Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1857-06-27
THE STORM

THE ST OK NJ
THuNDER-SToRM from the westward broke upon this
city Sunday afternoon, at about quarter of three
o'clock which will be remembered for long years by all
who witnessed it, A cloud, black and portentous had
gathered in the the Virginia hills in which fire.
quent and fierce streaks of lightning followed by sharp
rafting thunder, displayed themselves The cloud
advanced and spread the city, brief intervals
exhibited long electric flashes followed in second
two by peals of angry thunder Then came brisk re-
reshng breeze from the west which blew for abon
minutes, and, towards the last with very slight sprink-
ing OF ram and here and there stone which lasted
only TWO or three minutes This was succeeded by flu
rious blast, bringing visitation of rain and hail or
rather OF spherical Jumps of ice many of which APP
preached an inch in diameter and some nearly double
That size altogether unparalleled in experience For
Sc era minutes not only fruit and other trees but the
very houses themselves seemed in danger of destruction
and when the storm happily slackened the earth was CO.
yered with cepebbes about the average size of marbles
and branches of trees and where ever there was
fence standing the direction of the storm NAV
have been seen row of hail stones perhaps coupe or
three inches in depth The drains and sewers were sud-
denly full and poured their swollen contents with
unwoned vigor The fruit trees within the range Of the
storm-which we hope was not very wide-must have
n
deed pitiabe to the ground srewed with the hopes
of the year. OF the destruction of glass where
it exposed to the storm was inevitable so that
there win be greater consumption of the article within
week than has probably occurred i'm any week be-
fore since Washington city.
the foregoing written we have discovered that
of the storm comparatively
stance for which have all good reason to be thankful
Its nucleus middle track entered the city in the viz
cnity of Easbys shpyard all around which, and espe
cialy "Foggy Bottom, testify in the utter destruction
to gardens and trees of every description there ter
ribly severe was the storm of wind, rain, and ice
bullets that hurled itself for several minutes as if to
wreak vengeance on the labors and hopes of man It
continued nearly due east course with deviation If
any, to the north. Though the storm had width of
above two miles, yet toward the edges the hail was small
and did but little damage In the southern part of the
First Ward few houses escaped or less from broken
glass The Presbyterian Church on H street suf-
fered good deal, the Union Chapel not SO much Al
though the first electric discharges were SO threatening
and near do not hear of their striking any where in
the First Ward, which think may be accounted for
by the fact that the rain had yet fallen whereby the
foliage was dry and compared with its wet state
bad conductor But for this it is reasonable to suppose
that loss of Life and property might have been consdera
be As the storm pursued its way eastwardy its centre
nearly tracing the line of Pennsylvania avenue poured
out its violence upon every thing breakabe and flooded
the streets in few moments, making them in places i'm
passable. The cloud seemed to dip approached the
Fourth Ward, for il struck the chimney of Dr. wads-
worths house street. near As SCATTERING looking
glass; removing furniture from its place and stripping
off patches of ceiling 1t also touched the Washington
House Sd street breaking down the wires burn
ing carpet Trinity Church, which from its style Of
structure is especially exposed, suffered severely Much
of the glass is stained and to restore it will be corre
spondngly expensive. Vannersons Daguerrean Gallery
likewise suffered, and the public conservatory the
low grounds at the foot of the Capitol has hardly whole
pane left On tue Island the Smithsonian Institution
sustans damage about g. 600 panes; The churches
there were roughly handled, and the bills for repairs
wf not be small. Mr.. Hughess greenhouses on 7th
and streets little than a ruin The Armory
windows shattered all pieces At the Capitol and
the workshops attached the destruction of glass has
been immense. Nearly every skylight in the main
building is completely riddled and of the beautiful
panes that composed the skyghts of the Congressional
Library scarcely remains in an unshattered condi-
on Every pane in the temporary roof of the rotundo
appears to have been broken and the undo floor gives
evidence of having been nearly submerged with water.
The floor of the old hall of Representatives is covered
with fragments of the broken glass; but strange say
the chandelier appears to have been unnured by the
falling panes The glass in the dome that covers the
Senate chamber has not suffered much In the north
wing the kyghs covering the Senate chamber are
not injured but of those that the new Representa-
tive hail. in the south wing thirty cracked or
broken-mostly cracked. No injury however has been
done to the ceiling. The force with which the hail fell
may be imagined when state that these panes are
three eighths of inch thick. Provost s. Winter,
marble contractors estimate that their shops have
sustained loss Of between and eight thousand
panes while the workshops belonging to the Govern
ment have lost some twenty-five hundred psnes Our
own Office has two hundred and forty broken panes
its western side.
An Georgetown the rain, hail, and wind were more
alarming than had been experienced for years. Mr..
Pairo suffered loss of several thousand panes George
town College will have to replace several hundreds and
the churches and citizens all the will require
the attentive regards of the GLACIERS for days to
come. who viii certainly understand the force of the
maxim that it ais i'll wind which blows good TO no
body That part of the town the river suffered
the most, as being nearer the axis of the storm.
The storm continued to be considerable at twelve
miles east of Washington but the hail much smaller,
that the weight of its fury in and city
May it be long and distant time before such another
shall visit us
HARD BoY-General Sir Charles j. Napier tells the
following story of his childhood: There in Limerick
great coarse woman wife of DR.. Murphy. When she
heard of nay misfortune she said, Poor boy suppose