of the chimney where -the Lightning firft fell; .all the boards werp
broken to pieces, the bedftead and the timbers of the roof Shattered
of. the chamber partition two planks were forced, a large*prefs for
holding cloaths thrown down, and the fouth windows of the chamber
floor- (except one cafementf all broken and, blown out.’ -Frdrif the
top o f the chimney and the chamber floor it defcended vertically
into the kitchen below, where the- family’was. • The. farmer -few
no Lightning, nor heard any Thunder, being ftruck fenfelefs with;
the firft flalh, and thrown into the middle of the.'kitchen, where
he continued fenfelefs for a quarter of an hour. As fodh^s'he came
to himfelf, he afked, Who ftrupk him ?'but-had riot (the ufe of his
arms, and felt an aching pain fhooting, as he defcribed it, iritdbis
bones; and a brand-iron, which hung in the chimney, being thrown
down: into the pan o f water, had- dafhed the boiling waiter u^bfi
him to that degree* that his life was iti- extreme dah^epTor mdtst
than a fortnight after. Mrs. Olivey was- ftrudL down upon tire
hearth; both her fhoes, though buckled on as-ufuah^ere ftrufck
off her . feet, but hersfeet not hurt; antf being jieithef :lferSt mbr
fenfelefs, fhe was able to cry out-for help, but coulcHnPt •riiove ;
for fhe had no ufe of her under limbs for a day;and'fhalf: the
farmer’s brother was-at the end of a loUg table ,in the feme room,'
and was only flung againft the wall about three feet -diftant,* aid
hurt.- Mrs. Qlivey’s fifter wasoaear the baGk-door ;^ p& » t^ f^Wis
door was ftarted and beaten in, fhe was ftinMc^hfeleife,’'add" thrown
twelve feet off againft a fettleywhichftood (^hti^ofls tb ^the fouth
wall o f the houfe. The farmer’s fon had felted hhtteifheedfdirig
to his father’s diredfons, but unhappily 'in thd d ^ ^ u t fe S B F We
fierceft Ligthning; his coat and waiftcoats (for/hediad .two ’On)
were tom into fhreds, fo that it Was difficult to diftiriguifh where
the pieces had formerly joined ; his fhirt had a !rent -rivo feet long
down, the hack, and Was finged; his left fhoe torn froth his foot;
and the little toe o f that footffo near cut off, that ip hungbik-b^
a bit of fkin; and he was quite dead : but though rMi&edto this
lamentable condition, as to his exteriour, he was not moved from
his feat, nor his face at all changed. His dog was lying at his feet;
dead Jikewife; but not moved from his place.
The farmers daughter received the fhock in the hall, was ftruck
fenfelefs, but revived foon; felt a trembling all over, her feet tickling,
partly benumbed, and ftiff, as if fleeping; but perceiving in
the room, a cloud of fmoke, and hearing her mother cry, fhe made
hafte into the kitchen, which fhe found full of fmoke, ftinking like
bnmftone. The Lightning had left a mark quite acrofs the clavel
o f the kitchen chimney, about half an inch wide, in an undulating
diredion, broke through the partitions of the under floor, thrown
down
dpwn the fhçlvQS'j -'Jàrried out alt the fouth windows, forced up the
ffâi’r-cafe, blown Put the hof’th‘Window, butfpared the clock, which
ftobd clo'fe by it; and being foipfcbat^néwheftîl reached the hall,
carried .out the »windows, ‘/and i^vedînopfômd Delft bafons which
^erferin -the1 feu&iWind®W, forc^®he îdoor of èbeàufet at the end
of lthe bdl a:n dncM» and? naif inwards, tend- fhook the eaftern’wall of
tne’botffo*thtoÜ^^ùï^ip*^eivé|^MÉpatibü.f -. :
,I|liough it might bptiïfficientshere tofekte'the matters of fad id
the 'order of; time,? -placle^ arfofe degree, as .they' happened, yet one
cannot help admiring the- diffefè^ôurrents, motions, fhapes, and
dèfôlàt-ion&fof this5 Lightning. The cîoüdT dveri Moelfta hill and
this village«-.of Ttytbâl/là.r fpace\®êâ'bduk:‘ a'-mile and half, were
■ fo much1 riiote- chargedhvith inflammable vapours than ;thei othef
cloüd^' 't-hkt here ''shey&bB&fe'e botfttmie fitftraltd' fecond tinpe, with,
fupferior violeqte, and the Thufiderrdaps wère within! à/fèw minutes
ô f Prié another, as bedig produced but ;by two portions of one ancf
the-feme Congeries, o f fire. ■
'4(t’30he general-tendency iof Ithis Lightning was/as,’thetdireâiôn- o f
the wind at that time; that is;(from the North Weft Eaftwardly;
but whefe the principal explofions werè-fas 'ktjthe hill and the houfe)
mapy branches fpread tftemfelvespff in all directions.
‘Noriw^eThe fhapes in which it operated ffe^Yarious ,tjhan ,ite
jmbtions ; fometimés,"as ftom iK ’enëttS'appeared^ lt'wSl^jfointed
as "'a dart, in feme placed - edged as>.^'a <fcy.tfte ; now but .one thin
fheèt or- ftreara, then two or .three, and afterwards one again; now
it fell-afs feveral feparate balls of 'fire';ybüt upon the houfe, where
the principal explofiott was; as a latge gufh or torrent.
It was nil fire, yet of different powers, according, to the impregnation
of its feveral portions : fubtil and penetrating as the eledrical
fire, it fhocked and permeated the human frame ; fome. parts of it
only: feorched wood, never melted iron, which is? the more common
effect 61 the two feme totb the leather" and. cloaths, t fome cut and
wounded, and fome killed, without vifible-cuü ompunéure ; other
parts of this Lightning again, vupon ftoné, wood,: leathery cloaths,
and flefh, only difcolouted, ruffted, and: forced, with the power of
igfeded air put intern virent fermentation. p
All this happened in this!place, and all in an inftant ; and altho
the cloaths were fomewhàt finged as well as torn, and the young
man’s fkin round his waiffwaS alfo feorched, yet from, the general
effeds of this Lightning at the Shill and Village, I conclude, that it
wasirather fwift and irrefiftihly' piercing, than. diffolvent arid an-
flammatbry. *
This happened in the winter' month of December, but the ravages
of Lightning are not limited to a feafon.
On