180 GUNPOWDER 



In all five, as I have said, suffered ; 

 but the most remarkable part of this 

 sad calamity was, that the soldier who 

 stood sentinel over the powder had his 

 musket torn from his hold, and every 

 button from the front of his jacket, by 

 the force of the concussion, while he 

 remained unhurt, though stupefied for a 

 time such, I believe, is the uncertain 

 effect of gunpowder. 



It is not a little singular that a 

 similar catastrophe, though not from gun- 

 powder, of a very recent date, should 

 be equally as remarkable. The following 

 is extracted from the Times, of Sept. 

 12th, 1859: 



"EXPLOSION ON BOARD THE GREAT EAST- 

 ERN. The ruin here would have been an 

 instructive sight for engineers to witness. 

 It would be still better if medical men 

 could inspect them, and solve the 

 problem of how it can possibly have 

 happened that men who stood round 



