Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-06-14
Very Strange Times.

| .
out of its propriety, or the people out of the
isle. The recorders of these strange events
vOuch for their infOrmants being all honorable
men, so, for convenience sake, we will, for the
moment, assume the tales they tell to be true !;
not wild hallucnations, or, worse still pure in
Yentions for the benefit of a political party IN
der a cloud.
Comets, meteoTs, triple moons, blazing stars,
blood-running streams, earthquakes, and whir-
winds figure IN the catalogue of omens dire,
but these are mere triieS. Two suns rose over
Somerset, each carrying mounted warrior with
IN lis circumference, directing the movements
OF two great armies marShaed in the heavens,
one Of which took the northern SUI by assault,
and caused its armed tenants to eyacuate II;
when the rival luminarieS amalgamated, the
| rival legionS vanished, and the sun set in such
| lurid splendor that the country beneath APP
peared like fields of blood and fire. AT Hor-
sham a great light divided and displayed two
distinct armies, the amazed spectators behold
Fierce. frey warriors tight upon the clouds,
In ranks and squadrOns, and right form of war
untl the descent Of a thick fog, smelling strongly
of yillainous powder hid the conflict from their
astonished eyes. Near Thames appeared a
great light upon the ground, which gathered
itself up into pillar of FIRE, wherein could he
plainly seen can arm brandishing a flaming
| sword" Strange noises in the air startled four
| beancutters at two O'Clock one September morn
| Ing One of the four had served as drummer in
| the kings army, and his ear recognized the
| sound of the call, then of battle, with the
clash of armor, much "shriekine" and dying
means, the hubbub continuing until daybreak
| Three honest kentish men saw three bood-red
clouds suddenly assume the forms of men, now
on foot, now on horseback, dividing into parties,
| and engaging in fierce combats; these presently
| vanished, giving place to two mounted warriors,
| who, melting into nothinoness, left the sky in
| possession OF giant phantom oyershadowod by
| gaows; and he, too, after triumphing awhile,
| disappeared. A peasanter vision greeted some
| Lincolnshire feld-workers, who heard beautiful
| music coming from they knew not where; soon
| they deserted a large yellow cloud filled by a
| crowd OF armed men marching in military or
| der, followed by body of youths and multitude
| of children, the music rising higher and higher,
| until the mysterious procession passed out of
| sight.
The lesser lights could not let their watch in
| the sky without betraying beligerent propensi-
| ties. Two stars, as big as the moon, appeared
| from under a fiery cloud at llford, and contend
| ed for supremacy, until one grew smaller and
smaller, and finally disappeared altogether,
while It's conqueror, increased in size and lustre,
poured forth streams of fire and blood for a
| couple OF hours. Cornish folks were puzzled
| by the appearance OF large star, from which
| dangled the red-footed legs of a man. 10 this
| entered square black thing three inches broad,
| taking up its quarters between the legs and the
star; then a second star came, and drove the
| first conner from the sky. Three men going to
| Ware were smitten by lightning, after which the
| sky grew SO bright they thought there must be
| great fire raging not far off; while they specu
| lated as to its whereabouts, the fire assembled
into the sky, three stars falling from it as it
went, flooding theiearth with light. An ex-cap-
| tain of the Life Guards, travelling between Ilford
| and ROmford, in company with an attorneys
| son, a fiery light issue from between two
stars, take the shape of a bell, "as bic as a can
| destick,' and fall down between them, illumin-
| ating the way so that they could distinguish the
smallest pebbles on the road. Another mid
| night wanderer witnessed shameful assault
upon the queen of night; a bodess arm strik-
| ing fair Luna eight times with sword, darken-
| ing her brightness with every stroke. May be
| it was indignation at such treatment that i'm
| PEELED the moon to shine in Somcrsetshire with
| out rejecting the least shadow of hedge or tree,
| house or man.
| Upon corporation day person of honor be-
| ing moreover knight and the son of a recu-
| SAINT saw the perfect representation of a forti-
| fled town in the sky, while another gentleman
| behold Windsor Castle standing amid the clouds
| in company with two other castles, names I'M
| known. After this it is not surprising to hear
| of six lorkshiremen seeing two or three stee-
| pies and several cathedrals floating high in air,
| some burning, some rent in twain, some upside
| down; or by same Sussex folks being bewis
| dered by the appearance of three pulpits occu-
| pied by men in black, until the said men--par-
| sons, of course-were expelled by a party of
| armed men, the exhibition concluding with two
| phantom men being drawn at t's-tail along
the edge ola eloHd, An inhabitant Of "Darkin
| in Surrey" taking a walk one evening, beheld
| strange cloud, and in it two churches, one in
| the form of a cathedral, very spacious and glo-
rlous, having upon it many goodly punacles,
As he looked he thought it grew TO a greater
splendor and glory, gittering exceedingly. He
saw, also, not far from ii, another church, in |
comparison very mean, and specially observed |
that when the cathedral appeared most glorious |
the little church seemed most dark and obscure |
but plainly discerned very bright star in the |
midst of it. and another between the two edi- |
fees. Then he perceived a puff of breath upon |
the stately cathedral, and Immediately it fell |
and vanished, while the star on it waxed more
and more glorious, but upon some special oc-
casion being called into the house, he saw not
the end OF it,"
Among other aerial apparitons may be noted |
that OF lion standing over party of reapers |
in corn field; of pair OF lions in DevOnshire; |
and OF lion, unicorn, and bear in another |
quarter. The sailors in the Downs were startled |
one morning by seeing lion in the eastern and |
dragon in the western heavens engaged i'm a |
fierce light, for the amusement, apparently of a |
couple of giants. These fading away were sue
ceeded by three naked men, AIRY castles towns
and villages, finishing up with terrific display |
OF blood and fire. The master OF a ship pass
ing the Shingles saw a cloud rise from the
ocean to a great height and then let fall a long
sword with fire issuing from its point which,
striking the sea, raised up fearful storm.
wedding party strOlliug on the hanks of the
Severn saw a cloud rise out of the river which
opened and displayed q tall black man with
meagre face, running TO and fro for little while
and then giving place to a man on horseback |
who retired TO make way tor a beautiful lady |
who, after taking stately walk, disappeared,
and then the cloud itself dispersed into thin air.
More curious still was the phantom on a white
horse appearing in cloud near Gloucester, for
that Defended into meadow, careerng therein |
with wonderful switneSs, to the dismay OF the
lockers on, who turned and fed, while the OBJ
ject of their terror reascended into the cloud
and quickly sailed beyond their view
One summer evening Berkshire gentleman
| saw an Incredible number OF diYers.shaped di
| yers-coored balls, as large as cannon balls hv |
| from the sun in an eastery direction; the sun |
| appeared to become stationary in the heavens |
| and looked like "a burning flame turning round |
| a small cloud, faster in is motion than any |
wheel" Three balls of fire fell from the sky to
| the great alarm of sundry passengers by the
| BucknghamShre wagon, hut did not create
| hall the sensation caused by one descending
| chimney in Lewes, and Pumping down in the
| parl0r wherein sat the children and newly
made widow of one Mr. bubble, This INTRUDER
| into the domestic circle burned the parlor vain.
| scot, and then made its way through the ceiling
| into an upper room, where the delunet bubble
was laid out, finally taking its departure through
| the roof, The funeral was FASTENED, land some
| of the neighbors confidently reported that the
| coffin which was buried was very light"
| Shadowy armies were not confined to the
|
| day certain people of Weston near Montgom-
cry, saw, only one hundred PAGES distant, a
/ ghostly array of horsemen, riding two abreast
mounted on steeds of bay, white, gray, and
black; for half an hour they watched the
phantom soldiers pass by, and, when they had
gone, sought in vain for any traces of the hools
oil their horses on the ground on which they had
| ridden. About the same time a mysterious
| troop OF horse was met on the Dorchester road
by gody minister, which troop our prodigy
chroniclers opne to have been the same troop
that was seen in Wales; although they naiyelv
remark, "there is a rumor that the county
troop was abroad that day, but we have not
time now 10 examine tive shall leave the
reader to satisfy himself Of the truth of the re.
ports, which at present we have not time or OPP
portunity to do" In May, 1860, headess
man clad in white appeared in Yorkshire, and
was seen galloping across the country followed
by an army of gray coats hacking and cutting
flock Of sheep as they strove TO escape through
the gaps in the hedges, until a relocated army
came to the rescue and drove the gray coats
away in utter rout. In Hertlordshre, a man
half white and half blood red was heard crying
| "Murderl murder murderk three times IN a