The daily Alaskan., 1913-03-03
SCARES IN LONDON
When Cranks Predicted the De-
 struCtiOn of the City.
TERROR RULED THE PEOPLE.

Bell, a Lunatio, Had the Entire POpu-
 lstion In a Frenzy of Fear Awaiting
 the End by Earthquake In 176i-Tho
 River Thames Panic of 1928.
 Men. 1t has been well said. think in herds. It will be seen that they go mad in herds. for innumerable in' stances can be given of a whole people suddenly shaking of the trammels Of reason and running wild under the de fusion of some impending calamity.
 A panic terror of the eud of the world spread over London in 1736 by the prophecy of tbe famous Winston, who predicted that the world would be destroyed ou Oct l3 ln that year. Crowds of people went out on the ap- pointed day to Ishngton, Highgate. Hampstead and the intervening fields to witness the destruction of London, which was to be the beginning of the end"
 Again In the year 1761 the citizens of London were plunged into excitement by two earthquake shocks, and the prophecy of a third, which was to de- stroy them altogether. The first of these shocks was on Feb and threw down several chlmneys; the second was on March 8 Public notice was directed to the fact that there was ex- actly a months interval between the two shocks, and a crack brained fel. low named Bell was so impressed with the idea that thera would be a third in the forthcoming month that be com pletely lost his senses and ran about the streets predicting the destruction of London on April 5.
 As the nwful day approached the ex- cltement became Intense, and great numbers of credulous people resorted to all the villages within a circuit of twenty miles, there to await the doom of London. Blackheath, Isllngton, HIghgate, Hampstead and Harrow were crowded with panic stricken fugitives who paid eEorbitant prices for accommodations in these secure re- treats. Such as could not afford to pay for lodgings at these places encamped In the surrounding fields.
 As Is usual in pauics, the fear be- came contagious. and hundreds who had laughed at the prediction a week before packed up their goods and chat tels when they saw others doing so and hastened away. The river was thought to be a place Of great security, and accordingly all the available mer- chant vessels and barges were packed with people, who passed the night be tween the 4th ard 5th on board, ex- pecting every moment to see St. Pauls totter and the towers of Westminster abbey rock and fall amid a cloud of dust But on the following day the greater part of the fugitiyes returned convinced that the prophecy was q false one. A few months afterward Bell was confined in a lunatic asylum, where he died.
 Great consternation was caused in London in l524 by a prediction that on the lst day of February the waters of the Thames would overflow the whole city Of London and wash away 10000 houses. The prophecy was implicitly believed, and many families packed up their goods and removed into Kent and Essex. As the time drew near the numbers Of these emigrants increased In January droves of workmen might be seen, followed by their wives and children, trudging on foot to the vil- Iages within fifteen or twenty miles to await the catastrophe. People of a higher class were also to be seen in vehicles bound on a similar errand
 By the middle of January at least 10000 persons ha5 quilted the doomed city, leaving nothing but the bare walls of their homes to be swept away by the impending floods. Many of the wealthier class tcok up their abode on the heights of Hampstead, Highgate and Blackheath, and some erected tents as far away as WNtham abbey on the north and Croydon on the south of the Thames.
 On the fateful morning the wonder ing crowds were astir at an early hour to watch the rising of the waters. It was predicted that the inundation would be gradual, not sudden, so that they expected to have plenty of time to escape as soon as they saw the wa ters rise beyond the usual mark.
 The day grew older, and the Thames dowed on quietly as of yore. The tide eb6ed at it's usual hour, flowed to it's usual height and then ebbed again, just as if twenty astrologers had not pledg- ed their word to the contrary.
 Blank were their faces as evening approached. and as blank grew the faces of the citizens to think that they had made such fools of themselves Night set in, and the obstinate river would not lift It's waters to sweep away even one home out of the 10,- 900. Stll, however, the people were afraid to go to sleep. Many hun dreds remained up till dawn of the next day, lest the deluge should come upon them like a thief in the night On the morrow 1t was seriously dis-