On Wednesday afternoon la...
The Times, 1824-08-24T00:00:00

On WVednesdty atternoon last, abtout tlhree o'clock, the town aid nteighbourhood of Leighton Bilzzar d was visited bv at dreaddful stornt of thutndur and lightning, accomlpanied with rain a nd hail. The li hmning wds more vivid thian ever was known by the oldest inhabitants, and the ha;l of iuiusual dimensioDos. A v-uLh about IC years of age. \Villian, (the eldest son of Mr. Samuel, of the Cross Keys Inn, watt wiLh another lad and AI r. Samnuel hiDnselt; in a potatee-ricld near dle town, at a short distance from each other. The whole of them were struzck to) tile ground ; Mr. SaImuel and the otiter lad fortutnatcly escapesh without arnv material injury bult the youth to whiomii we havc refcrred was struck bv tie electric fluidi, and initanly k:iletd. The young man, we are in(ort-oed, was, duriitg the rage of the storm, resting on his boe, with the ironz part underneath liis arm. It is supposed the lightiniig struck the head of the hee, and. passed.dowvn lustheaat d ttigh. Tihe clothes whcilc covered the breast wvere entirelv consumed. As Mr. John (Jollier, son of iMr. Samuel Collier, One of the proprietors of the Farm Mill, near Witney, was itt the act of oiling the wo ks, one of the pins caught part of his dreAs, and drew- in one of his arnis, whieh, with one thigh, was dreadfully lacerated. The bodi was then dralgged in, aid the head crushed and en.)pletely severed fronm the bgdy, fromn wlich it was; found at a distance ot'LWo or ihrece feet. The poor creature usedt every effort to extricate him- self, but finditg that impossible, lie exclaini ti, " Take rare of tiv wite and clildreti P` wltich were lilis l.>st anid the onlv *vords he was heaird to titter. A persotn in the *nill. seeing tile tlaiger lie WAS in, ran to stop the works, by shuttinig ofl the water; but, alas, could not effect his ititention in time to save him. Poor Mrs. Collier (whose residence adjoits the mili), having heard what had happened, rati into the factory, and cried out ; I speak to tiie again !" from Which it would appear that she was not aware be was Bt that Hmo- inent a corpse. Ihe cdeceasedI was in) his 24'th year. His widow is ieft wiLh two ornhiatis, the eldtest two years of age, and the youngest ziime veeks.-Orford Journal. A stateinent appeared in a Loildots paper this wveck, an- noitneing that the lion. Alir. Robert S:nith, one of the nmcbers for this co%inty, had already began to canvass for his re-election in the next Parilament. We have been solitouts to trace this statement to its source; and from all we have beeai able to learn, we venture to pronounce that the report is entirely- groundless.-Bicbs Cliousirle. It is a pleasing satisfaction to state, as being much to the honour and credit of this great and commnercial county, that up to Saturday last, there %verebtily 20 telons in Lancaster (ast-. tor trial at our ensuing assizes, which vill comrience on the 1st of Sep- rember. A stronger proof coulti not be adduced of the efficiency of the police departisient of Manichester, titan that only ont of the above prisoners is from that town.-Lanceasterp.qoer. Some titmie ago, as a la(ly of tthe Fortescue family, who possessed1 great persoital chaims, was walking along a tnarrow lane, she perceived just behitud her a halsker of eartitenware driving an ass with twYo patittiers LItlen with his stock in trade. To give the aninlal atdl his ntaster room to liasS, the lady suilldenly started aside, which so frighteted the poor atiinial tiat he ran awav, bat hdd not proceeded far wliein he unfoittinately tell, and3 a g.eat part of the crockery was broken to pieces. Iile latly in her tutr becamne alarrn- ed, lest, when shie caine upt to tue hiatt, he should load her With abuse, if not of ir to insult her, but, to her stirprise, when she ar- rived at the spot, the tilan, with great goo(d haunour, gallan try, and wit exclaimed, " Never ntind, Madawt, Balaam's ass was tHghtenedl by ant angel ! A singular circumrstance occ'arredl at Great Marlow races: an elderly lady, wito had been lame for above ten years past, sas so alarmed at a horse, whichi shD expected to run over her, that her life was for somne days despalTed of; she, however, recovered from her alarm, and what rent'ers the otcctrrence remarkable is, shie has been perfectly free from lamcness ever since.