The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1883-09-27
A STRANGE STORY SWORN TO.
Thirty Men Make Oath in Court of
What They Saw at stromboli.

doubt as to whether or not there is 6
hell, the following from the British
Naval Chronicle, 1907, may not be
uninteresting:
An Abstract from tie Journal Of tie ShtI
lSphtnr, IN the gear 1886, up the Straits.
May 12.-When we arrived at
Manson we found three ships lying
there fran London, commanded by
the Captains Bristol, Brown and
Burnaby; all going to LiPari to
load.
May l3.-These three ships sail
ed in company with the Sphinx
wind N. W. to Lipari, where they
anchored in twelve fsthoms water
wind S S. W.
May 1.-THE four Captains and
a Mr. Bell, a merchant, went on
shore upon the Island of Mount
Stromboli to shoot rabbits. About
II o'clock they called their men to-
gether to go on board their respec-
tive ships, when, to their inexpress-
ible establishment, they saw the APP
pearance of two men coming very
swiftly through the air toward them;
one of them appeared to be dressed
in black and the other in gray
clothes: they passed close by with
the greatest rapidly, and, to their
extreme CONSERVATION, descended,
amid the burning flames, into the
mouth of that dreadful volcano,
Mount Stromboli At their entrance
there issued tremendous noises the
flames rushed out most terribly, and
Captain Burnaby cried out The
Lord bless me ! the foremost of the
two, in block clothes, is old Mr..
Booty, my next door neighbOr at
Mapping but do not know the
other He then desired them all
to write down 10 their pocketbooks,
or note it on something, what they
had then seen, which was imme>
diately done by the three Captains
and Mr.. Bell, and likewise entered
10 the different ships journals at the
same time.
When these four ships had taken
10 their loadings at Lipari they sail
ed together for London When they
arrived in the River Thames, at
Gravesend, Captain Buruaby's wife
came from London to him. He then
sent for the other three Captains to
come on board bis ship to cOngratu
late him on his wife's arrival. After
they had thus met little converse
ton passed between them in the
cabin, when Mrs. Burnaby suddenly
started from her chair and said to
her husband my dear, I'll tell
you some news odd Mr.. Booty is
dead.
He directly answered: we all
saw him go into bell = and told her
what they had seen, as before rela-
ted, to her serious alarm.
When Mrs. Burnaby had returned
to London she went to an acquain>
lance and related this serious event
that her husb band had seen the
soul of Mr.. Booty go into hell on the
18th of May last This gentlewo~
man then mentioned the same to
Mrs. Booty, widow of the deceased,
who Immediately took a writ out OF
the Kings Bench Court in the penal
sum of FL, 900 damages, and arrest
ed Captain Burnaby for defamation
upon her late husbands soul. Cap"
tain Burnaby gave bond to stand
trial and he then took out of the
Court of the Kings Bench, 10 West
minister Hall, summons for all the
people that had attended the late
MIR. Booty 10 his last sickness and
at the time of bis death also the
sexton of the parish who buried him,
and the clothes be last wore before
his sickness he had taken care of, to
be introduced 10 court On the day OF
trial.
When the trial came on the differ
ent persons with the black clothes
we're there met by Captain Burma
by, the Captains of the other three
ships and the men of the four boats,
With Mr.. Bell, who we're all on the
said Island of Stramboli and saw the
two apparitions descend into the
burning flames on the aforesaid 18th
day of May last. Ten of the men of
the boats made oath that the buttons
on the coat which the spparition had
on were like the one present, being
molds covered with black cloth the
same sort that the coat was made OF.
The different persons who were with
Mr.. Booty at the time of bis deceaae
made oath that bis death happened
at 5 o'clock p. m. on the 18th of
MAY last, which was 10 the year
1856 The jury then asked the
Captain of Sphinx if he knew Mr.
Booty in bis lifetime He answered
that be never saw him in his life
time, but plainly observed the dress
the apparition had on, which Mr.
Burnaby said WAS Mr.. Booty, in
company with another, unknown.
The Judge then spoke: The
Lord grant that | may never see
such sight as that, for think it
impossible for thirty men to be mis-
taken
The jury'then gave their verdict
against the widow Booty, the plain
tiff to pay the costs of the court.
The foregoing are facts, extracted
from the journal of the ship Sphiux's