The Sun.
London, England, 1856-10-20 00:00:00

TERRIBLE ACCIDENT AT THE ROYAL
SURREY GARDENS.

EIGHT PERSONS KILLED AND SIXTY INJURED.
The announcement that it was the intention of the Rev.
Mr. Spurgeon to preach in the great Music Hall of the
Royal Surrey Gardens yesterday evening, occasioned great
excitement in that particular portion of the religious
world who have imagined fur themselves the appearance
crfayounger Whitfield in the juvenile enthusiastic preacher
from Waterbeach, and the blast of the trumpet that shall
rouse to a new awakening in his impulsive and singularly
exciting die ourses. St. John's Chapel, Palk-street, which
holds a thousand auditors, had been found insufficient;
Exeter Hall had repulsed from its over crowded vestibules
a large surplus beyond the 3 000 which it admitted to lis-
ten to Mr. Spurgeon ; but at last the opportunity was
afforded of satisfying the many thousand souls hungering
for the word ; the Music-hall at the Surrey-gardens, capa-
ble of containing 10,000 people, was secured, and the in-
tense longing of the multitude might be satisfied.
The excitement, as we have said, was great in conse-
quence. The preacher, with his remarkable style and man-
ner—"grave, gay, grotesque, solemn, fanciful, and even
coarse caricature, provoking the broadest laughter, yet with
touches of deep pathos and sublime appeal to the most
sacred feelings"—the scene, the multitude, with the elec-
tric sympathy excited—the building, so newly devoted to
festive occasions and scenes of lighter enjoyment, the bril-
liant lights, the animation and novelty of the whole, gave
a character to the occasion which it required not the more
grave consideration, such as Mrs. Stowe makes her hero
Clayton enunciate in the following passage, to warm up to
even a high pitch of enthusiasm, but little known and still
less expected in View) days-,of cold-reasoning
"Isn't/it beibter,'Y'liald Clayton; " to be wrought up once
in a while, than never to have any religious feelings. Isn't
it better to have a vivid impression of the vastness and
worth of the soul—of the power of an endless life, for a
few hours once a year, than never to feel it at all ? The
multitudes of these people there never hear or think a word
of these things at any other time in their lives." If such
were the feelings of the many who went to hear, and of
those who had taken care that an opportunity should be
afforded them for hearing—there was unfortunately
another class who sought the Surrey Gardens last night
only as a place of amusement, now for the first time thrown
open to them gratis, with this single exception in the pro-
gramme of amusements, that the part of M. Jullien was to
be performed on this occasion by Mr. Spurgeon. It was to
the attendance of this class, and to the outrageous conduct
of some of this class, in their idle love of mischief, that the
fatal consequences which followed may be attributed.
The internal appearance of the great Music Hall is well
known. Its arrangements for exit and entrance have been
found sufficient for 14,000 persons, who at one time during
the late season were accommodated in the interior of the
building. Its construction unites an extreme lightness of
appearance with great strength ; nor, so far as the building
itself is concerned, has anything occurred even in what we
are about to narrate, to deteriorate in any respect from the
solidity and safety of the edifice. The hall is entered by
three wide doors—one in the centre and one at each side—
at which latter are also the vomitories or exits of the stair•
cases leading from the three tiers of galleries. These stair'

cases are of stone, with a light iron balustrade, surmounted
by a mahogany hand-rail, and are of a spiral form, running
up each tower at the extremity of the building.
So much for the locale. In the interior a pulpit had been
erected) rather to the left side of the orchestra, but in its
immediate front, and rising almost to a level with the first
gallery.

From half-past five o'clock the roads and streets loading
to the Surrey Gardens were thronged ; at six the gates
were opened ; and before half-past six the hall and galleries
were filled with a dense assemblage of people ; the vestibule

afforded space to an eager assemblage, while about tke

doors a bustling eager mob were jostling and urging for-
ward for a chance of hearing, if not admission.

To one entering the gardens from the carriage road
which runs up opposite to the fall length of the building,
the scene at this moment might have recalled the Camp
Meeting in " Dred," so great was the concourse and excite-

meat, while a flood of light poured through the many win

dows, and the singing of the hymn resounded among the

trees.

" Brethren, don't you hear the sound—
The martial trumpet now is blowing ;
Men in order 'listing round,
And soldiers to the standard flowing."

As the sound of the hymn rolled through the aisles and
the arches of the woods, the heads of different groups who
had been engaged in conversation were observed turning
towards the stand, and voices from every part of the camp-
ground took up the air, as, suiting the action to the words,
they began flowing to the place of preaching. The hymn
went on keeping up the same martial images—

" Bounty offered, life and peace,
To every soldier this is given ;
When the toils of life shall cease,
A mansion bright prepared in heaven."

As the throng pressed up and came crowding from the
distant aisles of the wood the singers seemed to exert them-
selves to throw a wider vehemence into the song, stretch-
ing out their arms and beckoning eagerly. They went On
singing :

" You need not fear, the cause is good,
Let who will to the crown aspire;
In this cause the martyrs bled,
And shouted victory in the fire.
In this cause let's follow on,
And soon we'll tell the pleasing story,
How by faith we won the crown,
And fought our way to life and glory.
Oh, yo rebels, come and 'list,
The officiers are now recruiting;
Why will you in sin persist,
Or wasto your time in vain disputing ?
All excuses now are vain,
For, if you do not sue for favour,
Down, you'll sink to endless pain,
And bear tho wrath of God for ever."

There is always something awful in the voice of the mul-
titude. It would seem as if the breath that a crowd breathes
out together in moments of enthusiasm carried with it a
portion of the dread and mystery of their own immortal
natures. A flood of electrical excitement seemed to rise
with it as with a voice of many waters the rade chant

went on :

" Hark the victors singing loud !
Einma,nuel's chariot wheels are rumbling,
Mourners weeping through the crowd,
And Satan's kingdom down is tumbling."

Such was the scene outside, such the enthusi?.stn within
—when on a sudden, from the hysterical scream and sub-
sequent fainting of a female in the gallery to the loft of
Mr. Spurgeon and at the further end of the building—a
commotion ensued above; the people at the doors cried
" Fire"—[there really had been a strong smell of fire a few
minutes previously] —others called out, " the building, the
building is falling !" and then—from above, in the galleries
in the hall, from all sides, rose a volley of screams and
shrieks, and a terrific rush followed.

The preacher paused in terror. Viewed from the or-
chestra'the body of the ball presented a scene of dire con-
fusion and agonised excitement—the people tossed and tore
each other in terror. Fortunately, from the floor being
encumbered by seats, a moment's obstruction was given to
the rush. That moment saved the lives of many who would
have been overwhelmed in the tremendous pell-mell hasten-
ing the furious onset towards the doors. This one instant
gave timo for more tranquil observation. The preacher
recovered himself, implored silence, assured the people of
safety, and then, while the shrieks and screams still re-
sounded, and terrible groans wero beginning to be heard,
even at that moment he set up a hymn, which, at first
loudly chanted from the orchestra, soon spread itself over
the troubled congregation in the body of the hall, who now
seeing the roof still above them, and the galleries still
crowded with listeners, anxious and terror-stricken, yet
eagerly hanging upon the preacher's words, thus encou-
gaged, joined in the hymn of praise and faith, and thus
uttering that praise and faith found safety in that confi-
dence.

Not so in the galleries. There a rush was made at the
circular staircase on the right side, facing the entrance.
Down this a stream of frightened men, women, and chil-
dren poured, rushing on in terror, and impelled "from be-
hind by crowds in still greater alarm. Turning upon the
stairs of the second gallery, a slight curve is made by
the ballustrades. Hero, unfortunately from the over-
whelming pressure, the mahogany hand-rail broke, and
the balustrades, thus loosened, gave way ono after the
other for about three yards. Urged on, driven, pushed
down by the surging crowd above—those below came on,
aq it were, with certain death belle their eyes—and ere
they could restrain themselves fell over the side, down the
well staircase, on to the stone floor beneath. The first that
tumbled over was a well dressed woman, who struck upon
her head, and died without a groan ; the second, another
respectably -dressed female, who fell screaming in a n agony,
with a child clasped in her arms; then came another
woman—then two men, clutching eagerly at each other,
at the stones, at air, as the 3 sank into the abyss ; others,
followed, toppling over each other ; while, above, a fight,
a fierce fight was furiously raging for life, between those
from above and those below ; the first still striving to
come down, the others struggling to stand still, or get up-
wards. Meantime the crowd from the end of the ball be-
low were rushing round the passage, forcing their way
outwards over the dead and dying. The groans and screams
were such as might be fancied of Pandemonium. At last
appeared a policeman, then anether—then came a pause in
the rush—and then a woment, if not of silence and order,
of better disposition and less fearful selfishness. Yet
above all, arose the hymn of praise. And now, as some
of the dead bodies were borne Along through the