The Republican journal., 1871-11-23
Phantom Armies.

gentleman. name Alexander Jaifray,
Laird of kingswclls, was riding across a
piece of wide and waste moorland to the
west OF Aberdeen, when, about eight
| O'Clock in the morning, he beheld-to his
great alarm and bewilderment, as he
states in a letter to his friend, Sir Archi-
| bald Grant. of Monymusk (printed by
the Spaulding Cuba body of about
seven thousand soldiers drawn up in front
of him, all under arms, with colors un-
! cased and waving, and the drums slung
on the drummers' backs. A clear morn
| ing sun was shining; so he saw them dis
tinctly, and also commander, who rode
along the line, mounted on q white
| charger.
| Dubious whether to advance or retire,
and sorely perplexed as to what mysteri-
Gus army this was, the worthy Laird of
| kingswells and companion, an old Scot
| tish soldier who had served in Low
Country wars, reined in their horses, and
continued to gaze on this unexpected ar
ray for nearly two hours; till suddenly
the troops broke into marching order, and
departed toward Aberdeen, near which, he
adds, ''the hill called the Stockett tooke
them out of sight,
Nothing more was heard or seen of this
! phantom force until the 21st of the ensu-
ing October, when upon the same ground
the then open and desolate White -myres
on fine clear afternoon, when some
hundred persons were returning home
from the yearly fair of Old Aberdeen,
about two thousand infantry, clad in blue
uniforms faced with white, and with all
their arms shining in the evening sun,
were distinctly visible; and after space
the same commander on the same white
charger rode slowly along the shadowy
line. Then long ''wreath of smoak
apiered, rs if they had fired, but no noise"
followed
To add to the marvel OF this scene, the
spectators, who we have said were nu-
merous, saw many of their friends, who
We're coming from the fair, pass through
this line of impalpabIe shadows, of which
they could see nothing until they came to
certain point upon the moor, and looked
back to the sloping ground. Then, pre-
clsely as before, those phantoms in for
eien uniform hrole into marching order,
and moved toward the Bridge of the Dee.
They remained visible, however, for three
hours, and only seemed TO fade out or
melt gradually away as the sun set be-
hind the mountains. ''This will puzzle
thy philosophy" adds the lard at the
close Of his letter to the baronet of MonY-
musk ''but thou needst not doubt of the
certainty of either"
Scottish tradition, and even Scottish
history, especially after the Reformation,
recorded many such instances of optical
phenomena, which were source Of great
terror and amazcment to the simple folks
of those days; and England was not with
out her full share of them, either; but
science finds ready solution for all such
delusions now They are chiefly peculiar
to mountainous districts, and may appear
in many shapes and in many numbers, OF
singly, like the giant of the Broeken-tht
spectators own shadow cast on the op
posite clouds, and girt with rings Of con
centric lighter like the wondrous fog
5 bow so recently seen from the Matter
horn.
! Almost on the same ground where tht
: Laird Of kingswells saw the army o
| phantoms, and doubtless resulting from
= the same natural and atmospheric causes
: a similar appearance had been visible OF
I the 18th Of February. 1913, when 4 grea
: body Of horse and foot appeared rs j
: under arms on the Brigmman Hill. Ac
+. coutred with matchbox, pike, and morton
l tuty IUUhcu StOoJ-iht itll lHlSJY as tne'
skinned through the gray vapor abou
eight o'clock in the morning; but on til,
2 sun breaking forth from bank Of clouC
they vanished, and the green hill slope:
l We're left bare, or occupied by sheep alone
J Much about the same time another army
t was seen to hover in the air over the Moor
7 of Fortar "Quhilkis VISIONS" adds the
Commissary Spaulding, "the people
thocht to be prodigious tokens, and i
l fell out owre trew, rs may be seen here
t after
7 Indigestion, heavy dinners. and heavier
9 drinking had doubtless much to do IL
! creating some of the spectral delusions OF
| those days; and inborn superstition, to,
. gether with q heated fancy, were offer
L not wanted as additional accessories
9 But in the gloomy and stormy autumn
that preceded the march Of the Scottish
t Covenanters into England omens of III
l kinds teemed to q wonderful extent in the
! land When Alaster Macdonnel son o
Coll the Devastator, as the Wings nameC
2 him, landed from Ireland, at the Rhin o
: Ardnamurchan, in Morven, to Join the
Scottish cavaliers under the Marquis o
t Montrose, then in arms for the king, it
/ was alleged that the hum of cannon-shot
was heard in the air, passing all ovel
2 Scotland from the Atlantic to the German
Sea; that many strange lights appeared
in the armament; and that on 4 gloomy
night in the winter of 1850, q spectre
7 drummer, beating in succession the Scot
t tish and English marches, summoned to ;
2 ghostlv conference, ut the castle gate o
J Edinburgh, Colonel Dundis Of that Tx, /;
! corrupt officer, who on being bribed by
! al
l the fortress, together with some siXty
pieces of cannon.
l All the private diaries and quaint
e chronicles Of late years published by the
: various literary clubs in England anC
l Scotland TEEN with such marvels, but the
4 latter country was more particularly af
i ficted by them; omens, warnings, an(
q predictions of coming peril rendering it
: by their number md character, extremel,
: doubtful whether Heaven or the Other
Y place was the mort interested in Scottish
S affairs.
: In 1888 fairy drums were heard beating
on the hills of Dun Echt, in Aberdeen
shire, according to the narrative OF thu
. parson Of Rothiemay in 1913 we hear o
e the noise of drums ''and apparitions o
). ARRIVES" at Bankafair in the same county
, L "
: coat on horseback carrying his own ban
: ner with its bend Of azure and three
n buckles or, appeared on the summit Of ;
t tower at st. Johnstown. Science nov
G explains such visions as the aerial Nor
o CANA, produced by the reflection of rea
objects on peculiar atmospheric arrange
f ment; but then they were source Of un
3 limited terror
r folio of ''Apparitions and Wonders,
+ preserved in the British Museum, record
# that, at Durham, on the 9th of Septem
x Der, 1908. when the evening sky wa
/ serene and full Of stars, q strange ant
il prodigious light spread over its north
r western quarter. as if the sun itself wa
d shining; then came streamers which turn
h ed to armed men ranked on horseback
l. j. Edmonson, the writer OF the broad
e sheet, adds at was thought they woul(
n see the apparition better in Scotland, be
: cause it appeared great way north; the
n same," he continues, gravely, "was see
in tho 1otter and of March 1704 - and th