THIS is to give You an exact Account as possible, of a most amazing Appearance in the Hea­vens, which I myself with all the Town of STOW-MARKET, beheld for above Half an Hour together, on the last Tuesday Night between 7 and 8 of the Clock.

I WAS then occasionally at the Town aforesaid which is about 2 Miles off the [Page 2] House where I live, and in Company with several Ladies discoursing of the pre­sent Face of the Publick Affairs. We had just been Reading in one of the News Papers of Sea Monsters lately observ'd in the Medi­terranean: & one of the Company told us Her Husband bro't a Report from NORWICH of a wonderful Sight in the Air seen over the City 2 or 3 Nights ago. This sort of Con­versation led some of the Elder of them into a Relation of such kind of Appearan­ces They had heard their Parents or other People speak of, as happening in ENGLAND a little before the Civil War.

IN Opposition to This I very freely in­veighed with some uncommon degree of Warmth & Assurance; Attributing such Things as Those to the fertile Tongues & Inventions of some Romantick People, & the fanciful & fearful Imagination of others. When I was almost rude in Depreciating the Stories & Opinions of the Ladies; a little Girl came running in a Fright to tell us, There was a Great Sight in the Air. Upon this observing them to listen with some Concern & Fear, I confess I coud'nt forbare Laughing easily, & telling them in some sort of Triumph; I Believ'd it was [Page 3] from the Whimsies of such little Gi [...] as these that such Reports & Apparitions arose. However, To oblige the Gentlewomen, I went out, which was about a Quarter after Seven, & was forc'd immediately to fall a Sacrifice to what I then at least thought to be their more Orthodox Judgment. Heaven itself seem'd to undertake their Argument & to prove it in so surprizing & evident a manner that I dare not any longer resist them. I saw what I cou'd never have ima­gined before, and what I believe is utterly impossible for me to represent exactly to your Imagination.

THERE seemed to be a great Stream of smoakey Light rising in the N.E, reaching from near the Earth, ascending & waving like the Light of a great House or Bon-fire in a dark Evening about half a Mile off, which we therefore tho't it at first to be: But soon alter'd our minds when we saw it increasing in Breadth Length & Brightness, & pushing forwards, retreating & advan­cing in the shape of a Broad Sword & like the shooting Vibrations of a very high Blaze, until it extended to the Point over our Heads. As it increased in Bigness, so did it likewise in the Swiftness & Fury of [Page 4] its Motion & grew by Degrees into a blewish, [...] & fiery Colour, almost like to that of the Flame of Brimstone. Both the Colour & Figure continually changed I know not how, 'till at length on a sudden it brake forth into the Appearance of a raging & mighty Torrent of bloudy Waters, that at first look'd like the sudden giving way of a Damm, & the Sea bearing all irresisti­bly before it: Whereupon all that Part of the Heavens over us turned of an inconceiva­bly bright Rainbow Colour, & immediately run into an admirable, inexpressible Confusion of an infinite Variety of Motions that were amazingly quick and terrible to behold.

I KNOW not how to give you an Idea of this part of the Appearance; unless you may conceive something of it by the various & most violent Motions that are in a great Body of Waters, when an higher Stream hap­pens to descend and impetuously rush into another. Sometimes they ran into Circular Forms, sometimes into Ovals, sometimes the Circles & Ovals were vari­ously compress'd on their sides by their ap­proaching nearer to one another, or the greater Interflux of the nameless & un­known [Page 5] known Matter. Sometimes th [...] wind­ing within & hastily pursuing one another in the manner of Whirlpools, & sometimes they ran round & cross'd like an 8, & in numberless other different Figures; that something resembl'd the various, quick & confus'd Rambles of Flies in the midst of a Room, or of Spiders on the surface of a Pond; or the perplexing Contortions & Turnings of a great Heap of living Eels just cover'd with Water in the bottom of a Boat; or as the little Foldings & Ridges at the Tops & Bottoms of the Fingers; or to mention no more Comparisons, like the Figures it is probable you have seen of CARTESIUS'S Vortices.

ALL this while, the Brightness, Bloodi­ness & Fieryness of the Colours before-men­tion'd together with the Swiftness of the Motions increased, insomuch as we could hardly trace them with our Eyes; 'till at length almost all the whole Heavens ap­pear'd as if they were set on a Flame, which wrought & glimmer'd with Flashes in a most dreadful & undescribable manner. It seem'd to threaten us with an immediate Descent & Deluge of Fire, filled the Streets with loud & doleful Outcries & Lamenta­tions & frighted a great many People into [Page 6] their H [...] & we all began to think whither the SON OF GOD was next to make His Glorious & Terrible Appearance, or the Conflagration of the World was now begun. For the Elements seem'd just as if they were melting with fervent Heat, & the AEtherial Vault to be burning over us like the fierce Agitations of the Blaze in a Fur­nace, or at the Top of a fiery Oven: & the glimmering Light look'd as if it proceeded from a more Glorious Body behind that was approaching nearer & about to make its sudden Appearance to our Eyes.

WHILE we expected & wondred what wou'd be the next Alteration & dreaded the Consequence; all on a sudden the flaming Body above us brake into innume­rable Spears of Light, that at first darted every way & a-cross one another, but in a little while they conformed to the same Point of Motion & played in a regular & astonishing manner. At first it seem'd as if the very Frame of the World was a Dissolving: But afterwards one wou'd have thought that there was a furious Battle of Invisible Spirits, that the Powers & Principalities of the Air had broke out into a fierce Conten­tion, & that transforming themselves into [Page 7] Angels of Light They were con [...]ted into Seraphick Flames & Figures that are said to resemble their Natures.

THESE distinct & various Lights were in the shape of Swords, & their several Bodies did not appear intirely at the same Time, but seem'd to begin at one End & shoot a prodigious way to a sharp Point in a moment, like one continued Blaze of a flying Fire-Brand. As they continually appear'd & stream'd, so they continually vanish'd, like the lucid Path of a Rocket, while others were incessantly making their Appearance in different Places round about. The Motion of them all was now pointed Upwards, & reached some a greater & some a lesser extent: But none above more than from about 8 or 10 Degrees of the Horizon to about 6 or 8 from the Zenith. For the most part they flashed unequally: But sometimes they seem'd to begin, shoot & blaze all together & made the Earth almost as light as Day. And then their Appearance was like a Thousand Glittering Swords or Blazing Stars shooting upwards from all sides of the Hemisphere, but leaving where their Points ended a vacant Space in the Center of about 10 or 12 [Page 8] Degrees [...]eter, & sometimes of a roun­dish & sometimes of various multangular Figures, directly over our Heads. For there seem'd to be a remarkable Part of the Heavens above us which they all vio­lently push'd at, but cou'd never enter.

THUS they continu'd their Exercise for about a Quarter of an Hour, but Decreased by Degrees both in Number, Quickness & Brightness till they left the Heavens as they were before, & indeed all the Time of this amazing Appearance almost as Clear I think as ever I saw them. It was the more unaccountable & wonderful that there was no palpable Cloud hung over us: But we saw the Stars shining very plainly all the while in the Intervals of the Spears & in the very Places where they were, as soon as ever they vanish'd; unless when the Brightness of the Apparition was so excessive as to drown their Light.

AFTER the Scene was over, which was a little before 8 of the Clock, there was ev'ry now & then a single Flash or Streak or 2 of Light as before in divers Parts of the clear Firmament, & some of these retain'd their Appearance for above the [Page 9] Length of a Minute, which none of the other did ever reach near unto: But as the Light of these was always considera­bly fainter, so they proportionably conti­nued longer before they intirely vanish'd.

I THEN walked with a Gentleman out of the Town & went up on a Rising Ground, whence we saw a thick & light­some Cloud directly in the North, & very near the Horizon if not adjoining to it, that appear'd exactly as if the Full Moon was behind it, which was not to rise till after Mid-night, & that we suppos'd to be the Scource & Mine-head of all this sur­prizing Train & Fire-work of Nature. Ev'ry now & then we saw Beams of Light issuing from it, somewhat like, but brigh­ter than those we often see from the Sun thro' the Crevices of a dark & broken Cloud, that made it to resemble the Royal Artil­lery of Pikes, Spears & Swords & other Armour that are commonly plac'd under the Kings Picture. And as the Cloud arose the Streams increas'd & flashed towards us, & we thought the Aerial Armies were going to rally & make another onset: But they retreated again, as the Cloud passed on by the Borders of the Horizon to the [Page 10] West & slowly moved to a greater Distance from us.

BY the Brightness of the Fiery Pillars & the strange Illumination of the Air re­maining, I came home a foot about 10 of the Clock, when the Ground & Heavens were every whit I think as light as imme­diately after Sun-set. I sat up & watched till 3 in the Morning when I could dis­cern nothing more of them: But they con­tinu'd very visible till between 1 & 2; when the Heavens began to be overspread with Clouds, & the Moon arose, which put a gradual End to this real & most incom­prehensible Vision.

THUS have I given you a bare, & I'm pretty sure an exact Historical Relation of Things as I saw them. I have repeated it to Several who were Spectators with Me, & intirely agree to my Description of the Manner, Appearance & Process of this won­derful Prodigy. I might easily make a great many Philosophical & Moral Reflections on the Things I have written & others I saw: But for several Reasons which you see I have not room for, I desire to be ex­ [...]us'd at Present.

[Page 11] I SHALL only take Notice, that whi­ther we consider the Part of the Natural Day, the Time of the Night, the State of the Sky, the Place of the Moon or the Sea­son of the Year; It was on all Accounts most conveniently suited & order'd, & therefore very plainly seems to be designed by PROVIDENCE for a general Observation & Terrour. Accordingly we perceive alrea­dy that it was seen much in the same Manner & at the same Time by Multitudes in the Towns & Villages round about its, even to the Distance of 20 or 30 Miles, & I believe in all these Parts of the Kingdom. But I doubt you did not see so much of it at LONDON: Because we observed that the Southern Quarter from us which is over the City was in a great measure exempted from these Celestial Illuminations.

I SHALL Conclude with telling you, that at the Beginning, Rise & Hight of this Apparition, I cou'd not sometimes forbear imagining, that Mr. WHISTON'S Hypothesis was coming to pass, & that the Train of a Burning Comet was then a seizing on this Terrestial World. But when the Blazes, & Pillars of Smoak ascended from ev'ry [Page 12] side of the Horizon, I was then ready to think, the Subterranean Fires were violently and successively issuing out of gaping Caverns & Vulcanoes in the Country round about us.

GREAT & Marvelous are thy Works O Lord! The Inlightened Heavens show forth thy Glory: & the Flaming Firmament thine handy Operations! Thy Signs are Unsear­chable: Thy Judgments are a great Deep: Thy Path is as in the mighty Waters: Thy Footsteps are not known: & thy Ways & Pur­poses are past finding out!