Accident* from lightning are more frequent on elevated places than in the plains', and hi a village or the open country than in the crowded city. Some of the most disastrous accident* from lightning have pro teeded from the explosion. of magazines of gunpowder. Large portions of cities have been deetroyed from this cause, such as Brescia, in 1769 ; Malaga. in 17s0; Luxembourg, in 1807; Navarin, iu 1829 ; Clnuein, in Spain, In 1843: and many other places down to our own time. The damage to shipping we here already referred to. But we may just glance at a parlinmentary paper, belonging to the session of the House of Common. for I S54, consisting of a list of 280 'ships of the Royal Navy, damaged by lightning between the years 1790 and 1S40. These cases 100 ships of the line, 70 frigates, 80alornm and brigs, 2 schooners, 7 cutters, L Aver bulb', 5 ships in ordinary, 6 steamena 2 of which were of iron, mo that every variety of vessel lute been attacked by lightnieg. In these cases there were dm:rowed or destroyed 155 lower mast., of which 135 belonged to line-of-attle frigates; not less than 100 were completely ruined ; 180 topmasts were ruined or damaged, 150 topgallant masts destroyed, including of course largo quantities of rigging, nil's, and other stuns. In about one-elghth of these cases the ships were set on fire by the lightning, either In the masts or in the Nails, or rigging, and In some cases the obi's,' were severely damaged in the hull. Of course the men on board did not shove escape. Nearly IN seamen were killed, and upwards of 250 dangerously hurt.
l'rotection from lightning has occupied the attention of persons In all ages, and has led to many superstitious practices. The ancients believed that lightning never struck deeper into the earth than five feet, so that caverns were favourite pima* of resort during thunder storms. A grotto containing a reservoir of water has else been a favourite place of retreat. The Romans fancied that sears akin was a preservative against lightning, and tents were constructed of this material sir a retreat for persons during a germ. In the Csivennes, the shepherds to this day wear the skins of snakes in their bats as a pre servative against lightning. The ringing of church-belle during a storm is a custom still practised in Roman Catholic countries, under the idea of dispersing the storm : indeed, this is one of the functions assigned to the bell in its baptism. The kindling of large fires in the open air, and the firing of cannon, may also be reckoned among the puny efforts which ignorance sometimes directs against one of the grandest powers of nature. It has been supposed that certain trees are never struck by lightning, and the quertion is even debated at the present day, as to what trees are most liable to be struck. It is also a favourite opinion that persona in hod have nothing to fear from lightning, and this is to a great extent true, although there are cases of persons having been killed by lightning whilojn bed. Glass being a non-conductor, it was ignorantly supposed that it would repel lightning, and it was customary to place a thick ball of glass on the projecting paints of building's, ships, and lighthouses. The spire of Christ Church, Doncaster, thus
furnished, was destroyed by lightning in November, 1836. Chambers constructed wholly of glass have been male for the use of timid per sona during a thunder storm ; a useless precaution, since there are cases of glass windows being struck by lightning and the glass reduced to powder.
When lightning strikes persons it particularly attacks any metal which they may be wearing at the time. In July, 1858, a peasant woman near Auxonne in France, returning with her husband from the fields, was struck dead by lightning ; her hair was singed, and part of a silver comb melted ; the husband escaped with only a slight shock. There are many such cases, where the bracelet, the wire of a bonnet, the watch, &c., hare been struck, and even fused without loss of life. Men and animals in a line, as soldiers in a regiment or horses in a stable, are liable to danger at or near the extremities of the line rather than in the centre. There arc cases on record of the first and last horse, or the first and last children sitting on a bench, having been killed, while the intermediate individuals escaped. It is difficult to account for cruses like these, but probably there are variations in the state of the skin as to moisture or dryness, articles worn about the person, the kind of dress, 6:e, all very difficult to trace, but which may have sonic effect in determining the course of the discharge. Franklin advises timid persons, occupying houses which are unprotected by lightning conductors, to avoid the neighbourhood of chimneys during a storm, because the soot is a conductor of electricity. Also to keep as far away as possible from metals, mirrors, and gilded articles. The beet place is in the middle of the room, provided there is no lamp hanging from the ceiling. A person is less exposed by avoiding con tact with the walls and tho floor, and hence the safest of all expedients is to go into a hammock suspended by silken cords in the centre of a large room. If this cannot be done, it is advisable to place between the person and the floor some badly conducting substance, such as a mattress. In short, the position of safety is that in which the body cannot assist as a conductor to the passage of the lightning.
What is called the return stroke, is when the cicctncity of a cloud strikes the earth, and then bounds up again to another cloud. There are many other minute phenomena connected with lightning which are deserving the notice of the students The subject is treated with great minuteness in Arago's notice Sur le Tonnerre,' published in the ' Annuaire du Bureau des Longitudes,' Paris, 1837. Sir W. Snow Harris has also a work ' On the nature of Thunderstorms,' 1843. De LA Rive's large work on Electricity also treats on the subject ; but perhaps tho most accessible book specially devoted to the phenomena of thunderstorms, is by C. Tomlinson, entitled ' The Thunderstorm ; an account of the properties of Lightning, and of Atmospheric Elec tricity in various parts of the World,' published in 1859.
For some notice of the Accompaniment of lightning, sec Tnurentms.