Year: 1876

A LUCKY wAsHINGToNIAN's ESCAPE FROM


THE GALLERY.


James Collins. an Englishman. about y
years old. l. the messenger of the British Ie-
CATION at Washington, and was at the Brook
lyn Theatre on the night of the fire. Collins
comes TO New York twice week II mail
ard carry official letters for and 10 Minister
Thornton. On Tuesday evening las ne came
10 Brooklyn, to escort "a young lady to the
theatre. She was unable 10 accompany him.
and, heing alone, he took seat in the gal
ry-front row, two seats from the front
aisle


When the alarm OF fire occurred, Collins
says, everybody jumped for the aisle BE
fore arrived at the rear of the gallery seats.
pieces Of burnt cloth from the ceiling over
head were falling all around Us. and the
smoke was suffocating; l think that not
We all went with a rush. Those before me
were in one general pile each


STRUGGLING FoR LIFE.


j was pushed head first on top of others who
already filled the stairway. and simultane-
ously hundreds piled ON top. All that end of
the gallery around the stairs was one mass
piled many deep. The gas was evidently
turned OF while was i'm that hole. Had there
been no fire or smoke, many would have
been killed by the trampling and tearing.
My clothes were mostly torn from me. 1 lost
OF their ability. We turned from top To bot
tom and from bottom to top. rolled. crawled
climbed and pitched ourselves along like a
writing mass OF angle worms. There were





this when was working my way out. do
not know whether | came down the second
stairs head first on my face or on my back: |
was i'm every condition in which n human
form can be twisted; was among the lucky
ones vino were finally rolled down the last
stairs into the street. i saw about twenty
women i'm the gallery. / am quite certain
that two near me must have persisted. At
least a dozen persons jumped over the bal
cony into the dress circle and parquette.


Mr.. Collins was badly bruised, and slows
the effects OF the mauling he received. IL was
some time after getting into the street before
he recovered his power of speech, but, he
says, that he then Informed those with whom
he cOnversed that a large number of people
still remained i'm the building.


AN OLD LADY COMMITS SUICIDE. MAD


DEEMED BY THE CATASTROPHE.


A suicide of as shocking a character as has
ever taken place in this city occurred at All
Myrtle avenue ON Saturday morning. The
victim was widow. named Sarah Good
rich, who had reached the venerable age OF
g years. IL seems that the old lady's mimi
had been greatly affected by the burning OF
The theafer and the atte dant loss OF life. al
though she had no friends or relatives am6ng
the victims, and ii is supposed that the sad
stories of the calamity she was forced TO hear
unsettled her reason and led to the commits
sion of the rash act which she accomplished
by cutting her throat with razor. The un-
fortunate woman got out OF bed at about 4
O'Clock that morning, procured a razor and
cut her throat almost from ear to ear. Her
death groans awake ned another woman who
slept IN the same room and who was horror
strienan al the spectacle which met her gaze.
Mrs. Goodrich was respectfully connected
IBTOOLI5a Argus, l3fh.