188 THE SEVEN FOLLIES OF SCIENCE 



we could predict with absolute certainty which side of the 

 penny or the die would turn up. In the case of lightning, 

 conditions are liable to change; and while in former times 

 lightning may have struck a given spot several times, the 

 erection of lightning conductors, the growth of trees, and 

 other changed conditions may have so altered the relation 

 of a given spot to the clouds that the path of the discharge 

 will be entirely changed. But that particular buildings 

 and places have been struck by lightning time and again 

 is a matter of unquestionable record, the following instances 

 being well authenticated. 



The Cathedral of St. Peter in Geneva, although so ele- 

 vated as to be above all other buildings in the neighbor- 

 hood, has for three centuries enjoyed perfect immunity 

 from damage by lightning, while the tower of St. Gervaise, 

 although much lower, has been frequently struck. Another 

 instance is that of a church on the estate of Count Orsini, 

 in Carinthia. This building is placed upon an eminence, 

 and had been struck so often by lightning that it was deemed 

 no longer safe to celebrate divine service within its walls. 

 For two or three years after its erection the church of St. 

 Michael's in Charlestown had been frequently damaged 

 by lightning; a conductor was attached to it, and during 

 the following fourteen years it was not injured. The steeple 

 of St. Mark's in Venice has a height of 340 feet, and was 

 frequently struck by lightning until a proper lightning 

 conductor was attached to it, after which it remained 

 uninjured. 



