Morning journal and courier., 1881-08-06
Sharp Work.

Lightning Effects in Meriden-Playing
 Around i'm Lively Style.
 During the thunder storm in Meriden on Thursday afternoon the lightning played many pranks. The thunder claps were heavy. The lightning sharp and vivid. At Mrs. c. I. Herrick's dressmaking rooms, over Manwaring & Lewis store, in the old postoffice building, it cut some queer antics. It struck large tree in front of the building, ambling for some time among the branches At the time of the Wallingford tornado the lightning struck among the trees at this point, felling hundreds of sparrows to the ground stunned. The lightning Thursday evening, darted from the trees to the build ing It tore few shingles from the roof, the lightning dashed through 8 good sized attic window, breaking the glass and tearing the caves of the roof above. Entering the attic, it turned all the trumpery stored there topsy turvy, and made hole in the floor, through which it ran to the parior below, where Mrs. Herrick was alone, her sister being in an adjoining room. The hole was close to the west wall, on which large mirror hung. The glass in the mirror was broken in inch pieces and the marble shelf was broken as fine almost as mixed candy. The window castings were torn out, and the plastering torn of in large spots. table met the same cruel fate as the marble shelf, and chairs were overturned and havoc gen. orally made A picture hanging by the win dow was thrown from it's nail with violence and broken. A canary hanging close by the mirror escaped, having been removed mo- ment before by the lady. Mrs. Herrick's de- Gcription of the lightning was really graphic. She says that balls of fire of various colors chased each other by the dozen about the carpets on the parlor, making themselves perfectly to home. They looked as if they were having g Fourth of July celebration. Mrs. Herrick, although much alarmed, was not much frightened as she would have been had she not had similar experience be- fore, lightning having struck twice before in houses where she had lived. Of course, the whole affair lasted but 8 few seconds, but while this was going on above, another scene in the same play was produced In the grocery store below, owned by Manwaring & Lewis. The lightning entered in the back of the store room from the east side, and ran along 8 W1f0 CQaG uaS T6Iud1uSu dLGdCAcu IO d O1btE1CG alarm box in the store since these boxes were in use there. With sudden shock the light ming whipped the box from the partition and dashed it in pieces across the floor. It scorched the woodwork about the box, and the paper directions were burned. Some of the clustering on the ceiling of the store was also torn. The affair called large number to the scene. Also at Manning, Bowman < Co.'s the back wall of 8 vault containing gasoline tank was demolished, also part of g shed near by was damaged. The concus- Sion was felt all over the shop, and it shat tered the glass in the engine room. plating room and turner's room, the first two named having the largest number of windows brok- en.
 People in Seiring's barber shop, in Els bree's drug store and in the Wilcox Silver Plate companys establishment were perceph- bly, affected by the play of the magnetic flu id. In the West cemetery the fine maple tree standing near the main entrance was stripped for four or five feet of the bark, which was scattered about with force. and the tree was split right to the center. Over at Levi Yale's place another tree had sim liar experience.