Explore "Mrs. Mcwilliams and the Lightning" by Mark Twain on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Well, sir,-continued Mr. McWilliams, for this was not the beginning of his talk; -the fear of lightning is one of the most distressing infirmities a human being can be afflicted with. It is mostly confined to women; but now and then you find it in a little dog, and sometimes in a man. It is a particularly distressing infirmity, for the reason that it takes the sand out of a person to an extent which no other fear can, and it can't be _reasoned_ with, and neither can it be shamed out of a person. A woman who could face the very devil himself-or a mouse-loses her grip and goes all to pieces in front of a flash of lightning. Her fright is something pitiful to see.
Well, as I was telling you, I woke up, with that smothered and unlocatable cry of "Mortimer! Mortimer! " wailing in my ears; and as soon as I could scrape my faculties together I reached over in the dark and then said,-