| Citation |
VGW(RI.773.003
7 Jan 1773:31 (348)
Extract of a letter from Chester, November 10. About nine
o'clock on Thursday night last, the 5th instant, the
inhabitants of this city were thrown into the utmost
consternation by an instantaneous shock, supposed at first
to have been occasioned by the violence of an earthquake . .
. [[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 preceding day a quantity of
gunpowder, upwards of 800 pounds weight, had been deposited
in a warehouse in Watergate 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. . . [29
lines]
Williams himself, his wife, and three or four of the same
family, are of the number of the dead. . .
|