TELEPHONIC FREAKS.

Patea Mail, Volume IX, Issue 1115, 21 November 1883, Page 2

TELEPHONIC FREAKS.

During the severe thunderstorm nt Wellington on Tuesday afternoon the electrical disturbance, says the Post, played eccentric freaks with the telephones. Many people were ‘rung up’ by the action of the atmospheric electricity on the wires, and in most cases the person who was apparently ' called,’ on placing his ear to the instrument, received a smart shock which left a feeling of numbness about the head, and, in several instances, partial deafness for some hours. One victim of these meteorological waggeries, on hearing the telephone bell ring, promptly put the receiver to his car, the immediate result being that he nearly ‘jumped out of his skin,’ and dropped the instrument as if it wore red-hot, remarking gaspingly to a fellow clerk, ‘ There’s something the matter with the thing ! ’ His asso-

ciatc scornfully’ replied, ‘There’s nothing the matter with it ; it’s only your blessed clumsiness ; yon don’t know how to nse it.’ ‘ Try it yourself,’ retorted the other, * I will,’ was the reply, and lie did. He did not drop the instrument, but lie dropped himself from the effects of the sharp and unexpected shock, and on recovering himself wanted to hit the other fellow for surreptitiously punching his head while he was at the machine. Fortunately somebody came in and explained matters just in time to avert hostilities. In one or two cases the lightning ran along the wires, and scorned to shoot out a stream of flame into the room where the telephone was fixed. The effect was very pretty, but the self-deny-ing spectators in every case rushed out of the room helter-skelter instead of staying to witness the striking effects. Like one of Mr W. S. Gilbert’s heroes^— ‘ They had no taste for such alarming i°y s -’