The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1874-10-29

noise of the tearing apart of everything
especially glass; and at last crash. as
if all the glass of the neis borhood had
been showered on pavements; then 8
binding smoke pulled in everywhere
with horrid sulphurous fumes; anc
next the air was burdened with the
shrieks of people in houses and streets.
Most of the glass at ''The Poplars' =
plate glass, a quarter of an inch thick
was shattered, but it is a notable
fact that not particle OF the coloreo
glass put up in quarries was injured
nor the leaden rims containing the
stained squares in anyw;se disturbed
although this was not nearly so thick
as the glass that was broken.
Five deaths have to be laid at the
door of this disaster. Besides the three
bargemen, who were at once destroyed
an aged lady died of fright, and wild
ow lady Of thirty-two (who, however.
had heart disease) was found dead in
her bed.
Most of the persons residing in the
vicinity are wealthy people, and so the
suffering is not very great but there is
one little street-John street-which
has been occupied by poor families
Their roofs are shattered, their slender
walls destroyed, and they are suffering
much. However, the wealthy pee pie
of the neighborhood have shown the
utmost consideration, and have taken
into their fine mansions all the families
they have found houseless without re-
gard to their station in life. A meeting
is to be held tonight to consider means
for aiding these poor sufferers. and the
chair is to be taken by Mr.. Gersten-
burg, wealthy German, who, although
his own splendid mansion is such ruin
that he and his family have been COM
PEELED to move to the Langham hotel.
has entirely forgotten his own losses in
his strenuous efforts to relieve his poor
neigh bors.
On the other hand, the event has not
been without its comic features. The
servants of the neigh borhood appear to
have been generally impressed with the
idea that the day of judgment had ar
rived. Some of them were able to de-
scribe with minuteness the exact char
acter of the notes sent forth by the
archangel'5 trump. Some, indeed, Of a
higher class of society were possessed
by the same idea, and one gentleman
tells of his being accosted by lady in
the street, who asked him fervently,
is it come ! is it come = Some OF the
ladies who rushed from the houses APP
peared to have been reduced to inlb
clity. One catches hold of the first
gentleman she meets and cxclaims, 81
am SO glad to see somebody Others
flew wildly forward, bearing in their
hands some broken bit OF the first
worthless thing they could pick
up, as if it We're their
salvation. The panic having occurred
when all were asleep, hundreds rushed
into he streets in night shirts and
night gowns, and many Of them had
become denuded in some way even of
the single garments with which they
leaped from bed. and ran about in a
state Of nudity, of which they were I'M
conscious. But all declare that the SER
want women generally formed eXcep-
tons to this reckles.ness of exposure.
While their mistresses rushed forth
without the slightest regard to dress,
the servant women, IN most instances,
could uot be induced to leave their
rooms until they had put on some
clothing. Some of them were even
calmly resolved not to meet the arch
angel without hair properly combed,
and several curious instances were told
me of how the dread of personal ex-
posture conquered every other feeling
in persons Of this class.
The freaks of the explosion were like
tnose which arc SO often observed in the
case of lightning. AS one walks along
the terrace there often recurs the old
words of scripture: THE one shall be
taken and the other left The heavy
wooden door Of Alma Tadema' house
was splirtered, the wall is cracked from
base to top SO that one can see through.
and yet just above the gold-lettered
word ''Salve above the ruined portal
stand unscathed tive large blue porce-
lain vases, untouched, and holding in
good condition their beautiful flowers.
In other houses. heavy brass ornaments
are torn to pieces. and delicate Japan
csc vases beside them left without a
crack. Iron ratings have been twisted
into grotesque shapes, and windows
above them left whole. These strange
selections give very singular appear
ance to the scene, and make one feel as
! if the tremendous conclusion must have
reused into action the heroic and cleo
! trlcal forces of the air.
The doubt which hangs over the
cause of the explosion will probably
not be cleared up. The theory Of the
spark from the steam tug leading the
line of boats appears improbable on ac-
count of the great distance behind at
which the Inflated Tillbury was at
1ached. The theory that one of the
bargemen was smoking pipe was
mere guess-work. A rather uncom-
Portable theory has been propounded
to-day by Mr.. Owen Rowland. formerly
an electrician to the board of trade
telegraph committee, who says that in
certain conditions the earth emits
lightning. and that his thermometer