The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1908-11-07
A QUEER EXPERIENCE
a-Tadema's Miraculous Es-
cape From Death.
FREAKS OF AN EXPLOSION.
The Artists House Was Wrecked. and
How He Got Out Alive and Unin-
Jured Is Mystery-The Puzzle Of the
Staircase and Hallway.

In 1874 a canalboat carrying hun
dred barrels of gunpowder along the
Regents park canal in London ex
pioded just opposite the magnificent
house OF Laurence Alma-Tadema, the
famous artist. across the road. This
happened at o'clock on a rainy morn
ing. Every window in London within
radius of mile was smashed. and
the houses in the immediate vicinity.
though solidly built of brick and stone,
were wrecked.
was sound asleep In bed at the
dme,' said Alma-Tadema, "and the
nfSt knew of the explosion was when
found myself standing out on the
Sidewalk in front of my house in the
rain, with my pajamas on and bare
1eet How | got there never knew.
Inc entire top of the brick wall In
front OF the lawn before my house was
down off. and the front of the house
itself was as if driven in by the blow
of giants fist.
The canalboat, we found out after
ward, had blown up underneath n solid
bridge that crossed the canal at that
point. Had it not been for that nv
mouse and the others near it would
nave been utterly knocked to pieces
At was fortunate, too, that there was !
40 one on the street at the time. Had
sne explosion occurred in the DAYTIME /
hundreds of persons might have been (
Killed or manned.
But the strangest episode connected
WIN the event concerned the man
!. duty 1t was to keep watch on
tue bridge during the night. His name
was Peter Knox. He was thirty seven
years old. married and had two chill
uren. knew the fellow and had often
cnattea with him on the bridge. The
nay before the explosion he had ar
ranged with friend Of his to come of
! O'Clock and relieve him. 1t was a
saturday, and he wanted to take his
vie and children little trip down TO
oushey park on the Thames, and he
wished to get to his home in east Lon
Ion IN time so as to have breakfast
lnd be Off early on Sunday morning.
well, as 4 O'clock drew near. Peter.
70 ne told me afterward. began to feel
lhxlous lest his friend should have
orgotten the appointment. He paced
lp and down the bridge and looked
~ the street. but the morning was SO
lark and misty with the rain that he
'ould see only a short distance
ew minutes before 4 he said. he no.
iced lire of canalboats come slow c
down toward the bridge. but paid .
10 specia dttet11ion to them.
lust before the FIRST boat passed |
lnder the bridge he stepped off it, f
hough in doing so he VAS Infringing V
he regulations, and sauntered up the
treet in the direction from which he S
expected his friend to appear lie had e
one about forty yards when the ex |
dosion took place. and when he ;lirned r
lot brici of the bridge was lett If
e had been less impatient or If his S
riend had been me-. f4onpt. one or s
10Th of them worla have been t
cen or heard of NJ r
But my own little adventure was t
lngular enough. As | said. was
ot conscious of having been awak- e
- Nt4N c-sPlpoEOu, Sll!l less OF
aving got out of bed. come down. y
tairs, opened the front door and step p
ed out to the sidewalk The shock
ad Knocked all memory of these acts t
ut OF my head, and l have never re- IL
oyered it. Ii
But what puzzled me most was the y
of things found when n
rent back into the house. The hall h
'as mass of wreckage, and the stair Il
ase from top to bottom was covered o.
'lth pieces of broken glass, sharp as IL
azors and so distributed that found n
impossible to ascend without a light W
show me where not to tread. A
nevertheless had come down e.
aose same stairs, with my eyes shut u
unseeing. and had never so much as
my bare feet. The thing
7as impossible, and yet / had done II
mad been skeptical about miracles
efore that, but since then have hecn NJ
9th believer and an evangelism c,
hicago Record Herald. /;