PETERSFIELD.
BURSTING OF A CANNON.—TWO MEN IN A PIT.—Four amateur Artillerymen, comprising first gunner Failes, alias ‟Brighton Bill,” second gunner Maidlow, with assistant gunners Hobbs and Minchin, were at practice, so as to render themselves effective for celebrating the Tenth, when one the most providential escapes from death injury occurred, we have ever had the opportunity of recording. Now as ‟all’s well that ends well,” we will endeavour give a short narrative of the circumstances, the same being supplied on the spot soon after the occurrence, by the aforesaid gunner Failes. On Wednesday (market day), preceding the celebration, the cannon was planted in the middle path and pointed down the garden at the back of the Post-office the High-street, on the left of which, a little In the rear of the gun, and six feet from the same, is a cucumber-pit made of brick, eight feet by four, and , between two and three feet deep, being quite empty at the time; between which first gunner Failes, and second gunner Maidlow took their stations, with assistants Hobbs and Minchin about six feet on the right rear. It appeared that the piece had been three times discharged satisfactorily, when upon the fourth loading the charge was made with loose powder, and without being particularly nice as to the quantity. Having stated this much for the better information of our readers, we will give a verbatim report from the before named first gunner, who said—‟I was here, and gunner Maidlow was there behind me, (being between the gun and cucumber-pit.) had a stick in my hand with a match at the end, I stooped down like this (the gunner hereupon put himself in attitude, clearly showing that he kept bis nose far from the smell of stinking powder as his extended arm would allow) and fired the cannon. I didn’t know no more till I found myself atop gunner Maidlow in the cucumber-pit. When I had come to and the smoke had cleared away I looked over the top and said, ‟Where’s the cannon—she’s gone down the garden.” The whole party having recovered from the ‟stunning’’ confusion in which they were so suddenly placed, found that the gun had burst into fragments, and that the carriage had bolted, one piece having passed betwixt the heads of assistants Hobbs and Minchin, who were about a yard apart, striking the wall with great force behind them. Another piece had cut off the limb of an apple tree above, other pieces had broken the windows and tiles in a building over the men in the pit, who had escaped without injury, with the exception of skinning the right hand knuckles of ‟Brighton Bill,” and taking some skin from the right side of the face of gunner Maidlow.