Star.
London, England, 1824-07-15 00:00:00

THUNDER STORM.

Last night the metropolis was visited with one of the most severe
storms of thunder and lightning we ever witnessed. It commenced
about nine o'clock, when the lightning flashed every instant—the
loud thunder pealed in the sky, and the rain descended in torrents.
The lightning was peculiarly vivid, and many of the flashes bad the
api earance of a vast sheet of snlphureous flame. The storm con-
tinued fur upwards of three hours, though the raialliad ceased
for some time; but about twelve o'clock it fell in such torrents,
that it resembled one continued stream of water. At Vauxhall
Gardens, where the rain fell as heavy as in the Qty, when the wa-
ter-spout like a torrent fell, several persons thought that some pipe
connected with the hydraulics had burst, and called out to that
effect. The broad expansive illumination of the lightning, when
contrasted with the mimic blaze of the artificial lights and fireworks,
was awfully impressive.
In the East part of London much damage has been done by the
rain. The gratings of the sewers being stopped, caused many
places to form a sheet of water a foot or more high—such was
the state of Lower East Smithfield and many parts of Wapping.
In Goodman's-yard, Mineries, the water was above two feet high.
The different wherries on the north side of the River, at break
of day, were nearly full of water ; so muck so, that at Billingsgate
nut a boat could put off to the Dutch ships, for eels. &c. till dia.
charged of their water freightage. We have not heard of any
particular damage amongst the shipping in the lower part of the
River, which, we hope, have escaped.
The arrivals in London this morning, by the Mails, state it was
one of the most awful thunder-storms remembered for a long time.
Its commencement at Portsmouth and Hastings was at half-past
seven in the evening, and continued, with little intermission, all
night, accompanied with heavy rain. The horses, in some instances,
were almost ungovernable.
—We have not heard of any particular accident having occurred to
any of them, and all the mails arrived in due time. At a place
called Blaster, between Banbury and London, two cows and a bull
were killed by the lightning, several houses were unthatched, chins-
nies thrown down, and much mischief done.
The storm, which was so severe in the evening in London, be-
gan much earlier in the country. About one o'clock in the after-
noon, Enfield, Waltham Cross, Chesbunt, and their vicinity, felt the
severest. It was accompanied with lightning, thunder, and torrents
of bail. The devastation occasioned by the latter was very great,
sonic of the stones being of the dimension of pigeons' eggs. The
grounds of H. Meux, Est of Theobalds, suffered considerably ;
nearly 100 panes of glass were destroyed. Two ducks were killed
by the lightning, and a sawyer was knocked down by the electric
laid having entered his hand, which it severely lacerated, and then
passed off through the saw into the earth, without doing further mis-
diet. Several panes of glass were broken at the Great Bull's Cross.
At some distance from London the storm commenced at an
earlier hour—in the neighbourhood of Bre:bourne, in Hert.
fonlshire, as early as between twelve and one o'clock in the
day. The showers of bail were excessively heavy, and hail-
stones were picked up of extraordinary size. Some of them
were one inch and a half in -diameter, and almost every pane
of glass was broken, from the ten mile stone at Enfield Wash
to lioddesdon. Sir A. Herne, at Wormleybury, has suffered consi-
derably; the Rev. Picktball, at Broxbourne Vicarage, and Mr.
Waller, of the Mill, have also sustained considerable loss.

The Duke of GLOUCESTZR has been unanimously
elected Lord High Steward of Gloucester, in the room of the late
Lord Hamar Momtaux How Aim
The accounts from Scotland and Yorkshire state, that
moor-game is in greater plenty this season than for several years
back. The sportsmen of the South are preparing for action even
at this distance of time.
The Eton scholars are preparing their speeches and
all the requisite essentials for the day of election, when the large
inns at Salt-bill, Windsor, and Eton, will be in active operation, to
provide viands for the young Tyr:a, to celebrate their holidays,
which will commence the moment the speeches are over.
The Historical Tragedy of The Czar, of which we
dull give an early and more detailed notice, is of the Old School—
it is much read, the language is poetical, and the Plot most highly
interesting. The author was, we believe, the friendof GAZZACZ.
The inimitable CATALAN drew last night another
crowded audience at Drury-lane, and gave her Scala
and all her airs with that power of voice and excellence
of execution which leave descriptive language far be-
hind. Her God save the King was loudly encored, but
she gave her celebrated Rule Britannia Instead, in the
midst of the loudest acclamations.