The Evening critic., 1883-05-01
A MYSTERIOUS LIGHT,
which Causes Great CommotI0n
Among she Superstitious on tho
RoeIx willie pike

which Causes Great Commoti0n
Among the Superstitious on the
Rockville Pike.
For several nights past the residents in
Tennallytown and vicinity have been much
exercised by the appearance of peculiar
light ON the Rockville pike, near the
boundary line.
The light appears about 9:30 o'clock at
night. At first it is small and the color
dim, bearing q resemblance to the light sup
piled in a lamp by inferior kerosene oil,
but it rapidly expands and becomes
brighter, and in an hour after its first ap-
pearance it is of good size and is as
Brilliant and Penetrating as an Etec-
tric Light.
Even on the darkest nights the leaves
and budsson the trees are made plainly Wis.,
ible, and sight-seers many yards on tho op-
posite side can be seen and distinguished.
Every night numbers from Tennallytown
and the neighborhood collect on the road be-
fore the appearance of the light and eagerly
watch for it. Its appearance has an awe
inspiring effect, and those of timid natures
seeing it for the first time often turn and
fee for distance before they can ap-
proach it. After seeing it once the feeling
of fear is lost, and even nervous ladies are
anxious for the return Of night to again
This is the first time in great many
years that the light has been seen in this
vicinity, old residents saying that only
once before, during the administration Of
Thomas jefferson, it appeared on the Rock
vile pike, and even then the rays were not
near SO grand and far-reaching as those of
the present one. The superstitious and
ignorant regard the appearance of the
light as
The F0rerunner of Some Great Evil,
and predict the early destruction and death
of those who are hardy enough to look upon
it long. One particularly ignorant old
Maryland farmer declares that the late
cyclone in the Mississippi Valley will be
repeated over tho entire country, and God
will be avenged upon this idolatrous and
wicked generation. There is no doubt, he
says, that the light is like the sign upon
the walls in ancient Babylon, aud it tells Of
great trouble and all should
Seek the Lord and Confess Their
Sins.
1t is noticeable that none of these super
| stitious residents will venture on the road,
and many of them will not even leave their
| houses after the light has appeared for the
| night They call it trifling with God to do
so, and denounce in vehement terms those
| who disagree with them. Parents who are
| afraid force their children to supper early,
and Immediately afterward the little ones
are made to retire for the night, to be soon
followed by their fathers and mothers A
person riding along the road at night can
easily distinguish
The Homes of the SuperstitiOus
from those who are more enlightened and
fearless.
Total darkness and the stiffness of a
cemetery hangs around the yards and resi-
dences of the former, while the usual life
and cheerfulness marks the homes of the
intelligent. A supersttious farmer objects
even to his horses and cattle being out afGer
nine o'clock, and the time after the sun
goes down is mainly devoted to housing and
combining them. The belief exists that
close contact with the glare of the light
will cause
Disease Among the Cattle and Ger.
| tain Death,
hence the anxiety to conceal them under
barns, sheds and stables. The frequent
deaths of fine stock in the vicinity during
the latter part of April is given by them
in support of that theory. The light at.
tains its greatest brilliancy about 12 O. oclock
and then grows gradually DINNER and
completely fades from sight by
in the morning. Every night, when the
weather permits, crowds linger on the road
side to sec the last Pickering view and
then regretfully retrace their steps home.
ward. The preachers in the neighboring
churches and visitors from Washington
are almost nightly among the eager throng
that brave the chilly nocturnal air for Q
glimpse at
The Wonderful illumination.
A popularity about the light is that nc
one can approach it closer than fifty ol
seventy.fve yards. An attempt to do Sc
causes it to Immediately move into the
field along the roadside to which it may bt
nearest. The same distance from the pur
suer will be maintained, if an attempt il
made to follow it across tho fields. Some
times the light wanders from the Rockvill,
pike to the River road and back, and agaii
to Brookville road, but it can nearl,
always be seen on the Rockville road, nea
the District line. There it made its frs
appearance, and there, or near by, it re
mains, unless disturbed by the action of tn
wind or the approach of some inquisitivt
individual.
Fashion Notes.