INcredulity hath alwayes been the forerunner of misery ever since the Creation; the old World would not be warned by Noah's building the Arke untill the flood came, Pharoah would not be warned by Gods Judgements till hee was swal­lowed up of the Red-Sea; nay, as Abraham, said in the p [...]rable to Dives, should one arise from the dead yet would they not beleeve; therefore because these warnings would not serve; the Lord, who is slow to wrath and of much mercy, gave signes from Heaven unto the Iewes, to forewarn them of their approaching destruction, but they regarded it not. The Blazing Star seen in our Horizon so many yeares ago, which [Page 2]began towards Germany, fetcht its compasse to Ire­land, and whose blazing bush taile hung over Eng­land, was but a nine dayes wonder, although these Countries hath since found the effects thereof, the Almighty divert his Iudgements from u [...] if it be his will, which we may justly feare hangeth over our heads, by reason of our continuall crying sinnes, not­withstanding the many tokens of his anger shewed un­to us by strange and fearfull Apparitions seen in the Ayre (the 21 of May last past) in many parts, both in our own Kingdome of England, and at the Hague, in Holland, by many hundreds of beholders, which thus appeared unto them.

VPon the one and twentieth day of May last in the afternoon, in this yeere 1646, there were very strange sights seen, and unwonted sounds heard in the Ayre, in severall places of this King­dome, as also at the Hague in Holland upon the same day as followeth.

First; came a little round thing about the big­nesse of a Table or bord, like unto gray Paper: and without it was seene the likenesse of a Lyon and a Dragon, which furiously fought together, which Dragon after a while did spit fire furiously, but was overcome by the Lyon: and yet the Lion continued in sight.

2. Appeared by the Lyon a multitude of soul­diers, with another Dragon likewise, with a multitude of Souldiers both foot and horse: and before every Troop a Trumpeter, which we saw [Page 3]perfectly set the Trumpets to their mouths, and so began the Troops to fight one against another in great fury: so that we did not know who had the better, but the people vanished away, and the Ly­on and the Dragon continued still in fight.

3. There appeared also a King with three Crownes on his head, sitting upon a Kingly throne with a great company of people about his Throne, and they vanished away immediately: but the Ly­on and the Dragon aboad still in fight.

4. There appeared also a number of peoples head, and one great head amongst them: and a multitude of bodies without heads, which vanish­ed away, yet the Lyon and the Dragon aboad as before continuing in fight.

5. There appeared yet likewise one man sit­ting upon a horse, which shot himself through (as with a pistoll) and fell backward, and so vanish­ed away.

Lastly there appeared a mighty fleet of Ships in the South-west, and drove to the South-east, by the Lyon and the Dragon, where the fight was, with a multitude of men aboord the ships, with half their bodies to be seen above board, which we saw perfectly hoyfing up their Sayles, and driving too and fro, and as it were continued all standing still, till the Lyon and the Dragon embraced one another and so fell backward, and disappeared: whereupon there appeared a great cloud which was not there before, and so drove away with the wind.

ABout New-Market in the County of Cam­bridg, there were seen by divers honest, sober, & civill persons, and men of good credit, three men in the Ayre striving, strugling, and tugging toge­ther, one of them having a drawn Sword in his hand.

Betwixt Newmarket and Thetford in the County of Norfolk, there was observed a piller or a Cloud to ascend from the earth, with the bright hilts of a sword towards the bottom of it, which piller did as­cend in a pyramidall form, and fashioned it self in­to the form of a spire broach Steeple, and there de­scended also out of the skie, the form of a Pike or Lance, with a very sharp head or point to encoun­ter with it.

Also at a distance, there appeared another Spear or Lance, with a very accute point out of the Skie, likewise, which was ready to interpose, but did not engage it selfe.

The first Speare which came down from Heaven point blank, was after a while clean elev [...]ted high­er, and that spire or S [...]ear which went up from the earth, ascended after it, to encounter with it a se­cond time.

This continued about an houre and a halfe.

At Sopham in the County of Cambridge, a Ball [Page 5]of wild-fire fell upon the earth, which burnt and spoyled about an Aker of Grain, and when it had rolled and run up and down to the terror of many people, it dissolved and left a most sulpherous stinck behind it.

Also at Camberton in the County aforesaid, di­vers of the Trained Bands being met at a muster, did behold the form of a spire Steeple in the Skie, with divers Swords about it.

Also at Brandon in the County of Norfolk the inhabitants ran to behold a strange spectacle of a spire Steeple ascending up from the earth, and a Pike or Lance descending downward from heaven.

Also at Brandon there was seen at the same time, a Navie or Fleet of ships in the ayre, swiftly pas­sing under saile, with Flags and Streamers hanged out, as if they were ready to give an encounter.

In Marshland in the County of Norfolk, within three miles of Kings Linne, a Captain and a Liev­tenant, with divers other persons of credit, did hear in the time of Thunder, a sound as of a whole Re­giment of Drums beating a call with perfect notes and stops, much admired at of all.

And the like Military sound was heard in Suffolk upon the same day, and in other parts of the Eastern Association.

In all these places there was very great Thun­der, with Raine and Haile-stones of extraordinary bignesse and round, and some hollow within like tings.