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A highly charged thunder cloud, passing over
this town on Thursday last, created considerable
alarm, with no inconsiderable injury—as in its
progress it struck the mansion of Doctor James
Carmichael, and placed his family and visitors in
the most imminent danger.It appears that the electric fluid came first in
contact with the house, near one of the upper
and central front windows, immediately under a
tin gutter, where it divided and passed off in dif-
ferent directions—one portion by a corner gut-
ter, tearing away some of the boarding in its pas-
sage; another descending by an adjoining tree,
much of the bark of which was torn off; and one
other portion, entering a lower room of the house,
glided along the gilding upon the backs of seve-
ral chairs, until it reached one which it broke in
several places, but where it happily exhausted
itself without doing further injury. Fortunately
no lives were lost; although a little servant girl
and boy were knocked down—the first, in clo-
sing a window shutter, was not only for a time
deprived of life, but was also much burnt, and
still suffers; the other, although severely stunned,
soon recovered. The Venetian blind of the
window through which the fluid entered, was
considerably shattered and much of the glass
destroyed. That Doc. Carmichael's house and
family received no further, and more serious in-
jury, is attributable, probably, to the fortunate
direction of the elective agent, which coming
first in contact with a metallic substance, sus-
stained a division, and consequently, a diminution
of its force and power.