EXPLOSION. 1 79 



another ; but the loudest and most general 

 cry was, that the Custom-house had been 

 blown up. Joining the crowd, I presently 

 ascertained this to be wrong, which relieved 

 my panting heart not a little ; for I had a 

 near and dear Mend there, whose wife 

 was in the crowd, and who clung to 

 me in her panic. 



Having reassured her, and walked 

 back with her a short distance, I 

 hastened to the scene of destruction. 

 The powder on the beach had by some 

 means ignited. An Irishwoman, the wife 

 of one of the soldiers who had disem- 

 barked with the detachment, had been 

 sitting on one of the casks, smoking a 

 pipe, which must have been the cause 

 of this terrible explosion. The poor 

 creature was never after seen alive. One 

 other was blown over the houses, and 

 dashed against the front of the Isle of 

 Wight Sloop " Public," which was covered 

 with blood and brains. 



N2 



