47 o THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



not until a year later still. As late as 1783 it was declared in Germany, 

 on excellent authority, that within a space of thirty-three years nearly 

 four hundred towers had been damaged, and one hundred and twenty 

 bell-ringers killed. 



In Roman Catholic countries a similar prejudice was shown, and 

 its cost at times was heavy. In Austria the church of Rosenberg, 

 in the mountains of Carinthia, was struck so frequently, and with such 

 loss of life, that the peasants feared at last to attend service. Three 

 times was the spire rebuilt, and it was not until 1778 twenty-six 

 years after Franklin's discovery that the authorities permitted a rod 

 to be attached. Then all trouble ceased. 



Typical in Italy was the tower of Saint Mark's at Venice. In spite 

 of the angel at its summit and the bells consecrated to ward off the 

 powers of the air, and the relics in the cathedral hard by, and the 

 processions in the adjacent piazza, the tower was frequently injured 

 and even ruined by lightning. In 1388 it was badly shattered ; in 

 1417, and again in 1489, the wooden spire surmounting it was utterly 

 consumed ; it was again greatly injured in 1548, 1565, 1653, and in 

 1745 was struck so powerfully that the whole tower, which had been 

 rebuilt of stone and brick, was shattered in thirty-seven places. Al- 

 though the invention of Franklin had been introduced into Italy by the 

 physicist Beccaria, the tower of Saint Mark's still went unprotected, 

 and was again badly struck in 1761 and 1762 ; and not until 1766 

 fourteen years after Franklin's discovery was a lightning-rod placed 

 upon it : and it has never been struck since. 



So, too, though the beautiful tower of the Cathedral of Siena, pro- 

 tected by all possible theological means, had been struck again and 

 again, much opposition was shown to placing upon it what was gen- 

 erally known as " the heretical rod " ; but the tower was at last pro- 

 tected by Franklin's invention, and in 1777, though a very heavy bolt 

 passed down the rod, the church received not the slightest injury. 

 This served to reconcile theology and science, so far as that city was 

 concerned ; but the case which did most to convert the Italian theolo- 

 gians to the scientific view was that of the church of Saint-Nazaire at 

 Brescia. The Republic of Venice had stored in the vaults of this 

 church over two hundred thousand pounds of powder. In 1767 sev- 

 enteen years after Franklin's discovery no rod having been placed 

 upon it, it was struck by lightning, the powder in the vaults was ex- 

 ploded, one sixth of the entire city destroyed, and over three thousand 

 lives lost.* 



Such examples as these, in all parts of Europe, had their effect. 

 The formulas for conjuring off storms, and for consecrating bells to 

 ward off lightning and tempests, and for putting to flight the powers 

 of the air, were still allowed to stand in the liturgies ; but the 

 lightning-rod, the barometer, and the thermometer, carried the day. 

 * Sec article on " Lightning " in the " Edinburgh Review " for October, 1844. 



