Effects of a Stroke ef Lightning. 361 
Opposite, and fifteen feet from the chimney, hung a piece 
of embroidery; three small holes are left in the wall over 
‘one corner of it; two-thirds of the top of the frame, which 
is of mahogany, is split up to a corner, where it a 
if the fluid ran dowe back of the glass to a basket wrought 
with gold thread, and blackening it, passed off at anoth- 
er corner, through three small places in the wall, and 
‘came out in five points, like nail-marks, in the ceiling, over 
a looking-gla-s ia the first story; ran all over the gilding, 
and went off threugh the wall, by the nails which support 
the glass. 
The paint in the chamber was turned of a very dark co- 
Jour, with a metallic cast. ‘The paper was red and blue: 
the red, excepting near the floor, has entirely disappeared. 
‘There was no lightning rod upon the house. ee 
Since writing the above, the chimney has been examined ; 
a hole an inch long is found in the garret, four feet from the 
ceiling of the chamber, where it came through: no crack or 
any other fracture is to be seen. 
REMARKS BY THE EDITOR. 
Since receiving this account, we have visited and examined 
the premises, which were the scene of the event described 
above. ‘The rending effects of the lightning were not more 
conspicuous than they often are, in similar cases, but the de- 
licate selection made of metallic articles, the manner in which 
they were affected, and the minuteness of the ramifications of 
the fluid through the apartments, were very remarkable.— 
Our artificial imitations of the effects of this tremendous agent 
of the Almighty, are indeed very humble; still, no person 
conversant with the usual effects of strong electrical and gal- 
vanie discharges from powerful batteries, could fail to be 
struck withthe resemblance. The gilding on the edges and 
figures of the china, and upon the frames of the pictures, 
Was either dissipated or converted into the purple oxid of 
<old, and stained the shelves and the wood of the frames in 
the same manner as gold leaf or wire, deflagrated by electri- 
city or galvanism, colors the contiguous substances. The 
four cents were so perfectly dissipated, that, except a metallic 
stain en the lead paint of the shelf, not a trace of them re- 
mained 5 they appear to have flashed away, like gun-pow-— 
er 
VOL. XI.—No. 2, 46 
