SOME PECULIARITIES OF A THUNDERSTORM. 27 



such as would be likely to be produced by friction, if even it 

 had been in motion. Moreover, the motion of this part of the 

 machine being slow, and its surface not very inflammable, its 

 ignition from friction seems quite out of the question. 



From this mill I was directed to another, situated in 

 Hal li well-street, and belonging to Mr. Thomas Cross, which 

 I was told had been set on fire by the lightning. As the 

 people were leaving work when I arrived, my only guide in 

 the mill was the porter, who, after a barrier of prejudice and 

 prudent caution had been removed from between us, became 

 exceedingly polite and communicative. The occurrence here 

 seemed to be simultaneous with that at the other mill. I was 

 first shown a broken window at the landing to the uppermost 

 floor of that part of the mill, and also a rupture of the plas- 

 tering in the corner close to the ceiling. Only a small 

 portion of plaster was displaced, but the stones* which it had 

 covered were partially shattered. This damage was directly 

 over the burner of a thin leaden gas-pipe, and about two feet 

 from it. As no other damage could be discovered, it appeared 

 obvious that an explosion had taken place between the wall 

 and the gas-pipe; and as no mark of fusion could be dis- 

 covered on the metal, the quantity of electric fluid transmitted 

 was not great. The explosion, however, would produce a 

 momentary expansion of the air, which would be sufficiently 

 violent to break the window. My guide, however, insisted 

 that the lightning had come through the window, and had 

 melted the glass into smoke, for not a single fragment of it 

 could be found. I told him to look outside on the window-sill, 

 and perhaps he might find some, which he soon discovered to 

 be true ; but what astonished him most was, how I, who had 

 never been in the mill before, should know where to find the 

 broken glass. After allowing him to exercise his imagination 

 for a minute or two, I relieved him by pointing out the cause. 



* It it a stone building. 



