MOUNTAIN STORM. 357
who acts as guide, to accompany us. We
ascended from Volvic by the same road we
had passed the preceding day, but we afterwards
left the volcano of Nugerre on our
right, and travelled over a barren heath
covered in many parts with the remains of
ancient currents of lava. We had proceeded
about four miles from Volvic, when
I saw a small black cloud in the west,
which I noticed as indicating the probability
of a change of weather in the evening ;
but in the course of an hour, ju st as we
arrived near the foot of the Puy de Chopine,
the heavens were suddenly overcast,
and we were involved in a gloom, as dark
and^ dense as that of a November sky
in London. I descended from the char,
and walked with the guide towards the
mountain, but I had not gone far, when a
stream of electric fire, darting in three
forked lines, struck the earth at some distance
from us, and was followed by three
distinct reports in rapid succession, like
the firing of three mortars. The guide
said he thought we might venture to proceed
; but we had scarcely advanced twenty
yards further, when he was struckwith terror
by a deep rushing sound like that o f a numher
of water-mills set in sudden motion :
crying out, “ Vite, vite," he ran back in great
consternation towards the patache. I could
not make him stop to explain the cause
of his alarm, but we had scarcely got
under the cover of our vehicle, when the
hail fell in pieces as large as bullets, and
the lightning struck the ground almost
close to us, and was followed by a report
like that of a thousand crackers. The difference
in the sound of this and of the preceding
discharge may, I think, be satisfactorily
explained. In the first instance, the
lightning formed three zigzag lines, at some
distance from where we stood, the report
from each of these lines came in succession
upon the ear, like three distinct discharges ;
but, in the latter case, the lightning struck
the earth so near to us, that every little
undulation in its course was heard in succession.
The effect was similar to that produced
when standing at one end of a long
line of soldiers who are firing to g e th e r;
though they may all fire at the same moment,
the sound from each piece comes to
the ear with a little interval between;
whereas, a person standing at some distance
in front, hears only the discharge
A A b
. ..taut gnat ^