The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1892-04-01
STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.
A Vivid Description of . Storm on a
Mountain.

Mr. F. +. Tuckett and two guides
Christian Laueuer and Ferdinand I'm
seng-had been to the summit of Roche
Melon, near Susa, and were on their
way down when they were overtaken
by hail and thunder storm. They
were not far from little chapel, the
annual resort of pious pilgrims during
certain part of August, and toward
| this they FASTENED. Blinded and stag
gering, they reached the door, left their
ice-axes outside, and darted in, thankful
indeed to have roof over their heads
But they did not stay long. Says Mr.
Tuclzett
We were in the very central track
and focus of the storm, and as we sat
crouched upon the floor, the ground and
the building seemed to reel beneath the
almost to swim with the glare of the
lightning.
Opposite the door was the altar on
the step of which l seated myself. I'm
seng took place by my side, while
Christian perched on our coil of rope
with his back to the wall.
A quarter of an hour may have
passed when a fash of intense vivid
ness seemed almost to dart through the
window, and 80 affected Imseng's
nerves that he hastily quilted his seat
and coiled himself up near Christian,
remarking that that was rather too
close to be pleasant"
Then came four more really awful
flashes, followed all but instantaneously
by sharp. cracking thunder, which
sounded like volley Of bullets against
metal target, and then fifth with a
slightly increased interval between it
and the report.
was just remarking that l thought
the worst was over. when-crash! went
everything, it seemed, all at once:
No warning of the approach of fame,
Swiftly like sudden death it came.
II some one had struck me from be-
hind on the bump of irmness with a
sledge-hammer, or if we had been in
the interior of gigantic percussion
shell, which an external blow had sud
denly exploded, l fancy the sensation
the instant experienced We were
blinded, deafened, smothered and
struck, all in breath.
The place seemed filed with fire, our
ears rang with the report fragments of
what looked like incandescent matter
rained down upon us as though a
meteorite had burst, and a suffocating
sulphurous odor almost chol1ed us.
For an instant we reeled as though
stunned, but each sprang to his feet
and instinctively made for the door.
What my companions ideas were I
can not tell; mine were few and simple
I had been struck, or was being
struck, or both; the roof would be down
upon us in another moment; inside was
death, outside our only safety. Out
into the binding hail we plunged,
dazed and almost stupefied, into the
nearest shed.
For the next few minutes the light
ming continued to play about us in so
awful a manner that we were in no
mood calmly to investigate the nature
and extent of our injuries Imseng held
his head between his hands and rolled
it about in so daft a manner, that l
thought his brain might have been at
fected.
For my own part was conscious of
good deal of pain in the region of the
right instep, while one of Christians
hands were bleeding, and he was hold
ing both his thighs as If in suffering
AS the storm drew off toward the
Mont Cents, we had time TO take stock
of our condition. Imseng let go his
head, Christian declared that his thighs
were getting better, and the mischief
in my foot proved to be nothing but a
flesh wound My hat, indeed, was
knocked in, my pockets were filled
with stones and plaster, and my heart,
it may be, was somewhat nearer my
mouth than usual, but otherwise we
could congratulate ourselves, with deep
thankfulness, on a marvellous escape
from serious harm.
The lightning, we found, had first
struck the iron cross outside the chapel,
had smashed in the roof, and in the
course of it's work inside, had over
turned the iron cross and wooden can
dlesticks only three feet from the back
of my head. Youths Companion.
The Scotch Thistle.
There is bit of interesting tradition
anent the use of the thistle as the ma