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SIR,
Read July 5,
1764.
I Send you, as you desired, an account of the effects the lightning on Monday se'nnight had in my neighbourhood. The storm, which came from the South-east, broke first on the two houses at the bottom of Essex-street (which look from their south windows upon the river) and beat down several feet of the east-flue of the chimney on the west side, and separated the remainder down to the roof of the house from the western flue by a wide crack. From hence the lightning went higher up the street, and at the distance of about eighteen yards from the chimney just mentioned, went thro' the eves of a house, in a direction from the Northeast to the Southwest, as appeared by the breach, and forced the ceiling of the garret inward by a kind of pointed bulge, without breaking the laths. It continued up the street, perhaps along the leaden gutter, over the eves of the houses for thirty yards, as I guess, and turned downward by the side of a leaden pipe made to convey the water from the top of the house, and tore a wooden case at the lower end of that pipe, cracked the wall near that place, and broke several
