In Test of Time the difference between primary and secondary sources and what they entitle are compared. The center point of the comparison is what is included of the events within the Brooklyn Theater fire and what is not. The events starts with the fire taking hold just before the last act of the melodrama “The Two Orphans” with 1000 people attending the performance split over 3 tiers of seats. They are not told of the fire and the show goes on as the fire becomes a blaze. However the Blaze becomes an inferno and is now seen by the audience who start to panic and run for their lives. However the theater had no direct way from the top tier to the ground floor to the only exit. This led to people collapsing down the steps and being trampled, blocking the stairwell. While this was happening the upper tier was dying from asphyxiation and the falling debris. The conclusion in both is also the same with over 300 dead and the theater being no more. What is in Kate Claxton interview with the Philadelphia Times 9 years later and what is in the historical archives at the Brooklyn Historical Society is the same event but told in different ways.