Well, they said nothing of what they had seen, and perhaps they almost
forgot it by nearly the same season in the following year, when the
servant, whose name was Daniel Strickett, saw one evening a whole troop
of horsemen trot along the mountain-side, near the same spot. It seems
that he had been laughed at by those to whom he had related the other
apparition, so he was rather timid, and resolved to be well assured
of the reality of this one before he mentioned it. He looked at the
figures for a considerable time, and then called another person to
witness the sight with him. Several others afterwards joined them, and
continued looking at the aerial horsemen till it was quite dark. All
these circumstances were attested before a magistrate in the year 1785:
twenty-six persons are said to have been spectators of the sight.
[Illustration: PLATE XIX.
DOVER CASTLE]
WHAT A FRIEND OF PARLEY'S SAW.
A gentleman with whom I am acquainted, who lives in the country, told
me that he once left some labourers at the bottom of a very steep
hill, whom he had ordered to do some earth work. As he was going down,
intending to visit them again, about sun-set, he saw a part of the hill
which he was descending, and one of the labourers wheeling a barrow
upon the side of it, reflected on a cloud opposite with the greatest
distinctness. Though it was quite impossible that he could see the men
in their true position, he knew exactly what this man was about, and
what work had been done, from the reflected image.
DOVER CASTLE.
Dover Castle stands upon the side of a hill, and when looked at from
the side towards Ramsgate, its four turrets may be just seen peeping
over the top of the hill. You may see how it appears in the upper
figure of plate XIX. On the 6th of August 1806, when Professor Vince,
of Cambridge, was staying near Ramsgate, he was astonished to see the
appearance of the castle as if it stood on the side of the hill next to
him, as is represented in the lower figure of the plate. It continued
so for nearly half an hour, during which he looked at it several times
with a telescope, and the image appeared quite clear and distinct.
WHAT HUMBOLDT SAW IN SOUTH AMERICA.
When Humboldt was residing at Cumana, he frequently saw two small
islands which lie off the coast, suspended in the air. He once saw
some fishing boats seeming to float in the air for several minutes. In
another place he and his companion saw the figures of cows in the air
at a great height; and they were told by a person worthy of credit,
that he had seen the forms of horses suspended in like manner, but with
their legs upwards.
WHAT CAPTAIN SCORESBY SAW IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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