St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1883-08-18
HELL !.
Thirty Men Make Oath in Court of
what They Saw I'm StronboII.

w. A. NJ writes to the editor Of
the New York Sun as follows: To those
whose minds are troubled with doubt
( as to whether or not there is hell.
the following from tile British Naval
Chronicle, 1907, may not be uninterest-
ing:
All Abstract from the Journal Of the
Sphinx, in the year 1856, up the
Straits.
May 1s-When we arrived at Manson
We found three ships lying there from
London commanded by the Capts.
Bristol, Brown and Barnaby all going
to Liverpool to load.
May 13-These three ships sailed in
company with the Sphinx (wind N. W.
to Liparl, where they anchored in
twelve fathoms water (wind S. S. W..
May 1.-THE four captains and Mr.
Bell, a merchant, went on shore upon
the Island of Mount StromboIl to shoot
rabbits. About three o'clock they
called their men. together to go on
board respective their ships when totheir
lnexpressible establishment they saw the
appearance Of two men coming very
swiftly through the air toward them !;
one of them appeared to be dressed in
black and the other in grey clothes !;
they passed close by with the greatest
rapidity, and, to their extreme conster-
nation, descended amid the burning
flames, into the mouth Of that dread
full volcanot Mount Stromboll. At
their entrance there issued tremendous
noises; the flames rushed out most
terribly, and Capt. Barnaby cried out:
1.-THE Lord bless me the foremost of
the two, i'll black clothes, is old Mr..
Booty, my next door neighbor at Wap-
ping; but do not know the other
He then desired them all to write down
in their pociletbooks, or note it on
something, what they had then seen );
which was Immediately done by the
wise entered in the different ships
journals at the same time.
When these four ships had taken in
their loadings at Lipari they sailed to-
gether for London. When they arrived
in the river Thames at Gravesend, Capt.
Barnahy's wife came from London to
him. He then sent for the other three
captains to come on board his ship to
congratulate him on his Wife's arrival.
After they had thus met little con-
versatifsa passed between them in the
cabin, when Mrs. Barnaby suddenly
startad from her chair and said to her
husband My dear, I'll tell you some
news. Old Mr.. Booty is dead
He directly answered .We all saw
him go into hell ! and told her what
they had seen, as before related to her
serious alarm.
When Mrs. Barnaby had returned to
London she went to an acquaintance |
and related this serious event-that
her husband had seen the soul OF Mr.. I
Rnofu rrr> ~ hall on ho fnnrfnanfh of /
May last. This gentleman then mem
toned the same to Mrs. Booty, widow
of the deceased, who Immediately took
a writ out Of Kings Bench Court in the
penal sum OF f1000 damag es, and ar
rested Capt. Barnaby for defamation
upon her late husbands soul. Capt.
Barnaby gave bond to stand trial; and
he then took ont of the Court of the
Kings Bench. in Westminster Hall,
for all the people that had
attended the late Mr.. Booty in his last
sickness and at the. time Of his death
also the sexton of the parish who bur-
led him, and the clothes he last wore
before his sickness he had taken care of, +
% be introduced into court On the day
1f trial. Il sE sF3
When the trial came on the different
persons with the black clothes were
brought into court, and were met by
Capt. Barnaby. the captains Of the 9TH
II three ships and the men Of the four
coats, with Mr.. Bell, who were ali on
he said Island of StromboH and saw
he two apparitions descend into the |
flames. on tile aforesaid 18th !
lay of May last. Ten of the men Of ;
he boats made oath that the buttons
IN the coat which the apparition had oh {
we're like the one present, being molds {
covered with black cloth, tile same
ort that the coat was made of. The
ifferent persons who were with Mr.. :
Booty at the time of th, dicease made t
,ath that Ills death haDDened at 2 c