two fluids upon each other that thunder comes into existence4 ,to put it in another way1 thunder is a sudden striking of a balance between two different masses of electricity4 ,minute researches have established the fact that in ordinary conditions the terrestrial globe is charged with resinous1 or negative electricity1 while the atmosphere holds in suspension vitre1 or positive electricity4 ,in two words1 our planet and its aerial envelope are two great reservoirs of electricity1 between which take place continual exchanges which play a rle in the life of plants and animals complementary to that which is played by warmth and moisture4 ,the aurora borealis1 which sometimes illumines1 with a brilliancy as of fairyland1 the darkness of night in the ,arctic and all the regions of the ,north1 finds its explanation in the same phenomenon4 ,it also is a striking of a balance1 silent but visible1 between two opposing tensions of the atmosphere and the earth2 thus the apparition of the aurora borealis in ,sweden or ,norway is accompanied by electric currents moving through the earth to a distance sufficiently great to cause the magnetic needle to record the occurrence in the ,paris ,observatory4 ,indeed1 the electricity which pervades the earth1 silently and invisibly1 is identical with that which moves in the heights of the enveloping atmosphere1 and1 whether it be positive or negative1 its essential unity remains the same1 these qualities serving only to indicate a point1 more or less in common1 between the different charges4 ,the heights of the atmosphere are more powerfully electrified than the surface of the globe1 and the degree of electricity increases in the atmosphere with the distance from the earth4 ,atmospheric electricity undergoes1 like warmth1 and like atmospheric pressure1 a double fluctuation1 yearly and daily1 as well as accidental fluctuations more considerable than the regular ones4 ,the maximum comes between six and seven in the morning in summer1 and between ten and twelve in winter2 the minimum comes between five and six in the afternoon in summer1 and about three in the afternoon in winter4 ,there is a second maximum at sunset1 followed by a diminution during the night until sunrise4 ,this fluctuation is connected with that of the hygrometric condition of the air4 ,in the annual fluctuation the maximum comes in ,january1 and the minimum in ,july2 it is due to the great atmospherical circulation2 the winter is the time when the equatorial currents are most active in our hemisphere1 and when the aurora borealis is to be seen most often4 ,on the other hand1 the water of oceans and rivers is continually evaporating under the influence of solar heat1 and rises into the atmosphere1 where it remains in the form of an invisible gaseous vapour4 ,soon it becomes cold again1 and1 in the process of condensation1 transparent gaseous molecules become transformed into minute drops1 which accumulate into a cloud4 ,generally speaking1 clouds are1 like the atmosphere1 charged with positive electricity4 ,sometimes1 however1 there are negative clouds4 ,you may frequently see1 on the summits of mountains1 clouds which seem to cling to the peaks for a while1 as though drawn to them by some force of attraction1 and then move away to follow the general direction of the winds4 ,it often happens that in this case the clouds have lost their positive electricity in thus coming in contact with the mountains1 and have derived from them in its place the negative electricity which1 instead of holding them1 has a tendency to drive them off4 ,a mass of clouds lying between the negative earth and a mass of positive clouds above is almost neutral2 the positive electricity accumulates towards its lower surface1 and the first drops of rain will make it disappear4 ,this mass will1 from that moment1 become like the surface of the soil--that is to say1 it will become negative under the influence of the mass above it1 endowed with a strong positive tendency4 ,the cloud remains suspended in space until the moment when1 under the influence of the ambient medium1 it dissolves in rain4 ,the causes of the instability of clouds are very numerous4 ,my readers are aware that the atmosphere is being constantly agitated by vast currents which pass from the equator to the poles1 and from which the different winds result4 ,the clouds take part in this universal whirl of atmospheric waves4 ,transported from one point to another--often far beyond the region where they came into existence--subjected to every vicissitude of atmosphere1 and blown about by contrary currents1 they follow the gigantic movements which take the form sometimes of cyclones and tempests4 ,under the influence of warmth1 and probably also by its transformation1 these movements engender great masses of electricity1 and presently1 when the clouds have become saturated with it1 the electricity breaks out1 and there is a thunderstorm4 ,the electric fluid1 escaped from the cloud in which it has been imprisoned1 flies to unite itself1 either with the negative electricity stored in the surface of the earth1 or else with the electricity in other neighbouring clouds4 ,almost always the cloud torn open by the electric discharge dissolves in rain or hail4 ,thus a storm is the outcome of violent movements produced by the force of electricity when this has reached its maximum of intensity4 ,thunderstorms are generally heralded by certain premonitory signs4 ,the barometer goes down steadily4 ,the air1 calm and heavy1 is pervaded by a bitter sulphurous odour4 ,the heat is stifling4 ,an abnormal silence reigns over the land4 ,all this has a remarkable effect upon certain organisms1 and produces nervous complaints1 a buzzing in the ears1 a sense of painful oppression1 a sort of good-for-nothingness that we combat in vain4 ,in most cases storms come to us in ,france ready made1 so to speak1 from the sea1 borne in by the currents from the south-west2 they are the off-shoots of the cyclones1 and are born in the tropics1 moving in lines from the south-west to the north-east4 ,ordinarily they lose part of their strength en route and come to an end suddenly with us4 ,there are1 of course1 home-made storms also1 so to speak1 especially in ,france during our hot summers1 when the sun is shining all the day1 and thus promoting the rapid evaporation of our seas and rivers4 ,the air is charged with a heavy mist which veils the horizon2 the barometer is going down1 the thermometer going up4 ,the sun looks leaden though there are no clouds4 ,when it approaches the meridian and its rays are most scorching1 columns of vapour ascend and become condensed into the light clouds termed cirri4 ,at the end of some hours these clouds become attracted to each other1 descend a little1 and become grouped together into what look like great masses of cotton-wool4 ,these are termed cumuli4 ,presently a small grey cloud joins the others4 ,it looks innocent and harmless1 but very often this is the beginning of the battle4 ,first there ensues1 perhaps1 a discharge or two of lightning without casualties1 but soon the bombardment becomes general1 and long blinding fusillades flash through space4 ,the heavens1 darkened over1 seem to have sunk quite low1 and to have become a great black mass1 from which the lightning escapes in sudden jets4 ,rain and hail pelt down upon the earth to an accompaniment of the rumbling of thunder4 ,confusion has fallen upon the entire universe4 ,then1 finally1 the fight comes to a close4 ,the clouds disperse and allow us to see once again a wide expanse of sunlit blue4 ,the birds1 their hearts freed again from terror1 begin to sing again4 ,flowers and foliage and soil1 refreshed by the rain1 give out sweet perfumes4 ,an immense joy takes the place of the sense of melancholy and oppression4 ,it is good to see the sun again6 ,alas1 though1 there are grim realities to be faced presently4 ,the hailstones have destroyed the crops and begotten famine--the lightning has sown death and plunged whole families into mourning4 ,it is with these misfortunes before us that we make up our minds to do what in us lies to diminish the destructiveness of this terrible force4 ,how are storm-clouds to be detected8 ,generally speaking1 their shape is very clearly defined1 and they have a look of solidity about them4 ,their lower surface is often unbroken1 presenting a level plain from which there rise huge ragged protuberances like great plumes4 ,sometimes1 on the other hand1 they have great projections underneath1 trailing quite near the ground4 ,storm-clouds move generally in large numbers1 and are generally composed of two separate masses1 differently electrified--the lower one giving out negative electricity1 the higher positive electricity4 ,the flashes of lightning occur generally between these two masses1 though also1 less frequently1 between the lower mass and the earth4 ,it may be said that1 generally speaking1 storms are the result of the meeting of two masses of clouds differently electrified4 ,for long1 physicists refused to admit the validity of any other theory1 and combated in particular the idea that lightning could issue from a single isolated cloud4 ,this has1 however1 been established now as a fact1 and in such cases the flashes have always1 of course1 taken place between the cloud and the earth4 ,marcorelle1 of ,toulouse1 reports that on ,september #ab1 #agdg1 the sky being then pure and cloudless but for one round speck1 there was suddenly a thunderclap and a flash which killed a woman on the spot1 burning her breast but doing no damage to her clothes4 ,here is another interesting case4 ,two priests of the ,cathedral of ,lombey1 who were standing in the area of their chapter-house1 busy winnowing1 saw a small cloud approaching them little by little4 ,when it was immediately above them a flash of lightning broke out and struck a tree just beside them1 splitting it from top to bottom4 ,they heard no thunderclap4 ,the weather was quite fine4 ,there was no wind1 and this was the only cloud in the sky4 ,storms are far more prevalent in some countries than in others4 ,according to ,pliny1 thunder was unknown in ,egypt1 and1 according to ,plutarch1 in ,abyssinia4 ,this could not be said now1 however1 perhaps because these lands have grown unworthy of their exemption4 ,it might be said1 however1 of ,peru1 whose pure and limpid skies are never troubled by tempest4 ,jupiter tonans must be a myth indeed to a people who know nothing of thunderclaps or wet days4 ,storms diminish in number in high latitudes1 but there are local conditions which affect their distribution4 ,then they are particularly frequent in countries that are thickly wooded and in mountainous districts4 ,arago came to the conclusion1 after a considerable number of observations1 that1 out in the open sea or among islands1 there is no thunder in the north beyond the #geth degree of latitude4 ,this is not absolutely so1 but it is a fact that storms are very much rarer in the polar regions4 ,they become more and more frequent towards the equator1 and are very numerous in the tropics4 ,on either side of the equator storms come year after year with remarkable regularity in the wet season1 and at the time of the monsoons4 ,at ,guadeloupe and ,martinique there is never any thunder in ,december1 ,january1 ,february1 or ,march4 ,in temperate climates there are scarcely any storms in winter2 they begin in the spring1 and attain their maximum of intensity in the heat of summer4 ,in ,italy there are thunderstorms at almost all times of the year4 ,in ,greece they come chiefly in spring and autumn4 ,it is noticeable that in all latitudes they come most often in the afternoon4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,flash ,,and ,,the ,,sound ,the ,romans attributed a mysterious influence to each manifestation of electricity4 ,they divided lightning into individual and family lightning1 lightning of advice1 monitory1 explanatory1 expostulatory1 confirmatory1 auxiliary1 disagreeable1 perfidious1 pestiferous1 menacing1 murderous1 etc41 etc4 ,they adapted it to every taste and circumstance1 but modern science has come to put order into this ,capharnaum4 ,when a cloud is superabundantly charged with electricity1 this electricity1 which is compressed in the cloudy envelope1 tries to escape in order to join the electricity accumulated either in another cloud or on the ground4 ,an electric deflagration ensues1 and a long ignited dart precipitates itself into space1 showing us on a large scale what our experience of physics has taught us in a small way in our laboratories4 ,this luminous and often dazzling trail constitutes lightning4 ,lightning is not always the same1 and in order to classify the different forms it takes more easily1 it can be divided into three groups--diffused lightning1 linear lightning1 and fireballs4 ,this last is the most curious of the three4 ,the variety and eccentricity of fireballs are celebrated in the history of lightning1 and ,i propose to devote the following chapter to their vagaries4 ,diffused lightning is the commonest of all4 ,you can count hundreds of flashes on a stormy night4 ,occasionally they succeed one another with such rapidity that the sky is momentarily entirely illumined with a fantastic brightness4 ,at these times great sombre clouds can be seen surging from the darkness of the night1 to shine suddenly with an ephemeral brightness of a diffused red1 blue1 or violet tinge4 ,their irregular shapes1 with their jagged edges of light1 are visible against the dark background of the heavens1 and the thunder growls monotonously4 ,whether the exchange of electricity is produced on a vast stretch between two rows of clouds1 or whether it is manifested by a long thin spark launched like an arrow and veiled by the curtain of clouds1 all that can be seen is a strange light1 vague1 diaphanous1 instantaneous1 which sometimes spreads itself like a sheet of fire all over the horizon4 ,it is diffused lightning which gives us the finest storm effects on those heavy summer evenings when the air is breathless and saturated with electricity4 ,suddenly the clouds are illumined1 nebulous veils of light on which can be seen1 in sombre fantastic1 fugitive vision1 the outlines of the trees1 houses1 and other landmarks4 ,then1 all at once1 heaven and earth fall back into a darkness deeper than before1 owing to the contrast4 ,linear lightning is more terrible4 ,it is regarded by astronomers as the most perfect form of destructive lightning4 ,it is a strong flash--a thin trail of light--very clear1 and extraordinarily rapid1 which shoots from an electric cloud to the earth1 or from one cloud to another4 ,like a supple and undulating serpent of fire1 it twists itself luminously into space1 spreading itself menacingly in the heavens with its long spirals of light4 ,sometimes--in a hurry1 no doubt1 to reach its prey--it effects its passage in a straight line1 but as a rule it follows a sinuous track1 and forms itself into a zigzag at an obtuse angle4 ,the different forms which this lightning takes are no doubt attributable to various causes4 ,one of the chief of these seems to be the unequal distribution of humidity in the air1 which renders it a more or less good conductor4 ,in fact1 fulminic matter is strongly attracted towards damp regions1 and goes quickly from one point to another1 guided in its chosen way by the hygrometrical conditions of the atmosphere2 and it is these constant changes of direction which determine the meanderings of its course4 ,thus the lightning would trace a sort of plan of the hygrometrical state of the air for a certain portion of the atmosphere4 ,for it1 the short road is hardly ever the straight line4 ,on the other hand1 the variability of the overloading of electricity has something to say to the form it takes4 ,sometimes lightning forms itself into two or three branches1 and becomes forked lightning4 ,or it even divides itself into a number of points from a principal branch1 out of which a great many sparks burst forth4 ,these incandescent sheaves move through space with extraordinary agility4 ,it has not been possible to measure their speed with absolute accuracy1 but their rapidity is such that their transit appears to be instantaneous4 ,the latest researches seem to have proved that their speed is superior to that of light1 which is #cjj1jjj kilometres a second4 ,lightning is not always of a dazzling whiteness1 it is often yellow1 red1 blue1 violet1 or green4 ,its colour depends on the quantity of the electricity thrown on the atmosphere by the discharge2 on the density of the air at the time of the passage of the ignited matter2 on its hygrometrical state1 and on the substances which it contains during suspension4 ,it has been remarked in the study of physics that the electric spark is white in the open air1 but that it gets a violet tinge in the vacuum of a pneumatic machine4 ,this proves that violet lightning comes from the far-off regions of the atmosphere4 ,it traverses a bed of rarified air1 and shows the great height of the storm-clouds from which it emanates4 ,the fulminating spark is so fugitive that it is difficult to form an idea of its length4 ,one could easily take it to be a yard or so long1 so illusory and deceptive are our impressions4 ,as a matter of fact1 it is proved that flashes of lightning cover a distance of several kilometres4 ,there are various methods to which one can have recourse in these scientific researches4 ,the first1 which gives the length of horizontal lightning1 is based on a minute comparison between the trajectory described by the meteor and the known distance of the terrestrial points between which it travels4 ,in order to gauge the extent of vertical lightning1 you must estimate approximately the height of the clouds from which it comes1 based on the irregularities of the earth of which the height is known4 ,but there is a still simpler method for approximate measurement within the reach of every one4 ,it consists in multiplying #ccg 7the number of yards traversed by sound in a second7 by the number of seconds during which the thunder lasts4 ,these methods all give the same result1 and prove that lightning is often #a1 #e1 and #aj kilometres in length4 ,the greatest length proved up to the present has been #ah kilometres4 ,when one thinks of the instantaneousness of these flashes1 one marvels at their incomparable agility1 and we can only be lost in admiration of the magic force of the heavenly sling1 which is capable of hurling these whole rivers of fire to roll in their sinuous course right through space1 and in a space of time almost inappreciable to our senses4 ,yet1 in spite of the extreme rapidity of the lightning1 it has been possible to determine that these meteors do not last the thousandth part of a second4 ,to prove this1 we take a circle of cardboard1 divided from the middle into black and white sections4 ,this circle can be turned like a wheel almost as quickly as one can wish4 ,we know that luminous impressions remain on the retina the tenth part of a second2 thus1 if we imitate the childish game of turning a lighted coal--if the turn is made in the tenth of a second1 each successive position of the coal remaining impressed on the retina for the same length of time--we have a continuous circle4 ,in turning our cardboard wheel with the black and white spokes1 if each spoke passes before our eyes in less than the tenth of a second1 we can no longer distinguish between the sections1 but can only see a grey circle4 ,but we can make it rotate a hundred turns or more in a second2 this being done1 if we continue to observe the circle1 we can no longer see the lines1 they succeed each other more quickly in our eyes than the impression they produce4 ,but if the circle turns before us in the darkness1 and it is suddenly lighted up and as suddenly darkened1 the impression produced on our eyes by each of the sections would last less than the tenth of a second1 and the circle would appear to us as if it were stationary4 ,in applying a calculated rotation to this contrivance1 ,charles ,wheatstone has proved that some lightning does not last the thousandth part of a second4 ,this measure is probably a minimum2 in the majority of cases the duration of lightning is longer than this4 ,often during the hot1 transparent summer nights1 we see a considerable number of flashes1 which furrow the firmament with their gentle1 bluish light4 ,these fugitive gleams remind us in the sky of the will-o'-the-wisps1 which come forth silently from marshy ground4 ,the atmosphere is pure2 there are no apparent traces of a storm1 and yet the sky is glistening with thousands of small flames4 ,the flashes succeed one another almost without interruption4 ,these electric sparks are known as heat-lightning1 but this is quite inaccurate1 and has no meaning in the language of modern science4 ,in a great number of cases an astronomer would be able to discover certain characteristic signs indicating that a storm is taking place under the horizon at a very great distance from the point of observation4 ,it is only at the moment when the sky is lighted up that one can see the ridge of clouds lying low on the horizon4 ,at other times there is no sign of a storm1 as far as the eye can see4 ,the atmosphere is quite clear1 and yet the sky is swept with a number of electric flashes4 ,but afterwards you hear that a violent storm has devastated the region over which the gleams have appeared1 and that it is to this that they are attributable4 ,they are only reflected lights4 ,a sailor tells us that once when he was out at sea1 more than #ajj kilometres from ,lima1 he saw a number of bright flashes1 without any thunder1 to the east and north-east of the horizon4 ,the weather was perfect1 and the sky absolutely serene4 ,now we know that storms1 and the electric phenomena which they produce1 are unknown upon that coast2 but this immunity does not extend for more than #ajj kilometres to the interior of this country1 so that this lightning which was observed at sea1 #ajj kilometres from the shore1 must have taken place more than #bjj kilometres away4 ,one of our correspondents1 ,m4 ,soleyre of ,constantine1 sent us word1 in #ahii1 of an interesting case of lightning without thunder4 ,in ,august1 he says1 ,i noticed it in the valley of the ,arve above ,salambes2 when ,i came back to ,algiers ,i saw it again on ,september #af1 and on ,october #ai4 ,it was not sheet lightning1 but ordinary lightning concentrated in very thin lines4 ,this lasted long1 and was very near4 ,another thing1 there was no hail4 ,this is not very rare in ,algiers4 ,on ,september #a1 #aija1 ,i happened to be in ,geneva at about #f p4m4 ,the weather was heavy but very fine4 ,i noticed a good deal of lightning on the south-west of the horizon4 ,it went on almost without interruption above the ,savoy ,alps4 ,each flash illuminated at the same time the ridge of the mountains and the fringed edge of the great sombre clouds lying low on the horizon4 ,this lightning was silent2 the noise of the thunder did not reach ,geneva4 ,the next day ,i learnt that a terrible storm had devastated the neighbourhood of ,chambry and ,aix-les-,bains4 ,moreover1 apart from storms1 there have been other records of this lighting up of the sky being observed at great distances4 ,thus1 in #ahjc1 a service of luminous communications was established on ,mount ,brocken in the ,hartz ,mountains in order to determine the differences of longitude4 ,the combustion of #ahj to #bjj grammes of powder1 burnt in the open air1 for each of the signals1 produced a light which was observed by astronomers stationed on ,mount ,kenlenberg1 although they were #bdj kilometres from ,brocken1 which is itself invisible from ,kenlenberg4 ,on certain fte-days1 ,july #ad1 for example1 when the principal monuments in ,paris are illuminated1 at a distance of #bj and #cj kilometres we can see a sort of luminous vapour which floats above the town and reflects the lights of the boulevards1 although the lights themselves are invisible from the point of observation4 ,here is another example which any ,parisian can verify3 the captive balloon of the ,arodrome at ,porte-,maillot1 which soars some hundreds of yards above ,paris during the spring and summer1 as seen from the dark paths of the ,bois de ,boulogne1 appears against the azure of the sky like a magnificent globe bathed in light1 resembling an enormous moon4 ,well1 this gentle1 pale light is only the reflection of the lights of ,paris which are invisible from the ,bois de ,boulogne4 ,the earth and all the planets which are dark in themselves1 shine in space lighted up by the sun4 ,the silent lightning which flashes in the sky is only the reflection of a distant storm4 ,whether on account of the spherical shape of the earth or on account of the irregularities of the land1 the clouds are invisible1 but the effluvium which escapes from them can be seen at a great distance4 ,these poetic and ephemeral flames which glide through the sky1 appeal to the imagination of the dreamer1 and yet they are quite as terrible as the flashes which are accompanied by thunder4 ,if the noise which accompanies these is not perceptible1 it is because the sound of the thunder does not carry far1 and has been lost in space before reaching us4 ,it is the same with the silent lightning which gleams in a stormy sky4 ,this phenomenon is particularly frequent in the ,antilles4 ,either the storm breaks too far from the observer1 or the discharge has taken place between two beds of clouds1 the lower of which intercepts the waves of sound without preventing the escape of the electric spark1 and the thunder is not heard4 ,as a rule we imagine that lightning always descends1 that it comes to us from the higher celestial regions to be lost in the common reservoir4 ,but this is quite inaccurate4 ,lightning sometimes ascends4 ,sometimes it descends and reascends4 ,that is to say1 after it reaches the ground1 either there is no attraction there1 or a stronger force draws it back to the aerial regions1 and it flies back to the clouds whence it came4 ,as a rule we only fear the direct lightning4 ,this is a great mistake4 ,there are many cases of lightning striking from a distance4 ,for example1 at the end of ,may1 #ahff1 an ,english coastguard was making his rounds on the coast of one of the ,shetland ,isles1 when a flash of lightning passed near him1 striking a great rock4 ,the unfortunate man was completely blinded1 and plunged into darkness thus suddenly1 he would inevitably have fallen down an abyss1 if his companions1 attracted by his cries1 had not come to the rescue and taken him home4 ,here is another case3-- ,on ,september #bd1 #ahbf1 a terrible storm burst over ,versailles1 accompanied by a great deal of thunder and lightning4 ,at the moment when the lightning struck ,galli's farm1 an old man who was in a street in ,versailles1 at a distance of two kilometres from the farm1 suddenly felt a violent shock1 accompanied by a feeling of oppression and giddiness and a semi-paralysis of the tongue and the whole of his left side4 ,next morning this had passed away1 but in the evening at the same time as the shock had occurred1 he felt similar sensations of fainting1 and it was the same to the end of the week4 ,it would be well to remark here that at the moment of the accident1 ,m4 ,b---- happened to be near the wall of a house1 not far from the metallic tube which conducted the rain-water into the level of the pavement4 ,the following phenomenon1 to which we have already alluded1 is no less curious3-- ,on ,july #bb1 #ahfh1 at about #g o'clock in the evening1 at ,gien-sur-,cure 7,nivre71 the thunder had been growling violently for some time1 when all of a sudden the lightning struck a thatched house1 which it set on fire4 ,at the same time a woman who was in a house ten yards away1 felt a shock1 and saw the tiled floor rise beneath her4 ,her two sabots were broken on her feet1 and a bottle of ,holy ,water with which she was blessing the house was broken in her hand1 only the neck remained in her fingers4 ,she herself suffered nothing but the shock4 ,nineteen of the tiles were flung in all directions4 ,here is another very remarkable case of ascending lightning1 published in the ,comptes ,rendus of the ,academie des ,sciences3-- ,at ,porto-,alegre1 on ,june #i1 #ahgj1 at #b a4m41 during a violent storm1 on the property of ,m4 ,laranja e ,oliveira1 at ,brazil1 a servant was entering the house2 he was about ten yards away1 when a flash of lightning illuminated it2 at the same moment he felt a great tingling in the flesh of his feet1 then in his legs1 then all over his body1 and finally in his head1 on which the hair stood on end to such an extent that he was obliged to hold his hat on in order to prevent its falling off4 ,at the same time1 a white flame burst from the ground about two yards in front of him1 accompanied by a shower of sparks4 ,terrified by such a phenomenon1 which he attributed to souls from another world1 he thought he was petrified to the spot2 finally1 he ran away4 ,anything metallic which he had about him at the time of this occurrence became magnetized4 ,a key which was in his pocket remained magnetic for two days4 ,thus1 as well as the ordinary fulguration1 in which the lightning 7which we imagine descends from the clouds7 acts directly on the body1 and the lightning which strikes indirectly1 there are other electric shocks which can be experienced by men and animals4 ,notable among these is the striking from the earth1 commonly known as choc de retour1 and which is in reality only an instance of the ascending current1 or of lightning striking from a distance4 ,we must also describe the striking by a man who has been struck4 ,the ,abb ,richard1 in his ,histoire de l',air1 tells the following story3-- ,in the neighbourhood of the village of ,rumigny1 in ,picardy1 on ,august #bj1 #agfi1 at six o'clock in the morning1 there was a sudden irruption of fulminating matter from the bosom of the earth in such quantities as to produce the most violent results4 ,the sky was cloudy1 and looked like a storm4 ,a young farmer and his wife were following1 at some distance1 a vehicle drawn by four horses4 ,suddenly the driver of this1 without seeing the lightning or hearing the thunder1 was thrown to the earth4 ,his four horses were stretched dead on the ground near the carriage4 ,there was a smoking hole in the ground1 from which the effluvium came forth and killed the young man and his wife at ten paces off and separated from each other by twenty paces4 ,the current also knocked down1 at a hundred paces1 the father of the young man in the same fashion as it had done the driver1 but without injuring one or the other4 ,the bodies showed no signs of a wound1 only a considerable swelling and a great deformity of the features4 ,the woman1 who was young and pretty1 became hideous2 the whole of her body as well as that of her husband was absolutely yellow4 ,the four horses had their intestines drawn from their bodies4 ,they were all thrown on the same side4 ,the man's hat was pierced and his hair burnt1 but he had no bruise on his head4 ,this account1 in which we must not be surprised to find the ideas and language of the time 7let us observe in passing that the man who was struck did not hear the thunder1 and had not even time to see the lightning of which he was the victim7--this account1 ,i say1 gives us an instance of ascending lightning4 ,here is another4 ,the traveller ,brydone gives the following example1 which he himself observed3-- ,on ,july #ai1 #aghe1 a storm burst near ,coldstream between #ab and #a a4m4 ,a woman who was cutting hay on the banks of the ,tweed fell backwards4 ,she at once called to her companions1 and said she had just received a violent blow on her foot for which she could in no way account4 ,at the time there was no thunder or lightning in the sky4 ,the shepherd of a farm at ,lennel ,hill saw a sheep fall near him1 which a few minutes before appeared to be in perfect health2 he found it stone dead4 ,the storm then appeared very far off4 ,two carts laden with coal1 and each driven by a young driver seated on a small seat in front1 crossed over the ,tweed4 ,they had just climbed a small hill near the banks of this river when they heard a great detonation round about1 similar to that which would be produced by the discharge of several guns4 ,at the same instant the driver of the second cart saw the first1 with his companion and the two horses1 fall to the ground4 ,the driver and horses were stone dead4 ,the ground was pierced with three circular holes at the very spot where the wheels had touched it when the accident happened4 ,half an hour after this event the holes emitted an odour which ,brydone compared to that of ether4 ,the two circular iron bands which covered the felloes of the wheels showed evident signs of fusion in the two spots which rested on the ground at the moment of the detonation1 and in no other place4 ,the skin of the horses had been burnt1 particularly about the legs and under the stomach4 ,the body of the driver had marks of burning here and there4 ,his clothes1 his shirt1 and1 above all1 his hat1 were reduced to shreds1 and gave out a strong smell4 ,orioli gives an example of two men who were surprised by a violent storm near the village of ,benvenide4 ,they lay down on the ground to let the meteor pass4 ,some moments later one of them got up feeling very tired1 but the other was dead4 ,the bones of the latter were so soft that it was easy to bend them2 his whole body was of the consistency of paste4 ,the tongue had been torn from the roots1 and no one knew what had become of it4 ,now1 just as the earth can strike1 so can the human body become fulminating and act like lightning4 ,after having been struck1 it can effectively acquire the power to strike in its turn4 ,for instance1 on ,june #cj1 #ahed1 a man named ,barri was killed by lightning near the ,jardin des ,plantes1 in ,paris1 and his body lay for some time exposed to a beating rain4 ,after the storm had passed1 two soldiers from the neighbouring guard-house tried to remove the body1 and each received a violent blow when they touched it4 ,they got off with a shock1 perhaps because the body had been drenched with rain1 which acted as a conductor to the electricity1 and thus it had had time to lose a part of the fluid4 ,what a mysterious world is that of atmospheric electricity6 ,it is truly the ,new ,world for the scientific mind--a mine1 fruitful in unknown and even unsuspected marvels1 which is perpetually disclosing its riches for our admiration4 ,one of our most valued collaborators in our researches on the nature of lightning is photography4 ,faithfully and unhesitatingly it registers an indestructible document of the fugitive lightning1 which imprints itself on the sensitized plate1 and the astronomer can afterwards examine the smallest details of the sudden apparition comfortably and at his leisure4 ,we have already a considerable number of plates of the outline of the lightning in flight4 ,an examination of these electric pictures is very interesting4 ,who knows whether1 later on1 when phonography is brought to perfection1 it will not also register the noisy accompaniment to the electric flash8 ,then1 with the help of the cinematograph1 we could have dramatic representations of sensational storms4 ,while the photograph unrolls all the phases of the lightning1 from its emerging from the cloud to its fall to earth1 before the gaze of the spectators1 the phonograph will repeat the sonorous accents of the terrorizing voice of thunder4 ,thunder1 as all the world knows1 is the noise which accompanies lightning4 ,it is produced when a change of electricity--a neutralization--takes place between two points more or less distant4 ,the causes which provoke it are still somewhat of a mystery4 ,the luminous rocket which flings itself precipitately from a cloud saturated with electricity1 spreads itself like a trail of flames in the atmosphere where an infinity of invisible molecules are floating2 these it repels4 ,the passage of this whirlwind of fire in a centre which is greatly compressed produces a momentary void into which the surrounding air at once rushes1 and it is the same all the way along the route followed by lightning4 ,in all probability the equilibrium of the atmosphere1 which is momentarily disturbed by the intrusion of the ignited matter1 hastily re-establishes itself by a rush of the air which the lightning has ejected1 and which is swallowed up with a crash in the opening which has been made4 ,it is1 on a large scale1 a similar phenomenon to that which is produced by opening a case which has been hermetically sealed4 ,the air rushing in makes a dull noise4 ,pouillet objects to this very natural explanation on the ground that the flight of a cannon-ball ought to produce a similar noise4 ,but this objection errs in its basis1 because1 as regards velocity1 a cannon-ball is as a tortoise as compared with the arrow of lightning1 and as regards size1 who can compare a few grammes of powder to the torrents of fire launched into space by the prodigious force of electricity8 ,the lightning discharge produces a violent concussion in the cloud1 and very often a shower of rain immediately follows it4 ,the electric conditions of the different clouds which make a storm being separately liable the one to the other1 the discharge of one must lead to that of several others more or less distant4 ,in all cases the noise is caused by the expansion of the air where a more or less partial void has been made4 ,it is the same with firearms1 crve-vessie1 etc4 ,one of the chief characteristics of thunder is the rolling1 which is often prolonged1 and reverberates on the sides of steep mountains4 ,this voice1 with its lugubrious tone1 becomes grave and sometimes sinister in the revolution of space--this voice1 celestial and infernal1 seems to momentarily dominate the world1 while the clouds are enveloped with a thousand diabolical flames4 ,sometimes it rings in the air with fierce calls1 at others it spreads itself in dull1 languorous complaints4 ,nevertheless1 the intenseness of thunder undergoes a thousand fluctuations1 and presents astonishing variations4 ,generally it strikes and frightens1 but the curious thing is that1 for the ear1 in reality it is less strong than the crinkling noise of a piece of paper torn close to it4 ,often1 too1 it may be compared to the discharge of firearms1 a pistol or a cannon4 ,thus1 when the lightning penetrated ,volney's apartments at ,naples1 the people present1 among whom was ,saussure1 had the impression of a pistol-shot in the next room4 ,there is a case given of ,m4 and ,mme4 ,boddington1 who were seated on the back seat of their coach in order to enjoy the view of the country1 and had given the inside seats to two servants4 ,suddenly there was a flash of lightning1 which struck ,m4 and ,mme4 ,boddington and flung the postillion to a great distance4 ,the servants were untouched1 and escaped with a fright4 ,when they got over their terror1 one of them said that a very brilliant flash of lightning had been immediately followed by a noise similar to that of a heavily charged musket4 ,he thought some one had shot the horses4 ,his fright had stunned him so that he hardly knew what had happened4 ,at other times thunder is accompanied by a whistling noise1 but as a rule it is the rolling which predominates4 ,we ask ourselves to what it is due that this rolling lasts so long4 ,there are several causes4 ,the first is due to the length of lightning and the difference in speed between sound and light4 ,let us suppose1 for example1 a flash of lightning1 ,,ae1 #aa1jjj metres long4 ,the observer stationed at ,o1 underneath extremity ,e of the lightning 7which is one kilometre high71 will see the lightning in its full length in one indivisible instant4 ,the sound will form itself also at the same instant all along the line of lightning1 but the sound-waves will only reach the ear of the observer at different times4 ,that which starts at point ,e1 the nearest1 will arrive in #c seconds1 sound travelling about #ccg metres a second4 ,that which is formed at the same moment at point ,d1 #bjjj yards from point ,o1 will take double the time to arrive4 ,that which comes from point ,c will not arrive for #ab seconds4 ,the sound formed at ,b will not arrive until the time necessary to cover #h kilometres--that is to say1 not for #bc seconds--and the sound formed at ,a will only reach after #cb seconds4 ,thus the rolling will have lasted more than half a minute from start to finish4 ,illustration3 ,,diagram ,,explaining ,,the ,,duration ,,of ,,the ,,sound ,,of ,,thunder4 ,and if1 which is very often the case1 the astronomer is not exactly under one of the extremities of the lightning1 but at some other point in its course1 he first hears a clap1 then an increased noise1 then a diminution4 ,in fact1 in this case1 the sound which leaves point ,d just overhead1 which is #ajjj metres off1 arrives alone in #c seconds1 but the sounds formed from ,d to ,e on one side1 and from ,c to ,d on the other1 arrive at the same time1 having joined each other1 taking #i seconds1 which is the necessary time to come from #ajjj to #cjjj metres4 ,the sounds beyond ,c arrive and depart according to distance1 as in the preceding example1 and the thunder has lasted #bc seconds instead of #cb seconds4 ,illustration3 ,,commencement1 ,,augmentation1 ,,and ,,diminution ,,of ,,the ,,intensity ,,of ,,thunder4 ,i must add that lightning is never straight1 but always crooked4 ,the length of time the thunder rolls has nothing to do with the distance of the cloud where the phenomenon begins4 ,it is proportionate to the length of the lightning with which it is associated4 ,the rolling is often still more prolonged by a succession of small discharges1 which follow each other very rapidly between the stormy clouds2 by the zigzags and ramifications of the lightning caused by the hygrometrical diversity of the different beds of air2 by the echoes repeated by the mountains1 the earth1 the water1 and the clouds themselves--to all which must be added also the interferences caused by the encounter of the different systems of sound-waves4 ,its duration is extremely variable1 however2 it rarely exceeds #cj seconds1 though the noise may sometimes seem to last much longer1 so that an observation of this kind may have any value--one must take into consideration the echo1 and isolate a single clap from the series of discharges which take place in the bosom of the storm4 ,the longest verified duration of a single discharge is #de seconds4 ,that is tremendous if we think of the instantaneousness of the lightning1 and reflect that the flash and the sound are produced in reality at the same moment1 that they are dependent the one on the other1 and that in their various manifestations there is only the difference of motion4 ,sound moves like a tortoise behind the swift lightning1 whose vibrations spread in the air with inconceivable rapidity4 ,hence these #de seconds correspond to a flash of lightning more than #ae kilometres in length1 but we know that there are even longer ones4 ,i have already said that we can calculate the distance of the celestial cannon from which the fulminating discharge comes by counting the number of seconds which separate the apparition of the lightning from the first growls of the thunder4 ,thus the longest interval that has been proved between the appearance of the lightning and the noise it produces is #bd kilometres4 ,this1 however1 is a maximum4 ,numerous observations have proved that thunder is never heard beyond #bj or perhaps #be kilometres4 ,lightning pierces the cloudy veil1 but the voice of thunder does not carry so far4 ,in this the great ,jupiter shows himself inferior to the ingenuity of human pigmies1 whose destructive and barbarous art has been able to invent infernal machines the noise of which can be heard much further4 ,cannon can easily be heard at a distance of #dj kilometres4 ,sometimes1 in sieges and big battles the cannonades can be heard muttering lugubriously more than #ajj kilometres away4 ,during the siege of ,paris1 ,krupp's cannon--that most expeditious of all vehicles of civilization in the eyes of the statesmen of this planet6--could be heard as far as ,dieppe1 #adj kilometres away1 during the nights when they were bombarding4 ,the cannonade of ,march #cj1 #ahad1 which crowned the ,first ,empire1 as it crowned the ,second1 was heard between ,lisieux and ,caen1 a distance of #age kilometres4 ,arago even alleges that the cannon at ,waterloo could be heard as far as ,creil1 which is #bjj kilometres away4 ,thus man's thunder can be heard at a greater distance than that of nature4 ,it is true that it is incomparably more vicious1 and that it has a great many more victims4 ,in its natural state1 if we might explain it thus--left to itself--it comes directly to us from the high regions of the atmosphere1 and is the most terrible of aerial messengers--a subtle messenger1 malicious and violent1 it is the terror of the human race4 ,but ruled by the genius of man1 it becomes a powerful agent towards modern civilization1 and we cannot sufficiently admire its many advantages4 ,if we could tame lightning and guide it safely1 its services would probably become innumerable4 ,lightning as man's right hand6 ,why not8 ,was it not the auxiliary of the gods in the dark ages8 ,to-day1 is it not regarded by astronomers as one of the most important forces of nature8 ,why should it not be the collaborator of man's intelligence to-morrow8 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,fireballs ,here we penetrate into what is1 perhaps1 the most mysterious1 and certainly the least understood domain of thunder and lightning4 ,among all the electrical phenomena to be observed in the atmosphere1 there is nothing stranger than those fireballs of which we have already spoken1 and which in form and size recall the electric lights in our ,paris boulevards4 ,curious the contrast between electricity tamed and civilized and electricity running wild6 ,between the arc lights fulfilling their peaceful and useful function as substitutes for the sun1 and these dread engines of destruction sowing death and havoc6 ,it is not long since the existence of these fireballs has been acknowledged by scientists as an actual fact4 ,until quite recent times they were regarded as the figment of excited imaginations1 and wise men smiled at the wild stories of their ravages4 ,their reality has now been established1 however1 beyond the possibility of doubt4 ,in shape they are not always quite spherical1 though this is their normal appearance2 and although their contours are usually clearly defined1 they are sometimes encircled by a kind of luminous vapour1 such as we often see encircling the moon4 ,sometimes they are furnished with a red flame like a fuse that has been lit4 ,sometimes their course is simply that of a falling star4 ,sometimes they leave behind them a luminous trail which remains visible long after they themselves have disappeared4 ,they have been described as looking like a crouching kitten1 an iron bar1 a large orange--so harmless apparently1 that you were tempted to put out your hand to catch it4 ,there is record of one being seen as large as a millstone4 ,one remarkable thing about them is the slowness with which they move1 and which sometimes enables their course to be watched for several minutes4 ,in our first chapter we gave several instances of the occurrence of fireballs4 ,let us look at some more4 ,here is one taken from ,arago's learned treatise upon thunder4 ,the record is from the pen of ,batti1 a marine painter in the service of the ,empress of ,austria and resident at ,milan4 ,in the month of ,june1 #ahda1 ,i was staying at the ,htel de l',agnello in a room on the second floor1 overlooking the ,corso dei ,servi4 ,it was about six in the afternoon4 ,the rain was coming down in torrents1 and the darkest rooms were lit up by the lightning flashes better than our rooms generally are by gas4 ,thunder broke out every now and again with appalling violence4 ,the windows of the houses were closed1 and the streets were deserted1 for1 as ,i have said1 there was a steady downpour1 and the main road was turned into a torrent4 ,i was sitting quietly smoking1 and looking out at the rain1 which an occasional ray of sunlight set flashing like threads of gold1 when ,i suddenly heard voices in the street calling out ',guarda1 guarda6'--',look1 look6' and at the same moment a clatter of hob-nailed boots4 ,after half an hour of absolute silence1 this noise attracted my attention4 ,i ran to the window1 and looking to the right1 in the direction of the clamour1 ,i saw a fireball making its way down the middle of the road on a level with my window1 in a noticeably oblique direction1 not horizontally4 ,eight or ten persons1 continuing to call out ',guarda1 guarda6' kept pace with it1 walking down the street1 stepping out quickly4 ,the meteor passed my window1 and ,i had to turn to the left to see what would be the end of its caprice4 ,after a moment1 fearing to lose sight of it behind some houses which jutted out beyond my hotel1 ,i went quickly downstairs and into the street1 and was in time to see it again and to join those who were following its course4 ,it was still going slowly1 but it was now higher up1 and was still ascending--so much so that after a few minutes it hit the cross upon the clock tower of the ,chiesa dei ,servi and disappeared4 ,its disappearance was accompanied by a dull report like that of a big cannon twenty miles away when the wind carries the sound4 ,to give an idea of the size and colour of this globe of fire1 ,i can only compare it to the appearance of the moon as one may see it sometimes rising above the ,alps on a clear night in winter1 and as ,i myself have seen it at ,innsbrck--that is to say1 of a reddish yellow1 with patches on it almost of red4 ,the difference was that you could not see the contours of the meteor distinctly as you could the moon1 and that it seemed to be enveloped in a luminous atmosphere of indefinite extent4 ,this fireball was an innocuous one4 ,we may take next1 by way of contrast1 the case of one which wreaked terrible damage and loss of life4 ,on ,july #bg1 #aghi1 at about three o'clock in the afternoon1 a fireball of about the size of a cannon-ball1 fell in a great hall at ,feltri 7,marche ,trevisane7 in which six hundred people were seated1 wounded seventy and killed ten1 putting out all the lights4 ,on ,july #aa1 #ahji1 about eleven o'clock in the morning1 a fireball penetrated into the church of ,chateauneuf-les-,moustiers 7,basses-,alpes7 just as the bell was ringing and a large congregation had taken their seats4 ,nine persons were killed on the spot and eighty-two others were wounded4 ,all the dogs that had got into the church were killed4 ,a woman who was in a hut on a neighbouring hill saw three fireballs descend that day1 and made sure they would reduce the village to ashes4 ,msschenbroek recounts the following incident which took place at ,solingen in #agaa4 ,m4 ,pyl1 the ,pastor at ,duytsbourg1 was preaching one ,sunday1 when in the middle of a storm a fireball fell into the church through the clock tower and exploded4 ,the sanctuary was set on fire and became thick with smoke4 ,three persons were killed and more than a hundred were wounded4 ,from the ,bulletin of the ,socit ,astronomique de ,france the following narrative contributed to it by ,mlle4 de ,soubbotine1 a member of this society1 has been taken3-- ,a terrible storm broke out at ,ouralsk on ,may #bb1 #aija4 ,it was a fte day and the streets were thronged with people4 ,towards five in the afternoon some young men and girls1 twenty-one in all1 had taken refuge in the vestibule of a house1 and a girl of seventeen1 ,mlle4 ,k41 had sat down on the threshold1 her back turned towards the street4 ,suddenly there was a violent clap of thunder1 and in front of the door there appeared a dazzlingly brilliant ball of fire1 gradually descending towards where they were all grouped4 ,after touching ,mlle4 ,k4's head1 who bowed down at once1 the fireball fell on the ground in the middle of the party1 made a circuit of it1 then forcing its way into the room of the master of the house1 whose boots it touched and singed1 it wreaked havoc with the apartment1 broke through the wall into a stove in the adjoining room1 smashed the stove-pipe1 and carried it off with such violence that it was dashed against the opposite wall1 and went out through the broken window4 ,after the first feeling of fright1 this is what transpired4 ,the door near which ,mlle4 ,k4 was seated had been thrown back into the court1 and in the ceiling there were two holes of about #ah centimetres each4 ,the young girl1 still seated with her head bowed down1 looked as though she were asleep4 ,some of the people were walking in the courtyard1 having seen and heard nothing1 and the others were all lying in the vestibule in a dead faint4 ,mlle4 ,k4 was dead4 ,the fireball had struck her on the nape of her neck and had proceeded down her back and left hip1 leaving a black mark all along4 ,there was a sore on one hand1 with some blood on it1 and one of her shoes was torn completely off1 and there was a small hole in one of the stockings4 ,all the victims became deaf4 ,on ,september #aj1 #ahde1 at about two in the afternoon1 in the course of a violent storm1 a fireball came down the chimney into a room in a house in the village of ,salagnac 7,creuse74 ,a child and three women who were in the room suffered no harm from it4 ,then it rolled into the middle of the kitchen1 and passed near the feet of a young peasant who was standing in it4 ,after which it went into an adjoining room1 and disappeared without leaving any trace4 ,the women tried to persuade the man to go in and see whether he could not stamp it out1 but he had once allowed himself to be electrified in ,paris1 and thought it prudent to refrain4 ,in a little stable hard by1 it was found afterwards that the fireball had killed a pig4 ,it had gone through the straw without setting fire to it4 ,on ,july #ab1 #ahgb1 a new form of fireball made its appearance in the ,commune of ,hcourt 7,oise74 ,it was of the size of an egg1 and it was seen burning upon a bed4 ,efforts were made in vain to extinguish it1 and presently the entire house1 together with the neighbouring dwellings and barns1 became a prey to the flames4 ,on ,october #i1 #ahhe1 at #h4be p4m41 during a violent storm1 a globe of fire of the size of a small apple was seen coming into a ground-floor room in a house at ,constantinople through an open window1 the family being at table in this room at the time4 ,it first played round a gas-jet1 then1 moving towards the table1 it passed between two guests1 went round a lamp hanging over the centre of the table1 and then precipitated itself into the street1 where it exploded with an appalling crash1 but without having caused any damage or hurt anybody4 ,not far from the scene of this phenomenon there are a number of buildings provided with lightning conductors4 ,the fireball left no trace of smell behind it4 ,here is another curious narrative of a fireball4 ,a party of five women took refuge during a storm in the entrance to a house in order to escape from the rain and the lightning4 ,they had scarcely gained the doorway when there was a tremendous thunderclap which sent them flying backward--and two girls who had joined them--knocked senseless by lightning in the form of a fireball4 ,one of the girls remained unconscious for a long time2 all the others were more or less seriously injured1 but all recovered4 ,the strangest circumstance in connection with this affair1 however1 still remains to be told4 ,illustration3 ,,singular ,,case ,,of ,,three ,,fireballs ,,observed ,,in ,,paris ,,on ,,june #aj1 #aije1 ,,by ,m4 ,h4 ,,rudaux4 ,they were seen to descend in this way upon the lightning conductor above the ,palais ,royal electric-power station4 ,this engraving1 after a sketch made at the time by ,m4 ,rudaux1 appeared in ,la ,science ,illustre1 for ,august1 #aije4 ,on the same side of the street as the passage1 in a neighbouring house1 nine or ten yards away1 in a ground-floor room of which the door was shut1 a young woman was working at a sewing-machine4 ,at the moment of the thunderclap1 she experienced a violent shock throughout her whole body1 and a fierce burning sensation in the hollow of her back4 ,it was found afterwards that between the shoulder-blades and also on her leg1 she had been badly scorched1 but the wounds quickly healed4 ,now1 in the room of this victim1 no trace was to be found of the passing of the fireball1 neither on the ceiling1 nor on the floor1 nor on the walls4 ,there was absolutely nothing to show how the electric fluid could have made its way in from the spot in which the fireball had exploded in the neighbouring house1 separated from it by two thick walls4 ,mysterious1 is it not8 ,the fireball seems to dwindle out of sight4 ,in some cases1 it seems to reduce itself into vapour in order to pass from one place to another4 ,with animals these fireballs seem deadlier and more merciless than with human beings4 ,thus1 on ,february #af1 #ahff1 a thunderstorm descended upon a farm in the ,commune of ,chapelle-,largeau 7,deux-,svres71 and the circumstances attending its explosion are too remarkable to be overlooked4 ,after a tremendous thunderclap1 a young man who was standing near the farm saw an immense fireball touch the ground at his feet1 but it did him no damage1 but passed1 still harmlessly1 through a room in the farmhouse in which there were nine persons4 ,the only effect it produced was the flaring up of some matches upon the chimney-piece4 ,it proceeded towards the stables1 which were divided into two compartments4 ,in one there were two cows and two oxen3 the first cow1 to the right of the entrance1 was killed1 the second was uninjured2 the first ox was killed1 the second was uninjured4 ,the same effect was found to have been produced in the other compartment1 in which there were four cows2 the first and the third were killed1 the second and fourth were spared3 the odd numbers taken and the even numbers left4 ,similar freaks have been recorded in connection with piles of plates struck by lightning--holes being found in alternate plates4 ,how are these things to be explained8 ,the following story is very extraordinary1 though it does not help to clear up the mystery of lightning's strange ways3-- ,on ,august #bd1 #ahie1 about ten in the morning1 in the midst of a storm of wind and rain1 several persons saw descending to the ground a whitish-coloured globe of about an inch and a half in diameter1 which1 on touching the ground1 split into two smaller globes4 ,these rose at once to the height of the chimneys on the houses close by and disappeared4 ,one went down a chimney1 crossed a room in which were a man and a child1 without harming them1 and went through the floor1 perforating a brick with a clean round hole of about the size of a franc4 ,under this room there was a sheepfold4 ,the shepherd's son1 seated at the doorway1 suddenly saw a bright light shining over the flock of sheep1 while the lambs were jumping about in alarm4 ,when he went up to them1 he was startled to discover that five sheep had been killed4 ,they bore no trace of burning1 or of wound of any kind1 but about their lips was a sort of foam1 slightly pink in colour4 ,in the adjoining house1 the second fireball had also gone down a chimney1 and had exploded in the kitchen1 causing great damage4 ,in #ahij1 a young farmer was working on a plot of ground1 two or three miles from ,montfort-l',amaury4 ,a storm breaking out1 he stood up against his horses to take refuge from the rain2 moving away a few yards in order to get his whip1 there was seen1 when he returned1 a ball of fire almost touching the ear of one of his horses4 ,a moment later it exploded with a deafening noise4 ,the two horses fell--one of them unable to get up again4 ,the farmer himself was dashed to pieces4 ,on other occasions the meteor is hardly more devastating than the ordinary bomb4 ,on ,april #ba1 at ,lanxade1 near ,bergerac1 a storm had been raging already for some hours1 when suddenly--simultaneously with a small thunderclap--a ball of fire1 of the size of the opening of a sack of corn1 fell slowly on one of the banks of the ,dordogne1 spoiling some fruit trees1 and then crossing the river1 it raised a waterspout several yards high as it went4 ,it disappeared finally on the other side of a field of corn4 ,on ,november #ab1 #ahhg1 a very curious instance of a fireball was noticed on the ,atlantic4 ,it was at midnight1 near ,cape ,race4 ,an enormous fireball was seen to rise slowly out of the sea to the height of sixteen or seventeen metres4 ,it travelled against the wind1 and came quite near the vessel from which it was being watched4 ,then it turned towards the south-east and disappeared4 ,the apparition lasted about five minutes4 ,in ,july1 #aijb1 in the course of a violent storm1 and immediately after a loud peal of thunder1 a fireball of about the size of a toy balloon was seen to make its appearance suddenly in the ,rue ,veron at ,montmartre4 ,after moving along1 just above the ground1 in front of a wine-merchant's shop1 it exploded like a bomb1 most fortunately without hurting any one1 or doing any damage4 ,the little village of ,candes1 situated by the confluence of the ,vienne and the ,loire1 was the scene of the appearance of a fireball in ,june1 #ahig4 ,three persons were sitting in the verandah of a house during a storm1 when they suddenly saw a fireball travelling past them through the air for a distance of thirty yards or so4 ,then it exploded with a loud noise1 striking sparks from the ironworks of the verandah4 ,at the same moment1 the servants saw another fireball cross a garden at the other side of the house1 and drop into a small pond4 ,a gardener was knocked over1 but not hurt4 ,on ,march #f1 #ahid1 ,m4 ,dandois1 professor of surgery at the ,university of ,louvain1 went to the neighbouring town of ,linden1 by railway1 to see a patient4 ,on his return1 on foot1 the sky suddenly so darkened over1 that he made for the nearest dwelling-place1 avoiding1 as he did so1 the telegraph poles along the road4 ,suddenly a ball of fire came against him and threw him over a ditch into a field1 where he lay unconscious4 ,a quarter of an hour later1 having regained his senses and finding himself undamaged save for a numbness in one arm and one leg1 the doctor set out again1 congratulating himself on the fact that his umbrella had acted as a sort of portable lightning conductor1 for the steels were all twisted1 and showed signs of having borne the brunt of the fray4 ,had the handle been of steel also1 the electric current would have run down it into his hand1 doubtless1 and killed him4 ,on another occasion a fireball fell upon the door of a house1 pushed it violently open1 and made its way into the kitchen4 ,at the sight of this strange visitor1 the cook bolted from the room4 ,a sempstress1 who was at work near the window1 received a small burn on her forehead1 of about the size of half a franc1 with a slight weal a couple of inches long--like the tail of a comet4 ,after bursting1 the fireball made its way up the chimney1 from which it removed a mass of soot1 smelling somewhat of sulphur4 ,here is an instance more curious still-- ,a violent storm was raging near ,marseilles1 when seven persons1 seated together in the ground-floor drawing-room of a country house1 saw a fireball as big as a plate appear in their midst4 ,it directed its course towards a young girl of eighteen1 who1 frightened out of her life1 had fallen on her knees4 ,touching her shoes1 it rebounded to the ceiling1 then came down to her feet again1 and so on two or three times1 with mysterious regularity1 the girl experiencing1 it seems1 no other sensation than that of a slight cramp in her legs4 ,eventually the fireball made its exit from the room through a keyhole6 ,the girl could not get up at once after it had gone4 ,for a fortnight or so she could not walk without assistance1 and it was two years before she got over a liability to sudden weakness in her legs1 causing her suddenly to fall4 ,it is strange to reflect that these diminutive fireballs1 produced by the actual atmosphere we breathe1 are less understood by us than that enormous globe which we call the sun1 and to which is due the flowering of the entire life of our planet4 ,if we are still in doubt as to the nature of the sun's spots1 at least we have been able to analyse its own elements4 ,and we know its dimensions1 its weight1 its distance from us1 its rate of rotation1 etc41 etc4 ,yet these electric spheres that make their escape from the clouds in times of storm1 baffle our investigations altogether4 ,according to records which seem authentic1 fireballs have been seen actually to come into existence upon the surface of a ceiling1 at the mouth of a well1 and upon the flagstones of a church4 ,in #agac1 at the chteau of ,fosdinaro1 in the neighbourhood of ,massa ,carrara1 in the course of a storm and heavy downpour of rain1 there was seen to appear suddenly upon the ground a very vivid flame1 white and blue in colour4 ,it seemed to flare fiercely1 but did not move apparently from the one spot1 and after growing quickly in volume it suddenly disappeared4 ,simultaneously with its going1 one of the observers felt a curious sort of tickling behind his shoulder1 moving upwards2 several bits of plaster from the ceiling under which he stood fell upon his head1 and there was a sudden crash quite unlike an ordinary thunderclap4 ,in #agej1 on the #bnd of ,july1 at about three in the afternoon1 the ,abb ,richard happened to be in the church of ,st4 ,michel at ,dijon during a storm4 ,suddenly1 he tells us1 ,i saw between two pillars of the nave a bright red flame floating in the air about three feet above the floor4 ,presently it rose to a height of twelve or fifteen feet1 increasing in volume4 ,then1 after having moved some yards to one side1 while still rising diagonally to the height almost of the woodwork of the organ1 it disappeared at last with an explosion like the report of a cannon4 ,on ,july #ba1 #agde1 a violent storm broke out in ,boulogne1 and the tower of a convent was struck by a fireball4 ,it was of great size1 and was seen to emerge from one of the sewers of the town and to move along the surface of the road until it hit against this tower1 of which a part subsided4 ,no one was hurt4 ,a nun affirmed that some years before she had seen just such another fireball emerge from the same spot and precipitate itself with a crash against the summit of the tower without doing any damage4 ,in the middle of a violent storm1 ,dr4 ,gardons saw several fireballs flying in different directions1 not far from the ground1 making a crackling sort of noise4 ,one of them was seen by witnesses to come out of an excavation full of stagnant water4 ,they killed one man1 several animals1 and did much damage to the trees and houses in the vicinity4 ,in ,february1 #agfg1 at ,presbourg1 a blue1 conical flame escaped suddenly with a detonating noise from a brasier1 breaking it to pieces1 and scattering the glowing cinders all around4 ,it then went twisting about the room1 burnt the face and hands of a child1 escaped partly through the window1 partly through the door1 broke into a thousand pieces a second brasier in another room1 and disappeared finally up a chimney1 carrying up with it and discharging from the chimney-top into the street several hams which had been hung under the chimney-piece4 ,for several days afterwards the atmosphere of the house retained a smell of sulphur4 ,in some cases1 fireballs have been seen to come down from the sky apparently1 and then1 after almost reaching but not actually touching the ground1 to ascend again4 ,thus on a hot day in summer #ahcg1 ,m4 ,hapoule1 a landed proprietor in the department of the ,moselle1 standing in front of the entrance to his stables under the shelter of a porch during a storm1 saw a fireball about the size of an orange moving in the direction of a dung-heap not far from him4 ,but instead of going right into it1 it stopped about a yard off1 and changing its route1 it went off at an angle1 keeping the same level for some distance1 when it suddenly seemed to change its mind again1 and rose perpendicularly till it disappeared in the clouds4 ,these sudden changes1 as we have seen1 are strangely characteristic of the habits of fireballs4 ,the ,garde ,champtre of the village of ,lalande de ,libourne 7,gironde7 was traversing the country one evening about half-past ten1 engaged in organizing a garde de surveillance1 when he suddenly found himself surrounded by a bright and penetrating light4 ,astonished1 he looked behind him1 and saw a fireball1 just broken loose from a cloud1 descending quickly to the ground4 ,the light vanished presently1 but he made his way towards where the fireball seemed to be falling4 ,when he had gone about two hundred yards1 he saw another brilliant light breaking out from the top of a tree and spreading itself into a sheaf of rays1 every point of which seemed to emit electric sparks4 ,at the end of a quarter of an hour the light became weaker1 and then disappeared4 ,the tree was afterwards cut down1 and it was found that the lightning had gone down the centre to a distance of three yards1 and had then passed down outside to the soil1 leaving trace of a semi-circular route2 and finally1 after rising again on the opposite side of the tree to a height of four yards1 tearing off two narrow strips of bark1 had disappeared4 ,at the foot of the tree a small hole1 about an inch and a quarter in diameter1 retained a certain degree of warmth for an hour and a half afterwards4 ,fireballs often keep within the frontiers of cloud-land4 ,they may be seen passing sometimes from one cloud to another in the high regions of the atmosphere4 ,on ,september #bb1 #ahac1 at seven in the evening1 ,m4 ,louis ,ordinaire saw a fireball leave a cloud at the zenith--the sky being very much lowering at the time--and go towards another4 ,it was of a reddish-yellow and extremely brilliant1 lighting up the ground with a bright radiance4 ,he was able to follow its movements for at least a minute1 and then saw it disappear into the second cloud4 ,there was an explosion followed by a dull sound like the firing off of a cannon in the distance4 ,after a violent storm which broke out near ,wakefield on ,march #a1 #aggd1 there remained only two clouds in the sky1 just above the horizon4 ,balls of fire were observed gliding from the higher of the two into the lower1 like falling stars4 ,in high mountainous districts--in the ,alps1 for instance--you may often look down from above upon a storm4 ,it is fascinating thus to watch the grandiose spectacle of the elements at war4 ,here from the pen of ,pre ,lozeran du ,fesch is a striking picture of such a scene-- ,it was on the #bnd of ,september1 #agaf1 about three o'clock in the afternoon4 ,a traveller was making his way down towards ,vic from the summit of ,cantal1 accompanied by a guide4 ,the weather was calm and very warm1 but down below1 about the middle of the mountain1 a vast sea of mist stretched out in wavelike clouds4 ,these clouds were furrowed continually by lightning flashes1 some going quite straight1 some zigzag1 some taking the shape of fireballs4 ,when the two men came near this region of clouds1 the mist grew so thick they could hardly see the bridles of their horses4 ,the air became gradually more cold and the darkness more dense as they proceeded downwards4 ,now they were in the midst of the fireballs flying in every direction all round them1 revolving as they went1 reddish in colour1 like saffron lit up4 ,they were of all sizes--some quite small on their first appearance1 seeming to grow immensely in volume in a few moments4 ,drops of rain fell when they passed4 ,up to this point the sight had been curious but not terrifying1 but suddenly now1 one of these fireballs1 about two feet in diameter1 burst open near the traveller and emitted streams of a bright and beautiful light in every direction1 and there was a dull report followed by a tremendous crash4 ,the two men were much shaken and the air all round them seemed polluted4 ,after a minute or two1 however1 all trace of the explosion had been dissipated1 and they proceeded on their way4 ,on ,january #f1 #ahej1 near ,merlan1 about six in the afternoon1 a fireball burst above the heads of two men1 enveloping them in a bluish light1 without hurting them or even damaging their clothes1 but giving them a momentary thrill as from an electric battery4 ,it left no traces of any kind1 not even a smell4 ,mr4 ,g4 ,m4 ,ryan records an instance which he witnessed at ,karachi in ,scinde4 ,while in his drawing-room one day with two friends who were taking refuge from a storm1 he rose from his chair and went to the door to open it1 the windows as well as the door being shut at the time4 ,returning1 he saw in the air and between his friends1 a ball of fire of about the size of a full moon4 ,at the same time there was a terrible clap of thunder4 ,two of the spectators were slightly wounded2 one felt a sharp pain on the left side of the face1 the other1 a sensation in one arm with a feeling as if his hair were burning4 ,there was a strong smell of sulphur4 ,in the next room there were two rifles in a case2 one was intact but the other was broken1 and there was a hole in the wall at the point where the muzzle leant against it1 and there were two holes in the same wall a story higher4 ,on ,sunday1 ,august #ai1 #aijj1 several people were assembled in a room in the chteau of the ,baron de ,france at ,maintenay 7,pas-de-,calais71 when there was a violent storm raging over the country4 ,suddenly there appeared in the midst of the eleven people who were there1 a globe of blue fire about the size of an infant's head1 which quietly crossed the room1 touching four people on its way4 ,none of them were injured4 ,an awful explosion was heard at the moment when the electric ball disappeared through an open door in front of the great staircase4 ,on ,august #c1 #ahji1 a fireball struck the house of a ,mr4 ,david ,sutton1 not far from ,newcastle-on-,tyne4 ,eight people were having tea in the drawing-room when a violent clap of thunder knocked down the chimney4 ,immediately after they saw on the ground1 at the door opposite the fireplace1 the brilliant visitor which announced itself in the sonorous voice of ,jupiter the thunderer4 ,it remained discreetly at the entrance of the room1 no doubt waiting for the sign to advance4 ,no one making a move1 it came into the middle of the room1 and there burst with a crash1 throwing out fiery grains like aeroliths4 ,the spectacle must have been magnificent--but1 we must acknowledge1 rather disquieting4 ,on ,september #bg1 #aggb1 at ,besanon1 a voluminous fireball crossed over a corn-shop and the ward of a hospital full of nurses and children4 ,this time again the lightning was merciful--it spared nurses and children1 and went and drowned itself in the ,doubs4 ,nearly thirty years before1 in ,july1 #agdd1 it showed the same regard for an honest ,german peasant woman4 ,she was occupied in the kitchen superintending the family meal1 when1 after a terrible clap of thunder1 she saw a fireball the size of a fist come down the chimney1 pass between her feet without hurting her1 and continue on its course without burning or even upsetting the spinning-wheel and other objects on the floor4 ,much frightened1 the young woman tried to escape2 she threw herself towards the door and opened it1 when the fireball at once followed her1 played about her feet1 went into the next room1 which opened out-of-doors1 crossed it1 and through the door into the yard4 ,it went round the yard1 entered a barn by an open door1 climbed the wall opposite1 and reaching the edge of the roof1 burst with such a terrific noise that the peasant woman fainted4 ,the barn at once took fire and was reduced to cinders4 ,towards the middle of the last century1 ,march #c1 #ahce1 the steeple of ,crailsheim was set on fire by lightning4 ,the guardian's daughter1 aged twenty years1 was at this moment in her room and had her back turned to the window1 when her young brother saw a fireball enter by the window-sill and descend on to his sister's back1 giving her a sudden shock all over her body4 ,the young girl then saw at her feet a quantity of small flames1 which went towards the kitchen1 the door of which had been opened1 and set fire to a pile of mossy wood4 ,there was no further damage than this attempt at incendiarism1 which was easily extinguished4 ,occasionally a fireball seems to take a malignant pleasure in hurling itself like a fury against lightning conductors2 but instead of quietly impaling itself like the linear lightning1 and breathing its last sigh in a prolonged roar1 it struggles1 and comes forth victorious from this curious contest4 ,there are many cases of fireballs playing about the lightning conductors without being caught4 ,in #aggg1 a fireball shot from the clouds on to the point of the lightning conductor on the ,observatory of ,padua4 ,the conductor1 which consisted of an iron chain1 was broken at its junction with the stem4 ,however1 it sent on the discharge4 ,some years later1 in #agib1 a huge ball of lightning struck one of the two conductors on the house of ,m4 ,haller at ,villiers la ,garenne4 ,this conductor was much injured by the audacious assailant1 and so was the framework of the house2 the keen fluid had damaged the metallic gutters4 ,at this point ,i must add that lightning conductors are of recent creation4 ,nor would it be surprising if there were defective ones which could not assure an efficient protection4 ,however1 much later1 on ,december #bj1 #ahde1 the same phenomenon was observed at the chteau of ,bortyvon1 near ,vire4 ,there1 again1 the fireball1 ignoring the danger to which it was exposing itself1 flung itself on a lightning conductor placed in the centre of the chteau4 ,it was spared1 but the chteau suffered greatly4 ,the electric ball descended from both sides of the metallic stem1 causing a great deal of damage along its path4 ,on touching the ground it expanded1 and many persons affirm that they saw what was like a huge cask of fire rolling along the ground4 ,in truth1 ball lightning seems in a certain measure to escape the influence of lightning conductors4 ,on ,september #d1 #aijc1 towards ten o'clock in the evening1 ,m4 ,laurence ,rotch1 director of the ,observatory of ,blue ,hill 7,u4,s471 happening to be in ,paris1 made the following curious observation from the ,rond-point of the ,champs ,elyses4 ,looking in the direction of the ,eiffel ,tower1 he saw the summit of the edifice struck by white lightning coming from the zenith4 ,at the same moment a fireball1 less dazzling than the lightning1 slowly descended from the summit to the second platform4 ,it appeared to be about one yard in diameter1 and to be situated in the middle of the tower1 taking less than two seconds to cover a distance of about #ajj yards4 ,then it disappeared4 ,the next day the observer ascertained1 on visiting the tower1 that it had actually been struck by lightning twice on the previous day4 ,it is to be noted that the meteor did not follow the conductor2 but1 after all1 is not the whole tower itself the most powerful conductor imaginable8 ,would not the enormous masses of iron used in its construction neutralize the attraction of the thin metallic rods1 effectual for the protection of ordinary buildings1 but incapable1 one would think1 of competing with the attractive force of this immense metallic framework8 ,here are some cases where globular lightning has struck bells or telegraph wires1 which it has followed with docility4 ,several times it has been seen poised like a bird on a telegraph wire near a railway-station1 and has then quietly disappeared4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,eiffel ,,tower ,,as ,a ,,colossal ,,lightning ,,conductor4 ,photograph taken ,june #c1 #aijb1 at #i4bj p4m41 by ,m4 ,g4 ,lopp4 ,published in the ,bulletin de la ,socit ,astronomique de ,france 7,may1 #aije7 ,we see that it is not absolutely inimical to points1 nor to metals1 but it prefers its independence1 and he must get up early who would catch it in a snare4 ,it is an anarchist--it acknowledges no rule4 ,but we must confess that if spheroidal lightning seems particularly capricious1 it is because we are still ignorant of the laws which guide it4 ,our ignorance alone is the cause of the mystery4 ,we try to discover the enigma in the silence of the laboratories1 where physicians question science without ceasing2 we try to reproduce fireballs artificially1 but the problem is complicated1 and its solution presents enormous difficulties4 ,hypotheses are not wanting4 ,some years ago1 ,m4 ,stphane ,leduc recorded an interesting experiment1 producing a moving globular spark4 ,when two very fine and highly polished metallic points1 each in affinity with one of the poles of an electro-static machine1 rest perpendicularly on the sensitive face of a gelatine bromide of silver photographic plate1 which is placed on a metallic leaf1 the two points being #e to #aj centimetres the one from the other1 an effluvium is produced round the positive point1 while at the negative point a luminous globule is formed4 ,when this globule has reached a sufficient size1 you can see it detach itself from the point1 which ceases to be luminous1 begin to move forward slowly on the plate1 make a few curves1 and then set off for the positive point2 when it reaches this1 the effluvium is extinguished1 all luminous phenomenon ceases1 and the machine acts as if its two poles were united by a conductor4 ,the speed with which the luminous globe moves is very slight4 ,it takes from one to four minutes to cover a distance of #e to #f centimetres4 ,sometimes1 before reaching the positive point1 the globe bursts into two or more luminous globules1 which individually continue their journey towards the positive point4 ,on developing the plate1 you will find traced on it the route followed by the globule1 the point of explosion1 the routes resulting from the division1 the effluvium round the positive point4 ,also1 if you stop the experiment before the arrival of the globule at the positive point1 the photograph will only give the route to that point4 ,the globule makes its course the conductor4 ,if during its journey you were to throw powder on the plate--sulphur1 for example--the course it followed will be marked by a line of little aigrettes1 looking like a luminous rosary4 ,of all the known electric phenomena1 this is the most analogous with globular lightning4 ,illustration3 ,,photograph ,,of ,,the ,,positive ,,pole ,,of ,,an ,,electric ,,spark4 ,illustration3 ,,photograph ,,of ,,the ,,negative ,,pole ,,of ,,an ,,electric ,,spark4 ,but the really complicated part of the question is when ball lightning loses part of its fluidity and becomes a semi-solid body1 as in the following instance3-- ,on ,april #bd1 #ahhg1 a storm burst over ,mortre 7,orne71 and the lightning literally chopped the telegraph wire on the route to ,argentan for a distance of #aej yards4 ,the pieces were so calcinated that they might have been under the fire of a forge2 some of the longer ones were bent and their sections welded together4 ,the lightning entered by the door of a stable in the form of a fireball1 and came near a person who was preparing to milk a cow2 then it passed between the legs of the animal1 and disappeared without causing any damage4 ,the terrified cow raised itself on its hind legs with frantic bellowing1 and its master ran away1 frightened out of his wits1 but there was no harm done4 ,the inexplicable phenomenon was that at the precise moment when the lightning crossed the stable1 a great quantity of incandescent stones fell before a neighbouring house4 ,some of these fragments1 of the size of nuts1 wrote the ,minister of ,post and ,telegraphs at the ,academy1 are of a not very thick material1 of a greyish-white1 and easily broken by the fingers1 giving forth a characteristic odour of sulphur4 ,the others1 which are smaller1 are exactly like coke4 ,it would perhaps be useful to say here1 that during this storm the thunderclaps were not preceded by the ordinary muttering1 they burst quickly like the discharge of musketry1 and succeeded one another at short intervals4 ,hail fell in abundance1 and the temperature was very low4 ,it is only by a semblance of disbelief that one can get the peasants to tell us the stories of what they pretend to have seen of the fall of aeroliths during storms4 ,they have christened the uranoliths thunder-stones4 ,these substances have evidently no relation to uranoliths1 but they prove none the less that ponderable matter may accompany the fall of lightning4 ,here are two more examples-- ,in the month of ,august1 #ahhe1 a storm burst over ,sotteville 7,seine-,infrieure72 lightning furrowed the sky1 the thunder muttered1 and the rain fell in torrents4 ,suddenly1 in the ,rue ,pierre ,corneille1 several small balls1 about the size of a common pea1 were seen to fall2 these burned on touching the ground1 sending out a little violet flame4 ,people counted more than twenty1 and one of the spectators1 on putting her foot on one of them1 produced a fresh flame4 ,they left no trace on the ground4 ,on ,august #be1 #ahhj1 in ,paris1 during a rather violent storm1 in broad daylight1 ,m4 ,a4 ,trcul1 of the ,institute1 saw a very brilliant voluminous body1 yellowish-white1 and rather long in shape1 being apparently #ce to #dj centimetres in length1 by about #be in width1 with slightly conical ends4 ,this body was only visible for a few seconds2 it seemed to disappear and re-enter a cloud1 but in departing--and this is the chief point--it dropped a little substance1 which fell vertically like a heavy body under the sole influence of gravity4 ,it left a trail of light behind it1 at the edges of which could be seen sparks1 or rather red globules1 because their light did not flash4 ,near the falling substance the luminous trail was almost vertical1 while in the further part it was sinuous4 ,the small substance divided in falling1 and the light went out soon after1 when it was on the point of reaching the tops of the houses4 ,when it was disappearing1 and at the moment of the division1 no noise was heard1 although the cloud was not far away4 ,this fact incontestably proves the presence of ponderable matter in clouds1 which is not violently projected by an explosion in the bolis1 nor accompanied by a noisy electric discharge4 ,we are still far from understanding the interesting problem of the formation and nature of ball lightning4 ,instead of denying it1 men of science ought to study it1 because it is certainly one of the most remarkable of the curiosities of atmospheric electricity4 ,we must begin by finding out the exact facts1 which are extraordinary enough to captivate our attention4 ,the theories will follow4 ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,effects ,,of ,,lightning ,,on ,,mankind ,the destructive work of lightning in every form is immense4 ,a formidable and invisible world skirts the earth--an enchanted world1 more wonderful than any ,eastern legend--an unknown ocean1 whose immaterial presence is constantly brought before us by the most fearful electric conflagrations4 ,even to-day the brilliancy of lightning hides itself from us in the darkness of impenetrable mystery4 ,but we feel that there is an immeasurable power1 an unimaginable force which rules us4 ,we are1 in fact1 but puny beings in comparison with this magic force1 and the ancients were wise when they made the ,king of the ,gods responsible for the actions of lightning4 ,he alone in ,his splendour and sovereignty could exercise such an empire over our modest planet--above all1 over man's imagination4 ,science slowly follows the centuries in their ascending march towards progress4 ,at present our knowledge of ball lightning is limited1 and we have only the principal facts of nature to contribute to the elucidation of the problem4 ,in increasing our observations1 and in comparing those which are analogous1 we may hope1 if not to arrive at an immediate conclusion1 at least to help in the work of discovering what laws govern this subtle and imponderable fluid4 ,here it will strike a man dead without leaving a trace2 there it will only attack the clothes and insinuate itself as far as the skin without even grazing it4 ,it will burn the lining of a garment1 and leave the material of which it is made intact4 ,sometimes it profits by the bewilderment caused by its dazzling light to entirely undress a person1 and leave him naked and inanimate1 but with no external wound1 not even a scratch4 ,we find as many peculiarities as facts4 ,some of the actions of lightning remind one of the fantastic stories of ,hoffmann and ,edgar ,poe1 but nature is more wonderful than the imagination of man1 and lightning remains supreme in its phantasmagoria4 ,thunder seems to play with the ignorance of man2 its crimes and jests would have been ascribed to the devil in olden days4 ,we submit to the effects without being able to determine the cause which directs them4 ,it would seem as if lightning were a subtle being--a medium between the unconscious force which lives in plants and the conscious force in animals4 ,it is like an elemental spirit1 keen1 capricious1 malicious or stupid1 far-seeing or blind1 wilful or indifferent1 passing from one extreme to another1 and of a unique and terrifying character4 ,we see it twisting into space1 moving with astonishing dexterity among men1 appearing and disappearing with the rapidity 444 of lightning 444 it is impossible to define its nature4 ,at all events1 it is a great mistake to trifle with it4 ,it means running great risks4 ,it resents being interfered with1 and those who try to probe into its domain are generally rather cruelly put in their place4 ,it was an indiscretion of this kind which cost ,dr4 ,richmann his life4 ,he had fixed an insulated iron rod from the roof of his house to his laboratory2 this conducted the atmospheric electricity to him1 and he measured its intensity every day4 ,on ,august #f1 #agec1 in the middle of a violent storm1 he was keeping at a distance from the rod in order to avoid the powerful sparks1 and was waiting for the time to measure it1 when1 his engraver entering suddenly1 he took a few steps towards him which brought him too near the conductor4 ,a globe of blue fire1 the size of a fist1 struck him on the head and stretched him stone dead4 ,this beginning to the study of physics was hardly encouraging4 ,the visitations of lightning are so numerous that it would naturally be impossible to describe them all in this small collection4 ,we must1 therefore1 choose among them1 but here we encounter a great difficulty4 ,among the thousands of tours de force and of dexterity accomplished by lightning1 which should we take and which leave8 ,the selection is very difficult1 as it means leaving out a large number of curious examples with a good many very interesting observations4 ,we will choose the most important--those of which the authenticity appears incontestable1 and which contain the most precise details4 ,we will group together those among them which present points of resemblance4 ,this approximate classification will give us a sufficiently complete picture for the harmony of this study4 99 99 99 99 99 ,one of the most astonishing actions of lightning is certainly that of leaving the victim in the very attitude in which he was surprised by death4 ,cardan gives an extraordinary example of this kind4 ,in the course of a violent storm1 eight reapers1 who were taking their meal under an oak1 were struck1 all eight of them1 by the same flash of lightning1 the noise of which could be heard a long way off4 ,when the passers-by approached to see what had happened1 the reapers thus suddenly petrified by death1 appeared to be continuing their peaceful meal4 ,one held his glass1 another was carrying the bread to his mouth1 a third had his hand on the dish4 ,death had seized them all in the position which they occupied when the explosion occurred4 ,we hear of many similar cases to this4 ,here is one of a young woman who no doubt was struck by lightning in the position in which she was found after the accident4 ,it was during a violent storm on ,july #af1 #ahff2 she was alone in the house at ,saint-,romain-les-,atheux 7,loire71 and outside the thunder rolled fearfully4 ,when her parents came back from the fields1 they found a sad sight4 ,the young woman had been killed by lightning4 ,they found her kneeling in a corner of the room with her head buried in her hands2 she had no trace of a wound4 ,her child of four months1 who was in bed in the same room1 was only lightly touched4 ,quite recently1 on ,may #bd1 #aijd1 at ,charolles 7,sane-et-,loire71 a certain ,mlle4 ,moreau1 who lived at ,lesmes1 was waiting for the end of a storm in a grocer's shop where she had been making some purchases4 ,several people were gathered round the fireplace4 ,they felt a great movement following a violent clap of thunder4 ,the sensation having passed1 every one prepared to go4 ,mlle4 ,moreau alone remained seated1 and did not move4 ,she had been struck by the fluid1 which had made a hole under her right ear and come out by the left6 ,the petrifying action of the electric fluid is so rapid that horsemen who have been struck have remained on horseback and been carried a long way from the place of the accident without being unsaddled4 ,according to ,abb ,richard1 towards the end of the eighteenth century1 the procurator of the ,seminary of ,troyes was coming home on horseback when he was struck by lightning4 ,a brother who followed him1 not perceiving this1 thought that he was asleep when he saw him reeling4 ,when he tried to awaken him1 he found he was dead4 ,the following observation is very remarkable on account of the special attitudes preserved by the bodies which had been struck3-- ,a vessel which was at ,port ,mahon was struck at the time when the crew were dispersed over the yards to furl the sails4 ,fifteen sailors who were scattered on the bowsprit were killed or burned in the twinkling of an eye4 ,some were thrown into the water2 others1 bent dead across the yard-arm1 remained in the position they had occupied before the accident4 ,often the corpses of people who have been struck have been found either sitting or standing4 ,at the approach of a storm a vine-dresser was seated under a nut tree which was planted near a hedge3 soon afterwards1 when it had ceased raining and the thunder was quiet1 his two sisters1 who had been taking shelter under the hedge1 saw him sitting1 and called to him to go back to work1 but he did not reply2 on going up to him1 they found him dead4 ,in #ahec1 in the neighbourhood of ,asti1 a priest who was struck while dining remained in his place4 ,in #afih1 a ship was struck at about four o'clock in the morning1 not far from ,saint-,pierre4 ,at daybreak a sailor was found sitting stone dead at the bow of the ship1 with his eyes open and the whole body in such a natural attitude that he seemed to be alive4 ,he had suffered no injury either external or internal4 ,dr4 ,boudin describes a still more surprising case4 ,a woman was struck while she was in the act of plucking a poppy4 ,the body was found standing1 only slightly bent and with the flower still in her hand4 ,it is hard to understand how a human body could remain standing1 slightly bent1 without a support to prevent its falling4 ,this case is a contradiction to all the laws of equilibrium4 ,but with such a fantastic agent as that with which we are dealing1 nothing is surprising--we may expect anything4 ,thus-- ,on ,august #b1 #ahfb1 lightning struck the entrance pavilion of the ,prince ,eugene barracks in ,paris just when the soldiers were going to bed4 ,all those who were lying down suddenly found themselves standing1 and those who were standing were thrown on the ground4 ,in the preceding examples the victims struck dead are not disfigured by the fulgurant force4 ,they preserve a deceptive appearance of life4 ,the catastrophe is so sudden that the face has no time to assume a sad expression4 ,no contraction of the muscles reveals a transition in the passage of life and death4 ,the eyes and mouth are open as though in a state of watching4 ,when the colour of the flesh is preserved1 the illusion is complete4 ,but when we approach these statues of flesh--so lately animated with vital fire1 now mummified by celestial fire--we are surprised on touching them to find that they crumble to ashes4 ,the garments are intact1 the body presents no difference1 it keeps the attitude it had at the supreme moment1 but it is entirely burnt1 consumed4 ,thus-- ,at ,vic-sur-,aisne 7,aisne7 in #ahch1 in the middle of a violent storm1 three soldiers took shelter under a lime tree4 ,lightning struck them all dead at one blow4 ,all the same1 they all three remained standing in their original positions as though they had not been touched by the electric fluid3 their clothes were intact6 ,after the storm some passers-by noticed them1 spoke to them without receiving an answer1 and went up to touch them1 when they fell pulverized into a heap of ashes4 ,this experience is not unique1 and even the ancients remarked that people who were struck crumbled to dust4 ,here is a similar case1 no less curious-- ,on ,june #ac1 #ahic1 at ,rodez1 a shepherd named ,desmazes1 seeing that a storm was threatening1 collected his beasts and drove them quickly towards the farm4 ,when he was just there1 he was struck by lightning4 ,his body1 which was completely incinerated1 preserved a natural appearance4 ,it is by this complete incineration and the probable volatilization of the cinders that certain authors explain the sudden disappearance of some of those who have been struck4 ,legend attributes the mysterious death of ,romulus to a similar cause4 ,according to ,livy1 the illustrious founder of ,rome was reviewing his army in a plain near the marsh of ,capra4 ,suddenly a storm accompanied by violent claps of thunder enveloped the king in a cloud so thick that it hid him from sight4 ,from that moment ,romulus was seen no more on earth4 ,it is true1 ,livy adds1 that some of the witnesses suspected the senators of having torn him to pieces3 kings have sometimes been subject to all kinds of surprises on the part of their courtiers4 ,in most cases the electric matter produces burns more or less severe4 ,these1 when they do not attack the whole organism as in the preceding examples1 are localized to certain parts of the body4 ,sometimes they are quite superficial and only attack the epidermis4 ,often without absolute carbonization1 they penetrate deep into the flesh and cause death after the most fearful suffering4 ,here are some examples of different sorts of burns-- ,in #ahfe1 in the ,rue ,pigalle in ,paris1 a man had his eyes burnt by lightning4 ,a young soldier of the #bgth ,battalion of ,chasseurs was armed1 mounting guard at the ,col de ,soda4 ,it was in the month of ,july1 #aijj4 ,suddenly he was surrounded by the dazzling glare of lightning1 which was almost immediately succeeded by an awful explosion of thunder4 ,the sentinel1 leaving his arms1 fell backwards screaming4 ,people ran to him1 and saw that the fluid1 attracted by the point of the bayonet1 had struck it1 and1 gliding down1 the metal had burnt his feet rather severely4 ,at ,malines1 in ,belgium1 a mill was reduced to splinters by the fire of heaven4 ,the miller and two of his customers were there at the time of the accident4 ,not one of the three men was killed1 but the miller was seriously burnt in the head1 on the chin and the cheeks4 ,he was deaf and blind for twenty-four hours4 ,one of the others was burned in the hands4 ,on ,june #ai1 #aijc1 at about six in the evening1 during a bad storm1 five farmers were crossing the ,champ de ,gentillerie near ,saint-,servan1 in order to take shelter4 ,three of them were walking abreast1 the two others1 of whom one was leading an ass1 were some paces behind1 when suddenly the five men and the ass were thrown on the ground by a violent clap of thunder4 ,three of the farmers1 recovering their consciousness after the shock1 observed that their two companions were struck2 the head of one was carbonized1 and the left side of the other was burnt as though by a red-hot iron4 ,another phenomenon1 no less appalling-- ,a woman who was struck had her leg so horribly burnt that1 on removing the stocking1 some particles of flesh adhered to it4 ,from the knee to the end of the foot the skin was black as though carbonized1 and the whole surface was covered with a species of blister full of a sero-purulent liquid4 ,the burns were very serious but not mortal1 and were localized in the leg4 ,lightning also sometimes produces wounds which are more or less severe4 ,it perforates the bones4 ,the injuries it causes are similar to those inflicted by firearms4 ,it can also cause partial or total paralysis1 the loss of speech or sight1 temporary or permanent4 ,its action is manifold on the human organism4 ,a more extraordinary phenomenon still is that people who are struck show no sign of the slightest injury on a minute medical examination4 ,the ancients remarked this1 as we see in the charming passage from ,plutarch3 ,lightning struck them dead without leaving any mark on the bodies nor any wound or burn--their souls fled from their bodies in fright1 like a bird which escapes from its cage4 ,we have already spoken of the smell of fulminated air and of ozone4 ,in some cases there is more than that4 ,on ,june #bi1 #ahie1 lightning struck a low house at ,moulins in the course of a violent storm4 ,the fluid1 eccentric as usual1 attacked the outer chimney1 the bricks of which were loose and projected slightly4 ,it broke some tiles on the roof1 the length of one rafter1 and inside the corn-loft it broke the wooden handle of an iron rake to splinters4 ,on the ground floor1 bricks were both loosened and torn out near where the pipe of the stove went into the wall of the chimney-piece4 ,a dozen plates were broken in a cupboard to the left of the hearth1 and a woman who happened to be near it at the time of the explosion1 said she had felt her legs warmed by the burning air which came from the cupboard4 ,the room was afterwards filled with a thick infected smoke1 a veritable poison4 ,sometimes the victims are nearly asphyxiated by the fulminic effluvium1 and only owe their preservation to the extreme care which is lavished on them4 ,very often the bodies and the clothes of people who have been struck give forth a nauseous smell--generally similar to that of burning sulphur4 ,in the month of ,august1 #ahgi1 a woman who had been struck at ,montoulieu1 in the ,champ ,descubert quarter1 had her skull perforated as though a big ball had passed through it1 and her burnt clothes gave forth insupportable emanations4 ,dr4 ,minonzio relates how three persons were wounded by lightning on board the ,austrian frigate ,the ,mede4 ,i remember1 he says1 the sensation which was caused in the locality by the stench which came from the bodies and clothes of these people who were struck--a stench nearly as offensive as that of burnt sulphur mingled with empyreumatical oil4 ,one of the most frequent and good-natured effects of lightning on man is to shave his hair and beard1 to scorch them1 or even to depilate the whole body4 ,generally the victim may consider himself lucky if he leaves a handful of hair as a ransom to the lightning1 and escapes with a fright4 ,there is even a case given of a young girl of twenty who had her hair cut as though by a razor1 without perceiving it or feeling the least shock4 ,on ,may #g1 #ahhe1 two men who were in a windmill were struck by lightning4 ,they were both struck deaf1 and the hair and beard and eyebrows of one were burnt4 ,in addition to this1 their clothes crumbled to the touch4 ,a man1 who must have been very hairy1 was struck by lightning near ,aix4 ,the electric current raised the hairs of his body in ridges from the breast to the feet1 rolled them into pellets1 and incrusted them deeply in the calf of the leg4 ,very often the injury to the hair1 instead of being spread all over the body1 limits itself to certain places where it is thicker or damper on the body of a man1 and more especially on that of a woman4 ,here are some curious examples4 ,in ,dr4 ,sestier's learned work1 vol4 ii4 p4 #de1 we read the following case observed at ,montpellier3-- ,accidit apud ,monspelienses ut fulmen cadens in domum vicarii generalis de ,grassi pudendum puellae ancillae pilos abraserit ut ,bartassius in muliere sibi familiari olim factum fuisse4 ,toaldo ,richard has described similar experiences1 and d',hombres ,firmas has described several others3-- ,a number of people were assembled at ,mas-,lacoste1 near ,nmes1 when lightning penetrated to where they were4 ,a girl of twenty-six was thrown over and became unconscious2 when she came to her senses1 she could hardly support herself or walk1 and felt a great deal of pain in the centre of her body4 ,when she was alone with her friends1 they examined her1 and they saw non sine miratione pudendum perustum ruberrimum1 labia tumefacta pilos deficientes usque ad bulbum punctosque nigros pro pilis1 inde cutim rugosissimam2 ejus referunt amicae primum barbatissimam et hoc facto semper imberbem esse4 ,lightning is indeed a joker1 but so it has always been4 ,in most cases the hair grows again1 but sometimes the system is completely destroyed1 and the victim must either wear a wig or go bald4 ,we have already spoken further back of the case of ,dr4 ,gaultier1 of ,claubry1 who was struck one day by globular lightning1 near ,blois1 and had his beard shaved off and destroyed for ever2 it never grew again4 ,he nearly died of a curious malady1 his head swelled to the size of a metre and a half in circumference4 ,we also hear of corpses of people who have been struck1 which show no other injury than a complete or partial epilation4 ,for example1 a woman who was struck in the road had the hair completely pulled out of the top of her head4 ,on ,july #be1 #aijj1 a farm servant1 ,pierre ,roux1 was killed while in the act of loading a waggon of hay4 ,the only trace the lightning left behind it was to completely scorch the beard of its victim4 ,now1 here is a case the complete opposite of the preceding ones and still more curious1 in which the capricious and fantastic lightning attacked the epidermis without burning the hair which covered it4 ,at ,dampierre thunder broke over a house belonging to ,m4 ,saumois4 ,his arm1 one leg1 and the left side of his body were burnt1 and the extraordinary thing is that the skin of the arm was burnt leaving the hair intact4 ,a little further on we shall have cases where the lightning has proved salutary in certain forms of illness4 ,generally the people who are struck fall at once without a struggle4 ,it has been proved by a great number of observations that the man who has been struck by lightning so as to lose consciousness immediately falls without having seen1 heard1 or felt anything4 ,this is easy to believe1 since electricity is animated by a movement much quicker than that of light1 and still more so than that of sound4 ,the eye and ear are paralyzed before the lightning and the thunder could have made an impression on them2 so much so that the victims1 when they recover themselves1 are unable to explain what has happened to them4 ,people struck by lightning nearly always sink on the very spot where they have been struck4 ,besides this1 we have already remarked several cases where the people struck have preserved the exact positions they had at the moment of the catastrophe4 ,but1 on the other hand1 we can quote some examples1 rarer1 but diametrically opposed to these4 ,on ,july #h1 #ahci1 lightning struck an oak near ,triel 7,seine-et-,oise71 and also struck two quarrymen1 father and son4 ,this last was killed dead1 raised1 and transported twenty-three yards away4 ,the surgeon ,brillouet was surprised by a storm near ,chantilly1 and was raised by the lightning and deposited twenty-five paces from where he had been4 ,on ,august #ah1 #ahhd1 at ,namur 7,belgium71 a man was flung ten yards from the tree under which he had been struck by lightning4 ,the following notice was in the papers in ,august1 #aijj3-- ,brousses-et-,villaret 7,aude71 ,august #bj4 ,during the storm which burst over that region the lightning killed two cows belonging to ,m4 ,bouchre4 ,it also struck1 but without hurting him1 a young man of twenty-three years of age1 ,bernard ,robart1 artilleryman1 who was taking a holiday4 ,he was walking to a neighbouring farm when he was suddenly carried through the air for fifty yards4 ,he got up again without any hurt1 only he was dazzled by the lightning which had flashed before his eyes4 ,on writing to the victim to verify this fact1 ,i received the following answer3-- ,i have the honour to inform you that the article relating to the incident which happened to me during the lightning1 on the #agth1 is absolutely true4 ,i was on leave at ,brousses1 ,canton of ,saissac 7,aude74 ,i left my uncle's house at about #h p4m4 ,there had been a heavy storm4 ,the rain had nearly stopped for about two or three minutes1 but it still fell a little4 ,there had been a good deal of thunder during the storm4 ,i was sleeping at home1 the house being about two hundred yards away4 ,it was very dark1 and seeing that the rain was going to begin again with violence1 ,i started to run4 ,i went very quick4 ,i was crossing the ,place1 and when ,i arrived in front of ,m4 ,combes' house1 ,i suddenly felt myself stopped1 and without being able to explain how1 ,i found myself in the same instant at the other side of the ,place1 lying on the ground against the wall of ,m4 ,maistre's house4 ,i was astounded2 ,i waited a good minute without knowing where ,i was4 ,when ,i got home ,i felt a severe pain in the right knee1 and ,i perceived that my trousers were torn and that ,i had a big scar on my knee1 and that my hands were slightly scorched4 ,it must have happened against the wall where there were some loose stones4 ,i was transported about fifty yards1 and ,i cannot tell you if it thundered at the same time1 but there had been a big clap about a minute before4 ,two people who were leaving ,m4 ,combes' house were witness of the fact4 ,the lightning penetrated into ,m4 ,bouchre's stables two hundred yards away1 and killed two cows and broke the leg of another4 ,as it went in it broke the cover of the doorway1 which was of freestone1 in two1 and knocked over a chair and seven or eight bottles which were on a shelf4 ,believe me1 etc41 ,,bernard ,,robert1 ,artilleryman1 ,fort ,saint ,nicholas1 ,marseilles4 ,thus we have several examples of people being transported #bj1 #cj1 and #ej yards from the point where the lightning has struck them4 ,sometimes the bodies of people who are struck are as stiff as iron and retain their stiffness4 ,on ,june #cj1 #ahed1 a waggoner1 thirty-five years of age1 was struck in ,paris4 ,the next day ,dr4 ,sestier saw his corpse at the ,morgue3 it was perfectly stiff4 ,the next day1 forty-four hours after the death1 this stiffness was still most marked4 ,some years ago1 in the ,commune of ,hectomare 7,eure71 lightning struck a man named ,delabarre1 who was holding a piece of bread in his hand4 ,the contractility of the nerves was so strong that it could not be taken from him4 ,on the other hand1 the bodies very often remain flexible after death1 as in life4 ,on ,september #ag1 #aghj1 a violent storm burst over ,eastbourne4 ,a coachman and footman were killed4 ,although the bodies remained from ,sunday to ,tuesday unburied1 remarked an observer1 all their limbs were as flexible as those of living people4 ,sometimes the corpses soften and decompose rapidly1 leaving an unbearable odour4 ,on ,june #ae1 #agid1 lightning killed a lady in a ballroom at ,fribourg4 ,the corpse rapidly gave forth a curious odour of putrefaction4 ,the doctor could hardly examine it without fainting4 ,the inhabitants of the house were obliged to go away thirty-six hours after the death1 the odour was so penetrating4 ,it was with difficulty that they were able to put the fetid corpse into a coffin4 ,it fell to pieces4 ,the flabbiness often observed in the bodies of people who are struck is due1 no doubt1 to the fact that in the case of enormous discharge1 the stiffness of a dead body develops so quickly1 and is of such a short duration1 that it may escape observation4 ,numbers of experiments made on animals justify this hypothesis4 ,nevertheless1 in the majority of cases1 bodies which have been struck decompose rapidly1 which explains quite naturally the softness of bodies killed by lightning4 ,the colouration of these presents numerous varieties2 sometimes the face is of a corpse-like paleness1 at others it preserves its natural colour4 ,in many cases1 the face is livid1 red1 violet1 violet-bronze1 black1 yellow1 and even covered over with brown or blue spots4 ,the colouration of the face may be extended over all or nearly all the body4 ,the eight reapers who were killed under an oak1 quoted by ,cardan in our first example1 were quite black4 ,that the subtle fluid accumulated in great masses in the clouds should kill a man1 deprive him of movement1 annihilate his faculties1 or slightly wound him--this ought not to astonish us when we contemplate the marvellous results and the prodigies of strength accomplished by the much more feeble electricity of our laboratories4 ,but the extraordinary point about lightning is its variety of action4 ,why does it not invariably kill those it strikes8 and why does it sometimes not even wound them8 ,there are inexplicable subtleties in the world4 ,one knows of many examples of people who are struck whose garments remain absolutely intact4 ,the imponderable fluid insinuates itself through the garments1 leaving no trace of its passage1 and may cause grave disorders in the body of a man without any exterior mark to reveal it to the most perspicacious observer4 ,we hear of the case of a man who had nearly the whole of his right side burnt from the arm to the foot1 as though it had been for a long time too near a quick fire1 but his shirt1 his pants1 and the rest of his clothes were untouched by the fire4 ,the ,abb ,pinel gives the case of a man who1 amongst other injuries1 had his right foot very badly lacerated1 while the left was untouched2 the right sabot was untouched1 and the left was broken4 ,on ,june #aj1 #ahie1 at ,bellenghise1 near ,saint-,quentin1 a lady was killed under a tree3 she had deep marks of burning on the breast and stomach1 but her clothes remained intact4 ,lightning is very mystifying4 ,th4 ,neale cites a case where the hands were burnt to the bone in gloves which remained intact6 ,at other times1 garments1 even those nearest the skin1 are perforated1 burnt1 and torn1 without the surface of the skin being injured4 ,thus the boot of a man who had been struck was so torn that it was reduced to ashes1 while there was no trace of a wound on the foot4 ,an extraordinary case in point happened at ,vabreas 7,vaucluse7 in ,july1 #ahgc4 ,a peasant was in the fields when there was a violent clap of thunder4 ,the electric fluid struck his head1 shaved the left side1 and completely burnt his hat4 ,then1 continuing its route1 it tore his garments1 penetrated the length of his legs1 and tore his trousers from top to bottom4 ,finally1 it transported the unfortunate man1 nearly naked1 six or seven yards from his original place1 and laid him on his stomach on a bush with his head hanging over the edge of a river4 ,sometimes1 when the garments are seriously injured1 we find slight injuries under the skin which do not always correspond to the places where the garment is most seriously affected4 ,lichtenberg quotes the case of a man who had his clothes cut as by the point of a knife from the shoulders to the feet1 without the sign of a wound except a small sore on the foot under the buckle of the shoe4 ,according to ,howard1 a man had his clothes torn to atoms without showing any trace of the action of the electric fluid on the surface of his body1 except a light mark on the forehead4 ,sometimes1 as we have already said1 the inner garments are burnt while the outer ones are respected4 ,a woman had her chemise scorched by the fire of heaven1 while her dress and petticoats were spared4 ,on ,june #ad1 #aggd1 lightning fell at ,poitiers in a yard where a young cooper was working4 ,it went under his right foot1 burning his shoe1 passed between his stocking and leg1 singed the stocking without wounding the leg1 burned the lining of his trousers1 raised the epidermis of the abdomen1 tore off a brass button which fastened his garment1 and went off to twist a carpenter round in a neighbouring lane4 ,neither one nor the other felt the effects of this stroke of lightning4 ,finally1 the clothes1 above all the shoes1 are unsewn carefully and without a tear1 as though by the hand of a clever workman4 ,here are two cases in a thousand-- ,on ,june #ah1 #ahgb1 at ,grange ,forestire1 near ,petit-,creusot1 a man had his trousers unsewn from top to bottom and his shoes taken off4 ,in the department of ,eure-et-,loire1 some peasants were engaged in binding sheaves1 and their daughter1 aged nine1 was playing near them when a storm broke with great violence4 ,let us go in1 ,i am frightened1 she cried1 running to take refuge between her parents4 ,we will go in immediately1 but we must finish binding before the rain comes on4 ,then ,i will beg of the ,good ,god to keep the thunder from us4 ,do4 ,and while the father and mother continued their work1 the child went down on her knees1 and with her hands over her eyes commenced her prayer4 ,suddenly1 without hearing or seeing anything1 the father felt the straw move under his feet2 he turned mechanically1 and gave a great cry on seeing his little daughter stretched motionless on the ground4 ,she was dead4 ,her little corset was unsewn and her chemise burnt4 ,but of all the fantastic actions of lightning1 the most extraordinary and incomprehensible is the mania it has for undressing its victims1 and leaving them dead or fainting in the primitive costume of our first parents--or in a dress too simple to be allowed by our civilized customs4 ,this deplorable and quite inexplicable habit has given lightning a large scientific dossier1 from which we have already cited examples in the first chapter1 and from which we will again extract some fragments4 ,near ,angers1 on ,may #ab1 #aija1 a farm lad named ,rousteau1 aged twenty-three1 was killed by lightning in the middle of the fields4 ,the corpse was found nearly naked4 ,on ,june #bi1 #ahfi1 at ,pradettes 7,arige71 the ,mayor was unfortunate enough to take shelter under a very high poplar4 ,soon after he had done so1 there was a burst of lightning which split the tree and struck him4 ,in one of its diabolical freaks it entirely undressed him1 throwing his various garments round about him1 reduced to rags1 with the exception of one shoe4 ,in ,june1 #aijc1 at ,saint-,laurent-la-,gatine1 thunder broke over ,m4 ,fromentin while he was working a plough drawn by three horses4 ,lightning killed the leader1 and completely undressed ,m4 ,fromentin after burning his hat4 ,the same day1 at ,limoges1 a farm servant named ,barcelot was struck under an oak4 ,his corpse was completely naked and he had a severe wound on his left side4 ,on ,august #bj of the same year1 a violent storm burst over the ,isle of ,re4 ,a farmer1 who was on his way to the station at ,finaud1 was struck fifty yards from his own house4 ,the lightning removed all his clothes4 ,in #ahid the keeper of the ,commune of ,saint-,cyr-en-,val1 near ,orleans1 was struck while on his rounds2 the fluid deprived him of his clothes and removed all the nails from one of his shoes4 ,on ,july #aijc1 at ,aseras1 near ,nice1 during a violent storm with hailstones #cej grammes in weight1 a ,mme4 ,blanc was on her way to meet a servant who was in the fields4 ,she had only taken a few steps when she was struck by lightning and completely undressed4 ,her body was uninjured1 but the poor woman became dumb4 ,how fantastic and extravagant it is6 ,it is impossible to assign any rule to the capricious advance of lightning4 ,how are we to explain the following facts of nature8 ,one night in ,april1 at about #f p4m41 near ,ajaccio1 a peasant named ,j4 ,b4 ,pantaloni was leaving the fields and hurrying home to escape from a storm4 ,he had hardly reached his house when it was set on fire by an electric discharge1 and the unfortunate man was killed dead and carbonized4 ,at the same time his two sons and a daughter1 who were in the same room1 were completely undressed and their garments disappeared4 ,these last were not hurt in any way4 ,very often clothes1 which have been torn and tattered1 are taken a long way off4 ,on ,october #a1 #ahfh1 seven people were seeking shelter under an enormous beech near the village of ,bonello in the ,commune of ,perret 7,ctes-du-,nord71 when1 suddenly1 lightning struck the tree and killed one of them4 ,the six others were thrown to the ground without being much hurt4 ,the clothes of the one who had been struck were reduced to tatters2 several of these were found hanging on the branches of the tree4 ,one day a workman was sheltering under the shed of a kiosque in which there were five men playing cards4 ,he was grazed by lightning4 ,the fluid1 after having passed between the players without hurting them1 left the kiosque1 and removed a shoe from the poor workman1 who was petrified with fright4 ,they searched for the shoe which had been confiscated by the fulminant matter1 but in vain4 ,moreover1 lightning seems to have a special predilection for shoes2 it seldom respects them1 even when it spares the other garments4 ,sabots1 shoes1 and even boots are removed1 unsewn1 un-nailed1 cut to pieces1 and thrown far away with extraordinary violence4 ,very often the discharge penetrates into the human body by the head and leaves it by the feet4 ,during a violent storm 7,june #h1 #ahfh7 a workman was passing near the ,jardin des ,plantes1 when he felt a great oppression on his stomach4 ,he was then knocked down roughly by an irresistible force1 and deprived of the use of his senses at the moment of the fall4 ,he was picked up and taken home1 and on being examined1 his body bore no trace of a wound1 and he escaped with a fright4 ,but some days after1 when he had recovered from the shock1 he remembered that he had worn boots at the time of the accident4 ,these had disappeared1 the lightning had stolen them from him1 though it acted from a distance4 ,the boots were found in the street1 and the soles had the nails completely removed1 although they were screwed in and the boots were nearly new4 ,on ,may #ca1 #aijd1 at ,villemontoire 7,aisne71 a workman was killed on a hay-cock1 his clothes were reduced to fragments1 and his shoes were not to be found4 ,two other workmen were wounded1 and the cock was set on fire4 ,on ,may #aa1 #ahic1 lightning broke over the ,commune of ,chapelle-en-,blezy 7,haute-,marne74 ,a young shepherd1 who was watching his flock in the fields1 was knocked over by the fluid and lost consciousness4 ,when he came to himself he found that his sabots and cap had disappeared4 ,arago states that a workman was struck under a pavilion1 and that the pieces of his hat were found embedded in the ceiling4 ,biot gives the case of a hat which was flung ten paces without a breath of wind4 ,we could multiply these very curious observations1 but we must restrain ourselves so as to remain within the limits of this little book4 ,did ,i not say just now that lightning has sometimes--though very rarely--exercised a beneficial influence on sick people it strikes8 ,yes2 we hear of several cases where thunder has shown itself a rival to the noblest disciples of ,esculapius1 and where it has worked veritable miracles4 ,for instance1 a person who had been paralyzed thirty-eight years1 suddenly1 at the age of forty-four1 recovered the use of her legs1 after a stroke of lightning4 ,a paralytic had been taking the curative waters of ,tunbridge ,wells for twenty years1 when the spark touched him and cured him of his terrible infirmity4 ,lightning has sometimes worked marvels on the blind1 deaf1 and dumb1 to whom it restores sight1 hearing1 and speech4 ,a man who had the whole of his left side paralyzed from infancy was struck in his room on ,august #aj1 #ahjg4 ,he lost consciousness for twenty minutes1 but after some days he gradually and permanently recovered the use of his limbs4 ,a weakness of the right eye also disappeared1 and the invalid could write without spectacles4 ,on the other hand1 he became deaf4 ,indeed1 if we are to believe stories which appear to be authentic1 a cold1 a tumour1 and rheumatism have been cured by lightning4 ,we have given an example in our first chapter4 ,it is impossible to explain in what manner the subtle fluid accomplishes these wonderful cures4 ,are they to be attributed to the shock1 to a general upheaval which brings back the circulation to its normal course8 ,or are we to attribute to the electric substance--still unknown to physicians and physiologists--an action capable of overcoming the most inveterate evils8 ,the science of ,therapeutics already makes excellent use of the electricity of the machines4 ,can we1 then1 marvel much that lightning should rival our feeble electric resources8 ,no6 ,what a number of services might it not render if it were not for its mad independence6 ,what an amount of lost power there is in the gleam of lightning6 ,as a matter of fact1 we owe no gratitude to lightning4 ,there are too many miseries for a few happy results4 ,the balance is really too unequal4 ,some lightning strokes have proved veritable disasters1 on account of the number of the victims and the havoc which has been caused4 ,the most extraordinary of these are the following3-- ,on a feast-day lightning penetrated into a church near ,carpentras4 ,fifty people were killed or wounded or rendered imbecile4 ,on ,july #b1 #agag1 lightning struck a church at ,seidenburg1 near ,zittau1 during the service2 forty-eight people were killed or wounded4 ,on ,june #bf1 #aghc1 lightning struck the church of ,villars-le-,terroy1 when its bells were being rung2 it killed eleven people1 and wounded thirteen4 ,on board the sloop ,sapho1 in ,february1 #ahbj1 six men were killed by a stroke of lightning and fourteen seriously wounded4 ,on board the ship ,repulse1 near the shores of ,catalonia1 on ,april #ac1 #ahac1 lightning killed eight men in the rigging and wounded nine1 of whom several succumbed4 ,on ,july #aa1 #aheg1 three hundred people were assembled in the church at ,grosshad1 a small village1 two miles from ,dren1 when lightning struck it2 one hundred people were wounded1 thirty of them seriously4 ,six were killed1 and they were six hardy men4 ,early in ,july1 #ahfe1 lightning fell on the territory of ,coray 7,finisterre7 in a warren where sixteen people were weeding4 ,six men and a child were killed by the same stroke1 and three others were severely wounded4 ,several were stripped naked1 their garments being scattered in rags over the ground2 their shoes were cut to pieces and all broken4 ,a curious point is that the workers were struck at a distance of #ajj yards from each other4 ,on ,july #ab1 #ahhg1 at ,mount ,pleasant 7,tennessee1 ,u4,s4,a471 lightning killed nine people who were taking refuge under an oak during a storm4 ,these formed part of a procession which was conducting a negress to her last home4 ,here is another very curious and complex case-- ,on the last ,sunday in ,june1 #ahfg1 during ,vespers1 lightning struck a church at ,danc1 ,canton of ,saint-,germain-,laval 7,loire74 ,a deathlike silence succeeded the noise of the explosion1 then a cry was heard1 then a hundred more4 ,the cur1 who thought that he alone had received the whole electric discharge--and was in reality unhurt--left his place1 where he was enveloped in a cloud of dust and smoke1 and spoke to his parishioners from the ,communion rails1 to reassure them4 ,it is nothing1 he said4 ,keep your places2 there is no harm done4 ,he was mistaken2 twenty-five to thirty people had been more or less struck4 ,four were carried away unconscious1 but the worst treated of all was the treasurer4 ,in raising him they perceived that his eyes were open1 but dull and veiled1 and he gave no sign of life4 ,his clothes were burnt1 and his shoes1 which were torn and full of blood1 were removed from his feet4 ,the ,monstrance1 which had been exposed1 had been thrown down on the ground1 and was battered and pierced in the stem1 and the ,host had disappeared4 ,the priest searched for it for a long time1 and finally discovered it on the altar in the middle of the corporal1 on a thick bed of rubbish4 ,three or four yards of the wainscoting of the choir had burnt into atoms4 ,outside1 the arrow of the belfry had been carried off1 and its slates were scattered about in the neighbouring fields4 ,on ,june #bb1 #aijb1 lightning struck1 the church of ,pineiro 7,province of ,orense1 ,spain7 during a funeral4 ,there were twenty-five dead and thirty-five severely wounded4 ,these are cases of destruction on a large scale1 but we can give parallel cases where the terrible fluid seems only to amuse itself4 ,in fact1 some people appear to enjoy the privilege of particularly attracting lightning1 and of frequently receiving its visits without suffering much from its reiterated attacks4 ,they say that ,mithridates was twice touched by lightning4 ,the first stroke was when he was in his cradle1 his swaddling clothes were singed1 and the scar of a burn which he received on his forehead was covered with hair afterwards4 ,according to the ,abb ,richard1 a lady1 who lived in a chteau on an elevation near ,bourgogne1 saw the lightning several times enter her room1 divide itself into sparks of different sizes1 of which the greater part attached themselves to her clothes without burning them1 and left livid traces on her arms and even on her thighs4 ,she said1 when speaking on this subject1 that thunder had never done her more harm than to whip her two or three times1 though it fell pretty often on her chteau4 ,there seems to be a sort of relative immunity in women and children4 ,these are seldom struck4 ,we have even several examples of children remaining safe and sound in the arms of their mothers who are struck4 ,fracastor's mother had her child to her breast when she was struck by lightning4 ,the child itself was spared4 ,in ,august1 #ahec1 at ,georgetown 7,essex71 ,mrs4 ,russel1 wife of the ,protestant minister1 was killed by lightning1 while a small child which she had in her arms was unhurt4 ,it would seem as if lightning pitied the feeble--the women and children4 ,we hear of cases where people were struck several times during the same storm without succumbing to its manifold attacks4 ,in two similar situations1 says ,arago1 one man1 according to the nature of his constitution1 runs more risk than another4 ,there are some exceptional people who are not conductors to the fulminating matter1 and who neither receive nor pass on a shock4 ,as a rule1 they must be ranked among the non-conductor bodies that the lightning respects1 or1 at least1 that it strikes rarely4 ,such decided differences could not exist without there being finer shades4 ,thus each degree of conductibility corresponds during the time of a storm to a certain degree of danger4 ,the man who conducts like a metal will be struck as often as a metal1 while the man who cuts off the communication in the chain1 will have almost as little to fear as if he were made of glass or resin4 ,between these limits there will be found individuals whom lightning might strike as it would strike wood1 stones1 etc4 ,thus1 in the phenomena of lightning1 everything does not depend on the place that a man may occupy2 his physical constitution will have something to do with it4 ,the phantasmagoria of lightning leaves us perplexed4 ,all these observations are extraordinary and very disconcerting4 ,the facts contradict each other1 and lead us to no actual conclusion4 ,the ,gazette de ,cologne gave the following case in ,june1 #ahfg3-- ,at ,czempin1 a young girl of eighteen was struck by lightning while she was working near a hearth4 ,she remained unconscious1 in spite of all the efforts made to revive her4 ,at last1 acting on the advice of an old man1 they placed her in a freshly dug ditch1 and covered her body with earth1 but in such a way as to avoid stifling her4 ,after some hours she recovered consciousness1 and was restored to health4 ,sometimes lightning amuses itself nicely and innocently4 ,it mixes in the society of men without doing them harm1 or leaving any remembrance but a great fear4 ,one day lightning entered by the chimney into the middle of a lively dance at ,m4 ,van ,gestien's1 the innkeeper at ,flone 7,belgium74 ,at the sight of it the dancers were petrified with terror1 and not one could try and escape4 ,but they misunderstood the intentions of the lightning1 which were of the most straightforward2 it only wanted to be a spoil-sport4 ,it also had the good taste to depart quietly4 ,after the first excitement a profound stupefaction seized hold of the persons present2 they were all transformed into niggers4 ,the lightning had swept the chimney1 and cast the soot into the ball-room1 powdering all the faces and toilettes4 ,lightning might be the daughter of goblins rather than a messenger from ,olympus4 ,the following facts might confirm this impression3-- ,at ,bayonne1 on ,june #f1 #ahgc1 lightning knocked over a gas-burner1 and threw a person down1 after making her turn round three times4 ,a family of twelve were gathered together at a table1 sixty yards1 at least1 from the point where it burst4 ,they were all knocked down1 but without sustaining any injury4 ,during a violent storm1 lightning entered a country house by the chimney2 it lifted two big stones from the hearth1 and carried them over to near the head of a child who was asleep1 and placed one on each side1 without grazing it or hurting the child4 ,and this same lightning1 whose almost maternal delicacy is quite exquisite1 entered another time1 also by the chimney1 into a house1 hit a man savagely on the head1 wounded him severely1 and left him dead in the middle of a pool of blood4 ,then it took a quantity of this blood which was accumulated round his head1 and went and stuck it on the ceiling of the higher story4 ,a child who was present at this tragic scene was unhurt4 ,in ,august1 #aija1 an electric spark penetrated into a house in the village of ,porri1 near ,ajaccio1 and started to make the tour of the property4 ,first it visited the second-floor rooms1 without doing much damage there2 then it went down to the first floor1 where there were two young girls1 turned them round1 and burnt their legs4 ,it continued on its course as far as the cellar1 where its dazzling brightness terrified three young children who had taken refuge there4 ,it spared two1 but burned the third rather severely4 ,let us finish this series of electric pictures1 which depict--sometimes in a very tragic manner--the different modes of activity of one of the grandest of ,nature's phenomena1 by two facts1 the strangeness of which surpasses everything that one can imagine4 ,pliny gives the case of a ,roman lady1 who1 having been struck by lightning during her confinement1 had a stillborn child1 without herself suffering the least harm4 ,another3-- ,the ,abb ,richard1 in his ,histoire de l',air1 gives a more extraordinary case still4 ,at ,altenbourg1 in ,saxony1 in ,july1 #agac1 lightning struck a woman who was expecting her confinement4 ,she was delivered some hours afterwards of a child who was half burnt1 and whose body was all black4 ,the mother recovered her health4 ,we can neither define nor delimit the power of lightning4 ,sometimes merciful1 often cruel1 it constitutes in the universality of its actions1 one of ,nature's most terrible scourges4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,effects ,,of ,,lightning ,,on ,,animals ,animals1 even more than mankind1 attract the fire of heaven4 ,lightning has a certain regard for human beings1 which it seems to lose entirely when it is a case of the humble and faithful servants that ,nature has given us4 ,and1 between ourselves1 thunder is not always as absurd as it appears4 ,its proceedings are sometimes even very tactful4 ,though it may often strike innocent victims blindly and ferociously2 yet it seems at times to show a certain amount of intelligence4 ,thus we find among our many examples a strange fact1 which will serve to reconcile our thoughts a little to thunder4 ,on ,june #bj1 #ahgb1 in ,kentucky ,state1 we have already cited the case of the nigger ,norris1 who was going to be hanged for the murder of a mulatto companion1 and who1 just as he was putting his foot on the fatal platform1 was struck by lightning1 and thus spared the sheriff the trouble of hurling him into eternity4 ,here was a case where thunder was full of justice1 and we cannot praise it too much4 ,arago gives another case where a chief of brigands was shut up in a ,bavarian prison1 together with his accomplices4 ,no doubt he was encouraging their arrogance by his blasphemies--the stone to which he was attached acting as a tribune for him--when he was suddenly struck by lightning while haranguing his disciples4 ,he fell dead4 ,the iron manacles had brought on the disaster1 but the brigands did not stop to think of this natural cause2 they were just as terrified as if the iron had not been there1 and the lightning had chosen its victim with intelligence4 ,here is another instance-- ,the favourite of a prince had obtained from him a written recognition of her son4 ,she counted on this to give trouble to the ,state after the death of her benefactor4 ,she enclosed it carefully in a chest1 and went and buried it deep in a wood1 hoping to render all search useless1 if the prince should change his mind4 ,but behold1 the lightning intervened2 the tree was struck1 and the open chest was thrown on the highway1 where it was found by a peasant4 ,animals are worse treated than men1 but better than plants and inorganic bodies4 ,what are the causes of this difference8 ,can we attribute it to physical predisposition8 ,but this has not yet been proved4 ,experience shows that sparks directed on the vertebral column are particularly dangerous4 ,now1 the backs of quadrupeds are greatly exposed to mortal strokes from the celestial fire4 ,their fur or their plumage1 which form an intrinsic part of their bodies1 put them more or less in the situation of a man who1 to protect himself from inclemency1 should envelop himself in his hair1 supposing this to be long enough and rich enough to cover him decently4 ,animals rarely survive when struck4 ,when they do not die on the spot1 they succumb soon after to their wounds4 ,the ancients have remarked on this4 ,man1 says ,pliny1 is the only animal that lightning does not always kill2 all the others die on the spot4 ,it is a prerogative granted to him by ,nature1 though so many animals surpass him in strength4 ,and1 further on1 he adds that amongst birds the eagle is never struck4 ,this has given it the name of porte foudre4 ,but these assertions are slightly exaggerated1 and we can quote a certain number of examples of animals which have resisted the baneful influence of the electric current4 ,in #aija1 a horse was touched by lightning1 which was certainly attracted by the iron of his shoe4 ,it traced two deep trails right along the animal's leg1 where the skin was abrased1 and appeared as though it were cauterized4 ,these two lines joined together at the fold of the ham1 and then formed a single furrow1 all sign of which was lost in the abdominal region4 ,the rest of the body was unhurt1 and the animal sustained no further harm after being struck than it would have done if an incompetent veterinary surgeon had fired him too severely4 ,on ,july #d1 #ahhd1 at ,castres1 ten persons and nine horses were struck by lightning2 all survived the accident4 ,on ,june #i1 #ahhf1 in the ,grand ,duchy of ,luxembourg1 three cows and a little girl1 who was in charge of them1 were knocked over by a violent shock4 ,the child and the beasts soon got up4 ,only an ox was killed some distance from there4 ,very often horses are stunned by the discharge on animals which are killed1 but after a time they recover4 ,this phenomenon has also been observed in other animals4 ,for instance1 five or six pigs which were in a cage in the prow of a ship were killed by an electric discharge1 whilst others which were only separated from them by a cloth were saved4 ,but the cases are rare in which animals do not succumb to lightning4 ,they nearly always perish4 ,at present we will only discuss animals as a body1 equal1 or superior to man4 ,the others1 the smaller ones1 offer a still more convincing generality4 ,all animals seem to be greatly exposed to the wrath of ,jupiter2 nevertheless1 some species appear to be peculiarly sensitive to lightning--the gentle sheep1 for example1 which huddle together fraternally during a storm1 and fall in a mass1 struck by the fire of heaven4 ,i have before me a list of animals which have been struck4 ,there are some of every kind4 ,we might divide them thus-- ,several hundred rams1 sheep1 and ewes4 #gc horses1 mares1 and colts4 #ga oxen1 cows1 or bulls4 #i dogs4 #d asses4 #c goats4 #c cats4 #c mules4 #b pigs4 #a hare4 #a squirrel4 ,a prodigious quantity of geese1 chickens1 pigeons1 and small birds4 ,fish also contribute a respectable contingent to lightning4 ,as a rule1 large groups of animals are dangerous when there is thunder1 as they seem to exercise a strong attractive influence to the electric fluid4 ,often entire herds are destroyed by lightning4 ,dr4 ,boudin gives the following example3-- ,on ,may #aa1 #ahfe1 at about #f4cj p4m41 ,hubert ,wera1 a shepherd who was surprised in the fields when a storm overtook him1 was hurrying home with his flock4 ,on coming to a narrow and difficult road1 the sheep formed themselves into two groups4 ,the shepherd took shelter behind a bush1 when a terrible clap of thunder was heard4 ,lightning struck him and his flock4 ,the unfortunate man was struck on the top of his head4 ,all his hair had been taken from the nape of his neck1 and the electric fluid had traced a ridge on his forehead1 his face1 and breast4 ,his body was quite naked2 all his clothes were reduced to rags4 ,moreover1 there was no trace of blood4 ,the iron of his crook had been detached from the handle and thrown several yards away1 and the handle itself was broken to pieces4 ,a small metal crucifix and a scapular belonging to the unfortunate shepherd were found fifteen yards away4 ,of the flock of #aeb sheep1 #abf were killed4 ,they were covered with blood1 and their wounds were as varied as they were peculiar4 ,some had their heads chopped1 others had them pierced from side to side1 others had their legs fractured4 ,as to the dog1 he was not to be found4 ,on ,may #ac1 #ahjc1 near ,fehrbellin 7,prussian ,states71 one clap of thunder killed a shepherd and #dj sheep4 ,on ,june #a1 #ahbf1 thunder killed #fd hairy beasts in a field at ,gulpin 7,limbourg74 ,at ,prades1 on ,july #bh1 #ahij1 #cdj sheep were struck at one blow4 ,during a violent storm which burst over ,montmaur in the ,isre1 lightning struck a flock of #ij sheep1 and killed #ec4 ,in the month of ,april1 #ahfi1 thunder burst over a sheepfold in which there were #hj sheep4 ,fifty of these were found entirely carbonized1 the thirty others were covered with sores1 on the head1 in the eyes1 and on the back1 and half asphyxiated by the fulminant fluid4 ,the poor sheep were all cowering together4 ,on ,august #aa1 #aije1 a flock of sheep were carbonized1 and cattle of every kind were struck4 ,at ,limoges1 on ,july #d1 #ahhd1 #db cows or oxen were struck by the spark4 ,they were all joined together by an iron chain4 ,on ,june #bd1 #ahbb1 near ,hayengen 7,wurtemberg71 a shepherd and #baf sheep out of #bhh1 were struck in the open field4 ,lastly1 according to ,abbadie1 a storm in ,ethiopia killed in one single stroke1 #bjjj goats and their shepherd4 ,these figures are1 ,i think1 sufficiently eloquent1 and if it were not for fear of fatiguing my readers1 who might become bored1 we could add a great many similar examples to this list4 ,but it would be superfluous to expatiate further on the dangers incurred in a storm by large agglomerations of animals4 ,in their terror1 beasts1 particularly sheep1 press closely together1 and are soaked by the rain4 ,in this way they offer a large surface1 which absolutely conducts the lightning4 ,also the column of vapour which rises from these living masses1 affords an excellent passage for the fluid to pass through while crossing over the bodies of the poor beasts4 ,it would be better to disperse the flock1 rather than form a compact group of them1 during a storm4 ,one sometimes wonders also what would be the effect of lightning on animals arranged in a file4 ,would it act the same with atmospheric electricity as with that in our laboratories8 ,would the influence of the electric matter be more dangerous in the extremities than in the middle8 ,when lightning meets a metallic bar1 it does no harm except on entering and departing4 ,on the other hand1 when several people form a chain1 holding hands1 if the first touches the body of a ,leyden electrical jar and the last touches the top1 the whole circle will instantaneously receive a shock4 ,only those in the middle receive a less violent one than those who touch the jar4 ,well1 the discharges from the clouds produce similar effects on men and animals4 ,arago supports this by the following facts3-- ,at ,flavigny 7,cte-d',or71 five horses were in a stable when the lightning penetrated4 ,the two first and the two last perished1 the fifth1 which was in the middle1 was unhurt4 ,one day lightning fell on an open field on five horses in a line and killed the first and last2 the three others were spared4 ,but we should require a much larger number of proofs before we could be sure of this4 ,in certain cases1 lightning1 always fantastic and extraordinary1 seems to make a fastidious choice of its victims4 ,it kills one1 spares another1 strikes a third1 does good to a fourth--what a strange game6 how fantastic6 ,madame la ,comtesse ,mycielska1 of the ,duchy of ,posen1 wrote to me recently-- ,during a storm which took place in the month of ,august1 #aija1 lightning entered by a half-open door into a stable where there were twenty cows1 and killed ten4 ,beginning with that which was nearest the door1 the second was spared1 the third killed1 the fourth was uninjured1 and so on4 ,all the uneven numbers were killed1 the others were not even burnt4 ,the shepherd who was in the stable at the time of the shock1 got up unhurt4 ,the lightning did not burn the building1 although the stable was full of straw4 ,we have given a similar case in the chapter on ,fireballs4 ,a propos of this1 ,m4 ,elisee ,duval1 of ,criquetot l',esneval 7,seine-,infrieure71 relates a very remarkable case4 ,on ,june #bj1 #ahib1 lightning fell on the telegraph poles of ,havre and tretat4 ,a dozen were thrown over1 and the curious part is that every second one was knocked down4 ,here is a more extraordinary case still4 ,we were not aware that thunder could distinguish between colours1 and that it has its preferences amongst them4 ,well1 we need no longer be surprised at this4 ,here we have a case where the fluid declares itself distinctly in favour of black4 ,it was at ,lapleau in ,corrze4 ,one day thunder fell on a grange full of hay and straw1 and covered with thatch1 without setting it on fire4 ,then it went to the sheepfold and killed seven black sheep1 and left the white alone4 ,this choice is categorical1 and people who fear lightning might follow this example by wearing long white garments in a storm4 ,unfortunately1 lightning is so eccentric and uncertain1 that we must not defy it2 it is not to be trusted4 ,who can explain why it sometimes glides into a stable full of cows without injuring one8 ,this extraordinary thing happened in the ,commune of ,grignicourt 7,marne74 ,after a great clap of thunder1 all the cows that were in a shed became unfastened1 without one of them being hurt4 ,there1 again1 the lightning only seemed to want to make itself useful4 ,if1 in some cases1 by a providential chance1 cattle have been saved1 it is none the less true that an animal very rarely survives a discharge which has caused the death of a human being4 ,but1 as there is no rule without exceptions1 we will give the following3-- ,the sky was dark and lowering1 and a shepherd1 seeing that there was about to be a storm1 ran to his flock to drive it to the shed4 ,just at the same moment1 lightning burst and knocked him down1 together with thirty sheep4 ,the beasts all got up soon1 but the poor shepherd was dead4 ,on another occasion1 on ,june #ac1 #ahic1 a shepherd was killed by lightning1 and the remarkable thing was that only one sheep out of the hundred of the flock was struck4 ,on ,june #ag1 #ahhc1 thunder entered a sheepfold1 containing one hundred sheep4 ,only four perished4 ,one of them was marked on the back with a cross1 formed of two rectilinear grooves1 penetrating to the skin2 only the wool was removed4 ,sometimes1 but very rarely1 men and animals survive the discharge4 ,thus1 ,dr4 ,brillouet's horse was thrown into a ditch1 and remained there without moving for three-quarters of an hour1 after which he was able to get up4 ,later on he became very feeble in the legs4 ,very often the same stroke kills men and animals simultaneously4 ,we have already given several cases of this kind4 ,here are some more-- ,a terrible storm burst at ,la ,salvetat1 on ,august #bf1 #aijj4 ,a shepherd and his flock1 composed of twenty-three sheep1 were all killed by lightning4 ,on ,june #bc1 #ahhg1 a young boy1 fifteen years of age1 living at ,montagnat 7,ain71 was struck while fastening oxen to the door of a stable2 an ox was also killed4 ,at ,lagraulire 7,corrze71 on ,august #ae1 #ahfb1 three girls were looking after their flocks4 ,a violent storm burst at about five o'clock1 and the thunder growled terribly4 ,the shepherdesses1 taken by surprise1 had no time to take their flocks in4 ,the two first took shelter under a big chestnut1 the third under an oak twenty-five yards away from them4 ,suddenly lightning struck the chestnut and enveloped the two little refugees4 ,they fell dead4 ,the third fainted1 half asphyxiated by the smell of the sulphur4 ,the clothes of the two unfortunate girls who had been struck were burnt1 their sabots were broken4 ,near them there were five sheep1 a pig1 and a she-ass1 which had also been killed by the fluid4 ,the shepherdess's dog had been cut in two4 ,sometimes1 also1 the clap of thunder1 when striking men and animals1 proves more murderous for the latter than the former1 who1 however1 have sometimes succumbed4 ,a diligence was slowly mounting an incline1 when suddenly a stroke of lightning interrupted its ascent4 ,an electric ball burst over the heads of the horses1 and threw the whole five down1 stone dead4 ,the postillion was struck1 but not one other person was touched1 though the carriage was full of women and children4 ,there is one peculiarity about this incident which ought to attract our attention--the terrible meteor was not accompanied by any emission of light1 nor followed by any reverberation of sound4 ,in ,june1 #ahgb1 at about two in the afternoon1 a farmer at ,grange-,forestire was trying a couple of oxen1 which he had just bought at the fair1 in a field4 ,lightning knocked over the man and the animals4 ,some hours after1 the poor farmer was picked up in a pitiable plight4 ,his hair was burnt in parts1 also hair on his chest1 he was quite deaf1 and in a state of absolute prostration4 ,his trousers were unsewn from top to bottom in all four stitchings1 his hat was riddled with holes1 and his shoes torn off4 ,all the same1 he survived the accident4 ,the oxen were killed on the spot4 ,in fact1 as we have already said1 when the spark strikes men and animals at the same time1 only the former can resist the shock4 ,in ,june1 #ahee1 thunder burst over a flock of sheep in the ,commune of ,saint-,leger-la-,montagne 7,haute ,vienne72 seventy-eight sheep and two watch-dogs were killed on the spot4 ,a woman who was looking after the flock was slightly touched4 ,on ,september #bf1 #ahbj1 lightning struck a labourer who was driving near ,sainte ,menehould4 ,his two horses were killed2 the man escaped with a temporary deafness4 ,in ,august1 #aheb1 two out of four oxen were killed1 the third was paralyzed on the left side4 ,as to the farmer1 he came off with a numbness of the left leg4 ,very often a man feels nothing1 not even a shock1 while the animals beside him fall dead4 ,here are some facts-- ,on ,february #b1 #ahei1 a herd of pigs were surprised by a water-spout near ,lige4 ,one hundred and fifty of these animals perished by the action of the electric fluid1 their guides felt nothing4 ,in #agae1 lightning fell on the ,abbey of ,noirmoutiers1 near ,tours1 and killed twenty-two horses without doing any harm to #aej monks1 whose refectory it visited and upset the #aej bottles containing their ration of wine4 ,in the year ,,ix41 lightning killed a horse and a mule near ,chartres1 sparing the miller who conducted them4 ,on ,july #ag1 #ahie1 four cows were going along a road1 when suddenly they were pushed and thrown roughly to the edge of the road4 ,the old drover who was with them felt nothing except the sensation of a strong and very characteristic odour which he could not define4 ,in #ahab1 a fulgurant discharge took place near ,mr4 ,cowen's and killed his dog beside him1 without doing him any harm4 ,in ,august1 #aijj1 lightning penetrated into a cart-shed1 where twelve chickens were taking shelter4 ,the poor things were killed1 but a lady who was feeding them was unhurt4 ,one often asks if lightning strikes birds in flight4 ,this question1 so often put1 would seem to find an answer in the following facts3-- ,a lady was looking out of her window1 when there was a flash of lightning1 accompanied by a great clap of thunder4 ,at the same time she noticed on the grass a dead gull which she had not seen before4 ,the people who picked up the bird1 affirmed that they found it still hot1 and they added that there was a strong smell of sulphur4 ,examples of this kind are rare3 we have two more-- ,one day1 ,mr4 ,w4 ,murdochs with two friends was looking on at a very violent storm1 which spread itself over the ,valley of the ,ayr4 ,just then his dog dislodged a flock of ducks which had been sheltered behind an old building4 ,one of the birds began to fly1 and as it was cutting through the air1 it was struck by lightning and killed as though by a gun4 ,during a storm in the ,united ,states1 ,mr4 ,burch saw a flock of wild geese flying by4 ,suddenly there was a flash of lightning which threw the flock into disorder2 six birds fell dead to the ground4 ,one would have thought that the absence of all communication with the ground ought to protect the graceful winged tribe from lightning2 but no1 the poor birds have received no mercy from this terrible adversary4 ,all the same1 lightning is less redoubtable for them than the sportsman's gun4 ,it is very seldom that the kings of the air are the victims of the fire of ,heaven1 but they have another enemy1 barbarous1 unpardonable ,man4 ,yes1 the little earthly ,jupiters are infinitely more terrible for the bird-world than the giant of the gods4 ,they are rarely softened by the seductive grace1 the elegance1 and the delightful twittering of the charming inhabitants of space4 ,in truth1 one of the reasons why birds are so rarely struck in their flight is that they foresee the storm1 and have the prudence to take shelter before it bursts4 ,amongst birds1 sparrows are those which suffer most from the electric fluid4 ,we sometimes find them hanging by their shrivelled claws from telegraph wires or from the branches of trees4 ,but this latter is rather rare4 ,they generally nest high in the trees1 and lightning affects the branches much less than the trunk4 ,we also hear of little caged birds being killed in their iron prison4 ,one day a canary was in a cage with five others and was killed2 the rest were unhurt4 ,the spark was attracted by the metallic bars1 and struck the canary1 which was no doubt resting on iron4 ,fishes in their dark dwellings are no more privileged than other animals4 ,they also frequently receive visits from the lightning1 and their sad fate has often proved how dangerous it is to remain near a pool or pond during thunder4 ,moreover1 why are we recommended always to put the conductor into a well1 damp earth1 or even into a small pond8 ,it is because water conducts the electric substance admirably4 ,we can understand that a vast space of liquid would be a good refuge for lightning1 when1 after having made several victims on earth1 and fearing the vengeance of the conductors1 it hurls itself into the water4 ,more often it drowns itself1 and in this it follows the example of the immortal ,gribouille2 but enough of that4 ,the logic of lightning is still contestable4 ,however that may be1 many examples show us the dangers to which the denizens of rivers1 and of the liquid element generally1 are exposed4 ,not only are fishermen and sailors unanimous in attesting to the ravages wrought by lightning1 but the history of electricity has preserved the recollection of memorable disasters1 of veritable hecatombs of fish1 which they attribute to the fire of heaven4 ,arago recounts that on ,september #ag1 #aggb1 lightning fell on the ,doubs and killed all the pike and trout which were in the river4 ,the water was soon covered with their corpses which floated1 stomach upwards4 ,a century before1 during the year #afgb1 the lake in the subterranean part of ,zirknitz was the theatre of a similar event1 even more terrible1 on account of the number of victims4 ,the inhabitants of the neighbourhood collected such a number of fish that were struck1 that they were able to fill eighteen carts4 ,in #ahgi1 during a violent storm at night1 the electric discharge fell on a little fish-pond in which a number of fish sported4 ,the next morning they were all found floating dead on the surface of the water4 ,they had the appearance of boiled fish1 and their flesh fell to pieces on being touched1 just as it would if it had been cooked4 ,there was no injury to be seen1 external or internal4 ,the scales and the swimming bladder1 which was full of air1 had been preserved4 ,the water of the pond remained troubled and muddy the day after the storm1 as though the agitation of the tempest had been quite recent4 ,here is an observation1 similar to the last3-- ,in #ahid1 lightning fell on two poplars near ,ignon1 in the territory of ,saulx-le-,duc 7,cte-d',or74 ,a neighbouring pond1 which measured #aj yards in length by #e in width1 was also struck4 ,the owner states that all the fish1 to the number of about a thousand1 were killed4 ,another more curious case still3-- ,one day the fish in an aquarium placed in a drawing-room were struck4 ,they were all found lying dead on the floor4 ,the glass which formed the bottom of the vessel was twisted and coated with a thick bed of yellowish substance4 ,if we study the effects of lightning on animals from the point of view of the injuries which it produces1 we can make some very interesting remarks4 ,more often the hair of animals is injured or burnt4 ,sometimes the spark acts on the skin over a large surface of the body of the animal4 ,thus1 two horses had their hair singed nearly all over their bodies1 and more particularly on the leg and under the stomach4 ,at other times the hair is only burnt in certain places4 ,lightning struck a young four-year-old ox which was red with white spots4 ,it burnt and removed all the white spots and left the red hair4 ,but generally we find one or more furrows of different kinds4 ,the skin is seldom intact under injured hair4 ,it is nearly always more or less burnt4 ,and one often notices extravasations of blood which correspond to the injuries of the epidermis1 in the subcutaneous cellular tissue4 ,in some cases1 the fulminant fluid only attacks the colour of the hair of the animal4 ,the fracture of the bones or the ablation of a limb is often observed on animals which have been struck4 ,in #ahch1 a violent storm broke near ,nimegue1 and several oxen were killed in the meadows and their bones were broken4 ,in the month of ,may1 #agah1 in the ,marche de ,priegnitz1 eight sheep were struck4 ,they could not be used as food1 because all their bones had been broken as though in a mortar1 and the fragments were intermingled in the flesh4 ,these1 however1 remained intact4 ,we have seen in the preceding chapter that fulguration often leaves no particular sign on men who are struck4 ,it is the same with animals4 ,the electric fluid entirely absorbs the source of life and only leaves insignificant traces of its passage4 ,sometimes even we can find no exterior injury4 ,on ,july #g1 #aggi1 near ,hamburg1 lightning killed two horses in their stable4 ,they showed no exterior trace of a burn1 though both had a rupture of the auricles4 ,in the month of ,september1 #aghg1 at ,ogenne1 two cows and a heifer were struck in their stable2 no exterior wound was to be found on their bodies4 ,another observation is given by the ,abb ,chapsal in his remarkable description of the effects of lightning4 ,a pig fell dead1 struck by a clap of thunder1 and no indication could be found of the electric passage4 ,we see that lightning does not always make a great distinction between the blows which it inflicts on men and those which it inflicts on animals4 ,sometimes1 also1 the corpses of beasts which are struck are completely incinerated4 ,at the first sight1 the body appears intact1 but when you touch it1 it falls to pieces4 ,at ,clermont 7,oise7 on ,june #b1 #aijc1 several animals were entirely carbonized in their stable4 ,we have also heard of animals being transported by the meteor a long way from the place of the catastrophe4 ,others have suffered from grave nervous troubles1 following on the strokes of lightning which they have received4 ,sometimes partial or total paralysis results4 ,thus1 a cow which had been struck by lightning1 was knocked over1 and remained a quarter of an hour motionless1 after which it was seized with violent convulsions1 then it got up quickly looking terrified4 ,here is a case of a severe shock which brought on an access of delirium4 ,in the course of a terrible storm on ,september #d1 #ahdi1 a butcher1 accompanied by a dog1 took refuge under a beech at the edge of the road4 ,suddenly lightning fell on the tree and struck the dog1 which became mad1 and threw itself on its master1 bit him in the thigh1 and only let go when the butcher dragged the animal with him into a neighbouring house and cut his tail4 ,the dog died in the night4 ,there are some examples of injuries wrought on animals which are barely perceptible4 ,for instance1 when it makes a transparent horn1 opaque1 and when it burns the mucous membrane of the nose4 ,on the other hand1 the foetus which sleeps under the frail covering of the egg1 is exposed to the pitiless blows of the most terrible meteor1 as is the baby in its mother's womb4 ,chickens have often been struck before they ever saw the light of day4 ,often the noise of thunder1 and the fear which results from it1 causes the miscarriage of hinds1 and particularly of lambs4 ,an animal which has been struck generally sinks instantly1 without a struggle4 ,all the same1 we hear of the case of a horse which was struck by the flame1 and which struggled for a long time against an inevitable death4 ,the corpses of animals1 like those of men1 are sometimes very rigid2 at others they are soft and flaccid1 and decompose rapidly4 ,thus all the sheep of a flock which were together under a tree in ,scotland1 were killed by a great clap of thunder4 ,the next morning the owner1 wishing to get some advantage out of their remains1 sent his men to skin them1 but the bodies were already in such a state of decomposition1 and the stench was so abominable1 that it was impossible for the servants to execute his orders4 ,they hurried to bury the sheep in their skins4 ,on ,september #aj1 #ahde1 at about #b p4m41 lightning fell on a house in the village of ,salagnac 7,creuse74 ,amongst other accidents it killed a pig in a stable2 three hours after the body was completely decomposed4 ,when animals are killed1 not by the atmospheric fluid1 but by the lightning of our machines1 decomposition always comes on very rapidly4 ,brown ,sequard made the following very curious experiment on this subject3-- ,he took the hearts away from five rabbits of the same kind1 the same age1 and about the same strength4 ,he put one aside without touching it1 and he submitted the four others to the passage of an electric current1 of a different strength for each animal4 ,here are the different results obtained-- ,the first animal became rigid after ten hours1 and its rigidity1 which was excessively marked1 lasted eight days4 ,the rigidity of the four others was feebler1 and lasted a shorter time in proportion to the strength of the electric current4 ,thus1 the one which received the weakest current1 became rigid at the end of seven hours1 and this lasted six days4 ,the one which received the strongest current became rigid in seven minutes1 and its body softened after a quarter of an hour4 ,this experiment explains the absence1 or the shortness in duration1 of corpselike stiffness in subjects which have been subjected to the terrible discharge of lightning4 ,animals are not only the frequent victims of lightning1 but1 as this experiment shows1 they are still oftener the martyrs of science4 ,laboratories are sometimes transformed into small cemeteries1 where lie poor guineapigs1 frogs which have been quartered1 and mutilated rabbits4 ,but what is the ordinary lot of these last when science spares them8 ,the chief point is not to let the innocent victims suffer4 ,can we eat with impunity the flesh of animals which have been struck8 ,several people say ,yes1 many say ,no4 ,both are right4 ,putting aside the question of the rapid putrefaction to which these bodies are nearly always subjected1 the flesh of animals killed by fulguration has often been found unhealthy and uneatable4 ,a veterinary surgeon who was commissioned to examine the bodies of two cows and an ox which had been struck in a stable1 declared that their flesh could not be eaten without danger4 ,on the other hand1 ,franklin recounts how some people ate fowls which had been killed by the electric spark--this funny little lightning--and cooked immediately after death4 ,the flesh of these capons was excellent and particularly tender1 and the illustrious inventor of lightning-conductors concluded by proposing that we should follow this proceeding in order to ensure our fresh meat being as clean as possible when served at table4 ,we think1 however1 that it is more prudent to sacrifice the meat which has been struck1 as it has been proved that in certain cases the decomposition is very rapid4 ,up to now we have seen all animals1 man included1 as victims of lightning3 it is the general rule4 ,nevertheless1 we often meet beings in this world1 men1 animals1 or plants1 which try to distinguish themselves from others by some sort of originality4 ,this appears to be the case with the electric fish1 whose existence seems to be dedicated to the worship of ,jupiter4 ,these curious fish have received the gift from ,nature of being able to hurl lightning to a certain distance4 ,this is how they set to work4 ,a little fish in search of food goes too near this terrible enemy1 who at once sets his living tail in motion4 ,fascinating it with his eye1 he renders it immovable1 and lets fly repeated discharges to it4 ,after a minute1 the poor fish is overcome1 and allows itself to be snapped up by its pitiless adversary without resistance4 ,certain rivers in ,asia and ,africa and the depths of the ,pacific ,ocean1 in which these curious animals live1 are often the scenes of terrible dramas1 caused by the presence of these lightning fish1 which are divided into five species3 the tetrodon1 the trichiure1 the silurus1 the raie torpille 7cramp-fish71 and the gymnote 7electric eel74 ,these aquatic lightnings work terrible havoc among the inhabitants of ,neptune's kingdom4 ,they use their influence over men as well as fish4 ,if you touch a torpille1 you feel a shock strong enough to benumb and paralyze the arm for some minutes4 ,a curious experiment was tried3 eight people formed a chain1 and one of them1 with a piece of metallic wire1 touched the back of a torpille which had been imported4 ,they all felt the shock4 ,if thunder had elected to be domiciled anywhere but in its own clouds1 it would seem as if it would be in the organism of these curious fish4 ,unfortunately1 in our international relations1 humanity has invented a much more dangerous torpille 7torpedo76 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,effects ,,of ,,lightning ,,on ,,trees ,,and ,,plants ,nearly two thousand years ago1 ,pliny wrote1 ,as regards products of the earth1 lightning never strikes the bay tree4 ,and this is why the ,roman emperors1 in fear always of the fire of heaven1 crowned themselves with laurels4 ,this belief was almost universal in ancient times1 and survived for many centuries4 ,but every new century has proclaimed the immunity from lightning of some one member of the vegetable world1 though impartial research has now established the fact that there is no such absolute privilege4 ,if certain trees are rarely struck1 that is1 perhaps1 due less to its species than to its size1 its hygrometrical condition1 and to other influences which it is still difficult to specify2 for lightning1 as we have seen1 has capricious habits which we have not yet succeeded in explaining4 ,thus the bay tree has lost its proud position in this respect1 and has had to take its place amongst the ordinary run of trees1 subject to the unjust anger of ,jupiter4 ,many bay trees of some size have been seen to fall victims to the electric fluid4 ,the fig tree1 the mulberry tree1 and the peach tree have also been reputed to enjoy safety1 but this also is not the case4 ,there is an instance on record of a fig tree being struck by lightning and completely withered1 and another of a mulberry-tree1 eighty years old1 being partly destroyed4 ,in our own days1 the beech is believed to go uninjured4 ,in the ,state of ,tennessee1 in the ,united ,states1 the opinion is so deeply rooted that beech tree plantations are often resorted to as a refuge in times of storm4 ,but it would be a mistake to place too much trust in them4 ,there are records of beech trees being struck by lightning and destroyed1 just like bay trees1 fig trees1 and the rest4 ,in #ahce1 an old beech tree was struck in the forest of ,villers-,cotterets4 ,this venerable patriarch was more than three hundred years old4 ,of its upper branches1 which were wide and strong1 four of the finest were destroyed2 a fifth1 stripped of its bark to a great extent1 was not torn off the trunk4 ,the trunk was split where the other four branches were torn from it4 ,the interior of it was blackened and slightly carbonized4 ,on ,july #ae1 #ahfh1 at ,chfresne1 canton de ,percy 7,manche71 an oak and an ash were struck by lightning within five minutes of each other4 ,on ,august #aj1 #ahhf1 at ,haute-,croix1 in ,brabant1 an ash was struck and destroyed4 ,on ,august #bc1 in the same year1 an ash was struck also at ,namur4 ,the box tree and the ,virginian creeper used to be regarded as safeguards against lightning4 ,the same virtue was attributed to the house-leek1 a thick herbaceous plant1 which grows usually upon walls and roofs1 and which the ,germans call ,donnerblatt or ,donnerbarb1 ,thunder-leaf or ,thunder-beard4 ,according to some authors1 again1 lightning never strikes resinous trees1 such as pines or firs4 ,but this also is disproved by the facts1 especially in regard to firs4 ,among the many particulars ,i have collected of recent years1 is the following list of sixty-five different kinds of trees1 with the record of the number of times each species has been struck by lightning within a given period3-- #ed oaks4 #bd poplars4 #ad elms4 #aa walnut trees4 #aj firs4 #g willows4 #f pine trees4 #f ash trees4 #f beech trees4 #d pear trees4 #d cherry trees4 #d chestnut trees4 #c catalpas4 #b lime trees4 #b apple trees4 #a mountain ash4 #a mulberry tree4 #a alder4 #a laburnum4 #a acacia4 #a pseudo-acacia4 #a fig tree4 #a orange tree #a olive tree4 #j birch4 #j maple4 ,height obviously accounts for a good deal4 ,it is incontestable that1 in the case of a clump of trees standing in the middle of a plain1 lightning will in most cases pick out the tallest4 ,but this is not an absolute rule4 ,the isolation of trees1 their qualities as conductors1 the degree of moisture in the soil in which they are rooted1 their distance from the storm clouds1 the character of their foliage and of their roots--all these things are important factors4 ,numerous experiments have been made with a view to ascertaining the amount of resistance offered to the electric spark by different kinds of wood4 ,similar pieces of beech and oak have been exposed lengthwise to the electric spark given out by one of ,holtz's machines1 with the result that the oak wood was pierced by the electric fluid after one or two revolutions of the machine1 whereas for the beech wood a dozen or twenty were needed4 ,black poplar wood and willow offer a moderate resistance3 a few revolutions suffice to penetrate them4 ,in all instances the susceptibility of the wood depends on the sap4 ,it has been proved by analysis that the woods which contain starch with but little oil1 such as the oak1 poplar1 willow1 maple1 elm1 and ash1 offer much less resistance to the electric current than those trees which are richer in fatty matter1 as the beech tree1 walnut tree1 lime tree1 birch tree1 and so on4 ,these conclusions are corroborated by the case of the pine tree1 the wood of which has a great quantity of oil in winter1 but in summer lacks it as much as those trees which contain more starch4 ,experiments have proved that in summer this wood is quite as likely to serve as a conductor as the oak2 while in winter its resistance to the electric spark equals that of the beech and other trees which are rarely struck by lightning4 ,decayed trees are excellent conductors of electricity2 those in full vigour being much more rarely struck4 ,in any case1 it has been proved that the effects of lightning are particularly severe in the vegetable world4 ,it has been pointed out elsewhere in this little book to what dangers those persons are exposed who take shelter beneath the trees during a thunderstorm2 there are innumerable examples of the imprudence of taking refuge from the rain under thick foliage1 people having been killed by a fireball--for lightning does not always take the trouble to make a selection1 sparing neither the protector nor the protected4 ,we shall give some more instances1 chosen from a considerable number of similar observations4 ,in #ahhh1 ten reapers1 surprised by drops of rain and distant rumbling of thunder1 left their work and took refuge beneath a big walnut tree4 ,but one of them having questioned the security of this retreat1 all immediately fled in the direction of a neighbouring wood1 except one young girl of fourteen years4 ,several who returned to advise her to follow them1 saw her smilingly throw her arms round the trunk of the tree1 and almost at once fall backwards1 her arms extended4 ,she was dead4 ,on the #bbnd of ,august in the same year1 four labourers1 returning from work1 were overtaken by a thunderstorm4 ,three of them stopped under an elm1 the fourth prudently continued on his way4 ,well it was for him4 ,several minutes later1 the lightning struck the tree1 killing two of the labourers outright1 and grievously wounding the third4 ,the latter was found almost completely naked2 his garments1 burnt and tattered1 were scattered round him4 ,when he came to himself1 he was in such a violent delirium that it was necessary for several men to bring the unfortunate victim to his home1 where he died shortly afterwards in the most horrible agony4 ,about six o'clock1 on the #bcrd of ,june1 seven men employed on the farm of ,puy-,crouel1 were working in a field of beet-root4 ,overcome with the heat1 they went into the shade of a walnut tree4 ,all at once1 a flash of lightning illumined the sky2 the seven workmen were thrown down1 one of them being hurled several yards away4 ,three of them were able to get up and go to the farm1 the others were severely burnt1 and half asphyxiated4 ,one of the victims had his back skinned the whole length of the vertebral column2 the other had his face scratched1 as if torn by fingernails4 ,all had lost their memory4 ,the walnut tree under which they had sheltered was cleft from top to bottom4 ,here is another example no less terrible-- ,seven children1 belonging to ,ahrens1 were caught in a thunderstorm as they were coming home from the fields1 and took shelter under a tree4 ,the lightning killed the seven little people4 ,another time1 four young men taking refuge under an oak1 were struck and thrown down4 ,one of them was killed instantly1 his companions were cruelly injured4 ,on the #ajth of ,july1 in ,belgium1 a woman gathering cherries was killed on a tree which attracted the fluid4 ,a young man standing beneath it was paralyzed4 ,we might multiply these tragic tales2 each year a number of similar cases happen4 ,the imprudence of human beings is truly incorrigible6 ,everybody1 however feeble his instinct of self-preservation1 should flee the vicinity of trees during a thunderstorm1 and allow himself to be drenched on the road1 rather than offer his life as a too generous burnt-offering to the lightning1 for the oak's robust trunk1 or that of the poplar1 elegantly plumed with its graceful foliage1 may be the altar on which the sacrifices in honour of ,jupiter are made4 ,the wood of trees is not so good a conductor of electricity as the human body4 ,for this reason1 a person leaning against a tree receives the full discharge2 at times the tree is splintered1 because it did not serve as a perfect conductor4 ,yet the conductive power of certain species is so remarkable1 that the neighbourhood of particular trees may be regarded as a protection against lightning 7this1 however1 without coming in contact with them674 ,the tips of the branches pointing towards the clouds1 and the moisture they receive1 undoubtedly influence the electricity of the atmosphere2 and1 moreover1 by means of these graceful branches1 an inaudible but continual exchange is effected between the electricity of the earth and sky1 thus holding the balance between two opposite charges4 ,colladon asserts that poplars planted near houses may1 in favourable conditions1 act as lightning conductors1 on account of their height and powers of conducting4 ,he adds that it is necessary to take other circumstances regarding the situation of the dwelling into account1 which are not always easy to define4 ,their protection of the neighbourhood is not constantly the same4 ,for it to be effectual1 the foliage should be very low1 and they should be at least two metres distant from the roof and walls4 ,their roots1 too1 should be in a damp soil1 and metal should not enter largely into the construction of the neighbouring houses4 ,in these conditions1 poplars may fulfil the useful functions of lightning conductors4 ,at times1 during a storm1 several trees are struck by the same flash4 ,for instance1 on ,may #bc1 #ahhf1 in ,belgium1 three poplars were blasted by a single thunderbolt4 ,on the other hand1 trees planted in lines are sometimes struck alternately4 ,a case occurred where the lightning seemed to have taken aim and touched all the odd numbers in a row without striking the others4 ,certain plantations act on the fluid with an extraordinary intensity4 ,at ,lovenjoul1 in ,belgium1 a wood of undergrowth and big trees1 planted in marshy ground1 seems to possess this singular privilege1 and the agriculturists of the country declare that no storm ever passes their way without lightning falling there4 ,in the middle of this wood one can count seven oaks1 near to one another1 struck by it4 ,not far off1 a huge ash1 and a little farther away two poplars1 likewise blasted4 ,all the trees have not been struck in the same way2 some are scorched or stripped of their leaves2 the others have their trunks perforated1 or split in different parts4 ,usually trees are cleft from top to bottom2 in some cases the furrow is horizontal or perpendicular in the direction of the branches4 ,pieces of bark or of wood are sometimes torn off lengthwise1 and only adhere to the trunk in strips here and there4 ,but that does not prove conclusively that the lightning struck upwards from the ground2 it may have rebounded 787 after striking from above4 ,certain effects1 however1 can only be explained by an ascending movement of the fluid4 ,the following cases for example3-- ,during the summer of #aghg1 two men were sheltering under a tree at ,tancon1 ,beaujolais1 when they were struck by lightning4 ,one of them was killed on the spot1 the other felt no ill effects other than momentary suffocation4 ,their horses were caught up to the top of the tree4 ,an iron ring which bound the wooden shoe belonging to one of the men1 was found hanging from a high branch of the same tree4 ,now1 at a little distance1 there was a tree which had also suffered greatly by the passage of the electric fluid4 ,in the soil at its base a round hole was to be seen1 shaped like a funnel4 ,directly above it the bark had been loosened and slit into slender thongs4 ,as for the tree beneath which the men had sheltered1 it also had half its bark off1 and long splinters were to be seen hanging only by the upper parts4 ,on one side of the tree the leaves were withered1 on the other they were still quite green4 ,in this most remarkable instance the lightning had come out of the ground4 ,in the cleft of a willow tree blasted by lightning its roots were found4 ,besides1 the soil is often undulating1 and thrown up around trees which have been struck4 ,vegetables do not always succumb1 any more than men1 to these attacks4 ,they may be lightly struck in a vital part1 in which case they recover from their wounds4 ,very often they are merely stripped of their natural garments1 in other words1 of their bark and foliage4 ,this is one of those superficial injuries to which they are most subject4 ,the following is an example of this kind of fulguration3-- ,on ,july #af1 #agjh1 two oaks were struck at ,brampton4 ,the larger measured about ten feet around the base4 ,they were both split asunder1 and the bark peeled off from the summit to the soil1 a length of twenty-eight feet4 ,completely detached from the trunk1 it hung in long strips from the top4 ,boussingault witnessed the destruction by lightning of a wild pear tree at ,lamperlasch1 near ,beekelleronn4 ,at the moment of the explosion an enormous column of vapour arose1 like smoke coming out of a chimney when fresh coal has been put on the fire4 ,the lightning flashed in all directions1 great branches gave way1 and when the vapour cleared off1 there stood the pear tree1 its trunk a dazzling white3 the lightning had taken the bark completely off4 ,sometimes the bark is only partially stripped off one side1 or left on1 in more or less regular bands1 either on the trunk or on the branches4 ,during a violent storm at ,juvisy1 on ,may #ah1 #ahig1 an elm five hundred metres distant from the ,observatory was struck by lightning1 which took the bark off lengthwise in a strip1 four centimetres wide and five centimetres deep4 ,this band of bark was cut clean off4 ,there was no trace of burning4 ,sometimes only the mosses and lichens are whisked off the sides of the trees1 which escape with light scratches4 ,two great oaks which had been struck by fireballs1 only bore traces of two punctures which might have been made by small shot4 ,moreover1 it is not uncommon to see the bark riddled with a multitude of little holes1 like those made by worms4 ,two men were struck by lightning near ,casal ,maggiore on ,august #ae1 #agia1 beneath an elm tree4 ,one of them had his elbow on the tree at the moment1 and amongst other injuries were a number of little holes in the arm4 ,there was a twist in the tree at the part where the elbow rested1 and a hole penetrated the centre of it to the core of the wood4 ,the surrounding bark looked as if it had been mite-eaten4 ,several scars started from this point and ascended almost perpendicularly towards the top of the trunk4 ,there was no damage done to the branches4 ,lightning cut through a chestnut tree1 five metres high1 on the roadside at ,foulain 7,haute-,marne71 burning several leaves1 then struck some water-pipes at a depth of a metre and a half1 and finally passed into the dike through two holes a metre deep by a decimetre in diameter4 ,the bark is often reduced to thin splinters scattered on the soil1 or hanging from the neighbouring trees1 or even thrown to a considerable distance4 ,on ,june #be1 a fireball fell near ,jare 7,landes7 on a pine tree1 which it shivered into a myriad slender strips1 about #b metres long1 many of which were caught on the branches of pines within a distance of #ae metres4 ,only a stump1 #b-a_/b metres in height1 remained standing4 ,at the same time three other pines1 which stood #ah and #be metres away from the first1 were destroyed4 ,the bark had been stripped off each1 but only as far as the incision made for extracting the resin4 ,furrows1 of varying width1 and running in different directions1 may at times be seen on trees1 some short1 others reaching to the top of the tree1 and occasionally to the roots4 ,these marks show the passing of the lightning4 ,sir ,john ,clark has seen a huge oak in ,cumberland1 at least #fj feet high and #d feet in diameter1 from which the lightning had stripped a piece of bark1 about #aj centimetres wide and #e centimetres thick1 the whole length of the trunk in a straight line4 ,the furrow is not always single1 it may be double1 and either stretch in two parallel lines or diverge4 ,the ,chevalier de ,louville observed in the park of the castle at ,nevers1 a tree struck at the top of the trunk by lightning which1 dividing in three shafts1 hollowed three furrows that might have been made by three rifle shots fired towards the roots4 ,these three furrows followed the irregularities of the trunk1 always slipping1 gliding between the wood and the bark1 and curiously enough the former was not burnt4 ,but these bands are not invariably straight either2 in the above example they followed the caprices of the vegetable body4 ,they are to be found oblique in certain cases1 but more often they surround the trunk in long spirals of varying width1 showing that the lightning clasped the tree in the form of a serpent of fire4 ,here is an example3-- ,during a violent storm on ,july #ag1 #ahie1 a poplar was blasted on the road through the forest of ,moladier1 #afj metres north-west of the castle of ,valliere4 ,the tree was #be metres high1 and in full leaf from base to summit2 it was struck halfway up by the discharge1 and a spiral furrow #aj centimetres wide twisted round the trunk to the ground4 ,i noted a similar case1 ,august #be1 #aija4 ,lightning struck one of the highest trees in the park at ,juvisy1 a magnificent ash1 stripping off and destroying the bark where the electric fluid curved round and round down the full length of the trunk1 which was shattered by the meteor a few metres above the roots4 ,enormous fragments lay all round the trunk1 some hurled to such a distance that it was obvious the explosive force of the phenomenon must have been of extraordinary violence4 ,i was able to trace the course of the lightning to the foot of the tree1 along its roots to a great depth1 by a black furrow4 ,the tree is not dead4 ,the ivy which clung to it is dead4 ,the vast and splendid forest of ,saint ,germain often witnesses the presence of the lightning1 and the magnificent trees which adorn and beautify this charming and celebrated place are1 unfortunately1 too often the victims of these inopportune visitations4 ,lightning has no respect for old memories4 ,it demolished with a single flash a superb giant whose long branches1 laden with perfumed leaves1 had given shade to many generations4 ,the splendid tree1 which had survived the severity of several centuries1 fell beneath the arrow of the pernicious fluid4 ,such was the fate of an oak near l',etoile du ,grand-,veneur4 ,struck on the top1 its upper branches were violently torn off4444 ,a spiral furrow beginning at the top ended within a metre of the ground4 ,but1 wonderful to relate1 the whole mass of the tree appeared to have been twisted mightily by a force which worked with so much power that the tree could never regain its original position4 ,the fibre1 instead of growing vertically1 followed the furrow made by the lightning1 and became twisted like a corkscrew4 ,there exist certain singular trees1 the fibre of which grows in spiral fashion1 and is called twisted wood by carpenters and cabinet-makers4 ,pines and firs in mountainous countries are fairly often affected in this curious fashion4 ,one can no more account for it than one can define the cause of the curved form of some flashes of lightning4 ,one does not know exactly if they should be attributed to their following the direction taken by the fibre1 or whether1 on the contrary1 the tree had been struck in its infancy by a spiral flash1 and1 submitting to that influence1 continued to grow up corkscrew fashion4 ,it is most probable that the fall of the thunder-ball on the trees in this manner is governed by the laws of electricity4 ,we may even note casually that traces of similar spirals have been remarked on objects as well as on the dead bodies of those struck by lightning1 thus preserving the ceraunic likeness of the mortal blow4 ,other observers1 besides1 have declared that they saw distinctly the spiral lightning flash through the atmosphere4 ,but these observations would need to be confirmed by photographs of indisputable accuracy4 ,in these circumstances1 as in many others1 the dark room is worth a hundred human eyes6 ,in some cases the curved furrow turns several times4 ,for instance1 in ,may1 #ahej1 ,grebel saw an alder nearly twenty metres high struck by lightning on the right bank of the ,elster below ,zeitz4 ,on the lower part of its trunk were two spiral bands which had carried away bark and sap-wood1 leaving no trace of combustion4 ,the depth and width of the twist are very variable2 at times the furrow is deeper in the veined parts than at the edges2 again it reaches the core4 ,two oaks were struck in ,june1 #agdb1 in the park at ,thornden4 ,one was marked with a spiral for a length of forty feet to within a little distance of the ground4 ,the band was five inches wide1 but became narrower as it descended1 and was finally no more than two inches wide4 ,the wood was incised and even torn in places1 but the branches were not hurt4 ,the rest of the bark seemed to have been riddled by small shot4 ,all the injuries of which we have spoken 7excoriation1 stripping off the bark1 furrows71 are not necessarily mortal4 ,but there are other more serious wounds from which the tree rarely recovers4 ,we allude to deep fissures and breaks produced by lightning4 ,when the fracture touches only a portion of the topmost part of the tree1 the result of the accident is not necessarily fatal4 ,but this is not always so4 ,on ,may #ad1 #ahfe1 a poplar was split in two by lightning at ,montigny-sur-,loing4 ,one half to the full height continued standing4 ,the other half was chopped up in small fragments and thrown to a distance of a hundred metres4 ,these pieces1 which were brought to me by ,m4 ,fouch1 are so dried up and fibrous that they might be taken for hemp instead of wood4 ,in the majority of these cases the tree is split from top to bottom4 ,on ,july #e1 #ahhd1 in ,belgium1 a poplar1 the biggest of a group of trees of the same species1 was struck and split down its full length4 ,in the month of ,august1 #ahec1 on the side of the road from ,ville-d',avray to ,versailles1 a poplar of about twenty years old was cleft from the topmost bough to its roots2 one half remained in its place1 the other fell on the road4 ,a black line1 about a millimetre wide1 ran down the centre of the tree4 ,sometimes the tree is divided into several parts by vertical fissures4 ,for example1 in #ahbg1 near ,vicence1 a pear tree1 three feet in diameter1 was split into four parts1 from the top down4 ,how often one has remarked great tree trunks in the forests1 decayed and desolate1 standing sadly1 like poor headless bodies8 ,very often lightning has been the executioner of these trees4 ,in the month of ,may1 #ahfg1 in the forest of ,fontainebleau1 a magnificent oak1 about two metres in circumference1 was completely decapitated by lightning2 its branches fell on the ground4 ,the part of the trunk left standing was barked to the roots and splintered into fragments of varying sizes4 ,they were scattered on the ground or hung from the branches of the surrounding trees4 ,several pieces of considerable size were hurled more than thirty metres away1 much to the injury of the bark of the trees which they struck4 ,in numerous cases1 the tree struck by lightning is broken in several places1 and fragments of it thrown far and wide4 ,on ,july #b1 #ahga1 at the farm of ,etiefs1 near ,rouvres1 canton of ,auberive 7,haute-,marne71 lightning struck an ,italian poplar1 sixty years old1 thirty metres high1 and three metres round at a height of one metre from the ground1 splintering off enough wood to make a heap sixty-five centimetres round1 and fifty centimetres high4 ,an ash was struck by lightning on ,july #ag1 #ahie1 on the road to ,clermont4 ,this tree1 ten metres high1 was broken at a point #c-a_/e metres from the ground1 and the crown1 still hanging by a shred from the trunk1 lay on the embankment4 ,the violence of the explosion threw pieces thirty centimetres wide and #c-a_/b metres in length1 into a field from twenty-five to thirty metres off4 ,on ,july #d1 #ahhd1 in ,belgium1 a willow was reduced to a heap of atoms on the ground4 ,in ,march1 #ahah1 at ,plymouth1 a fir more than a hundred feet high and forty feet in circumference1 the admiration of the countryside1 disappeared1 literally shattered into bits4 ,some fragments were thrown two hundred and fifty metres away4 ,one of the most curious effects of lightning is to divide the interior of the tree into concentric layers1 fitting them perfectly one into the other1 but at the same time separating them with extraordinary precision4 ,arbres rouls 7thus are the trees called which are victims of this odd phenomenon71 as a rule1 do not show any injury on the outside4 ,but the body1 dissected by the electric fluid1 soon succumbs4 ,an oak1 twenty-five metres high1 having been struck on ,august #be1 #ahah1 was opened to be examined carefully1 and it was stated that the concentric layers were as detached from one another as the tubes of an opera-glass4 ,the fireball sometimes hollows a canal through the centre of the trees from the top to the bottom1 the sides of which are burnt black4 ,the following is a curious example3-- ,in ,june1 #ahbc1 at ,moisselles1 lightning fell upon a great elm1 and striking against an enormous knob1 rebounded on to a neighbouring elm half its own height1 pierced it through and through1 shivering it to tatters2 the trunk was burst open to the roots1 it looked as if it had been bored through from one end to the other by a red-hot bullet that blackened and charred it4 ,does it not seem as if the lightning plays with the lives of the trees as with man8 ,it threatens1 changes1 apparently spares1 returns to the charge and finally annihilates4 ,and this sport is accompanied1 at times1 by inconceivable effects4 ,but records are still more eloquent than reflections3 ,nature1 in her own mute speech1 tells us of a thousand marvels4 ,is not the following phenomenon enough to make lightning more mysterious in its fantastic and varied mode of action8 ,on the #aith of ,april1 lightning struck an oak in the forest of ,vibraye 7,sarthe71 cut this tree1 measuring a metre and a half in circumference1 at two-thirds of its height1 pulverized the lower parts1 strewed the shreds over a circuit of fifty metres1 and planted the upper part exactly on the spot from which the trunk had been snatched1 with all the rapidity of a flash4 ,moreover1 the annual concentric circles were separated by the sudden drying up of the sap so effectually1 that1 the strips only remained welded together where the knots made too great an obstacle to their separation4 ,how was the lightning able to plant in the earth1 with such inconceivable rapidity1 the top of the tree where the roots had been8 ,this is something which no one can explain4 ,it alone is capable of creating such situations4 ,but it has done better still6 ,two years later1 in #ahfh1 it took the opportunity of playing a good trick on two trees of different species1 an ,english oak and a forest pine1 which1 without race jealousy1 fraternized in the forest of ,pont-de-,bussire 7,haute-,vienne74 ,these two trees were about ten yards apart1 and were simultaneously hit by the explosive matter1 and in the twinkling of an eye1 their leaves were changed4 ,the pine needles found themselves on the oak1 and the leaves of the oak went to brighten the austerity of the pine with their delicate verdure4 ,there was nothing commonplace about the metamorphosis4 ,accordingly all the inhabitants went in crowds to the scene of this miracle to contemplate the unusual spectacle of a pine-oak and an oak-pine4 ,and the unexpected happened3 both trees appeared to thrive very well in these new conditions3 the pine continued to be agreeably adorned with its festival foliage1 whilst the oak agreed perfectly with the sombre needles of the pine4 ,after such marvels1 my readers will not be surprised to learn that lightning sometimes shatters the living wood1 or decayed wood1 into a thousand morsels without setting it on fire4 ,for instance1 a bundle of faggots lying on the hearth has been reduced to atoms by lightning1 without any trace of combustion being visible4 ,a fireball fell on a sheaf of barley in the open field without setting it on fire1 and buried itself in the ground without doing other further damage4 ,in certain cases the electric fluid chars wood at varying depths3 the blackened layer is often very slight2 sometimes1 on the contrary1 combustion is complete4 ,as for the leaves1 they are unhurt as a rule4 ,when they are attacked they shrivel up2 an autumnal shade takes the place of their charming green tints2 they turn brown and dry up quickly4 ,one of the trees in the ,champs-lyses having been struck1 it was proved that all round it the ground was full of little holes4 ,in two or three places the bark was raised from beneath2 the leaves were yellow and shrivelled up as parchment would be by the fire2 the upper part remained green4 ,everything seemed to prove that the lightning came out of the ground4 ,at other times the same effect may be observed on the leaves1 when the trunk and roots are apparently uninjured4 ,it is not unusual to see the tree instantly stripped of its leaves as if by some mysterious power4 ,the lightning acts also on the roots1 as we have seen in the preceding examples4 ,they have been seen uncovered where the ground was much disturbed1 torn in strips1 or cleft in more or less regular pieces4 ,we see that lightning does not make more ado about exhaling its baleful breath on the life of plants1 than on animals and men4 ,and moreover1 that it often strikes these latter with sudden death without leaving a trace of its passing1 just as sometimes it strikes the trees without leaving any exterior injury4 ,now and then life is not completely extinguished1 and little by little the tree recovers its health4 ,often the vitality is not changed1 one sees the tree which was struck bear fruit as before the catastrophe4 ,has it not been asserted that lightning may exert a benign influence on vegetation8 ,this was the opinion of the ancients4 ,a propos of this1 ,pliny said1 ,that thunder is rarely heard in winter1 and that the great fertility of the soil is due to the frequency of thunder and rain in spring2 for the countries where it rains often and in good earnest during the spring1 as in the island of ,sicily1 produce many and excellent fruits4 ,it has been proved in our times that the ancients were right in extolling rainwater as nourishment for the products of the earth1 and science has discovered the cause to be the presence of great quantities of nitrogen and ammonia in the thunder-rain and in hail4 ,perhaps electricity has a similar effect4 ,in the neighbourhood of ,castres1 on ,april #ac1 #agha1 an old poplar was stripped of its bark in several places4 ,now1 shortly afterwards it burst into leaf1 although the neighbouring poplars were much later than it4 ,the ravages caused in the fields by the electric meteor to forage and vegetables are sometimes considerable4 ,this is especially so with grass when cut1 to haycocks1 ricks of straw1 barley1 etc4 ,we have a collection of records of men or animals who1 when leaning against haystacks1 were struck4 ,as a rule the haystack is burnt2 sometimes1 however1 the grass is simply scattered and thrown to a distance4 ,in #ahhh1 a very curious occurrence was observed at ,vayres 7,haute-,vienne74 ,the lightning struck a field of potatoes at the village of ,puytreuillard2 some of the stalks were burnt to cinders2 but most remarkable of all1 the potatoes were done to a turn1 just as if they had been cooked beneath hot ashes4 ,a belief which was very general in ancient times and derived without doubt from a recollection of the circumstances which were said to accompany the birth of ,bacchus1 gave the vine the privilege of protecting the neighbourhood from the fatal effects of lightning4 ,but this again is only a legend4 ,the following observation proves it3-- ,on ,july #aj1 #ahhd1 at ,chanvres 7,yonne71 fifty vine-stocks were frizzled up by lightning4 ,it used to be supposed1 too1 that the electric fluid held the lily in particular respect4 ,but here is a note which shows us that the white flower is visited by the burning flashes4 ,during a violent thunderstorm on ,june #be1 #ahha1 at ,montmorin 7,haute-,garonne7----,but let ,m4 ,larroque1 who witnessed the curious phenomenon1 describe it3 ,in a clump of lilies in my garden1 says he1 ,i see the highest of them surrounded by a violet glimmer1 which formed an aureola round the corolla4 ,this glimmer lasted for eight or ten seconds4 ,as soon as it disappeared1 ,i went close to the lily1 which1 to my great surprise1 ,i found had been deprived of its pollen1 while the surrounding flowers were laden with it4 ,so the electric fluid must have scattered or carried off the pollen4 ,when ,jupiter thunders1 he still seems to dominate our world1 as in the days when the graceful legends of mythology flourished4 ,and not only does he work above ground1 but1 contrary to the belief of the ancients1 his influence extends beneath the soil4 ,a great number of men were working in the mines at ,himmelsfurth on ,july #e1 #agee4 ,they were1 as often happens1 working at various points along the vein of metal1 and never dreaming of the events which might take place on the surface of the ground4 ,all at once they were conscious of several very violent shocks1 given in the oddest and most extravagant fashion4 ,some felt the shock in their backs1 while their neighbours received them on their arms or legs4 ,they might have been shaken by a mysterious invisible hand1 stretching now up from below1 now from above1 now from the sides of the galleries4 ,one of the miners found himself hurled against the wall1 two others1 whose backs were turned1 almost came to blows1 each believing that his mate had thumped him4 ,the real culprit was the thunder1 of whom they might well demand an explanation of these strange proceedings4 ,here is another example which bears out the foregoing3-- ,on the #beth of ,may1 the watchman on guard at the pit mouth of one of the principal mines at ,freyberg1 perceived an electric glimmer run along the wire rope going to the bottom of the mines1 and used by the miners to exchange signals with the men employed in working the lifts4 ,suddenly all the pits were brilliantly lit up4 ,at the same moment the watchman saw a clear vivid flame shoot out at the other end of the chain4 ,on this occasion the lightning behaved with due discretion1 and shone through the mine without giving any one the slightest shock4 ,in vain the monster ,tiberius1 and the infamous ,caligula1 sought a subterranean refuge from lightning4 ,their impure consciences1 laden with crimes1 dreaded the chastisement of heaven4 ,by fleeing from the lightning flash1 they believed themselves saved from death4 ,lightning dogs our footsteps1 and works even when the criminals believe themselves in safety4 ,it is conceivable that the ancients should have dreaded it as an instrument of celestial justice4 ,usually lightning strikes the ground with a vertical stroke1 but at times obliquely1 when it traces long1 horizontal lines4 ,often the ground may be seen turned up at the foot of trees which have been struck1 the sod is torn1 and stones thrown to a great distance4 ,sometimes1 too1 an excavation may be seen in the ground near the object struck1 of varying breadth and height4 ,this opening may be like a funnel or hemispherical4 ,in a case observed on ,june #f1 #ahhc1 at ,cte 7,haute-,sane71 a circular hole1 having a depth of #abj metres1 has been seen in a dyke on the declivity of the road1 below a coach which was not struck4 ,occasionally the hole is but the beginning of a canal1 hollowed rather deeply and perpendicularly in the ground1 the sides of which serve as a sheath to the fulgurite4 ,but before treating of fulgurite tubes1 which constitute the most curious phenomena in the world connected with lightning1 we shall discuss certain remarkable effects observed on the surface of the ground4 ,falling on solid rocks1 the electric spark can break them1 cut them1 or pierce them in one or more places4 ,often instead of spoiling or cutting off pieces of the stone1 it covers the surface instantaneously with a vitreous coat1 having blisters of various colours4 ,this vitrification is often to be seen on mountains4 ,de ,saussure found rocks of schistous amphiboles covered with vitreous bubbles1 like those seen on tiles where struck by lightning4 ,humboldt made similar observations on porphyritic rocks at ,nvada de ,toluca1 in ,mexico1 and ,ramond1 at the ,sanadoire rock in ,puy-de-,dme4 ,in these cases1 the spark1 on reaching the surface1 melts it more or less completely over a varying extent1 and this fusion1 worked upon by an extraordinary heat1 produces a coat having a peculiar appearance1 but in which microscopical analysis finds the elements of the body it covers4 ,thus the vitreous layer deposited over chalk is of chalky origin2 that covering granite is of the nature of granite1 etc4 ,this does not apply to certain deposits found on rocks1 and even on trees1 which have been struck by lightning1 and which are of very different origin4 ,whilst the former is only the stone in a fused or vitrified condition1 the latter is caused by the presence of foreign bodies1 some fragments of which have been detached by the ray and travel with it4 ,this transport of solid substances by lightning has often been observed4 ,here are two examples of this strange phenomenon3-- ,on ,july #bh1 #ahhe1 at ,luchon1 on the ,bigorre road a passer-by saw lightning fall twenty yards away from him4 ,recovered from the shock1 he went out of curiosity to look at the result1 and saw the wall at the edge of the road1 the schistous and chalky rocks1 even the trees themselves1 coated over with layers of brown4 ,it was certainly a case of the lightning having effected a deposit4 ,this latter was very curious4 ,lines could be traced on it with the finger-nail1 it fell to powder under slight pressure1 became soft with gentle rubbing1 caught fire from a candle1 and then gave off a resinous odour with much smoke4 ,what is this resinous matter8 ,that is what no one yet can say4 ,in the month of ,july1 #ahhe1 on the day following a violent thunderstorm which had struck the telegraph-office in the station of ,savigny-sur-,orge1 ,i myself picked up a little black powder off the telegraph poles1 which had been left by the lightning1 and which had a sulphurous smell4 ,the production of this ponderable matter has often been attributed to bolides1 but direct observation proves beyond a doubt that the electricity carries various solid substances found on earth after a storm4 ,lightning is truly the most venerable of glass-makers4 ,long before the most remote peoples of antiquity appeared1 whose glasswares encrusted with marvellous iridescent tones by the passing of the centuries1 are unearthed by scientific excavations1 and displayed in national collections2 long before man could have learnt to make use of the resources of nature1 lightning1 burrowing in the sand1 there fashioned tubes of glass that hold the hues of the opal1 and are called fulgurites4 ,the ancients seem to have known of these fulgurite tubes1 but we owe the first precise description and the first specimen of these extraordinary vitrifactions to ,hermann1 a pastor at ,massel in ,silesia4 ,his fulgurite1 found in #agaa1 is in the ,dresden ,museum4 ,since this discovery1 fulgurites have often been sought for and found4 ,the tubes1 contracted at one end1 and ending in a point1 are to be seen in sandy soils4 ,their diameter varies from #a to #ij millimetres1 and the thickness of their sides from half to #bd millimetres4 ,as to the length1 it sometimes exceeds #f metres4 ,vitrified inside1 they are covered outside with grains of sand agglutinated and apparently rounded as if they had been subjected to a beginning of fusion4 ,the colour depends on the nature of the sand in which they have been formed4 ,where the sand is ferruginous the fulgurite takes a yellowish hue1 but if the sand is very clean1 it is almost colourless or even white4 ,as a rule1 the fulgurites penetrate the ground vertically1 ,nevertheless1 they have been found in an oblique position4 ,at times1 also1 they are sinuous1 twisted1 or even zigzag if they have met with pebbles of considerable size4 ,it is not uncommon for the fulgurite tube to divide in two or three branches1 each of which gives birth to little lateral branches of #b or #c centimetres long1 and ending in points4 ,there are also solid fulgurites and foliated fulgurites4 ,the former1 no doubt1 had a canal originally1 which has been stopped up by matter in fusion4 ,the latter1 instead of being stretched out in cylindrical form1 are composed of slender layers like the leaves of a book4 ,the scientific museum at the ,observatory of ,juvisy possesses a very curious fulgurite which was offered to me some years ago by ,m4 ,bernard d',attanoux1 and found by him in ,sahara4 ,it is not a tube ending in a point4 ,the lightning penetrating the sand1 vitrified it on its passage1 and branched irregularly in three principal directions4 ,one might say it was slag formed by the juxtaposition1 irregular and crumpled1 of three blades of vitrified sand1 which would be pressed together by leaving a narrow opening to their central vertical axis4 ,this fulgurite1 which is extremely light1 measures six centimetres in length4 ,it was found in the sand of ,grand-,erg1 at a depth of several centimetres4 ,it has been found possible to produce miniature fulgurites by means of our electrical machines4 ,by adding ordinary salt to the sand1 and directing a strong current into it1 complete vitrification of a tube of several millimetres is obtained4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,the ,,effects ,,of ,,lightning ,,on ,,metals1 ,,objects1 ,,houses1 ,,etc4 ,when lightning strikes the earth1 it makes straight for metals4 ,their perfect conducting powers place them in the first rank of conductors1 and the innumerable cases of lightning with which they are associated have gained them a certain celebrity in the annals of thunder4 ,we know1 indeed1 the preference of the spark for metals2 we know it nurses a veritable passion for nails1 wire1 bell-pulls1 that it dotes on rain-spouts1 leaden pipes1 and telegraph wires1 that it is very feminine in its adoration of jewels1 which it sublimates sometimes with a truly fantastic dexterity4 ,now and then lightning deviates from its path1 and performs acrobatic feats1 elfin capers to reach the objects it covets4 ,on ,april #bd1 #ahdb1 it struck the church of ,brexton1 springing on the cross of the steeple at first and running down the stem1 but1 arrived at the masonry which supported it1 broke it into pieces2 then with one bound it fell upon a second conductor1 whose support was also broken4 ,finally1 it struck a third conductor much lower down4 ,the fluid often searches for metals hidden beneath non-conductors1 which it breaks or pierces4 ,it avoids the mattress to pursue the iron of the bed1 glances off the windows to glide over the curtain-rods1 or the lead of the sash4 ,it has been seen to penetrate thick walls to reach the iron safes hidden behind them4 ,we have already mentioned the case of the woman who1 without having been killed1 had her ear-ring split4 ,well1 we have a certain number of similar examples to that4 ,on ,june #a1 #ahji1 in a boarding-school for young ladies1 at ,bordeaux1 a gold chain1 worn by one of the young ladies1 was melted by the lightning1 which left a black indented line in its place1 which1 however1 soon passed off4 ,the lady was struck1 but recovered consciousness within a few hours1 being none the worse4 ,her slender chain1 worn in three rows round her neck1 had been cut into five pieces4 ,some of the fragments showed signs of fusion1 and had been carried to a distance4 ,other examples1 in which the consequences were more dramatic1 will show ladies the dangers of a love of adornment4 ,on ,september #ba1 #aija1 during a violent thunderstorm which burst over the region of ,narbonne1 a fireball fell in the domain of ,castelou4 ,a young girl of fourteen was fatally struck by the meteor4 ,the gold chain which she wore round her throat was completely evaporated4 ,there was not a trace of it to be found4 ,it is not unusual to see gold chains broken1 melted1 partially or completely1 in the pocket which had held them4 ,thus1 lightning melted a watch and chain into a single lump in the pocket of a man killed on board a passenger boat4 ,bracelets1 hairpins1 and even precious stones are sometimes very strangely altered4 ,as for watches1 without speaking of the magnetization observed after a violent electrical discharge1 it has been remarked that the movement became slower4 ,in some cases they stopped short1 and marked the exact instant when the lightning stopped them4 ,when the ship ,eagle was struck by lightning1 none of the passengers were injured1 but all their watches stopped at the moment the shock took place4 ,at other times there are peculiarities in the works which are absolutely inexplicable4 ,the following observation1 related by ,biot1 is a curious case in point4 ,a young man was slightly struck by lightning in the street of ,grenelle-,saint-,germain4 ,his watch was in no wise hurt outside1 but1 although it was only a quarter-past eleven1 the hands pointed to a quarter to five4 ,convinced that it was in need of repair1 the young man placed it on his table1 intending to take it to the watchmaker2 but next day1 thinking he would wind it up to make sure of the extent of the damage1 he saw1 to his amazement1 the hands moved and kept regular time4 ,in some instances the case of the watch is seriously injured1 while the works are none the worse4 ,a man wore a watch with a double cap attached to a gold chain4 ,the chain was broken1 some of the links soldered together4 ,the cap had been perforated1 and the gold spilt in his pocket4 ,the watch itself had not been altered4 ,but if lightning sometimes stops the works of watches1 it also produces the contrary effect4 ,beyer relates that a flash of lightning1 having entered a room and broken the corner of a glass1 set a watch going which had been stopped for a long time4 ,i find the following note amongst my papers3 ,m4 ,coulvier-,gravier1 director of the meteoric observatory of the palace of ,luxembourg1 told me yesterday that on ,sunday1 ,april #h1 at #i4ce in the evening1 a watch 7wound up71 which had stopped a week previously1 went on at the moment lightning struck the lightning conductor on the ,luxembourg above these rooms4 ,often enough the case is badly injured3 the polish is rubbed off the metal1 it is melted1 bored through1 and even dented1 without any trace of fusion4 ,a case of the latter is rare4 ,here is an example1 however4 ,in the month of ,june1 #ahec1 a man from ,aigremont having been killed by lightning1 his silver watch was found in his watch-pocket completely smashed4 ,indeed1 one of the most common effects of lightning on watches is the magnetization to which the various pieces of steel are subjected4 ,we have a considerable number of records concerning these magnetic properties4 ,in one case the balance had its poles so well pointed that1 when placed on a raft1 it served as a compass4 ,we may observe1 by the way1 that clocks and chronometers are sometimes as much injured also by the spark4 ,it often gives an energetic twist to the needles1 or to the spring for regulating the strokes1 or it even melts the wheel-works1 either partially or completely4 ,it is difficult to form any idea of the various operations of lightning2 here it hurls itself down like a fiery torrent1 there it makes itself so tiny that it can pass through the smallest apertures4 ,does it not even slip under women's corsets1 melting the busks and the little knobs which serve to hook them4 ,it even attacks the various metal articles which set off our garments1 even to the shoe-buckles1 buttons1 etc4 ,keys are1 as a rule1 very ill-treated by the fire of heaven3 they are twisted1 flattened1 melted or soldered to the ring from which they hang4 ,on ,may #ab1 #ahij1 a man living at ,troyes returned to his house while a violent storm was raging4 ,the moment he put his key into the lock1 the white gleam of a dazzling flash of lightning surrounded him1 the ring holding his keys was broken in his hand1 and they were scattered on the threshold4 ,at times1 too1 scissors1 needles1 etc41 are snatched out of the hands of the workers1 and carried some distance off when they are not reduced to vapour4 ,at ,saint-,dizier 7,haute-,marne7 in ,july1 #ahhf1 lightning fell on the workshop of ,m4 ,penon1 a chain-maker4 ,five or six workmen were finishing their work or getting ready to leave4 ,entering by the window near which ,m4 ,penon--who was absent at the time--usually worked1 the fluid grazed the bellows which were opposite1 and caught up a piece of it1 which one would have thought was cut off with a knife4 ,turning to the left1 and passing behind a chain-maker1 who felt a violent shock1 it passed to a heap of chains which it did not damage much4 ,all the links in a chain of about a metre long were1 however1 soldered together2 the whole chain seemed to be galvanized1 and the soldering was not easily broken by hand4 ,pieces of iron which had been cut and prepared for the manufacture1 were found twisted and soldered together in the same way4 ,finally the lightning snatched the iron hoops from a tub1 and1 returning the same way1 broke a piece of wood from a board1 so as to go through the lower part of a partition1 the masonry of which was carried away for a length of fifty centimetres4 ,very often lightning rivals the most skilful cabinet-makers3 iron or copper nails are pulled out of a piece of furniture with a most amazing skill1 without doing any harm to the material they kept in place4 ,ordinarily they are thrown far away4 ,here are two examples of this curious phenomenon3-- ,on ,september #bc1 #ahbd1 lightning penetrated a house at ,campbeltown2 the copper nails in the chairs were pulled out very precisely1 without the stuff being spoiled4 ,some were conveyed to the corner of a box standing at the opposite end of the room1 others were so solidly fixed in the partitions1 that it was only with great difficulty that they were pulled out 7,howar74 ,at another time1 close to ,marseilles1 lightning slipped into a drawing-room1 one might say1 like a robber1 one evening1 and pilfered all the nails out of a couch covered with satin4 ,then it departed by the chimney through which it had entered4 ,as for the nails1 they were found1 two years afterwards1 under a tile6 ,locks1 screws1 door-knobs are frequently pulled out by the fluid4 ,sometimes metal objects of much larger size1 such as forks or agricultural instruments1 share the same fate4 ,violently torn out of the hands of their owners1 they start upon an aerial voyage1 borne on the incandescent wings of the wrathful lightning4 ,workers in the fields have often been warned of the dangers to which they expose themselves beneath a thundery sky1 by carrying their implements with the point in the air4 ,each year the same accidents occur in precisely similar circumstances4 ,the electric fluid1 invited by the metal point which acts like a little lightning conductor1 darts from the clouds upon this centre of attraction1 and runs into the ordinary reservoir by the intermedial body of the man1 who plays the rle of conductor4 ,two labourers were spreading manure in a field1 when a storm came on4 ,it was at the beginning of ,may1 #aija4 ,obliged to give up work1 they were thinking of returning home4 ,each carried an ,american fork over his shoulder4 ,they had come within #aej metres of the village1 when a formidable burst of flame took place over their heads4 ,instantly the two labourers fell1 never to rise again4 ,in #aijc ,i made notes of several cases of this kind1 from which ,i shall quote the two following3-- ,on ,june #b1 a labourer from the hamlet of ,pair1 commune of ,taintrux 7,vosges71 aged forty1 was sharpening a scythe in an orchard close to his house4 ,suddenly a terrific clap of thunder was heard1 and the unfortunate man fell down stone dead4 ,on the following day1 in the same region1 at ,uzemain1 not far from ,epinal1 a young man1 twenty-eight years of age1 went to get grass in the country4 ,all at once he was struck by lightning1 and his horse1 which he was holding by the bridle1 as well4 ,the poor fellow had been guilty of the imprudence of putting his scythe on the cart with its point in the air4 ,on ,may #bg1 in the ,vosges1 the lightning fell on a labourer1 ,cyrille ,bgin1 who was driving a cart to which were yoked four horses4 ,the unhappy man was struck1 as well as two of the horses4 ,some authorities have attributed a doubly preservative influence to umbrellas4 ,the first is undoubtedly to shelter us from the rain2 the second1 more doubtful1 is the gift of preserving us to a certain extent from the strokes of the terrible meteor4 ,silk1 having the property of a veritable repulsion to lightning1 one might really believe that umbrellas1 whose covers are often made of this fabric1 are protectors against the fire of heaven4 ,but the records which we possess are not conclusive2 if1 now and then1 the discharge becomes distributed by means of the ribs1 it also very often happens that it runs along the metal parts of the handle to whatever pieces of metal may be on the person1 finally striking the soil through the human body4 ,on ,july #ac1 #ahhd1 in the province of ,lige1 a man and a woman sheltering under the same umbrella were struck by lightning4 ,the man was killed instantly4 ,his garments were in tatters1 and the soles torn from his shoes4 ,his pipe was thrown twenty yards away1 as well as the artificial flowers in his companion's hat4 ,the latter1 who was carrying the umbrella1 was stunned4 ,at a season when1 as a rule1 thunder is not dreaded--,december #i1 #ahhd1 to wit--two men1 who were walking on either side of a schoolboy holding an umbrella1 were killed by lightning4 ,the child was merely thrown down1 and got off with a few trifling wounds4 ,in each of these cases1 the person who carried the umbrella suffered less from the electric discharge1 but did not escape altogether1 nevertheless4 ,it may be remarked1 also1 that the chief victims were just under the points of the frame1 and that in all probability the electricity passed through these points4 ,the fusion of metals is one of the lightning's most ordinary performances2 it has occurred at times in considerable quantities4 ,on ,april #b1 #ahjg1 a fulminant discharge struck the windmill at ,great ,marton1 in ,lancashire4 ,a thick iron chain1 used for hoisting up the corn1 must have been1 if not actually melted1 at any rate considerably softened4 ,indeed1 the links were dragged downwards by the weight of the lower part1 and meeting1 became soldered in such a way that1 after the stroke of lightning1 the chain was a veritable bar of iron4 ,how1 one asks1 can this truly formidable fusion take place during the swift passage of the electric spark1 which disappears1 it may well be said1 with lightning speed4 ,what magic force gives the fiery bolt from the sky the power to transform the atmosphere into a veritable forge1 in which kilos of metal are melted in the thousandth part of a second6 ,great leaden pipes melt like a lump of sugar in a glass of water1 letting the contents escape4 ,in ,paris1 ,june #ai1 #aijc1 lightning broke tempestuously into a kitchen1 and1 melting the gaspipes1 set fire to the place4 ,on another occasion1 the meteor breaking into the workshop of a locksmith1 files and other tools hanging from a rack on the wall were soldered to the nails with which the iron ferrules of their handles came in contact1 and were with difficulty pulled apart4 ,a house at ,dorking1 ,sussex1 received a visit from lightning on ,july #af1 #agej4 ,nails1 bolts1 and divers small objects were soldered together in groups of six1 seven1 eight1 or ten1 just as if they had been thrown into a crucible4 ,money melts1 leaving the purse uninjured1 says ,seneca4 ,the sword-blade liquifies1 while the scabbard remains intact4 ,the iron in the javelin runs down the handle1 which is none the worse4 ,we could add other examples1 quite as unheard of1 as those enumerated by the preceptor of ,nero4 ,a hat-wire melted into nothing1 though the paper in which it was wrapped was not burnt4 ,knives and forks were melted without the least injury being done to the linen which enveloped them1 by the presence of the fluid4 ,these proceedings give proof of exquisitely delicate feelings2 it is a pity the lightning does not always behave in the same way4 ,wires1 and particularly bell-wires1 make the most agreeable playthings for the lightning1 judging from the frequency with which they are struck4 ,sometimes1 in the middle of a fearful thunderstorm1 the doorbell is violently rung2 the porter rushes to open the door for the impatient visitor1 only to receive a shock of lightning by way of salvo4 ,the mysterious hand which pulled the bell is already far away2 but it has left its impress on the bell1 and the guiding ray follows the metal wire in all its windings1 passing through holes no bigger than the head of a pin4 ,the wires are often melted into globules1 and scattered around in all directions4 ,the ,abb ,richard has seen globules from a bell-wire fall into coffee cups1 and become embedded in the porcelain1 without the latter being any the worse4 ,metal wires supporting espaliers and vines are often compromising to the safety of their neighbourhood1 especially when they are against a house4 ,without renouncing the succulent peach1 or the golden chasselas grapes1 propped on espaliers1 we ought to see that they are so arranged that they do not act as lightning-conductors to our habitation4 ,in ,august1 #ahfh1 in a farm amongst the mountains near ,lyons1 lightning fell at a distance of about fifteen metres from a dwelling where there were four people2 the meteor1 conducted by the wire supporting a vine on a trellis1 followed it into the house1 and knocked the four people down4 ,one could almost believe that lightning takes a certain pleasure in looking at its diaphanous and fugitive form in the mirrors hung as ornaments in our drawing-rooms4 ,in #ahhi1 a very coquettish flash of lightning rushed to a mirror1 breaking more than ten openings in the gilt frame4 ,then it evaporated the gilding1 spreading it over the surface of the glass1 while on the silvered back the evaporation of this latter metal produced the most beautiful electric traceries4 ,sometimes the tinfoil or pieces of melted glass are thrown to a great distance2 and at times the fusion of the glass is so complete that the dbris hangs down like little stalactites4 ,as for the gilding of the frames1 it is often carefully removed by the lightning to a distance1 and applied to the gilding of objects which were never intended to receive this style of decoration4 ,it is just the same with the gilding on clocks1 cornices1 church ornaments1 etc4 ,there are innumerable examples coming under this category4 ,here are a few3-- ,on ,march #ae1 at ,naples1 lightning flashed through the rooms of ,lord ,tylney1 who was holding a reception that evening4 ,more than five hundred were present2 without any person being injured1 the lightning took the gilding clean off cornices1 curtain-poles1 couches1 and door-posts2 then it shook its booty in a fine gold dust over the guests and the floor4 ,on ,june #d1 #agig1 lightning struck the steeple of ,philippshofen in ,bohemia1 and went off with the gold of the clock1 to gild the lead in the chapel window4 ,in #agfa1 it went into the church of the ,academical ,college in ,vienna1 and took the gold from the cornice of one of the altar pillars to put it on a silver vase4 ,it seems difficult for lightning to resist the attraction of gildings4 ,it was reported that when a house in the ,rue ,plumet in ,paris was struck in #agfg1 among several frames hanging in a room1 the spark only touched one which was gilt4 ,none of the others were struck4 ,in spite of this extraordinarily independent behaviour1 lightning has not so much liberty of action as we might be tempted to believe2 it obeys certain laws which are not yet defined1 and its gestures1 although apparently wild and capricious1 are not the result of fortuitous circumstances4 ,to allude to it as chance may serve as a refuge from ignorance1 but it does not1 any more than we can1 explain the extraordinary phenomena4 ,why are certain organic or non-organic bodies visited repeatedly by lightning8 ,we need not have recourse to magic to explain4 ,it is simply because they serve as favourable conductors for the fluid4 ,one of the best-known examples of this kind is that of the church of ,antrasme4 ,it was struck by lightning in #ageb4 ,it melted the gold of the picture frames adorning the sanctuary1 blackened the edges of the niches in which the images stood1 scorched the pewter vases enclosed in a press in the sacristy2 then1 lastly1 it made two very neat holes at the end of a side chapel1 by which it took its departure4 ,the traces of this disaster were removed with all haste1 but twelve years later1 on ,june #bj1 #agfd1 the lightning returned to the charge4 ,it penetrated the church for the second time1 but the most remarkable fact is1 that it worked havoc similar to that done on its first visit4 ,again the sacred picture-frames were despoiled of their gilding1 the niches of the saints blackened1 the pewter vases scorched1 and the two holes in the chapel reopened4 ,what demon guided the lightning in these scenes of pillage8 ,the end of the story gives us the clue4 ,soon after the catastrophe the use of the lightning-conductor became general throughout the whole world4 ,the church was put under the protection of a rod of iron1 after the principles of ,franklin1 and ever since lightning allows the faithful to pray in peace within the sanctuary1 and has never returned to profane the church at ,antrasme4 ,such incidents are of fairly frequent occurrence2 they give us a chance of understanding the supposed preferences of lightning4 ,in the last chapter we shall see curious cases of galvanoplasty1 of the nature of the following3 amongst others1 that of a piece of gold in a purse1 which was silvered over with silver taken out of another part of the purse1 through the leather of the compartment4 ,what a trick of prestidigitation6 ,on our music-hall stages this turn would have a great success4 ,but our last word has not been said about lightning4 ,just a few more4 ,one of the most curious effects produced on metals1 is the magnetic polarity communicated to objects in steel and iron1 no matter what they be4 ,we have already quoted a remarkable case1 that of the ascending lightning4 ,a tailor was slightly touched by the spark2 the day after the accident he found his needles were magnetized3 they clung closely to each other as they were taken out of the case4 ,another case of magnetization has been recorded1 where certain objects1 which were struck by lightning1 had power to raise three times their own weight4 ,this magnetization is almost always temporary4 ,examples are known1 however1 where objects preserved the magnetic powers that they acquired in the moment of the shock4 ,and one can understand the terror inspired by lightning in uncultured minds1 when1 after the passing of the meteor1 they see common things suddenly animated by a fantastic vitality1 fine needles attract and raise very much larger bodies than themselves1 and impart a feverish agitation to any pieces of steel or iron that may be placed near them4 ,what a lively impression these curious phenomena must have made on the minds of men in the days when sorcery was in fashion1 and when lightning was1 according to the belief then popular1 at the service of heaven and hell6 ,but1 nowadays1 sorcery is fallen into disuse2 the magnetization of metal bodies1 even when the result of lightning1 is something too well known to be attributed to any connection with ,satan4 ,and yet the gambols of electricity are truly extraordinary4 ,in the month of ,june1 #ahgc1 the electric fluid penetrated into a butcher's shop1 quite calmly followed the iron bars from which the quarters of meat were hanging4 ,from one of the hooks a whole ox was suspended4 ,all at once the skinned carcase was galvanized by the electric current1 and during several instants it was seen convulsed by the most frightful contortions4 ,again1 on ,june #bh1 #ahgi1 a concierge in the ,avenue de ,clichy was sweeping his courtyard when the lightning broke at one metre above his head4 ,the poor man escaped with the fright4 ,the fluid ran up the leaden pipes and entered a room1 where it broke the mirrors and a clock1 injured the ceiling1 and got off by breaking the panes in the window4 ,on the upper storey it got into a lodging occupied by two old women1 where it caused the following damage3 one of the women was holding a bowl of milk1 the bottom of the bowl was cracked and the milk spilled on the floor2 some money which was in a wooden bowl disappeared and could not be found4 ,the clock was stopped at half-past six1 the pendulum unhooked2 and a hole made in a glass globe the size of a five-shilling piece4 ,finally1 a woman in bed on the same landing saw the bed split in two by the lightning1 which disappeared in the wall4 ,none of these persons were injured4 ,as a general rule1 indeed1 when lightning breaks into houses1 although it often does a great deal of harm1 it almost always spares the people who may be there4 ,one is safer there than anywhere else4 ,sometimes the walls are pierced or merely hollowed4 ,this perforation of the walls is one of the most common effects of the meteor on buildings4 ,the thickness of the perforated walls is very variable4 ,at the ,castle of ,clermont1 in ,beauvaisis1 there was a formidable old wall1 built in the time of the ,romans1 so tradition has it1 which was ten feet thick1 and the cement was as hard as stone1 so that it was almost impossible to break it4 ,one day1 says ,nollet1 a flash of lightning struck it1 and instantly a hole1 two feet deep and equally wide1 was made in it1 the dbris being thrown more than fifty feet away4 ,on ,june #ag1 #ahhc1 at ,louvemont 7,haute-,marne71 the wall of a bakehouse1 fifty-five centimetres wide1 was broken in by lightning4 ,the church at ,lugdivan was struck by lightning in #agfa4 ,two furrows like those made by a plough were to be seen on the wall4 ,one of the most dreadful acts of which lightning is capable is that of hurling considerable masses of stone and rock1 broken or intact1 to great distances4 ,we have numerous examples of this terrible phenomenon4 ,here are a few3-- ,on ,august #bc1 #ahec1 thunder burst over the belfry of ,maison-,ponthieu4 ,the explosion scattered the slates and beams of the roof1 and shot a stone1 measuring thirty-five centimetres1 to a distance of twenty metres4 ,rough stones1 weighing more than forty pounds1 were torn up and thrown almost horizontally as far as an opposite wall thirty feet away4 ,at ,fuzie-en-,fetlar1 in ,scotland1 towards the end of the eighteenth century1 lightning broke1 in about two seconds at most1 a mica-schist rock of one hundred and fifty feet long1 by ten broad1 and in some parts four feet thick2 this it split into great pieces4 ,one1 measuring twenty-six feet long by ten broad1 and four in thickness1 fell on the ground twenty centimetres off4 ,enormous stones are thrown1 at times1 in different directions4 ,in #agfb lightning struck the belfry of ,breag ,church in ,cornwall1 broke the stone pinnacle of the edifice1 and threw one of the stones1 weighing at least a hundred-weight and a half1 on the roof of the apsis1 in a southerly direction1 fifty-five metres away4 ,in a northerly direction another huge stone was found at #cfe metres or so from the belfry2 and a third1 still larger1 to the south-east of the church4 ,in certain cases the lightning unites a fantastic skill with this excessive brutality4 ,for instance1 a wall has been removed intact without being broken in any part4 ,here is a record of one such extraordinary occurrence3-- ,on ,august #f1 #ahji1 at ,swinton1 near ,manchester1 during a deluge of rain1 the lightning all at once filled a brick building1 in which coal was stored1 full of pestilential1 sulphureous vapour4 ,above it was a cistern half full4 ,suddenly the edifice1 the walls of which measured thirty centimetres in thickness1 were torn out of the ground1 the foundations being sixty centimetres deep1 and was transported in an upright position to a distance of ten metres4 ,the weight of this mass1 so oddly and so rapidly moved by lightning1 was estimated at ten thousand kilograms4 ,in many cases1 on the contrary1 the subtle fluid has pulverized a hard stone on the spot and reduced it to powder4 ,tiles and slates are very often torn off the roofs3 the lightning makes them fly through the air4 ,sometimes it is content to perforate them with a multitude of little holes4 ,as for chimneys1 they are generally very ill-treated by the meteor4 ,the blows of which they are victims are to be accounted for easily1 for they offer perfect powers of conducting to the fulminant matter1 firstly1 because of their prominence on the summit of the building1 especially when they are surmounted by a vane4 ,again1 the flue is often in cast-iron1 and if it is bricked it is supported by bars of iron4 ,the surface of the interior is covered with a layer of soot1 an excellent conductor1 and a stove-pipe often opens into it4 ,then1 too1 the hearth and its surroundings are more or less made of metal4 ,finally1 the column of smoke and of hot1 damp air rising into the air1 shows the lightning the way4 ,the latter often accepts this invitation1 and very frequently gets into a house by the chimney1 where everything seems ready for its reception4 ,rafters and doors are sometimes bored through with one or two holes by the spark1 and split or furrowed more or less deeply4 ,a curious fact is that it is rare to find the slightest trace of combustion round them4 ,in the month of ,august1 #ahhg1 lightning struck the belfry of the church at ,abrest 7,allier71 carrying off part of the roof4 ,it destroyed the walls of the porch1 and in both sides of the swing doors bored two holes1 each as big as a pigeon's egg1 and as symmetrically as if they had been made by the hand of man4 ,the cleavage of beams is amongst the most extraordinary injuries to be observed on woodwork4 ,lightning works with wrought wood just as it does when the tree is in full sap3 it reduces it to rags1 and follows the direction of the fibres4 ,with what crimes lightning is charged6 ,when it is a question of robbing a house1 it spares nothing in its way4 ,the window-panes fly in pieces1 and sometimes are thrown a long way off4 ,often they are melted and disappear totally4 ,in ,july1 #aghc1 at ,campo ,sampiero ,castello 7,padua71 lightning struck a building full of hay2 the windows had glass in them1 and the panes were melted without the hay catching fire6 ,a still more astonishing phenomenon is that of the total disappearance of the glass panes1 observed at the ,castle of ,upsal1 on ,august #bd1 #agfj4 ,lightning visited this edifice and then took flight1 carrying off sixteen panes out of a window4 ,not the smallest fragment of them was ever found4 ,perhaps1 as often happens1 terrific heat was generated1 and the glass evaporated4 ,if we follow the track of lightning through rooms1 very singular effects may be seen on the furniture4 ,chests of drawers and wardrobes are gutted1 and the contents pulled out and strewn about the room4 ,in the middle of ,august1 #ahhg1 a house at ,francines1 near ,limoges1 was struck by lightning4 ,it fell in a room where the master of the house was in bed4 ,he felt a terrific shock1 and saw his eiderdown pierced through and through by the perfidious fluid1 and a chest of drawers with all its contents broken4 ,continuing on its way1 the lightning demolished the door and entered another room4 ,a man who was asleep in it was killed4 ,his wife by his side and his little girl felt nothing1 but a pillow on which one of them had her head was thrown to a distance4 ,finally1 the meteor went through the floor1 broke a large clock on the ground floor1 setting fire to everything on its way4 ,on ,june #a1 #aijc1 a fulminant ray fell on the church of ,cussy-la-,colonne 7,cte d',or74 ,to start1 it turned the clock tower upside down1 broke a clock1 then opened a cupboard in the sacristy in which there were various articles1 and broke them all4 ,in ,april1 #ahhf1 lightning did great damage in the church at ,montredon 7,tarn74 ,it demolished the steeple to an extent of three metres1 several bells1 and carried the enormous iron bar which supported them a long way off4 ,the roof of the church was burst in and the tiles were pulverized in several places by the falling masonry4 ,in the interior a bench was broken1 an image of ,christ reduced to powder1 and a metal image of ,st4 ,peter twisted4 ,we may remark1 by the way1 that churches are very often struck by lightning1 doubtless owing to the height of the steeple above the edifice4 ,we have innumerable notes about ruined steeples1 turrets knocked off1 the plundering of priestly objects4 ,sculptures and pictures adorning the sanctuary are often destroyed1 and the altar itself shattered4 ,cases of priests struck while officiating are not uncommon4 ,as for the faithful killed while at church1 they may be counted by the hundred4 ,without wishing to call lightning a miscreant or an infidel1 one is obliged to confess it fails in respect for holy places4 ,however1 the quips and cranks of lightning observed in dwellings are no less varied and curious4 ,here are some remarkable accounts3-- ,one night during a terrible thunderstorm1 lightning came down the chimney of a room where two people were asleep4 ,the husband awoke with a start and1 believing the house to be on fire1 groped his way to the mantelpiece to get a candle1 but was stopped by a heap of rubbish4 ,everything1 in fact1 of which the chimney had once consisted was heaped up in the middle of the room4 ,the mantelshelf1 violently torn off1 had been partly melted1 the clock had had the door of the case pulled off1 and all the window-panes were broken4 ,on the lower storey1 another clock was similarly demolished1 the floor was torn up and the tiles thrown with such force against the ceiling that there were splinters sticking all over it4 ,in the month of ,april1 #ahff1 at ,bure 7,luxembourg71 the thunder1 which had been rumbling for some time1 suddenly crashed down all at once about midnight with the most appalling violence1 so that the ground seemed to tremble and the houses rock on their foundations4 ,all the inhabitants1 aroused in terror2 instinctively several of them sprang out of bed1 thinking that their dwellings must be annihilated4 ,every one had the presentiment of disaster1 which was only too real3 the fluid had just struck the house of a poor workman1 and left a scene of frightful destruction behind it4 ,the roof had been carried off1 the chimney destroyed1 the windows reduced1 so to speak1 to atoms1 the principal door smashed and hurled to a distance2 of the furniture there was nothing left but shapeless wreckage4 ,but what was most extraordinary is1 that this catastrophe only cost the life of one person1 while all that were in the house might well have been killed4 ,three children1 sleeping in an upper storey1 found themselves thrown outside the house without knowing how they got there1 but safe and sound1 though the bed was broken to pieces4 ,the father and mother were asleep on the ground floor1 with two little children1 one of whom was at the breast4 ,this latter was flung out of his cradle and thrown against the wall1 without being hurt4 ,at this moment the mother sprang out of bed to succour those dear to her1 but while the poor woman was in the act of lighting a candle1 the lightning struck her lifeless on the floor4 ,the husband1 who was in the bed with another child1 only felt a severe shaking4 ,the lightning1 having accomplished its work of destruction1 finally broke an opening in the lower part of the wall1 went into the stable adjoining the house1 and there killed the only cow that was in it4 ,in the month of ,august1 #ahfh1 at ,lige1 ,rue du ,calvaire1 at the point where the mountain of ,st4 ,laurent is highest1 lightning first of all struck two earthenware chimney-pots which were higher than the roofs4 ,one of these pots was thrown to the ground and broken1 the other disappeared4 ,then the electric spark ripped off a great part of the roof4 ,all the tiles were scattered round the house4 ,a young servant slept in a garret under the roof2 the lightning penetrated into the garret through a little hole in the wall just above the head of the maid's bed2 the latter was flung into the middle of the room without the slightest bruise1 though the wood of the bed was bored through in two places4 ,from there1 the spark going through the wall again1 went down to the ground floor1 following the gutter pipe1 which it broke4 ,it re-entered the house by making a little hole in the wall1 pulled off the plaster which was round two nails holding up a mirror1 broke part of the frame2 again left the room1 entered a little room adjoining where six people were sleeping--the father1 the mother1 and four young children2 pierced the wall to enter a locksmith's1 scattered all the tools1 tore out a drawer1 broke it into a thousand pieces1 and threw the contents on the floor1 broke all the panes of glass2 again went through the wall1 went to a hutch with a rabbit in it1 killed the animal1 and at last went into the garden1 where it dug a double trench several feet long4 ,the house was occupied by two families of ten persons1 none of whom were struck4 ,terrified by the report they rose instantly2 the smell of smoke filling all the rooms told them of the danger they had just escaped4 ,on another occasion one sees the woodwork of the chimney burnt1 as well as a press1 a looking-glass1 and a clock badly injured by the lightning2 which before retiring1 and by way of being a good joke1 turns a felt hat upside down1 and unscrews the andirons4 ,examples of this kind are very numerous4 ,we constantly speak of the caprices of the lightning1 but what name could one give to anything so burlesque or incomprehensible as the following3-- ,in the month of ,july1 #ahif1 lightning fell in the village of ,boulens1 on a cottage almost covered with thatch4 ,entering through the chimney1 which it destroyed1 it first threw down a rack1 pulling out the hinge which held it up1 and making in the place of the said hinge a hole right through the wall4 ,afterwards it lifted a pot and the lid from the hearth over to the middle of the floor1 tearing up some tiles as it went4 ,it broke the latch of the hall door1 as well as the key which was in the lock2 this latter was found afterwards in a wooden shoe which was under the sideboard4 ,two canes that were beside the mantelpiece1 were laid on the said mantelpiece as if placed there by hand4 ,a meat chopper and a copper basin used for ladling water out of a pail1 and attached to either end of the stove1 were likewise thrown into the middle of the room4 ,but the oddest part was that these two articles were fastened together1 the twine which served to hang up the chopper being rolled round the handle of the basin4 ,finally1 the flash divided1 and zigzagged off1 one part carrying off a piece of the oak jamb of the hall door1 the other part piercing a hole above the stove in a mud wall4 ,through this it threw fragments of laths and mortar into a window eleven metres off1 near which two people were sleeping4 ,this little dance1 in which so many and various articles took part1 does not lack piquancy6 ,this is how lightning joins in the ,national ,fte of ,france6 ,on ,july #ad1 #ahhd1 in the village of ,tourettes 7,vaucluse71 lightning struck a house1 carrying off a corner of the roof4 ,it knocked off the lower part of the roof1 and broke through a wall at least fifty centimetres thick4 ,in a press built half into the wall1 and in which there were about fifteen bottles containing various kinds of liqueur1 only one bottle of spirits was broken1 and this was done in such a manner that no trace could ever be found either of the glass or the liquid4 ,from thence it sprang to the pictures hanging above the head of a little girl of five1 who was sound asleep4 ,three pictures were torn from their frames1 engravings and mirrors were ground to powder1 but the child was not hurt4 ,then the electric current made an opening in the ceiling1 which was about forty-five centimetres thick1 broke a great many tiles as it left the house1 but soon returned by way of the chimney1 three parts of which it demolished4 ,then it explored the kitchen on the ground floor1 where there were three men by a fire4 ,one1 standing up1 was thrown violently against the opposite wall2 another was hurled against the door2 the third1 seated1 was raised from his chair to a height of at least fifty centimetres1 and then dropped4 ,to crown all1 the spark tore away half the butt-end of a gun1 and carried it into the next room1 where there were eleven people who got off with nothing worse than the fright4 ,then going up the chimney1 it exploded at a height of #aej metre1 throwing bits of plaster and of the pothanger in all directions4 ,what frantic and almost childlike fury6 ,yet somewhere else the very brother of this ray may caress the little head of a sleeping child1 and not do it the slightest harm2 may scoop a hole in the little cot1 and then depart quietly without giving any further cause for talk4 ,or this same lightning1 terrible and ungovernable at times1 will snatch something out of a person's hand with so much dexterity1 one might almost say delicacy1 that one would hardly dare to reproach him with his lack of ceremony4 ,at ,perpignan on ,august #ca1 #ahie1 lightning fell on the mountains of ,nyer1 near ,olette4 ,twenty-five out of a flock of sheep were struck4 ,the shepherd was enveloped by a flash1 yet escaped1 but the knife he was holding in his hand disappeared--and likewise his dog4 ,another time it fell on a house at ,beaumont 7,puy-de-,dme71 flashed through every part of it1 blew up the stone staircase1 and did considerable damage4 ,it grazed a woman who was sitting with a cup in her hand1 but she was not hurt1 though the cup was rudely torn out of her hands4 ,in ,july1 #ahhf1 a labourer was in the act of mowing1 when lightning coming on unawares1 stole his scythe and threw it #aj metres away4 ,the man was not in the least hurt4 ,the following example is truly amazing from this point of view4 ,a woman was busy milking a cow1 when suddenly she saw a tongue of fire shoot into the stable and round it1 pass between a cow and the wall at a place where there was not more than #cj or #ce centimetres of space1 and finally go out of the door without leaving any marks1 or hurting any living thing4 ,very often lightning contents itself with making a frightful hubbub1 and breaking any china or glass it may come across4 ,in ,july1 #ahhf1 thunder burst over a house at ,langres4 ,it was at breakfast-time4 ,the fluid came down the chimney1 which it swept thoroughly1 came near the table1 ran between the legs of an astounded guest1 and then knocked a hole as big as a shilling in the neck of a bottle which was being filled at the pump4 ,then it took itself off to the courtyard1 which it swept clean1 and disappeared without hurting any of the witnesses of this strange phenomenon4 ,on ,august #c1 #ahih1 two women were in the dining-room of their house at ,confolens1 when lightning broke a pane of glass in the window1 and passing within a few metres of them1 went through the kitchen1 and disappeared through the wall1 after having broken several cooking utensils and the mantelpiece into atoms4 ,at ,port-de-,bouc1 on ,august #ba1 #aijj1 lightning struck the custom house1 went into the room of one of the officials1 and cut clean in two a china vase1 which was on the mantelpiece1 without separating the pieces4 ,several days later1 on ,august #bf1 the mysterious fluid came to disturb the peaceful repast of two honest labourers4 ,having taken refuge from the storm in a hut1 they had set out their provisions for breakfast4 ,all at once the thunderstorm burst into the humble dining-room1 snatched up the bread1 cheese1 etc41 overturned the bottles and other articles1 covered everything with straw1 as if by a violent gust of wind4 ,the labourers felt nothing but stupefaction4 ,was not it a veritable farce8 ,in another place it bursts open a cupboard1 throwing the door away1 and damaging the crockery in the most systematic fashion3 it breaks the first plate1 leaves the second intact1 cracks the next1 spares the fourth1 and so on to the bottom of the pile4 ,then its task finished1 it becomes quite diminutive1 like some little gnome out of a fairy story1 and flees through the keyhole1 but without making the key spring out of the lock4 ,on ,august #ai1 #ahff1 at ,chaumont1 lightning1 having played havoc in a house in various ways1 espied a pile of plates in a cupboard1 china and earthenware plates being mixed1 it broke all the china ones1 leaving the others untouched4 ,why this preference8 ,the lightning does not explain4 ,it is for us to find out4 ,on ,may #ca1 #aijc1 at ,tillieu-sous-,aire 7,eure71 during a thunderstorm1 a number of china plates were filled with a kind of sticky water4 ,the earthenware plates beside them were not even wet4 ,i received a little flask of this water sent me by the parish priest1 but analysis revealed nothing unusual4 ,the following case gives a formal denial to the ancient prejudice which attributes a cabalistic influence to the number thirteen4 ,there were thirteen people in the dining-room of a house at ,langonar while the thunder rumbled outside4 ,suddenly a flash of lightning struck a plate in the middle of the table1 threw dishes1 glasses1 plates1 knives1 and forks in all directions--in a word1 cleared the table1 not forgetting the tablecloth4 ,none of the thirteen guests were touched4 ,it sometimes happens1 indeed1 that glasses or bottles are altogether or partly melted4 ,boyle gives a very curious instance of the kind4 ,two large drinking glasses were side by side on a table4 ,they were exactly alike4 ,lightning seemed to pass between them1 yet neither was broken2 one was slightly distorted1 however1 and the other so much bent by an instantaneous softening that it could hardly stand4 ,when firearms are struck by lightning1 their injuries are often of the most varied kind4 ,sometimes the wood1 particularly of the butt-end1 is split1 or broken to pieces1 the metal parts torn out1 or thrown right away4 ,on ,july #bg1 #agba1 the meteor struck a sentry-box at ,fort ,nicolai1 ,breslau1 and pierced the top to get at the sentry and his gun4 ,the barrel was blackened2 the butt-end broken and thrown to a distance4 ,the shot had been discharged and pierced the roof of the sentry-box4 ,the man got off with a few scratches4 ,however1 firearms when carried by men appear to attract the lightning4 ,soldiers are often enough struck when in the exercise of their calling1 when they are carrying arms4 ,but1 curiously enough1 many cases are known in which lightning has struck a loaded gun1 melting the bullet and part of the barrel1 without setting fire to the powder4 ,thus1 at ,prefling1 lightning penetrated the room of a gamekeeper1 yet none of the many firearms hanging up went off4 ,the wall was damaged between each rifle4 ,one was standing in a corner of the room2 the wall was injured on a level with the lower end1 and above it a hole was to be seen in the woodwork4 ,on ,june #a1 #agfa1 near ,nimburg1 lightning burst into the house of a horse-keeper1 where it struck a loaded carbine leaning against a wall on the ground floor4 ,the muzzle was slightly melted by the spark1 which ran along the barrel to the trigger1 and which it soldered together in parts4 ,there were five bullets melted and soldered together in the magazine and the wads much scorched4 ,however1 incredible as it may seem1 there was no explosion4 ,in another case the lightning went the whole length of a rifle1 both inside and outside1 leaving a direct line of fusion1 and yet1 incredible though it may seem1 no shot was fired though the fusion reached the powder4 ,these phenomena appear quite extraordinary1 and altogether incompatible with the usual theory of the combustibleness of gunpowder4 ,to what cause can the invulnerability of the explosive matter be due8 ,doubtless to the quickness of the lightning1 which does not leave the powder time enough to ignite4 ,powder magazines are frequently struck by lightning1 and this subject is one of very great interest2 they are not always blown up1 in spite of the vast quantities of explosive materials which they contain4 ,here are some examples which go to prove this statement3-- ,on ,november #e1 #agee1 lightning fell near ,rouen on the ,maromme powder magazine1 and split one of the beams of the roof4 ,two barrels of powder were reduced to atoms without exploding4 ,the magazine contained eight hundred of these barrels4 ,can it be that man's thunder can repulse that of ,jupiter8 ,not always1 as numerous examples prove the contrary4 ,the following observations are extracted from a collection of similar facts3-- ,lightning struck the tower of ,st4 ,nazaire1 ,brecia1 on ,august #ah1 #agfi4 ,it stood above an underground magazine containing a million kilogrammes of powder belonging to the ,republic of ,venice4 ,the whole edifice was blown up1 the stones falling in showers4 ,part of the town was thrown down2 three thousand people perishing4 ,at four o'clock in the afternoon of ,october #f1 #ahef1 lightning penetrated the vaults of the church of ,st ,jean1 at ,rhodes1 setting fire to an enormous quantity of powder4 ,four or five thousand people lost their lives in the catastrophe4 ,the power of lightning is immeasurable4 ,well1 it sometimes enjoys itself after the following manner3-- ,in #ahii it lit a candle which had just been put out4 ,the person who held it was not struck1 but the shock sent him to sleep for four days2 then he awoke1 only to go mad1 and then slept for seven consecutive days4 ,at ,harbourg it put out all the lights at a ball2 the room was plunged in darkness1 and filled with thick and fetid vapour4 ,many a time1 too1 has a fire1 burning brightly in a grate1 been suddenly extinguished by lightning2 and the same thing has happened with pottery and tile-making furnaces4 ,as a rule1 it is extremely difficult to re-light candles or fires thus extinguished4 ,in some instances it takes on itself to light the gas4 ,on ,august #c1 #ahgf1 near the ,observatory in ,paris1 ,rue ,leclerc1 towards the corner of the ,boulevard ,saint ,jacques1 a gas jet was lit by lightning4 ,the latter was twenty centimetres from a long gutter1 and was in the gap1 so to speak1 of an electric circuit formed by it and the damp wall communicating with the ground4 ,a violent explosion took place at the moment the gas caught alight1 the gas meter1 on the wall two metres above it1 was dislodged1 when a second explosion was heard4 ,the thunderclap was truly terrific1 and immediately followed the lightning flash4 ,the chronometer in the meteorological bureau in the ,observatory was stopped suddenly4 ,the keeper of the square of the ,luxembourg saw a ball of red fire explode with great violence1 and scatter in all directions4 ,the plate belonging to the ,pres was1 according to ,m4 de ,fonvielle1 broken to a thousand pieces1 and the outer part of an iron bar was volatilized4 ,there were no deaths or injuries to record1 although several people were thrown down by the shock4 ,sometimes great disasters are indirectly caused by lightning4 ,thus in ,july1 #aijc1 it set fire to an old house at ,muda1 ,paluzzo4 ,under other circumstances1 the accident might have been insignificant4 ,but1 fanned by a violent wind1 the flames increased1 and1 approaching nearer and nearer1 burned a hundred houses1 or in other words1 the whole village4 ,a similar catastrophe took place at the village of ,ochres1 in ,dauphine1 on ,august #bg1 #aijj4 ,lightning set fire to twenty thatched cottages1 which1 out of thirty-two composing the village1 were in ashes within less than an hour4 ,three persons were burnt alive1 and four others seriously injured4 ,on ,august #be1 #ahha1 lightning struck the village of ,saint ,innocent1 at three o'clock in the morning4 ,seven houses were totally burnt1 and three women perished in the flames4 ,a fire caused by lightning burst out on ,june #bd1 #ahgb1 at ,perrigny1 near ,pontailler 7,cte d',or74 ,seventeen houses were burnt1 and seventy-eight people found themselves homeless4 ,sometimes these disasters attain terrifying proportions4 ,during an awful thunderstorm1 the electric spark set fire to eighteen parishes in ,belgium2 ruin spread over an area of #afj kilometres4 ,but could anything be more dreadful than the fate of certain ships that have been struck by lightning8 ,here is the case of one which was literally cut in two4 ,on ,august #c1 #ahfb1 the ship ,moses1 on her passage from ,ibraila to ,queenstown1 was overtaken in sight of ,malta by a violent thunderstorm4 ,towards midnight lightning struck the mainmast1 and then downwards along it to the hold1 cutting the vessel in two4 ,she filled immediately4 ,crew and passengers were lost4 ,captain ,pearson was on the bridge1 and had just time to catch a floating spar1 which supported him during seventeen hours4 ,the ship sank in three minutes4 ,at the commencement of last century1 the ship ,royal ,charlotte being in ,diamond ,harbour1 on the ,hoogley1 was struck by lightning and blown into a thousand pieces1 through the explosion of her powder magazine4 ,the report was heard a great distance off1 and the shock was felt for miles around4 ,the form and position of the masts exposes them particularly to the attacks of the dread meteor4 ,several examples are known of sailors being struck by the electric current while aloft in the rigging1 and even being thrown from there into the sea4 ,on ,august #bf1 #aijj1 the steamer ,numidie1 sailing from ,bone1 was struck by lightning4 ,the fluid fell on the mizzen-mast1 and went down the standing jib1 to which the second officer was clinging4 ,the unfortunate man had had both his hands paralyzed and fallen2 but if he had fallen on the outside of the draille1 death would have been inevitable4 ,the ,rodney was under weigh before ,syracuse when it was struck4 ,this was on ,december #g1 #ahch4 ,the top-gallant-mast went first2 it weighed eight hundred pounds1 and such was the violence of the stroke that it was instantly reduced to shavings1 which hung the whole length of the vessel1 like rubbish in a carpenter's shop4 ,the topmast was very much damaged and shattered here and there4 ,as for the mainmast1 with its ironwork weighing more than a ton1 it was wrecked for a length of some seventeen metres4 ,at times the masts are split from top to bottom1 broken or cut transversely in fragments1 and flung to a distance4 ,sometimes they are planed1 like the beams and trees of which we have already spoken4 ,the ,blake was struck by lightning in #ahab4 ,the top-gallant-mast was in green pine1 which was split into long fibres in every direction1 like branches of a tree4 ,it is not unusual for lightning to creep into the heart of a mast and do it all kinds of injuries1 without in any way hurting the outside2 in a word1 there may be single or double furrows1 longitudinal or zigzag1 sometimes curved1 and of varying depth4 ,sometimes also1 the electric current1 far more powerful than the blast of the wind1 seizes the rigging and carries it off4 ,this phenomenon was observed on the ,clenker1 ,december #ca1 #ahbh2 the topmast and sails were torn off and thrown into the water4 ,neither are the sails spared by the terrible meteor2 they are torn1 riddled with holes1 or set on fire4 ,but as a rule the yards are spared4 ,one of the most frightful effects of thunder on ships is fire1 which it drives from one part of the vessel to another4 ,under ordinary circumstances it is usually local1 and easily extinguished2 but when it seizes on various parts of the ship at once1 as when struck by lightning1 then destruction becomes inevitable4 ,in #agic the ,king ,george from ,bombay was sailing up the river at ,canton1 when an electric spark1 followed by a violent clap of thunder1 grazed the mizzen-mast1 and disappeared in the hold1 after killing seven men4 ,seven hours later it was discovered with consternation that the hold1 full of an inflammable cargo1 was on fire4 ,it spread rapidly over the whole ship1 which it burned to the water's edge4 ,the ship ,bayfield from ,liverpool was struck by lightning ,november #be1 #ahde4 ,instantly the deck was seen covered with globes of fire and large sparks1 which set fire to the vessel4 ,as it threatened the powder-magazine1 the captain decided to abandon the ship4 ,a rush was made for the boats1 but as only thirty pounds of bread could be saved1 many perished of hunger and thirst4 ,often1 indeed1 the explosion of the powder-magazine makes the catastrophe even more terrible4 ,thus1 in #agih1 the ,english vessel the ,resistance1 was blown up in the ,straits of ,malacca4 ,only two or three of the crew were saved4 ,but lightning plays more tricks with the compass than with anything else when it visits a ship4 ,the vibrating1 quivering1 magnetic needle is often paralyzed by the electric current2 sometimes its poles are reversed1 or the points1 disturbed by the passage of the spark1 deviate1 and no longer responding to the magnetic pole1 mislead and move hither and thither4 ,sometimes they even lose all their magnetic properties4 ,these changes in the compass often lead to disastrous consequences4 ,many cases are known of ships being steered to destruction through the deviation of the compass4 ,arago tells of a ,genoese ship which1 about the year #ahjh1 sailing for ,marseilles1 was struck a little way off ,algiers4 ,the needles of the compasses all made half a revolution1 although the instruments did not appear to be injured1 and the vessel was wrecked on the coast when the pilot believed he could round the cape to the north4 ,this may account for the total disappearance of certain ships4 ,some ships1 like certain individuals and certain trees1 appear in particular to attract the electric fluid4 ,we have many records of vessels struck several times in the course of a single electric storm4 ,here are a few3-- ,on ,august #a1 #agej1 the ,malacca was struck repeatedly4 ,in #ahdh1 the ,competitor was struck twice within an hour4 ,at the beginning of ,december1 #aggj1 between ,mahon and ,malta1 the ship of a ,russian admiral was struck three times in a single night4 ,on ,january #e1 #ahcj1 in the ,straits of ,corfu1 the ,madagascar received five destructive discharges in two hours4 ,we could add many others to this list4 ,but enough4 ,and yet we have not said the last word on the subject4 ,we have to discuss the interchange of sympathetic currents1 and those which are the reverse1 taking place between the electricity of the skies and that of the telegraph4 ,lightning often comes incognito to visit the earth's surface1 or even the depths of the ocean4 ,these little excursions to our terrestrial dominions usually pass unperceived2 however1 in certain cases the telegraph wires commit the indiscretion of revealing them4 ,on the other hand1 we know that the wires entrusted with carrying our thoughts round the world1 are almost inconceivably sensitive4 ,without being conscious of the fact1 they are in correspondence with the sun1 #adi millions of kilometres away1 and any agitation on the surface of this luminary may cause them indescribable agitation1 as we witnessed at the close of the year #aijc4 ,during the formidable magnetic tempest of the #cast ,october1 telegraphic and telephonic communication were interrupted in many parts of the world4 ,in fact1 the phenomenon was observed all over the surface of the globe4 ,from nine o'clock in the morning1 till four in the afternoon1 the old world and the new were strangers to one another4 ,not a word nor a thought crossed the ocean2 the submarine cables were paralyzed on account of solar disturbances4 ,in ,france1 communication between the principal towns and the frontiers was interrupted4 ,during this time the sun was in a condition of violent agitation1 and its surface vibrated with intense heat4 ,in such times the subtle fluid profits by the confusion to glide noiselessly along the paths which are open to it4 ,but he does not always wait for these favourable opportunities4 ,let a thunder-cloud pass over the telegraph wires1 either noiselessly or hurling petards in all directions1 the line will be affected4 ,the fluid imprisoned in the sky will act by induction on the electricity of the wires which will result in the vibration of the latter1 accompanied sometimes by a flash of lightning4 ,these phenomena may cause grave accidents to the telegraph clerks1 unless they are on their guard against the treachery of the lightning4 ,these mute discharges happen frequently1 but the spark strikes the telegraph wires often1 too1 as well as the apparatus in the office4 ,all sorts of accidents result from these repeated attacks4 ,we know1 for instance1 how the birds fall victims to the lightning when they alight on the telegraph wires after a thunderstorm2 they are often found dead hanging by their claws4 ,but the fluid acts on man also1 through the medium of the wires4 ,thus1 on ,april #ac1 #ahfc1 a telegraph clerk was engaged with several other employees repairing some telegraph wires in the station at ,pontarlier1 when all at once they felt1 at the knee-joints more particularly1 a violent shock which made them bend their legs as if they had been struck with a stick2 one of them was even thrown down4 ,no doubt the fluid reached the wires1 which in those remote parts was in charge of the clerks4 ,on ,september #h1 #ahdh1 during a violent thunderstorm1 two telegraph poles were thrown down at ,zara in ,dalmatia4 ,two hours later1 as they were being set up again1 a couple of artillerymen1 having seized the wire1 felt slight electric shocks1 then suddenly found themselves flat on the ground4 ,both had their hands burnt2 one indeed1 gave no sign of life2 the other1 in trying to raise himself up1 fell back as soon as his arm came in contact with that of one of his comrades1 who ran to his assistance on hearing him cry for help4 ,the latter thrown down in turn1 felt his nerves tingle1 and giddiness seize him1 with singing in his ears4 ,when his arm was uncovered1 there was a superficial burn just on the spot where he had been touched4 ,on ,may #i1 #ahfg1 lightning fell on the road from ,bastogne to ,houffalize 7,luxembourg71 attracted by the telegraph wire1 which it destroyed for about a kilometre4 ,at a certain part1 and over a length of about twenty metres1 the wire was cut in small pieces1 three or four centimetres long1 which were scattered over the ground1 and were as black and as fragile as charcoal4 ,the poles which supported them1 and several poplars planted on the same side of the road1 were more or less damaged4 ,it has been observed that trees planted on the same side as a telegraph line were sometimes blasted on a level with the wires4 ,it is the same with houses near the copper threads along which human thoughts take wing4 ,thus1 at ,chateauneuf-,martignes1 on ,august #be1 #aijj1 lightning destroyed the telegraph poles on the outskirts of the railway-station4 ,a severe shock1 like an electrical discharge1 was felt at the same moment by two people who were in bed1 not far from where the wire was fixed in the wall of the house1 which was a very low one4 ,the same phenomenon had been felt there already4 ,in the railway-stations1 as well as in the telegraph and telephone offices1 curious results of the spark passing at a certain distance1 or even in the immediate neighbourhood1 are sometimes observed4 ,on ,may #ag1 #aheb1 towards five o'clock1 the sky looking overcast1 the station-master at ,havre warned his colleague at ,beuzeville that it would be well to put his apparatus in connection with the ground4 ,beuzeville is twenty-five kilometres away from ,havre1 and at the former station the weather then did not look at all threatening4 ,but clouds soon piled up1 driven before a violent wind4 ,suddenly three awful peals of thunder succeeded each other in quick succession4 ,with the last1 lightning struck a farm about a kilometre from the station1 and at the same moment a globe of fire of a reddish brown1 and apparently about the size of a small bomb-shell1 rose as if out of a clump of trees4 ,it glided through the air like an aerolite1 and leaving behind it a train of light4 ,at a hundred metres or so from the station1 it alighted like a bird on the telegraph wires1 then disappeared with the rapidity of lightning1 leaving no trace of its passage1 either on the wires or the station4 ,but at ,beuzeville several interesting phenomena were observed4 ,firstly1 the needles turned rapidly1 with a grating noise like that of a turnspit suddenly running down1 or like a grindstone sharpening iron1 which emits sparks4 ,a great number1 indeed1 flew out of the apparatus4 ,one of the needles1 that on the ,rouen side1 went out of order2 all the screws on that part of the instrument were unscrewed1 and on the copper dial near the axis of the needle1 there was a hole through which one could pass a grain of corn4 ,the instruments at ,havre were unaffected4 ,the needle remained as usual1 also the dial1 screws1 and so on4 ,one of our correspondents has sent me the following very interesting communication3-- ,on ,june #bf1 #aija1 having rung up at the central telephone-office at ,st4 ,pierre1 ,martinique1 a harsh noise was heard1 which was almost immediately succeeded by the appearance of a ball of fire1 having an apparent diameter of twenty centimetres1 and the brilliancy of an electric light of twenty candle power4 ,this voluminous globe followed the telephone wire towards the instrument4 ,arrived near the receiver1 it burst with a terrific explosion4 ,the witness of this phenomenon felt a severe shock1 and dizziness4 ,recovered from his stupefaction1 he noted the following facts3 the telephone apparatus was completely burnt1 the relay of ,morse's installation was slightly damaged4 ,the electrical tension must have been enormous1 for the wire of the bobbins was1 to a great extent1 melted4 ,this latter effect1 however1 occurs very frequently4 ,not only does the lightning melt and break the telegraph wires1 but it injures the poles which support them4 ,these are sometimes broken1 split1 thrown down1 burst1 or splintered1 sometimes into threads or shavings4 ,poles which have been blasted are often to be seen alternating with others which are uninjured4 ,thus1 on the line from ,philadelphia to ,new ,york1 during a great storm1 every alternate pole up to eight was broken or thrown down2 the odd numbers were uninjured4 ,we have mentioned a similar case already4 ,there are several accounts1 too1 of lightning in pursuit of trains4 ,on ,june #a1 #aijc1 travellers by train from ,carhaix to ,morlaix1 between ,sorignac and ,le ,cloistre1 saw lightning follow the train over a course of six kilometres1 breaking or splitting several telegraph poles4 ,this feat has been observed more than once4 ,the train is escorted by lightning flashes which succeed each other almost without cessation1 and the travellers seem to be whirled through an ocean of flame4 ,lightning rarely strikes the carriages2 only on one occasion did it actually wreck one1 by breaking a wheel4 ,the mutilated coach1 however1 continued to hobble along until the injury was discovered4 ,generally the fluid is content to wander about the rails1 to the great terror of the passengers who witness this display of rather alarming magic4 ,it spreads itself over masses of iron1 as for instance the roofs and balconies in ,paris1 without striking any particular point4 ,the danger would be greater to a cyclist on a road4 ,in the suburbs of ,brussels1 on ,july #b1 #aijd1 a cyclist named ,jean ,ollivier1 aged twenty-one years1 was riding during a violent storm1 when suddenly he was struck and killed on the spot4 ,we shall end this description of the whims and caprices of lightning by a notice of the blasting of a ,german military balloon4 ,it happened in ,june1 #aijb4 ,the aeronaut1 whose car was steered by a sub-lieutenant1 was held captive1 and soared at a height of about #ejj metres above the fortifications at ,lechfeld1 near ,ingolstadt4 ,all at once the aerial skiff was touched by an electric spark1 caught fire1 and began to descend1 slowly at first1 then swiftly4 ,the aeronaut had the good luck to get off with a broken thigh4 ,the five assistants1 who worked the windlass and the telephone1 also received shocks transmitted through the metal wires of the cable4 ,they fell unconscious1 but were quickly restored4 ,this phenomenon1 which is excessively rare1 fittingly closes this odd collection of stories1 fantastically illustrated by lightning4 ,a communication from ,berlin also mentions that the captive balloon of the battalion of aeronauts was struck by lightning on the exercise ground at ,senne4 ,two under-officers and a private were wounded by the explosion4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,lightning ,,conductors ,until comparatively recent times1 as we have seen1 all that was known about thunderstorms was that they occurred pretty well all over the world1 and generally in either spring or summer4 ,while efforts were being made on our old continent to establish by long and ingenious dissertations the exact degrees of relationship between lightning and the sparks given out by machines1 in ,america practical experiments were being set about towards solving the problems of electricity4 ,franklin it was who hit upon the idea of extracting electricity from the clouds for the purpose of investigation4 ,this man of immortal genius1 who by his achievements in science1 his noble character1 and his devotion to his country1 has won the admiration and gratitude of posterity1 was of humble origin4 ,the son of a soap manufacturer in a small way of business1 ,benjamin ,franklin was born at ,boston in #agjf4 ,his parents had intended him to go in for science4 ,he was successively an apprentice to a candle manufacturer1 a journeyman printer1 the head of a big printing firm in ,philadelphia1 deputy to ,congress1 an ambassador1 and finally ,president of the ,assembly of the ,states of ,pennsylvania4 ,his political record was a great one4 ,no one ever rendered greater services to his country than the diplomatist who signed the peace of #aghc1 and insured the independence of the ,united ,states4 ,it was towards the age of forty that ,franklin began his study of electricity4 ,here is his own account of the memorable experiments to which he owed the greater part of his immense fame3-- ,in #agdf ,i met at ,boston a certain ,dr4 ,spence1 who came from ,scotland4 ,he performed some electrical experiments before me4 ,they were not very perfect1 as he was not a man of great ability2 but as the subject was new to me they surprised me and interested me in an equal degree4 ,shortly after my return to ,philadelphia1 our librarian received as a gift from ,pierre ,collinson1 a member of the ,royal ,society of ,london1 a tube of glass1 together with certain written instructions as to the way in which it should be used for experiments4 ,i seized eagerly on the chance of reproducing what ,i had seen done at ,boston1 and with practice ,i acquired a great facility in performing the experiments indicated to us from ,england and in devising other ones4 ,i say 'with practice1' because many people came to my house to witness these marvels4 ,after making several discoveries in regard to electricity1 ,franklin took it into his head to extract the fluid direct from the clouds4 ,he had established the fact that a stem of pointed metal1 placed at a great height--on the summit of a building1 for instance--served as an attraction to lightning and guided it into the way prepared for it4 ,he had been looking eagerly to the erection of a clock-tower which was being built at this time at ,philadelphia2 but1 tired of waiting and anxious to carry out experiments which should solve all doubts1 he had recourse to a more expeditious instrument1 and one1 as events proved1 not less efficacious1 for getting into touch with the region of thunder--a kite such as children play with4 ,he prepared two sticks in the form of a cross1 with a silk handkerchief stretched upon them1 and with a string attached of suitable length1 and set forth on his mission the first time there was a storm4 ,he was accompanied only by his son4 ,fearing the ridicule that is showered upon failure1 he did not take any one else into his confidence4 ,the kite was set flying4 ,a cloud which looked promising passed without result4 ,others followed1 and the excitement with which they were awaited can be imagined4 ,at first there was no spark and no sign of electricity4 ,presently some filaments of the string began to move1 as though they had been pushed out1 and a slight rustling could be heard4 ,franklin now touched the end of the string with his finger1 and instantly a spark was given out1 followed quickly by others4 ,thus for the first time the genius of man may be said to have come to grips with lightning1 and begun to learn the secret of its existence4 ,this experiment took place in ,june1 #ageb1 and made an immense sensation throughout the world1 and was repeated in other countries1 always with the same success4 ,a ,french magistrate1 named de ,romas1 making use of ,franklin's idea as soon as it was known in ,france1 took it into his head to use a kite with raised cross-bars1 and in ,june1 #agec1 before the full results of ,franklin's experiments were made public1 secured still more remarkable signs of electricity1 having inserted a thread of metal throughout the whole length of the string1 which was #bfj metres4 ,later1 in #ageg1 de ,romas repeating his experiments during a storm1 secured sparks of a surprising size4 ,imagine before you1 he said1 lances of fire nine or ten feet in length and an inch thick1 and making as much noise as pistol shots4 ,in less than an hour ,i had certainly thirty lances of this length1 without reckoning a thousand shorter ones of seven feet and under4 ,numbers of people1 ladies among them1 were present at these experiments4 ,they were not without danger1 as may be imagined2 de ,romas was once knocked over by an unusually heavy discharge1 but without being seriously hurt4 ,franklin was the first to turn his experiments to practical account1 attaching lightning-conductors to public and private buildings for their protection1 and achieving marvellous results2 the lightning being caught by the metallic stem and following it obediently into the ground4 ,from this time1 lightning-conductors came into almost universal use1 and their value was not long in being generally recognized4 ,curiously enough1 ,france1 which had been ahead of all other countries in the study of electricity1 was not one of the earliest to go in for lightning-conductors4 ,there were1 indeed1 signs of strong hostility to their introduction4 ,it was held even that they went against the designs of ,providence4 ,in #agff1 the ,abb ,poncelet1 in his work entitled ,la ,nature dans la formation du tonnerre et la reproduction des tres vivants1 in which he sets out to demonstrate that the force which produces lightning is the same as that which causes the earth to fructify1 makes a strong protest against the construction of lightning-conductors4 ,in #aghb1 nevertheless1 at the reiterated request of ,le ,roi1 a member of the ,academie des ,sciences1 and friend and admirer of ,franklin1 the ,louvre was endowed with the first lightning-conductor put up on a public building in ,france4 ,soon afterwards they became common4 ,in #aghd the ,academie des ,sciences drew up the first set of rules for the construction of lightning-conductors4 ,it was revised and corrected in #ahbc1 in accordance with the various improvements that had been introduced up till then1 and it has been further added to in #ahed1 #ahfg1 and #aijc4 ,these instructions point out that the most important metallic portions of the building should be placed in communication with the conductor1 and this should sink into a well4 ,conductors that are not perfectly constructed are a source of danger1 instead of being a protection1 for the electric current is apt1 instead of running down into the earth1 to make for any kind of metallic substance1 and cause great havoc4 ,the conductor ought really to communicate with a large body of water--a body of water of greater extent than the storm cloud from which the lightning comes4 ,when the flow is insufficient1 the water itself is apt to become electrically charged4 ,it is dangerous to bury the conductor in merely damp soil2 first1 because one generally does not know whether there is enough of this soil2 secondly1 because one cannot be sure that the humidity will be sufficient at times of great drought--the very times when storms are most to be feared4 ,failing a river or great pond1 the conductor should be put into wells issuing or having their source in inexhaustible supplies of water deep down in the soil4 ,in his table of statistics showing the number of cases in which lightning has struck either lightning-conductors1 or buildings1 or ships furnished with conductors1 ,quebelet gives a hundred and sixty-eight cases in which the conductor has been struck1 and in only twenty-seven instances of these 7one-sixth of the whole7 have the conductors1 from some grave flaw in their construction1 failed to fulfil their office4 ,these results are the best proof possible of the efficacy of conductors1 and the best answer to those who decry them4 ,the area of protection covered by the conductor is not so great as is generally supposed4 ,it is limited to a distance about three or four times the length of the conductor above the roof4 ,thus a conductor standing out five yards will protect an area stretching only about fifteen or twenty yards away4 ,this depends also to some extent upon the nature of the place and the materials of which the house is constructed4 ,buildings are often struck by lightning because the number of conductors has been insufficient for the extent of the edifice to be protected4 ,to remedy this defect1 conductors are made with a number of separate stems--veritable wire traps in which to catch the lightning4 ,this system1 the invention of a ,belgian physicist1 ,m4 ,melsens1 decreases considerably the risks of destruction1 and is much more economical than the erection of a number of separate conductors4 ,a conductor of this kind has been installed on the ,hotel de ,ville at ,brussels1 which has been well protected from lightning ever since1 whereas previously this building had been struck by lightning several times in spite of the single conductors with which it was supplied4 ,the metallic trellis is in communication with the sewers4 ,the slaughter-houses of ,la ,villette1 the ,htel ,evign1 and other buildings in ,paris1 are provided with similar defences4 ,the ,eiffel ,tower boasts several such multiplex conductors4 ,it has often been struck by lightning1 but no one who has happened to be up it at the time has ever suffered any damage therefrom4 ,the lightning strikes the conductor sometimes from out the actual cloud--curious photographs have been taken of this4 ,the ,eiffel ,tower is in itself a gigantic lightning-conductor4 ,portable conductors have been invented from time to time--silk umbrellas without iron ribs1 and clothes of indiarubber and such-like2 but they have all been childish things4 99 99 99 99 99 ,without allowing one's self to get lightning1 so to speak1 on the brain1 it is well to take certain precautions during a storm4 ,the first and principal one is not to get under a tree4 ,the second is to give a wide berth to telegraph posts1 so as to avoid contact with the sparks that may issue from them4 ,movements of the air having the effect of preparing an excellent route for the fluid1 it is well not to run in a storm4 ,it is well also not to ring a bell4 ,it is well1 also1 to avoid being in the neighbourhood of animals1 in view of their attraction for lightning4 ,in houses1 doors and windows should be closed in order to avoid draughts4 ,it is well to keep away from the chimney1 too1 as well as from metallic objects4 ,but lightning always has its caprices4 ,it is this that makes its study so interesting4 ,,chapter ,x ,,pictures ,,made ,,by ,,lightning ,in this last chapter ,i would like to group together a series of instances of pictures made by lightning1 some of them very curious and attributed1 it would seem1 to flashes of a special character1 which we may perhaps term ,ceraunic ,rays1 from ,keraunos1 lightning4 ,these instances are of great variety1 and doubtless admit of many different explanations4 ,here1 then1 is a selection worth looking into4 ,in this case1 as in so many others1 it is extremely difficult to get at the exact truth4 ,generally speaking1 it is from the newspapers that we get the facts--more or less accurately observed1 more or less accurately recorded4 ,i have made great efforts to inform myself personally as to the incidents whenever this has been practicable4 ,the ,petit ,marseillais of ,june #ah1 #ahif1 published the following3-- ,a correspondent writes to us from ,pertius1 ,june #ag3-- ',in the course of the storm here yesterday1 two day-labourers of our town1 ,jean ,sasier and ,joseph ,elisson1 took refuge in a cabin constructed of reeds4 ,they were standing at the entrance when they were struck by lightning and thrown violently to the ground4 ,elisson1 who was not much hurt1 soon recovered his senses and called for help4 ,people ran up at once and carried the two men to where they live1 where all necessary attention was given to them4 ',sasier's condition1 though serious enough by reason of a burn on his right side1 is not causing anxiety4 ,the curious part of the incident is the effect the electric fluid has produced upon ,elisson4 ,the lightning cut open one of his boots and tore his trousers2 but over and above this1 like a tattooer making use of photography1 it reproduced admirably on the artisan's body a representation of a pine tree1 of a poplar1 and of the handle of his watch4 ,it is an undoubted case of photography through opaque materials2 most luckily the sensitive plate--,elisson's body--merely took the impression and received no injury4' ,on reading this narrative1 ,i wrote to the ,mayor of the ,commune of ,pertius to ask him for confirmation of it1 and for a photograph1 if possible1 of the picture on ,elisson's body4 ,by a fortunate circumstance1 the ,mayor happened to be the doctor who had attended the victim4 ,here is his reply3-- ,m4 ,joseph ,elisson1 of ,pertius1 aged about thirty-eight1 was struck by lightning on ,june #ag4 ,called to attend to him at about two in the afternoon1 ,i found some superficial burns forming a trail1 which began near the teat of his left breast1 at the level of his waistcoat pocket1 in which there was a watch 7which had not stopped71 and went down towards the navel1 then turned boldly to the right towards the iliac spine and down the outer side of his right leg as far as the ankle1 at the level of which his boot1 made of strong leather1 had been split open4 ,to the right1 a little outside the vertical line passing the teat1 there was imprinted in vivid red--the red of the burn--a picture of a tree4 ,the foot of it was on a level with the edge of the ribs1 the top went slightly above the teat4 ,this picture was absolutely vertical4 ,its outlines stood out very distinctly from the white skin4 ,it was composed of bold1 clearly defined lines1 about a demimillimetre in width4 ,neither waistcoat nor shirt were burnt or marked in any way to correspond with it4 ,other representations of tree branches were reproduced higher up on the breast1 but not so distinctly in the midst of a uniform redness4 ,not having by me my camera1 ,i made a sketch of the tree1 which was marvellously distinct1 leaving the taking of a photograph until next day4 ,next day1 when ,i returned with my camera1 the picture was still clearly visible1 but it had faded a good deal1 lost in the colour of the skin1 and no longer to be reproduced by photography4 ,i regretted bitterly not having taken it the day before4 ,i regret this all the more now that you have done me the honour of writing to me on the subject1 and ,i am glad to be able to send you my sketch of the picture1 which is correct as to dimensions1 and which represents what ,i saw as accurately as ,i could make it4 ,,dr4 ,g4 ,,tournatoire4 ,here is a facsimile of the sketch enclosed by the doctor4 ,illustration ,it is somewhat like the shape of a poplar4 ,there is nothing to suggest that we have here a case of swollen veins1 or arteries made conspicuous by a flow of blood1 nor of a tree-like form due to blood vessels1 in which the blood has taken on a more or less marked aspect4 ,on the other hand1 it is certainly not much easier to recognize in it a photograph of a more or less distant tree4 ,in this state of uncertainty on the subject1 ,i wrote again to ,dr4 ,tournatoire1 and begged of him to go to the scene of the incident and to make a plan of the ground1 and take a photograph of the view4 ,here is the doctor's reply3-- ,this plan can be reproduced by a few typographical lines in such a way as to show clearly how things happened-- ,illustration ,the square represents the cabin in which the two workmen took refuge4 ,they were sitting almost opposite each other on the seats marked ,a and ,b4 ,there is a flash of lightning4 ,one of the men is knocked over1 and bears on his right side a picture of the poplar ,p1 which stands one hundred metres away1 and is visible by ,a through the door ,o1 of which the width is one metre4 ,behind this poplar stands a big pine1 a branch of which is also depicted on the man's body4 ,by this same stroke of lightning the other worker1 seated at ,b1 is thrown out of the cabin three metres by an opening ,d1 about forty centimetres wide4 ,the two men are alive1 and have come out of it with a few days' rest4 ,they saw nothing1 heard nothing1 and can remember nothing4 ,in the photographs taken by ,dr4 ,tournatoire it is not clear which is the tree1 for the poplar1 ,p1 does not stand out alone4 ,as the cabin stands under the shade of a pine tree1 one is disposed to ask whether the lightning did not strike this pine8 ,but judging by the position of the trees relatively to the man struck1 the most likely hypothesis is that the electric discharge came from the point ,p towards ,a1 and that the poplar as well as the adjacent pine formed a sort of screen1 and reproduced their reflection by the agency of some unknown constituent of these ,ceraunic ,rays1 which enable them to photograph things in this way through clothes on to the human body4 ,this assuredly is a more extraordinary effect than those obtained by the cathodic rays or anti-cathodic rays1 of which science seems equally unable to give any explanation4 ,let us proceed with our studies4 ,it is important above all never to take the newspaper narratives on trust without verification4 ,in the month of ,june1 #ahig1 the following appeared in the newspapers3-- ,,photographic ,,lightning4--,a chasseur of the #aeth battalion1 in barracks at ,remiremont1 was struck by lightning4 ,he was standing upon a mound not far from a grove of pines1 in the midst of ferns4 ,curious to relate1 on the occasion of recording the fact of the man's being dead1 it was discovered that his body was covered with punctures imprinted on it by the lightning1 and representing the nature and aspect of the branches and plants all round him at the time when he was struck4 ,i wrote at once to the chef de bataillon for a precise confirmation of this1 and received the following reply3-- ,m4 le ,commandant ,jopp1 commanding officer of the #aeth ,battalion of ,chasseurs1 has handed me your letter of ,june #adth1 and asked me to reply to it4 ,it is the case that a chasseur of the battalion was struck by lightning on the afternoon of ,june #d1 but it is quite untrue that there was found on his body a photograph of the trees adjoining the spot of the accident4 ,the man's clothes were not affected in any way1 and the only traces left by the passage of the lightning1 consisted in some slight irregularly shaped burns on the upper part of the hollow of the right temple of linear formation1 save for one circular burn measuring from three to four millimetres in diameter1 and depressing the skin into the shape of a saucer4 ,there was no lesion on the whole surface of the body4 ,,mauny1 ,surgeon-,major #aeth ,battalion of ,chasseurs4 ,this reply was covered by a note which ran as follows3-- ,i thought it desirable that the reply to your letter of the #adth inst4 should be made by the surgeon-major of my battalion in order that it might be the more scientifically accurate and authoritative4 ,,jopp1 ,chef de bataillon brevet1 ,commanding ,officer of the #aeth ,battalion of the ,chasseurs des ,vosges4 ,clearly1 the student of natural phenomena cannot take too many precautions4 ,and yet 444 an officer of high rank confided to me recently that surgeon-majors hardly ever take the trouble to examine bodies thoroughly1 and that it is possible that in this case the examination may have been very superficial4 ,if this be a general rule1 there must have been an exception here1 as also in the fifth case1 to which we shall be coming just now4 ,the problem is far from being solved1 and we can but seek to study it as set forth in a number of instances4 ,here is a third case3-- ,on ,sunday1 ,august #bc1 #aijc1 a certain number of riflemen were practising at the ,charbonnires range1 near the village of ,le ,pont1 in the valley of ,lalle ,joux 7,canton de ,vaud1 ,suisse71 five targets out of six were in use4 ,the targets1 distant #cjj metres from the firing-line1 are placed to the side of a grove of pines4 ,between stretches an undulating rock-strewn meadow-land4 ,only the butts are provided with a lightning-conductor1 and in it are five markers4 ,there are six telephone wires along the line of fire2 they come as far as the stand and go down to within about #ej centimetres of the scorers' seats4 ,each target has its own telephone bell4 ,the weather was not stormy1 though the sky was somewhat overcast4 ,firing was going on4 ,at about #c4cj there was a clap of thunder1 and lightning struck the electric wires4 ,in the stand twenty-eight men1 riflemen1 scorers1 and spectators1 are thrown to the ground in every direction and in every position4 ,some are quite inert1 apparently dead2 others1 looking as though they were asphyxiated1 give out a painful rattling noise from their throats4 ,at the bar1 to the side of the stand1 no one felt anything--it was not even noticed that there had been a violent stroke of lightning4 ,a kilometre away the band1 which had been giving a concert in front of the ,hotel de la ,triute on the bridge1 continued to play4 ,presently a man reaches them with the report that twenty of the riflemen have been killed4 ,consternation becomes general1 and relief parties are organized4 ,fortunately the damage done was much less than was supposed4 ,let us describe the men actually engaged in firing1 and placed in a line1 ,a1 ,b1 ,c1 ,d1 and ,e1 their scorers are behind them4 ,let us give our attention1 first1 to these men and their scorers4 ,presently we shall come to the others awaiting their turn1 then to the spectators1 and finally to the markers at the targets4 ,the men were firing1 either kneeling or lying4 ,a remained in position1 kneeling like a statue1 unable to move4 ,he turned right over as soon as he was touched4 ,killed4 ,b had a pine tree depicted on his breast--upside down1 its roots indicated by some outlines up at the top2 the picture was of a brownish rather than a blueish shade4 ,it was suggested that it resembled a pine1 because of a pine being ten metres away from the stand1 but really it was more like a branch of fern4 ,killed4 ,c felt hardly anything apart from a certain heaviness in his limbs when picking himself up4 ,d had some slight burns1 which were healed within two or three days4 ,e was holding his rifle with the barrel vertically4 ,he found himself about #b-a_/b metres from his position on the ground1 with a stone in his hands2 his rifle had been bent in two below the trigger4 ,a's scorer held the pear-shaped handle of the electric bell between his fingers1 his elbows upon the table4 ,saw nothing1 heard nothing4 ,felt himself suddenly bent up double1 his face buried in the gravel2 lost consciousness while he was being carried away2 when he came to himself again he began to ramble in his speech2 his pencil was broken lengthwise into four pieces4 ,the wire of his bell had been electrified4 ,by way of wound1 he had a picture of a pine branch on his back2 water issued from it as from a blister2 there were no traces of blood4 ,the picture disappeared at the end of two days4 ,for a certain time the young man had a pain in his loins2 he still limps somewhat2 probably what he now suffers from is sciatic lumbago1 the result of partial and temporary paralysis4 ,b's scorer had only some insignificant burns4 ,c's scorer only came to himself twenty minutes later as the result of artificial respiration4 ,at the moment of the lightning he was pressing the electric button with his thumb in order to give the signal1 ,change the target2 he had a small hole in his thumb4 ,this burn bled later1 and the wound took four weeks to heal4 ,he had also some burns on his legs4 ,d's scorer was holding the handle of the bell against his left cheek1 on a level with his eye4 ,the handle1 made of wood1 burst4 ,the sight of his left eye is still affected1 being very weak--the retina was probably torn away4 ,the day after the accident1 the young man's face became all inflamed1 especially the part round the eyes4 ,these were quite hidden4 ,this inflammation1 of a bluish tint1 is due to the dilation of the small veins or of the capillaries4 ,dr4 ,yersin1 who attended several of the victims1 attributes this dilation to a paralysis of the vasomotor nerves1 which would also explain the tree-like form of the pictures seen upon the skin1 and the transudation 787 of water across the small blood-vessels4 ,e's scorer had time to see the men on his left fall1 in a green or violet light4 ,he had heard a general death-rattle-like chorus1 ,a--then1 before he could make out what was happening1 he found himself driven up against the wall of the stand4 ,he had a wound under his feet2 his thumb torn also1 probably in trying to hold himself up against the wall4 ,behind the scorers were a dozen other riflemen and some spectators4 ,to the left the electric current left intact the rifles standing on the rack4 ,quite near this1 a man awaiting his turn fell1 clinging on to the neck of one of his comrades1 also struck4 ,later he found his purse in the middle of the stand4 ,in the case of several of the spectators1 the burns were to be found in separate sores4 ,one had his hair burnt on one spot of about the size of a five franc piece2 others1 who had burns upon their feet and legs1 are under the impression they saw a small blue flame at the tips of their shoes4 ,the general feeling was at first merely that of stupefaction4 ,terror did not come until afterwards4 ,those who did not lose all consciousness were half stunned4 ,a young boy was noticed jammed up against the wall1 incapable of moving1 but bewailing his inability to get to his father1 who lay dead upon the ground4 ,two men took flight without throwing aside their guns2 another ran as far as the village1 and some hours afterwards he was found asleep in a house to which there was nothing to take him4 ,one young spectator1 a stranger to the neighbourhood1 was seized with a partial paralysis of the brain2 he could not keep his balance when walking1 and when questioned he would recite the names of stations on a ,swiss railway4 ,he is better now4 ,this event will not be soon forgotten in the ,joux valley4 ,but ,dr4 ,yersin's explanation of the ,ceraunic pictures does not seem to me to be justified4 ,here is a fourth instance1 given me long ago by one of the most learned physicists of last century1 ,hoin1 of the ,institute4 ,i am going to tell you1 he wrote to me in ,july1 #ahff1 of a stroke of lightning which was very curious in its effects4 ,it occurred at midday on ,june #bg1 at ,bergheim1 a village situated to the north of ,logelbach at the foot of the ,vosges4 ,it struck two travellers who had taken refuge under the tree and knocked them over senseless--one of them was lifted to a height of more than a yard and thrown upon his back4 ,it was thought they must be dead1 but thanks to the attention given to them at once1 they were brought to themselves1 and they are now out of danger4 ,but here is the strange feature of the accident4 ,both travellers have on their backs1 extending down to their thighs1 the imprint1 as though by photography1 of the leaves of a lime tree2 according to the statement of the ,mayor1 ,m4 ,radat1 the most skilful draughtsman could not have done it better4 ,here is a fifth instance which ,i find among my records4 ,the incident happened at ,chambry1 ,may #bi1 #ahfh4 ,in the course of a violent storm1 a soldier of the #dgth ,regiment was struck by lightning underneath a chestnut tree4 ,in a memorandum drawn up on ,june #ah by a learned doctor of ,chambry1 an eyewitness of the occurrence1 the following facts are recorded3-- ,the man who was killed had been standing in the centre of a group of eight soldiers1 who had their guns in their hands1 without bayonets4 ,struck in the region of the heart1 he did not succumb for about a quarter of an hour1 after saying a few words4 ,the corpse bore an oval plate1 so to speak1 of about #ac to #ad centimetres in length1 by #d to #e in width1 occupying largely the precordial region1 and presenting the parchment-like aspect of a vesicatory that had become rapidly dried up4 ,the clothes were neither torn nor burnt4 ,two hours after his death an examination of the body resulted in the discovery of a phenomenon already recorded by several observers--the reproduction of photo-electric pictures4 ,on the right shoulder were three bunches of leaves of a more or less deep reddish violet hue1 reproduced minutely with the most absolute photographic precision4 ,the first1 situated on the lower part of the inside of the forearm1 represented a long branch of leaves like those of a chestnut tree2 the second1 which seemed to be formed by two or three such branches twisted together1 was in the middle of the outside of the arm2 and the third1 in the middle of the shoulder1 larger and rounder1 showed only some leaves and small branches at the top and at the borders1 the centre presenting a red stain diminishing towards the circumference4 ,the body1 when dissected1 bore no sign of any interior lesion4 ,here is a sixth instance3-- ,in ,june1 #ahfi1 a ,trappist was struck by lightning at the monastery of ,scourmant1 near ,chimay in ,belgium4 ,it was the afternoon1 and the monks were busy mowing4 ,the storm coming along obliged them to seek shelter4 ,one of them1 who was following the mowing machine worked by two horses1 directed it towards an ironwork enclosure1 and knelt down beside this trellis4 ,there was a terrible thunderclap1 the horses bolted in their fright1 and the monk remained with his face to the ground4 ,the others1 who saw him fall1 ran up to his assistance1 only to find him dead4 ,the medical attendant of the monastery1 sent for at once1 discovered on the body two large and deep burns1 identical in shape1 and placed symmetrically to each side of the breast2 he pointed out also to those who were present a white spot under the left armpit1 presenting a very distinct picture of the trunk of a tree with branches on it4 ,out of these six cases1 five may be taken as fully authenticated4 ,dr4 ,lebigne1 ,mayor of ,nibelle 7,loiret71 published the following narrative in the ,moniteur of ,september #g1 #ahfd4 ,on ,sunday1 ,september #d1 #ahfd1 at about #aj4cj a4m41 three men were busy gathering pears about #bjj metres out of ,nibelle1 when the pear tree was struck by lightning1 and was distorted from top to bottom in the form of a screw2 the lightning carried away the bark and about a centimetre of the wood beneath2 then quitting the tree1 it struck the head of one of the workmen1 who was eating some bread at the time1 and killed him1 as well as a dog by his side4 ,the head was burnt behind from top to bottom and was impregnated with a strong smell of sulphur4 ,the two other workmen who were on the tree were thrown to the ground1 and remained for some time senseless4 ,when they came to themselves they could not move their legs4 ,they were taken to their homes1 and it was found that both had been in contact with the electric fluid4 ,the astonishing thing about them is1 that one of them had the branches and leaves of the pear tree clearly imprinted on his breast as though by daguerreotype4 ,the terrible photographer had been merciful1 however1 for that evening both the men were up again and able to walk4 ,the ,comptes rendus of the ,academie des ,sciences for the year #ahdc 7xvi4 p4 #acbh7 records that in ,july1 #ahda1 in the department of ,indre-et-,loire1 a magistrate and a miller's boy were struck by lightning in the vicinity of a poplar4 ,it was found that both of them had on their breasts stains exactly like the leaves of a poplar4 ,these marks1 in the case of the magistrate1 went away gradually as the blood began to circulate again4 ,in the case of the boy1 who was killed on the spot1 they had faded somewhat by the day after1 when decomposition had begun to set in4 ,a propos of this case1 very similar to those preceding1 ,arago recalled the fact that in #aghf ,leroy1 a member of the ,academie des ,sciences1 declared that ,franklin had several times told him how a man who was standing at a door during a storm had seen a tree struck by lightning opposite him1 and that a representation of this tree was found imprinted upon his breast4 ,arago recalled1 too1 in this connection a report made to the old ,academy in ,august #b1 #aghf1 by ,bossuet and ,leroy1 in which there was question of a man killed by lightning on ,may #aj1 #aehe1 in the ,collegiate ,school of ,riom in ,auvergne2 in this case the electric fluid had entered by the heel and gone out by the head1 leaving on the body singular marks1 described in the report4 ,it was thought that the lightning on its way1 through having forced the blood into all the vessels in the skin1 must have made all the ramifications of these vessels sensitive to impressions from without4 ,extraordinary though this may appear1 they go on to say1 it is not new2 ,pre ,beccaria cites a similar case2 and ,franklin's case is cited here also as analogous4 ,besile1 the author of the record of the ,riom case1 did not hesitate1 he tells us1 to attribute the effect to an eruption of the blood in the vessels of the skin1 producing a result similar to that of an injection4 ,the statement in the ,comptes rendus is entitled ,strange appearance of ,ecchymoses formed by lightning upon the skin of two persons4 ,that is just the question4 ,was there in these pictures nothing but ecchymoses--infiltrations of the blood into the cellular tissue8 ,perhaps that may be so in some cases1 but not in all4 ,photography1 the photo-electric pictures produced in the laboratories of physicists1 ,moses's figures7871 the ,lichtenberg flowers1 cathodic rays1 ,rontgen rays1 radiography-all these things open new horizons for us4 ,and even if we do not find any explanation satisfactory1 we should not be justified in accepting the first offered to us as being so1 if in fact it be not4 ,here are four interesting cases recorded by ,poey in his ,rlation ,historique des images photo-electriques de la foudre4 ,mme4 ,morosa1 of ,lugano1 seated near a window during a storm1 experienced a shock from which she is not stated to have suffered any ill effects2 but a flower1 which had stood in the route of the electric current1 was found perfectly drawn on her leg1 and this picture lasted the rest of her days4 ,in ,august1 #ahec1 a young girl in the ,united ,states of ,america was standing at a window facing a nut tree at the moment of a dazzling flash of lightning2 a complete picture of the tree was reproduced on her body4 ,in ,september1 #aheg1 a peasant woman of ,seine-et-,marne1 who was minding a cow1 was struck by lightning under a tree4 ,the cow was killed1 and the woman was thrown on the ground insensible4 ,she was1 however1 soon revived4 ,in loosening her clothes to attend to her1 the people who came to her assistance found perfectly reproduced on her breast a picture of the cow4 ,on ,august #af1 #ahfj1 a mill at ,lappion 7,aisne71 belonging to ,m4 ,carlier1 was struck by lightning4 ,on the back of a woman of forty-four1 who was also struck1 the lightning left a reproduction 7of a reddish hue7 of a tree--trunk1 branches1 foliage1 and all4 ,her clothes bore no trace of the passage of the lightning4 ,unless we are to suppose that all these have been inaccurately observed1 it seems to me that we must admit that there is something else besides ecchymoses1 something else besides the workings of veins and arteries in these pictures wrought by lightning4 ,certain of these tree-like pictures resemble the patterns we get in photographing electrical discharges upon sensitized plates4 ,might they not be produced by this discharge upon the surface of the body--or by the emission of electricity from the body struck8 ,the pictures we shall now hear of1 to be distinguished from those already dealt with1 are easier to explain1 and about their genuineness there can be no doubt4 ,in the summer of #ahfe1 a doctor from the neighbourhood of ,vienna1 ,dr4 ,derendinger1 was returning home by train4 ,on getting out at the station he found that he had not got his purse on him--some one probably had stolen it4 ,this purse was made of tortoise-shell1 and had on one side of it a steel plate marked with the doctor's monogram--two ,d's intermingled4 ,some time after1 the doctor was called to attend to a stranger who had been found lying insensible under a tree1 having been struck by lightning4 ,the first thing that he noticed on examining the man's body was that on his thigh there was a reproduction1 as though by photography1 of his own monogram4 ,his astonishment may be imagined4 ,he succeeded in reviving the stranger1 who was taken to a hospital4 ,the doctor remarked that in his clothes his lost tortoise-shell purse would probably be found4 ,so it proved4 ,the individual struck by lightning was the thief4 ,the electric fluid had been attracted by the steel plate1 and had imprinted the monogram upon the man's body4 ,in this case we are set thinking of electro-metallurgy1 all the more because there are a number of other instances which certainly belong to this category4 ,thus1 for instance1 on ,july #be1 #ahfh1 at ,nantes1 a stranger near the ,pont de l',erdre1 on the ,quai ,flesselles1 was enveloped by a flash of lightning1 but proceeded on his way without experiencing any ill effects4 ,he had on him a purse containing two pieces of silver in one compartment and a ten-franc piece in gold in another4 ,on taking out his purse he found that a coating of silver taken from one of the silver pieces--a franc--had been transferred to both sides of the ten-franc piece4 ,the franc1 slightly thinner1 especially over the moustache of ,napoleon ,,iii41 was in parts slightly bluish4 ,this transference of the silver on to gold was made through the skin of the partition of the compartments6#a ,another case4 ,in ,gilbert's ,annalen der ,physik 7#ahag7 we read that a flash of lightning struck the tower of a chapel near ,dresden and took the gilt off the framework of the clock and transferred it to the leaden runs of the window-panes in such a way as to leave no sign of how these had been gilded4 ,in these cases the analogy with galvano electro-metallurgy is evident4 ,but in the earlier cases this was not so2 the trees contained no metallic element4 ,it was not a case of transference4 ,they seem to have been photographed by the ceraunic rays4 ,on ,october #i1 #ahcf1 a young man was killed by lightning4 ,the corpse bore in the middle of the right shoulder six rings of flesh-colour1 which seemed the more distinct in that the rest of the man's own skin was very dark4 ,these rings1 overlapping each other1 were of different sizes1 corresponding exactly with those of the gold coins which he had on him on the right side of his belt1 as the public official who examined his body and all the witnesses were able to testify4 ,this makes us think of radiography4 ,a correspondent of ,poey1 the astronomer1 told him that he had known a ,trinidad lady who had been struck by lightning in her youth and on whose stomach the lightning had imprinted a metallic comb which she carried in her apron4 ,in these instances there was some kind of contact of the objects with the persons struck4 ,here are others in which the objects reproduced are further removed1 but still of metallic substance and still reminding us therefore of electro-metallurgy4 ,in ,september1 #ahbe1 the brigantine ,le ,buon-,servo1 at anchor in the ,bay of ,armiro1 was struck by lightning4 ,a sailor seated at the foot of the mizzen-mast was killed4 ,on his back was found a light yellow and black mark1 beginning at his neck and going down to his loins1 where there was discovered an exact reproduction1 in facsimile1 of a horseshoe nailed to the mast4 ,the mizzen-mast of another brigantine was struck by lightning in the roadstead of ,zaube4 ,under the left breast of a sailor who was killed was found imprinted the number #dd1 which his mates all declared was not there before4 ,these two figures1 large and well formed1 with a full stop between them1 were identical with the same numbers in metal affixed to the rigging of the ship1 and placed between the mast and the sailor's bunk1 in which he was lying asleep when struck4 ,may it not have been a tattoo-mark in spite of what his companions declared8 ,m4 ,jos ,maria ,dau1 of ,havana1 records that in #ahch1 in the province of ,candaleria1 in ,cuba1 there was found on the right ear and on the right side of the neck of a young man struck by lightning1 the reproduction of a horseshoe1 which had been nailed up at a short distance from him against a window4 ,these various records lead us to the reflection3 first1 that ceraunography should form a new branch of physics1 well meriting study2 secondly1 that the facts set forth are sufficiently inverse in their nature to show us that we have before us several quite distinct specimens of phenomena4 ,however1 these matters have been a subject for study long before our day4 ,a priest1 ,p4 ,lamy1 of the ,congregation of ,saint ,maur1 published in #afif an excellent little work1#b informed by the most lucid common sense upon the curious effects of lightning--then a text for the most superstitious commentaries4 ,voltaire could not have reasoned the thing out better4 ,he deals with two very extraordinary cases among others4 ,the first had for scene the ,abbey of ,saint ,mdard1 at ,soissons1 on ,april #bf1 #afgf4 ,a flash of lightning struck the tower of the abbey1 went into the clock1 penetrated a wall eight feet thick1 by a hole conducting an iron rod l'aiguille de cadran1 detached two planks1 four feet high1 and threw them to the extreme end of the dormitory1 followed a brass wire stretched along the whole length of the wall1 setting fire to it and spreading it out like a ribbon painted to represent a furrow of flames4 ,here is the author's own description3-- ,the most surprising effect1 and one which has aroused the curiosity of an immense number of people1 is a kind of frieze of all kinds of colours extending along the wall of the dormitory and just above the doors4 ,the depth of this frieze is about two feet2 its length is almost equal to that of the dormitory2 the designs upon it are of flames darting up and down from a kind of wide band which occupies the centre of the frieze throughout its length4 ,i have had a portion of this frieze copied1 so as to give the reader an idea of it1 but it must be admitted that it is difficult to suggest the variety of nuances in the original4 ,some people declare that in the midst of all the colours in the flames1 faces of men may be descried as well as of marmosets and demons2 but those who are less richly endowed with imagination can see nothing of all this4 ,on p4 #bgd is a copy of the design by ,p4 ,lamy4 ,at this period1 physicists were of the belief that lightning was an exhalation of nitre and sulphur1 acting something after the fashion of powder1 and able to burn up or throw over everything encountered on its route4 ,in this girdle traced by the lightning1 the author sees a scattering of all the constituents of the brass wire1 transformed into all kinds of colours due to the dilation of the copper1 melted and vaporized over the width of two feet1 the colours1 in which yellow predominates1 varying according to the thickness and the inequalities of the projection4 ,illustration ,the second case examined into by ,p4 ,lamy1 was that of what happened in the church of ,sauveur at ,lagny1 when it was struck by lightning on ,july #ah1 #afhi4 ,this is one of the most astounding in the entire history of the subject4 ,let us see what our author has to tell us3-- ,if we were to look for some excuse for the strangeness and diversity of the people's sayings and doings in connection with the ,lagny case of lightning1 we should assuredly find it in the extraordinary nature of the case itself4 ,for what would naturally be the effect upon minds accustomed to see mysteries in the most transparently natural events1 minds whose philosophy never goes beyond the senses1 when they learn-- #a4 ,that the lightning had not only descended upon the clock-tower of the church1 and carried off the slates from its roof1 but had struck and overthrown nearly fifty persons inside the edifice1 and wrought great havoc on the high altar4 #b4 ,that it knocked over and broke the pedestal on which the figure of ,christ was raised to the level of the altar-screen1 though this figure remained miraculously suspended in the same place--for this is what is reported4 #c4 ,that it carried off the curtain covering the panels of the altar and threw it to the ground without breaking or melting any of its rings1 which were made only of copper1 and without displacing the rod above the ring-bolts on which they hung4 #d4 ,that it upset the oil-lamp burning before the high altar4 #e4 ,that it broke into two pieces the stone upon which the priest consecrates the ,host4 #f4 ,that it tore into four pieces the card on which the canon of the ,mass was printed4 #g4 ,that it tore the altar-cloth and the cloth which was over it--both of them in an extraordinary way1 namely1 in the form of a cross of ,st4 ,anthony4 #h4 ,that the high altar was seen to be burning4 #i4 ,that it burnt a part of the communion-cloth and of the tabernacle1 upon which it formed several black waves4 #aj4 ,finally that it imprinted upon the altar-cloth the sacred words of the consecration1 beginning with ,qui pridie quam pateretur1 and going down to ,hc quotiescumque feceretis in mei memoriam facietis1 inclusive2 only omitting those which are usually set forth in special characters1 namely1 ,hoc est ,corpus meum2 et ,hic est ,sanguis meus4 ,what1 ,i repeat1 can you expect unphilosophical minds to make of so astonishing an affair as this8 ,how account for the choice1 the discernment1 and the mysterious preference for some words over others4 ,which shall we consider the privileged words--those taken or those left8 ,what is one to think of the extraordinary way in which the figure of the ,saviour was left hanging8 ,and of that strange imprint of the cross8 ,how resist all the thousand delusions and uncertainties and fears the entire thing calls forth8 ,i wonder whether the unfortunate ,balthasar1 when his eyes beheld the terrible sight of the unknown hand inscribing upon the walls of his banqueting-room the announcement of his doom1 can have been a prey to a greater variety of fears and tremors than those who witnessed or who even heard of the effects of the lightning at ,lagny4 ,for no doubt was felt that they were the outcome of supernatural forces--spirits alone could have worked these marvels2 it was a question only whether they were the work of evil spirits or good4 ,some believed them to be the work of good spirits1 deducing this from the omission of the words1 ,hoc est ,corpus1 etc41 which they set down to a spirit of reverence for the sacred mystery4 ,others believed them to be the work of evil spirits1 but here again there were different theories4 ,some held that bad spirits had perpetrated these things out of sheer wickedness1 wilfully profaning the holy objects and suppressing out of contempt1 or some other evil design1 the words so essential to the mystery2 others held that mere imps had been at work1 actuated more by mischief than sinfulness1 and wishing only to give amusement to themselves and others by the quaintness of their pranks4 ,i myself do not share any of those theories4 ,lamy's narrative proceeds to an examination of all the effects recorded1 which he explains in the simplest way in the world1 without having to have recourse to any occult causes4 ,he comes1 finally1 to the last of all and the most extraordinary4 ,not wishing to put trust in anything but my own eyes1 ,i went to the church myself1 and the effects of the lightning ,i saw there repaid me for the trouble4 ,i examined carefully the new imprint on the cloth4 ,i found it very clear and fine1 the letters well finished1 but the ink a little indistinct1 perhaps ,i should say faded4 ,as ,m4 le ,cur de ,saint-,sauveur 7who was kind enough to show me everything7 assured me that at the moment of the lightning the three-leaved card which contains the canon of the ,mass lay between the altar-cloth and the small mat upon the stone on which the consecration takes place1 folded in such a way that the printed side was next to the altar-cloth1 ,i compared the characters printed by the lightning with the original lettering1 and found that they corresponded exactly1 except that they went from right to left1 backwards1 so that they had to be read with the help of a mirror1 or else through the cloth from behind4 ,i observed that the words which the lightning had not printed on the cloth1 but had omitted1 were done in red letters on the card1 and were no more favoured nor ill-used than certain other marks without any significance also printed in red upon the card1 and leaving no trace upon the altar-cloth4 ,the author proceeds to explain the so-called mystery1 ascribing it to the difference between the two inks--the thick black ink and the thin red ink4 ,he examines also into the other phenomena1 explaining them in the same way1 like the sagacious and enlightened observer he was4 ,it is clear1 then1 that the study of the phenomena of lightning is no new thing1 and that it has been followed conscientiously for many centuries4 ,in the case of the canon of the ,mass printed by the lightning at ,lagny1 the reproduction was by contact and pressure--it was not a case of reproducing distant objects as though by photography4 ,here is another case hardly less remarkable4 ,the narrative is from the pen of ,isaac ,casaubon1 in his ,adversaria3-- ,on a summer's day1 about #aeie1 while divine service was in progress in the ,cathedral at ,wells1 two or three thunderclaps were heard1 of so terrible a nature that the whole congregation threw themselves down on the ground4 ,lightning followed at once1 but no one was hurt4 ,the astonishing thing about the affair lies in the fact that crosses were afterwards found to have been imprinted upon the bodies of some of those present at the service4 ,the ,bishop of ,wells assured the ,bishop of ,ely that his wife told him she had a cross thus imprinted upon her2 and that on his being incredulous1 she had shown it to him1 and that he himself found afterwards that he1 too1 was thus adorned--on his arm1 if ,i remember right4 ,some had it on their breast1 some on their shoulders4 ,it is from the ,bishop of ,ely ,i have these facts1 which he tells me are well authenticated4 ,what shall we say now of the photographing of a landscape on the inside of the skin of sheep which had been struck by lightning8 ,the record of this seems well authenticated4 ,in #ahab1 near the village of ,combe-,hay1 four miles from ,bath1 there was a wood composed largely of oaks and nut trees4 ,in the middle of it was a field1 about fifty yards long1 in which six sheep were struck dead by lightning4 ,when skinned1 there was discovered on them1 on the inside of the skin1 a facsimile of part of the adjacent landscape4 ,these skins were exhibited at ,bath4 ,this record was communicated by ,james ,shaw to the ,meteorological ,society of ,london at its session of ,march1 #aheg4 ,here are his own words3-- ,i may add that the small field and its surrounding wood were familiar to me and my schoolmates1 and that when the skins were shown to us we at once identified the local scenery so wonderfully represented4 ,andrs ,poey tells us of these other curious cases3-- ,in the province of ,sibacoa1 ,cuba1 in ,august1 #ahbc1 lightning imprinted on the trunk of a big tree a picture of a bent nail1 which was to be found1 bent in the opposite direction1 embedded in one of the upper branches4 ,on ,july #bd1 #aheb1 in a plantation at ,st4 ,vincent in ,cuba1 a palm tree was struck by lightning1 and engraved on its dried leaves was a picture of pine trees which surrounded it at a distance of nearly #djj yards4 ,dr4 ,sestier tells us that after the #ahej meeting of the ,american ,association1 a person was killed by lightning while standing up near a whitewashed wall1 and that his silhouette was fixed upon the wall in a dark colour4 ,with such facts before us1 we seem bound to believe in the existence of some kind of especial rays1 ceraunic rays1 emitted by lightning1 and capable of photographing alike on the skin of human beings1 animals1 and plants1 more or less distinct pictures of objects far and near4 ,decidedly1 we have much to learn in this as well as in all the other branches of knowledge4 ,,footnotes3 #a ,academie des ,sciences1 ,aot #c1 #ahfh4 #b ,conjectures physiques sur les plus extraordinaires effets du ,tonnerre4 ,paris1 ,,mdcxcvi4 ,,printed ,,by ,,william ,,clowes ,,and ,,sons1 ,,limited1 ,,london ,,and ,,beccles4 ,illustration 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's note3 ,obvious typographical errors were corrected4 ,duplicate title at the beginning was deleted4 ,hyphenation and accent variants were changed to the most frequently used in the original4 ,those occurring equally were retained 7for example3 rainwater and rain-water74