and Gunpowder Magazines. 373 



The following case, which has been reported to me from 

 Dresden, and has not, so far as I know, been noticed in any 

 English journal, has produced the usual bewilderment. On 

 the 15th May last the valley of the Upper Elbe was assailed 

 by a violent storm which about midnight burst upon the town 

 and fortress of Konigstein. Flash followed flash, stroke 

 followed stroke, the thunder was incessant, and rain fell in 

 torrents. Suddenly towards one o'clock a.m. a thunder-clap 

 louder than any before was heard, and it was found that the 

 powder-magazine A had been struck by lightning and its 

 contents exploded. The magazine contained, in addition to 

 stores of gunpowder, upwards of a thousand grenades, shrap- 

 nel shells, and also cartridges. The roof of the magazine was 

 carried off, and the rest of the structure blown up into the air, 

 while beams and stones were hurled about far and near, 

 together with fragments of exploding shells. A sentry-box, 

 with a man in it, was whirled away : the man was injured in 

 the head and arm, and lamed. The watchman also and another 

 man were hurt. It is stated that a trifurcated stroke fell ; 

 one prong on the tower of the fortress, a second on the Law 

 Court and Casino, and the third on the powder-magazine. 

 The shells continued to explode during many hours, so that 

 passengers had to be warned off. Among the neighbouring 

 buildings a new canteen was destroyed, the roof of the stables 

 was knocked into holes, the windows of the dwelling-houses 

 completely smashed, both in the fortress and in the town. 

 The open spaces within the fortress were covered with wreck, 

 and fragments of cartridges were hanging on the trees all 

 around. Indeed the effects of the explosion could be traced 

 for miles. Persons at a distance, feeling their houses shaken, 

 doors slammed, domestic utensils rattled, animals uneasy, and 

 dogs barking, supposed that an earthquake had taken place. 



The question now naturally arises, whether this powder-mag- 

 azine was protected by means of properly arranged conductors. 

 The military authorities state that the magazine had three 

 lightning-conductors, which had been examined only a few 

 days before the accident, and were reported to be in good order. 

 The theory is that the roof together with the conductors was 

 first carried off, and that the lightning then fired the powder. 

 But in the account furnished to me, it is stated as a fortunate 

 circumstance that there was very little wund at the time. If 

 so, how could the lightning carry off the roof, together with 

 the conductors ? It is more reasonable to suppose that the 

 conductors terminated in dry ground and so offered resistance 

 to the lightning, so as to allow it to develop its tremendous 

 heating and explosive properties. No inspection of the ruins 



