| Citation |
MG-A(G.773.009
4 Feb 1773:33 (1430)
Extract of a letter from Chester, November 10. On Thursday
night last, the 5th instant, the inhabitants of this city
were thrown into the utmost consternation by an
instantaneous shock, . . . [8 lines] It was not long,
however, before the real cause was known; and a scene of
such complicated misery presented itself that can hardly be
exceeded by any instance recorded in history. The
preceeding day a quantity of gunpowder, upwards of eight
hundred pounds weight, had been deposited in a warehouse in
Water Street, under a building known by the name of Eaton's
room, in which one Williams, the master of a puppet show,
had for some time past exhibited his performances. The
company which these idle amusements had drawn together on
the fatal evening was very great (may such another evening
never be known any where) and in the midst of their
merriment, the powder, by what accident is not known, took
fire, and in a moment most of the unhappy people were buried
under a prodigious heap of ruins. . . [30 lines]
Williams himself, his wife, and three or four of the same
family, are of the number of the dead. . .
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