The Tucson citizen., 1902-04-24
EVENTFUL SNEEZING
4CW A LITTLE THING MAY BE LADEN
WITH GREAT RESULTS.

SneeEe Thnt AVeFte0 Ass@@sIma~
tIon-One That Caused "a Panic.
Exactly at p. m. on the evening Of
Dec. Is, 1854, a sneeze was sneezed I'M
der London bridge which consigned
two men TO an instant and horrible
death.
Their names were Lomasney and
Fleming. and they were conspirators.
Their mission was to blow up the
bridge with dynamite, because it was
considered that at that time there
would be more people crossing it
workmcn. workgirls and others on
their way home from businessman at
any other and that the loss in human
life would be therefore correspondingly
more appalling.
All went well at first. The pair of
dcsperadoes dropped noiselessly down
the river In a boat, with forty pounds
Of dynamite in their possession, to-
cether with the necessary fuses ana de-
tonators Arrived at their destination,
however, they found that the gully hole
underneath the southern arch of the
structure, wherein it had been their in
iention to insert the explosive, had
been stopped up Lomasney undertook
10 remove the obstruction, but it occu-
pied him some little time. The night
was bitterly cold, and his comrade got
chilled and was seized with n sudden
III of sneezng. In his agitation he
dropped one or more of the detonators
T. hall nd
the dynamite which was laying in the
bottom of the boat. exploded 1t, with
disastrous results. Doubtless, however,
that inopportune sneeze, although II
ended the career of a pair of despera-
does, saved London bridge from de-
struction.
That the Right Hon W. f. Forster
died peacefully in his bed instead or
being assaSsinated in 1852 was due TO
sneeze. Three times the conspirators
laid In wait for him, but the last at
tempt was the most determined of
them ALL Four men armed with heavy
calber navy revolyers were to waylay
him rs he drove from the viceregal
lodge to the castle. Two of the assas
sins were to fire at him from the first
floor window Of house in n certain
street. and the other two were station
ed at the window of another house a
few yards down on the opposite side OF
the way.
These latter were the reserves des-
tined to try their skill should their col
leagues miss Neither of the two firing
parties were to show themselves until
the near approach of their proposed
victim was signaled from the street
below. The signal in question was to
be the waving of a pocket handker-
chief by James Carey, the same man
who was afterward killed by O'Don-
nell.
The plot was excelently planned
from the point of view of the partici-
pants therein In fact. so far as human
foresight could provide against eyentu-
alities the chief secretary seemed as
good as dead. Yet it all came to naught
and for so simple a reason that the
plOttcrs themselves. meeting together
afterward at their secret rendezvous
in North King street, were fan to
laugh at their own discontinue.
The morning was cold and gusty.
Mr.. Forster was somewhat late, and
Carey, chilled with waiting about, be-
gan TO sneeZe. Instinctively he drew
out his handkerchief. the handkerchief |
that was to give the fatal signal, and |
in an instant the clustering north wind |
hOI HialrnI II from b{O hAnYtr1hnd Hn
gers and sent 1t sailing down the street |
as twenty mile an hour gait.
At that very instant the chief secre- !
tary's carriage turned the corner and |
came swiftly toward him. Carey ran
to the spot which had been previously
agreed upon and tried to make his fel- !
low conspirators understand that their
victim was in sight by signaling with |
his arm and pointing.
The result, however, though exactly |
what might have been foreseen, hardly |
came up to his expectations. The four
men at the windows were waiting for |
man with handkerchief. Instead, they
saw one without any such signaling |
apparatus, evidently excited and point |
ing wildly up the street. Instantly they
conjured up visions of traitors in their
ranks and Of detectives on their tracks
and, dropping their weapons, inconti-
nently and hastily fed.
On the evening Of Oct. II. 1873, po-
liceman on duty near the Coliseum
Music hall, Liverpool, noticed an unu
sual commotion at the entrance. Di-
sheveled boys and girls, their clothing
in many instances torn from their
backs and some of them covered with
blood, were pouring from the gallery
exits, while from within the building
came the sound of shrieking and loud
cries for help. Realizing something OF
what was happening, the constable
seized an AK and smashed in two of the
extra" doors.
His prompt action undoubtedly saved
scores IL not hundreds of lives. for by
this time the auditorium had become
veritabIe pandemonium, wherein sever
al thousand people, mad with terror,
were fighting and struggling with one