‘2. The lightning struck the water-pipe of Ferentino, broke it completely, throwing the pieces to a distance of about 80 centimetres [32 inches]. The lead which soldered the joint of the broken tube with the tube beyond was found melted. In consequence of this rupture the water ceased flowing to Ferentino, and poured into the waterworks.
‘3. Another part of the discharge spread itself by the pipe which goes to Alatri, and traversing the reservoir threw to a great distance some wooden plugs which stopped up the discharging tubes, the plugs being forcibly hammered in. It arrived at the town in a tank, where it damaged and twisted in a strange manner a leaden slab which was in the tank, made some other little injuries, and finally left the trace of its passage at the spouts of the public fountain.
‘4. The point of the lightning conductor was examined, and it was found very blunt; it was found impossible to unscrew it, and it could not be removed without breaking the screw. It was found broken to a length of more than 3 centimetres [1¼ inch], and the section of fusion was nearly flat, as though it had been cut. The gold of the gilding had nearly all disappeared. In the church, and in the edifice which is attached to it, no injury was detected. These facts appear to me important both as regards practice and theory: in respect to theory, because they give an idea of the quantity and of the immense force of the discharge. The melting of the point down to a section 1 centimetre [½ inch] in diameter proves that it would have been melted down much further if it had been slighter. It is not prudent, then, to use very slender points; it is best that they should thicken quickly.
‘The excavation of the ditch at the foot of the lightning conductor could not be the direct effect of electricity, but would be the result of the sudden evaporation of the moisture of the ground, generating steam, and forming, as it were, a mine.
‘The breaking of the tube is most singular. It seems to me that it can with difficulty be attributed to the mechanical shock of the electricity itself. As the lead which united the broken tube to the one beyond was found melted, it is evident that, in spite of the water which flowed in this tube, it was raised to an enormous temperature in the place where it was struck, and probably it was the instantaneous evaporation of the water inside which caused the breaking of the tube.