Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1889-01-10

Of strong mental agitation. have been
known to receive marks on some par,
Of the body or limbs. corresponding
in shape 10 the object which they
were thinking Of at the time; this l.
known to have occurred in other do
mains of human feeling; and there is
nothing impossible in the occurrence
of . similar phenomsnon when the
mind and body are alike exposed 10
the action Of Q lightning stroke.
This was probably the case in re-
gard to French peasant eirl--one Of
the instances noticed BY Posy. While
landing COW 10 : 6sld. : storm came
ont she took refuge under tree; the
Gov fell dead from . stroke of light.
ming; the girl loossned her dress, that
she might breathe more freely when
nearly choked with agitation; and
then she saw picture Of the COW i'm.
printed on her breast. We give this
story the credit of being truthfully
told. and assign as the probable cause
of the phenomenon a cooperation
between lightning stroke and vivid
mental or nervous activity.
Where metal is concerned, the pro-
duction of images or fac.similes may
result more Immediately from this
rush of electricity which constitutes
the passage Of lightning. Wherever
metal lies in the path. the fash takes
that route in preference to one through
wood. brick or stone; but il the met
al be discontinuous or interrupted,
strange markings are often produced
on neighboring substances, similar in
shape to the piece Of metal just trav.
erssd. This may have been the case
in the accident which befsll young
man in Cuba in 1928; after light
ming flash, he found on his neck
an imprint Of q horseshoe, similar to
one nailed up on the window Of a
house near him.
If the ornaments were Of brass or
some other metal. We might perhaps
ACE in the same category the nara
tive Zone Of those given BY Poey) of a
lady, at her chateau of Banetonniere
in Lavendee; she was seated in he
salon. in November. 1880. when a
storm came on; lightning appeared,
and on the back of her dress was i'm.
printed fac-simile of some ornaments
on, the back Of q char against which
she W leaning.
There is every reason to believe,
lastly, that many of the markings are
nothing more than results of the forked
zigzag course of the lightning itself.
Mr.. Tomlinson, in his interesting VOL
ume "The Thunderstorm" has gone
somewhat fully into this subject. He
had had occasion to observe the man.
nsr in which the disruptive discharge
of electricity, from an electrical ma
chine, marks out its path over bad.
ly conducting surface, such as glass.
and was struck by the treslike i'm
preston produced. He gives a wood
cut representation Of surface struck
by the fash or spark Of a small Ley
den jar; and it is impossible to avoid
seeing how strikingly the markings
assume the form of tree. The prob
ability is pointed out, that in cases
where persons struck by lightning
have had trselike marks imprinted on
their persons, they have been hastily
considered to be real images of actual
trees close at hand. 1t may, more
over, be observed that some persons,
when struck by lightning, have re-
ceived blue marks or bruises; these
may put on a rami6ed appearance.
mot only from the irregular mode in
which electricity travels about in
search of the line of least resistance,
but also from the smaller vessels be.
coming congested, and consequently
visible. ."-Professor James Nackintosh.