Monmouth weekly herald. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1854-1860, 1858-04-01
A Lightning Rod Man in a Fix.

We copy the following one Of the
most thrilling narratives of the century,
from the Cincinnati Enquirer
Mr.. Thomas Kingston, who for sew
eral years has followed the business of
putting up lightning rods, which, of course
requires steady nerves and a firm brain,
met with an accident lately, by which
but for the most Singular presence OF
mind, or rather supernatural instinct. he
would have fallen from a dizzy height.
and have been dashed to pieces. He is
compelled to climb roofs, over chimneys.
and up spires, and fix a rod. with perfect
GOODNESS and precision, hundreds Of feet
above the level Of the earth. On the oc-
caslon to which we refer, Mr.. X. had as
eended st. Pauls Cathedral, whose spire
IS about two hundred and thirtv.fve feet
high, near the head of Broadway, and
gone up to the very top, where, having
LETT his ladder below, he chung by his
arms and legs, fastened the last sfoot of
the rod and attached its point-quite a
heavy piece Of metal-securely, as he sup
posed, to the cross %surmounting the stee-
pie. He had just completed this difficult
and dangerous task, watched by a mum
Der of persons in the street below, and
while looking at the work and expert
encing that satisfaction, which results
from hazards passed and labor accom-
plished, all of a sudden something heavy
struck him, and made his brain reel until
he could hardly see. Instead of losing
his hold at once, which would seem to
have been the natural and inevitable re-
suit, he chung with a power beyond him
self, and a will superior to his own, clos
er and instinctiyely to the spire. He
knew not what had occurred, and to his
confused senses it appeared that the stee-
pie was ~tumbling, or that some strange
cause was about to bring the vast struc-
ture to the ground. Some forty seconds
an age to him-must have elapsed be-
fore he sufficiently collected his scattered
thoughts and subverted consciousness to
know that the entire upper part of the
rod had fallen upon his head, causing the
blood to trickle over his forehead, and
nearly blind him. He was in a dreadful
perplexity and most dangerous position.
He feared, if he moved, he would go cleav.
IA IAO oil W d IGIIlDlC Q0dbu uDOn lit
stony street below, and at the same time
he knew he could not, in the ~disordered
state of his nerves, and his increasing
weakness, retain his grasp, more the re-
suit Of fate than of feeling, much longer.
If he stirred he might fall-if he remained
he certainly woodland so, determined
at least to make an effort for his life, he
put n foot very cautiously, then his
arms, and the moved the other foot; and
after half a minute of exertion. and the
greatest danger, he touched the topmost
round of the ladder, and in a few seconds
more was inside of the steeple and safe.
Then it was Mr.. KS great courage and
strength forsook him. His nerves and
muscles relaxed, and he grew sick unto
death; his knees gave way; his vision
swan, and he sank upon the platform
motionless and insensible. He must have
lain there half an hour before he could
rise and walk, and he did not entirely re-
cover from the shock fer more than a
fortnight afterward. The people gazing
up at him from the street describe the
scene as painful and exciting in the ex-
IRENE. When they observed the rod fall
a thrill of horror ran through their hearts,
and two women tainted, for thew expec-
ted to behold him the next moment dash
ed to pieces at their feet. Destiny had
ordered otherwise, and Mr.. x. still n1r-
sues his dangerous avocation; bait he SAYS
that if he were to live a thousand years,
he never would forget the intense horror
of those century like moments, when he
seemed to hang upon the air upwards of
two hundred feet above the earth, and to
be ~momentarily descending to a dreadful
dnath