24 AUGUST 1867, Page 2

A storm broke over London on Monday night of quite

exceptional violence. The lightning played, more or less, over West London, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., but between 11 and 3 it was perfectly terrific. The flashes were frequently bright violet, as they are in the tropics when they mean mischief, and the thunder was nearly continuous. Eight or ten places were struck, notably the Camber- well fire escape, and the rain poured down with a fury it seldom exhibits in Western Europe. The crops do not, however, appear to have suffered so much as was expected, and to human beings the storm, has been a real relief. The heat of the previous week was becoming dangerous, developing acute dysentery and other tropical forms of disease.