We are told that a murrain appeared among the cattle, without any preliminary step. When the blains broke out upon man and beast, Moses had been previously directed by the Almighty to take handfuls of the ashes of the furnace, and sprinkle them towards the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. "_And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt_, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt." Another coincidence, in connexion with subsequent pestilences, arrests the attention, on the subject of the mysterious appearance on these occasions of {37} matter resembling dust being prevalent about the houses, and on the clothes of the people. Clouds also, and showers of dust-like particles, were not of infrequent occurrence. Indeed, in the summer of 1849, during the progress of the Cholera, several phenomena of a similar nature were observed and authenticated; I myself can bear testimony to one instance of the kind. It was observed by many persons in my neighbourhood after the passage of an ominous and lurid cloud, that as they walked their clothes became covered with a singular dust-like matter of very peculiar appearance. That this phenomenon was not destitute of significance may be gathered from the fact, that on the night of that day several severe cases of Cholera occurred, though our village had been comparatively free for ten days. Hecker, in writing on the Black Death says, the German accounts expressly speak of a "thick stinking mist which advanced from the east,[15] and {38} spread itself over Italy; there could be no deception in so palpable a phenomenon." It is not unworthy of mention, that in the East successive invasions of locusts "which had never perhaps darkened the sun in thicker swarms," preceded the great outbreak of this disease, for they left famine in their train. From 1500 to 1503 in Germany and France, during the prevalence of the sweating sickness, spots of different colours made their appearance, "principally red, but also white, yellow, grey, and black, often in a very short time, on the roofs of houses, on clothes, on the veils and neckerchiefs of women, &c." Blood rain is also mentioned as having occurred at this time, which consisted of the aggregation of minute particles of red matter.