wo inches
deep on the gallery floor, and poured down the stairs in miniature
cascades.

"A great number of boxes, bales, and packages of goods lay upon the main
floor, among which the water poured down from the edge of the gallery
floor in destructive quantities; Fortunately but few goods were opened,
and were upon the tables, or the damage would have been irreparable. As
it is, we fear some of the goods are injured. In the height of the
storm, the centre portion of the fanlight over the western entrance
burst in, and several single lights were broken, by staging or
otherwise.

"About ten minutes after the storm burst, the most terrific hailstorm we
ever saw began to rattle, like discharges of musketry, upon the tin roof
and glass sides. Some of the masses of ice were as large as hen's eggs.
There were probably a thousand excited workmen in the building, and a
good many exhibitors and visitors, among whom there were some twenty
ladies, some of whom appeared a good deal alarmed at the awful din. A
portion of the frame-work of the addition next to 42d street, went down
with a terrible crash, and a part of the brick wall of the engine-house
on the opposite side of the street, was blown over, crushing two or
three shanties, fortunately without any other injury than driving the
occupants out into the storm. But an awful scene occurred on the north
side of 43d street, directly opposite the Latting Tower. Here two large
unfinished frame buildings were blown, or rather, we should judge from
appearances, were crushed down into a mass of ruins, such as may be
imagined by supposing a great weight had fallen, with a circular,
grinding motion, upon the first fine fabrics. One of them was partly
sided, and had the rafters up, but no roof; the other was sided and
rooted with tin, and was being plastered. We were told it was three
stories high, 50 by 98 feet.

"We reached the ruins among the first, after the burst of the storm
subsided a little. The scene was such as we pray God we may never
witness again. A small portion of the roof and upper part of the front
of the building stood or rather partly hung over the side-walk. The
chamber and lower floor of the front rooms lay flat together. The sides
were standing. In the rear all were down. In this building, besides the
workmen, there were numerous laborers who had taken shelter under its
roof when the storm drove them hurriedly from their work. How so many
persons escaped death is