The National Register.
London, England, 1809-08-13 00:00:00

TIIUNDER STORM!.

On Thursday sennight, Newcastle was visited by a most
awful storm of thunder and lightning, accompanied by n torrent
of rain, and a great quantity of hail. During the whole after-
umm, which was very close and sultry, distant thunder was heard
in the south east ; about half past five, the storm re.' cited that
place, and continued about an hour, during which time the flashes
of lightning followed each other in an swful and rapid succession,
accompanied with such tremenduous thunder, as threatened to
dissolve the town, and •
" Leave not a wreck behind !"

The-deluge of rain and hail that fell. speedily inundated the
streets, and must have done considerable damage io the lower
parts of the town. The injury done by lightningis very great,
as will appear by the following particulars:—
A ball of electric matter entered the house of Mr. D. Sutton,
in Prince's-street. .11 first struck the chimney top. which it
threw down, partly into the street, and partly into the house.
Li tiles followed the direction of the chimney into thaiiittingpar•

563

lour, in which were eight persOns, daihed part of the tea equi-
page upot, tti:! door, shivered the book-case, and, proceeding
towards the door, shirk was fortunately open, burst with
tlreadful explosion, followed by six small ones, but, fortunately,
iljnred no person aerionsly. Two ladies were slightly stntek,
one on the side of be cad, and the other's mit was slued, and her
arm slightly affected; a gentleman of the trarty was also Wells
ly struck in the face. The electric fluid then communicuted with
the heit-wires, which it melted all over the house, following
them ['rim room to room, in an upward direction. tearing tirthe
(loon, &e. in it, passage; it hroke the glass of a crock, and stops
prd it, shivered three bed poles, and finally passed out at tars
upper part of the house. In the different rooms 2) scpsnres cir
glass were broken and forced outwards, and in one of the rooms
51r. Sutton hada most providential escape, being there with tee
intention (4 shutting a window at the time it was struck. The
oxydalion of the boil wires hits pi oduced an eflect beautiful be-
yond description. Immediately nflrr the explosion, the titling
room was tilled w ith smoke, attended with such a strong smell of
salphur, as rendered it dangerous to remain in the room. The
door jamb of the adjoining house Is as ;also tofu of. The light,.
ning also struck down ta chili-wry and entered the roof of Mr.
flumble's dwelling house, near the Fort li, and at the sante tiled
shattere' one of the piihr• of the front door,commenienth7g with
anti destroying all the wires of the hells est the first end ocean&
stories ; shattered the stock of • a gun in the kitchen, :tinplate
window shutters of three rooms, singeing the p: wiser, and tossliqt
about the lime from the tops of the windows wherever the heti&
wires communicated ; then hers! out of the bark-staircase nubs-
dew, with a dieat}fol explosion, similar. to the dischwrge Ire ai
cannon, and 6ltiug !hr different rooms with black sutphoreout
smoke. Providentially none of- the family were materialiy
hart. Mrs. ilutuble was deprived for a few minutes of bet
hearing, and experienced a numbness in one arm ; one of the
servants was.slightly scorched is one band. Mrs. Hawk's house,
near Jestoond, was struck ; anti the Works of a gold watch,
which was banging up in one of the.rooms, were melted, and
considerable damage done to the walls, pictures, &c. The light-
ning set a bark mill near St. Andrew's eharch, on tire, but for:
tunately it was extinguished without snuck damage, except to
the wands and one beam.

On the same day the home of Mr. Usirt, nt Preston. nrm-
North Shields, suffered materially by the lightning. w hick en-
tered the chimney, and made its way to a fr•aet riann an the
ground floor. where it damaged some of Cie ; it Open
broke the partition bets ix t the room stmt ;he kitchen, where it
struck one of Mr. ii-ha': daughters to the ground, and sex erelv
hunted tier neck and arm;; it then shattered itnntlicr parti-
tion in its course to a hack kitchen, whence it forced Its
wad• out of the house through a strong wall, which it consi-
derably rent and da ma ged. A lamb wax struck dead, amongst
many others, belonging to a butcher of North ShieMs.

On lionday se'inii4lit. a storm passed over llevcrle.y : the clap.;
of thunder were trentenduinisly loud, and t! e lightning nuctim-
manly ; the rain poured down io torrents. During the
storm, tit! house of Mr. Daniel Foster, in laundrcs:-lone,
struck bs ligtiteing, which shattered the top of the chimoev,
then penetrated the ridge, anti proceeded than the g r ret wall,
into a lodging-room. After ptwitigsome spo,c tlimn the u an,
it struck the bedstead, and shattered it in :t w awlerful manner,
one of the castors beln,.• driven into the land ieg
Foster had providentiall got out of bed a few iiiitutteg before.
The electric fluid then passed into I Iv! kitchen below, nod w
attracted by a pair of tong 4, liting in the corner of the c:limnt.v,
:eaving a suficient line to mark its progress. 'The w hole of tile
glass was driven out of the cham!ter window; ald of twelve
squares in the kitchen window, ody four were left ;. the casing
of the window was entirely taken away, and the I)lv:tering da-
maged indifferent plate.. Mrs. Foster, her grandson, and maid
servant, were struck down in the kitchen, but received nu WA*
terial injury.

• An unfortunate accident happened last Monday, at the Cue-
powder Mills, lately erected in Cautives Woud, near Peurvu.
Otte of the carpenters was directed to make a ,mall alteration
in the machine that works the sieves, and ti!e man who h:td
care of the house was preparing to remove all the powder ucder
process, but was prevailed on to let it remain, upon an ftssurance
from the carpenter that he shou!d only use it wooden .
Soon after, however, the neighbourhood wn- ala toed I y 44/.
explosion, and the manaf....er of the workc appro4cniag the hpwr
foun4 the carpenter and the other workmen, with two won't
blown about twenty yards from the ruin, and dreadfully
ed. The man and weans survived only a few hours ; the oiler

woman languished till next moroing. Another limn and gill,
who were at work in tin adjoining house, escaped unhurt, al-
though they were only a few lards from the place were the
explosion happened. Whether the accident was occasioned by
the unfortunate carpenter using his axe, which was found after-
wards la a field of oats at small distance, or by a tobacco pipe
concealed in his pocket, cannot be ascertained; but from his
confession before he died, it is supposed from the latter.
BRCTA t. Ass a,u most distressing circumstance is said
to have taken place at Worthing. A most atniable and beautiful
young Lady, of most re,pectable connections, aceoinpauled her
brother, who was in bad health, t Ciat place; and whilst in
the act of ameliorating his strain ings, by witlking with him on
the wads, was several times insulted, and followed by a man in
the habit of a gentletnan, es ho, not con.ent wish this mode of at-
tacking his victim, watelted iris-opportunity, while her brother
.vas bathing, the men servants attending. kim, and the females
employed in the lower part of the house, to rush into the dra -
lag- room, where the young lady was sitting alone, waiting
breakfast for her brut:ter, when he assaulted her, and proceeded
to violate her person, until her screams at last alarmed. the ser-
vants, who Hew to her assistance.- On ea:ering the room they
found her senseless, and the radian in the act of pouring the milk
from the cream-ewer down her throat, to recover her.. In the
general confusion he made his escape tar the -present, but has
been since tawen at Cruxhaveo, and brought back to-auoet the
reward of his brutality.—Since the abo‘e was communicated to
us we have been inforated that his gen: 'matt has made his ap-
pearance. and has it is said, jusloed his gallantry by a deve-
lapement of circumstances, %%Atka are likely to unite the parties.
Aclergyman, in a neighbouring village, had performed his duty
in asking "foe just eausc why, 4e." previous to the unlucky in-
trusion of the gallant.

A CCI DEA/I.l'S N D OFFEXCES.

INSANITY.-011 Tuesday tight a poor labouring man, in a
paroxysm of mental derangement, attempted to destroy himself..
in a pondof stagnant water on Chelsea Common. He had been
drinking along with his companions, from whom 114, had no
&fanner parted, than-ha' stripped litoiself entirely naked, threaten-
ing 14) destroy any person who should endeavour to prevent his
dreadful purpose ; regardless “f his threats, some humane by.
slanders rushed upon him, and secured him iospite of his strength,.
rendered dreadful by maduess, aided by liquor. As he was. very
re fradory, and seemed bent on the dreadful resolve. the people
inouglit it would not he atni,s to let him make the trial, w hite a
young man prepared to rescue him, if necessary. Ile no sooner
IC it himself at liberty., than he rushed into the pond, and disap-
praicd; the other darted after him, but.-he hail 'nearly fallen a
victim to his humanity, for the poor maniac grappled with him,
and tried to pull. him down with him—what a spectacle to look
On! Providentially the young man was very strong., aad tie suc-
ceeded in dragging the other out. The po,,r wretch still cast a
wistful look on a spot that had so nearly h:.•come fatal to him,
and seemed pleased in the idea that ne could accomplish it so
nicely ere the morning, when no eye would not e:e hi ! yet thi,s
smut, with madness b )iling in his blood, Wall taken home to his
wretched wife and family, which was every hour expected to
be increased—and this was his seventh attempt Ought this
man, and others afflicted in the same way, to be allowed freely
to incommode and alarm the public, endangering the lies or
others, as well as their own ? Besides, so piteous a spectacle
sought to be veiled from our view as much as possible.
An application was made to the Palace Court yesterday, in
behalf of a prisonerconfined for debt in the Marshalsen.
tinder the following circumstances :—Oit Saturday laiit a person
attended at the prison, for the purpose of paying the prioner
bit sixpencesdue for the past.week, and tendered two
two sixpences, and sixpence in halfpence; the Later were oh.
jetted to as being bad ones. The person, however, refused to
.change; and the present applimtiou for the prisoner's di•aiarge
was founded on the payment being deficient, not having been
made in the legal coin of the kingdom. The Learned Juke
.(Mr. Serjeant Marshall) said, some years ago, he matte an ap-
plication to Mr. Justice Gould, in behalf of a prisoner simi-
lar to the present. - On that occasion the Learned Judge said,
the difficulty Aould be in ascertaining whether the halfpence
were good or not. He had a coachman, who, he believed, fran
frequently passing through turnpike gates, was a pretty go:A
judge what halfpence would pass, and he ,hould decide,. lie
was accordingly called in, and decided in favour of the pet-
neer, if as good a judge could be found on the present occa-

ATJa. if)
•..11

• •
ip*ted and Pubiidbed, at 4 o'clock every Monday Afternoon 11 strA for J. V. 114114.1.. and J. Dk CAMP, 11, Clal.eriao-street, Strand, Landon; aad forwacicti
kar tiles Ns MA.% thie Gob Of /Pada/ and Beakaelleva, tjaveiihounalteliniSed Simgdan , kir ofpvilegq, in* Csoissimi. M Pio 11146 per lioweires
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