The document with this title, that has got into the newspapers,has been dressed up for the public eye. We have obtained theoriginal draft, and beg to administer it to our readersneat, in the precise language it was written in.
MR. SNOOKS says, that it being his turn to be on watch on thenight of Saturday, October 30th, he went to his duty as usual, andhaving turned into his box, slept until he was amazed by shouts andthe rolling of wheels in all directions. The upper door of his boxbeing open, he looked out of it, and his head struck violentlyagainst something hard, upon which he attempted to open the lowerdoor of his box, when he found he could not. Thinking there wassomething wrong, he became very active in raising an alarm, butcould obtain no attention; and he has since found that in the hurryof moving property from different parts of the building, his boxhad been closely barricaded; and he, consequently, was compelled toremain in it until the following morning. He says, however, thateverything was quite safe in the middle of the day when he took hisgreat-coat to his box, and trimmed his lantern ready for theevening.
MRS. SNOOKS, wife of the above witness, corroborates the accountof her husband, so far as trimming the lanthern in the daytime isconcerned, and also as to his being encased in his box until themorning. She had no anxiety about him, because she had beendistinctly told that the fire did not break out until past ten, andher husband she knew was sure to be snug in his box by thattime.
JOHN JONES, a publican, says, at about nine o’clock onSaturday, the 30th of October, he saw a light in the Tower, whichflickered very much like a candle, as if somebody was continuallyblowing one out and blowing it in again. He observed this for abouthalf an hour, when it began to look as if several gas-lights werein the room and some one was turning the gas on and off veryrapidly. After this he went to bed, and was disturbed shortlybefore midnight by hearing that the Tower was in flames.
SERGEANT FIPS, of the Scotch Fusileer (Qy. Few sillier)Guards, was at a public-house on Tower-hill, when, happening to goto the door, he observed a large quantity of thick smoke issuingfrom one of the windows of the Tower. Knowing that Major Elrington,the deputy governor, was fond of a cigar, he thought nothing of thecircumstance of the smoke, and was surprised in about half an hourto see flames issuing from the building.
GEORGE SNIVEL saw the fire bursting from the Tower on Saturdaynight, and being greatly frightened he ran home to his mother assoon as possible. His mother called him a fool, and said it was thegas-works.
THOMAS POPKINS rents a back attic at Rotherhithe; he had beenpeeling an onion on the 30th of October, and went to the window forthe purpose of throwing out the external coat of the vegetablementioned in the beginning of his testimony, when he saw a largefire burning somewhere, with some violence. Not thinking it couldbe the Tower, he went to bed after eating the onion—which hasbeen already twice alluded to in the course of his evidence.
MR. SWIFT, of the Jewel-office, says, that he saw the Towerburning at the distance of about three acres from where the jewelsare kept, when his first thought was to save the regalia. For thispurpose he rushed to the scene of the conflagration and desiredeverybody who would obey him, to leave what they were about andfollow him to that part of the Tower set apart for the jewels.Several firemen were induced to quit the pumps, and