138 Of' Running during a Thunder-Storm, 



Is the risk of being struck increased by running, during a thunder- 



storm f 



It is stated to be dangerous to run on foot, or to ride rapidly 

 on horseback, during the time of a thunder-storm; and it is even 

 asserted that we should not walk against the wind, and in a direc- 

 tion contrary to the course of clouds. When these two opinions 

 are closely examined, they come to this, that it is expedient to 

 avoid being in a current of air. Does a current of air then really 

 attract lightning, in other words, does it facilitate its descent ? In 

 default of direct methods of resolving this question, the common 

 practice of shutting down the windows of our houses at the com- 

 mencement of a thunder-storm, has been adduced as the result 

 of unexceptionable experience ; and it has been argued, that so 

 many people, so widely separated from each other, would not have 

 agreed in shutting all close, unless this practice had been found 

 advantageous. Here it is scarcely necessary to remark, that a 

 popular prejudice in no degree warrants us to draw such a deduc- 

 tion. But besides, it both rains and blows hard during a thunder- 

 storm ; and the custom of closing doors and windows much more 

 naturally arises from the desire to guard against rain and 

 wind. It is also true, that, in some countries, the practice is 

 supported upon grounds that are altogether superstitious. Thus, 

 in the Russian province of Esthonia, for example, it is the fear 

 of leaving an entrance for the evil spirit whom God is pursuing^ 

 during a thunder-storm which leads to the stuffing the smallest 

 crevice of the house. (Salverte, Des Sciences Occultes.) It is 

 somewhat remarkable, that their religious ideas have led the 

 Jews, in some countries, to act in a manner directly the reverse 

 of the Esthonians. As soon as lightning flashes in the sky, says 

 the Abbe Deehman, the Jews open their doors and windows, 

 that their expected Messiah, whose coming they anticipate with 

 thunder, may freely enter whithersoever he pleases. 



We may now examine the custom above alluded to, so far as 

 the present state of science will allow us. The atmosphere op- 

 poses a certain degree of resistance to the passage of the fulmi- 

 nating matter. It is probable that that resistance diminishes when 

 the temperature and humidity increase, and when the barometer 



