964 Remarks on the 
the early part of it, the interval of time, 
between the flashes and the arrival of the 
sound, was so considerable, as to allay all ap- 
prehensions of danger in Mr. Brydone and his 
family, who were watching the progress of the 
tempest. Suddenly, however, they were 
alarmed by a loud report, for which they 
were not prepared by any immediately pre- 
ceding flash. It resembled the firing of seve- 
ral muskets, rapidly succeeding each other, 
and was not followed by a rumbling noise like 
the other claps. After this, the clouds began 
to disperse without any subsequent disturbance. 
At this moment, and at a small distance 
from the place where Mr. Brydone and his 
companions were observing the tempest, 
James Lauder, who had just crossed the 
Tweed, sitting on the fore-part of his cart, 
and had nearly gained the summit of an ascent 
about 70 feet above the bed of the river, was 
suddenly killed by an electric discharge, toge- 
ther with the two horses which he was driving. 
Part of the iron work of the wheels was 
found, on examination, to be in a state of 
incipient fusion, and the wood connected with 
it was shattered and dispersed; but though 
the heat had’ affected the metal thus strongly, 
there were no marks of combustion on the 
timber. About four feet and a half behind 
