THE VOICE OF THE STARS; OR, THE EFFECTS OF THE COMING PERIHELIA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 286, 13 December 1879, Page 5

THE VOICE OF THE STARS; OR, THE EF FECTS OF THE COMING PERIHELIA.

The followin!"* dismal prophecy is from a paper by Professor Grimmer, of the Uuoited States, which appeared io a monthly publication entitled "Life from the Daad " : — It is pretty well onderstooJ that the perihelia (that is, their nearest approach to the euo) of ihe four great planets — Jupiter, Uranus Saturn — will bo coincident in 1880. * • • • The effects which this conjunction will produce are momentous. Prom 1880 to 1887 will be one universal carnival of death. No place on earth will be • entirely free from tbe plague. Tbe Pacific Coiat will not suffer anything in comparison to any other portion of the globe. The coincidence of these planets in perihelion wiil always pro duee epidemics and destructive diseases. Three of these planets are roalifics, and Jupiter, although a beoefic, produces evil through association ; or, technically, by conjunction with the others. Diseases will appear, the nature of which will bsffle the skill of the most eminent physicians. Every drop of water io the earth, on tbe earth, and above tbe earth, will be more or less poisonous. The atmosphere will be foul with noisome odors, aod there will be but few constitutions able to resist the coming ecourga ; therefore prepare, ye that are constitutionally weak, and intemperate, and gluttonous, for man's last horne — the grave. From the iar East the pestilential storm will sweep, and its last struggle will end here in the far West. *•*•*. In 1720, Mtrs and Saturn were io perihelion, and io the sign Virgo, and 52,000 out of 75 000 inhabitants died iQ the city of Marseilles in less than five weeks. In 544, 10,000 persons died each day ia Constantinople. Alexandria (Egypt) lost iv 542, 50 000, and ia 543, 8 f ,000 of her inhabitants by the plague. But bad as were those times, they will only approximate those horrors many of us are doomed never to witness. All the weak aal intemperate are sure to die. There is ro escape from the inexorable plague fiend. Fortunate, indeed, are those whose blood is pure an ' free from any taint or weakness, for they alone will survive the wreck of tbe human family. Tbo intemperate aud weak will join hands and go down to their graves in tens of thousands. Ancient races will be blotted from the face of the earth. Asia will be nearly depopulated, and the islands that border Asia will suffer frightfully from the scourge. Tbe countries that join tbe norib-asstern portion of Asia will first suffer the ravages of the plague. Russia will be the first European cation that will suffer. Many people labor under the impression that the plague will not reach America Thia is a fatal delusion. Unless correct sinitary raee■nres are taken before 1880, the plague will ba devastating large cities on tha Atlantic coast of America. America wilt lose more than fifteen millions of ber inhabitants if the sewers of her cities are as imperfect in 1880 as they are to-day. * * * The perihelia will bring other inflictions upon the inhabitants of this earth over which mankind can exert no restraining influence. There wiil come Btorms and tidal waves tbat will sweep whole cities; earthquakes that will swallow mountains and towns ; aud tornadoes that will sweep hundreds of villages from tbe face of the earth ; mountains will tremble, totter, and "fall into sulphurous chasms ; the geography of tbe earth will be changed by volcanic action ; mountains will toss their rocky beads up through the choicest valleys ; valleys will appear where mountains formerly stood; skilful mariners will be lo j .t on tbe oceao, owing to tbe extraordinary variations of the compass ; navigators will grow pale witb alarm at tbe capricious deflexure of the needle ; volcanoes that bave been dormant for centuries will awaken to belch forth their lava with more violence than when in their pristine vigour; rainfall will deluge valleys, and mountain streams wili enlarge their beds and become mighty torrents; fires will start spantaneouely and devastate whole forests; great fires will occur io many cities, and some will he totally destroyed; there will be re-

markabla displays of electricity, frightful to wi'ness; wild beasts will leave their natural haunts and crowd into pooulou9 cities, timid and harmless; suffocating fume") of sulphur will escape from the earth, to tbe great dread of many; au unprecedented number of ships will be shattered in fragments by running on mighty rooks and small islands that are not down on the navigator's chart ; islands will appear and disappear without auy apparent cause; the navigator's charts will prove almost a detriment instead of an aid, owing to the sudden changes of ocean currents, temperature, and surroundings; the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, and even the fish in tbe sea, wiil be diseased; billions of fish will die and be cast upon the seashore, to fester in tha sun aod impregnate tbe atmosphere with their foul emanations. No fish nor animal food should be eaten from 1882 till 1885 in America, for the flesh of nearly all the animal kingdom and the finny tribes that inhabit the rivers, streams, lakes, aud oceans will be diseased, and therefore those who partake of the flesh shall poison their blood and shall be taken away shortly after. The poison that enters the system by eating diseased meats is just as deadly as to ba inoculated wiih the plague. Farmers will be so stricken with fear that they will cease to till tbeir farms, and gaunt famine will step in to make human misery more wretched; fanaticism will spring up in many places, and bloodshed wilLresult therefrom; murderers and robbers will ply their hellish work with impuuity, for there will be a little or oo law; every ane will be absorbed witb tbe trying task of keeping alive; people will be buried in deep trenches, oncotfined; the judge will be stricken from tbe bench, the pleader at tbe bar, and tbe merohant and customer will be seized with the fatal malady while trading; death will come slow aud lingering in some cases, but in most it will be swift and terrible. In seaboard towns thousands will be buried io tbe bays and harbours, the law to the contrary notwithstanding. In many cooutries vast districts will be deserted, aod even in this country some portions will ap- ' pear so near that condition as to appal tbe traveller. Oae may walk whole day 8 over hundreds of farms without seeing a living thing. On all the large tracts of land that once were so animated with animal life, not a vestige will be seen. Tbe houses on the deserted ranches will show signs of disarrangement and negligence that plainly tells of the hurried departure of tbe owners to the populous cities. • * * j Many peopla will think tbat the tots) destruction of animal life will occur ! during tbis era of plague. After the I black death there will be two years of fire, which will rage with fury io all I parts of the world from 1885 to 1887. J These ties will be the means of annihilating every germ of disease. In fact, every city or portion of city in whicb tbe plague appears should be burned to the ground. This will destroy the ! scourge. Nothing but fire can do it. Those who pass through those terrible years of woe will have greater capacity for the enjoyment of the pleasures of earth. The earth will yield twice as much as formerly. All tbe animal kingdom wiil be more prolific and life more prolonged. The average duration ot life is said to be thirty-three years now ; after the year 1887 it will be just twice as long, or sixty-six years. Tbe reason of this moat remarkable prolongation of Ufa is owning to the healthy electricity or magnetism that will surround tbis globe. From 1880 to 1887 tbe electricity of this earth will be deadly, owing to the malifio influence of Saturn and Uranus upou our atmosphere. During tbe black death tbe most wonderful celestial phenomena will be seen. For weeks tbe sun will appear red as blool, and terrible convulsions will appear in tbat great body. The sun will discharge oceans ot flamiog hydrogen gases, thit will roll in tumultuous billows hundreds of thousands of miles from its centre. The moon's action on the tides will be spasmodic aod irregular. Tremendous showers of meteors will fall to the earth and remain io ao incandescent state for hours. D^ose black clou.ls will veil the sun for days, and tbe moon will not shed as bright or steady a light as before those dreadful days. Tha whole

heavens and earth wilt tremble at iha awful continuous reports of thunder — lasting frequently for hoars ; blinding flashes of lightning will illume the black sky ; people will soream with; horror at the fantastic shapes the lightning will assume ; thousands will go insane with fear of the celestial phenomena ; all modes of egress from the cities will be atoppad ; trains will be stopped on the prairies, in the mountains and valleys, and the O€QQV pants will die in them of diseasa and starvation ; steamships and sailing orafta will rot on the oceans with their dead human freight, drifting where the winds and waves may drive them. Stout will be the hearts that will not despair in those dreadful times. . . ; Bear in mind, no part Of the World will be exempt from the ravages of the plague. The frigid homes of the Esquimaux will pc invaded by the demon of dsatfi, _ud desolation will be as apparent there in that frozen land as in the son-scorched sands of Africa. It will penetrate alike the jungles of India, and tbe civilised homes of America. Tbe Mongolian race "frill suffer most, for it is without doubt tbe most ancient. Races are like empires — they. have their rise, decline, and fall.. ChiasL will be depopulated, or nearly so, and When the plague breaks out in 1881, io their country, hordes of the Asiatics will crowd their ships aud flee! their country, to spread the loathsome horror over every land they turn to. JEvery island in the Pacific will be swarming with the Mongolians, and tbey will at last reach the Pacific States, and then we mast suffer a destruction of life without a parallel in the annuls of American history. T; Say that the inhabitants of tbe plague-stricken districts will reach here unless we are more vigilant in using preventive, means to keep them back. I am not actuated by any feelings of prejudice agaioet any particular race, but the voice of tbe hosts of tbe heavens should be hearkened onto, and, if by a mathematical scheme we can deduct certain facts portentous to the Caucasian race, they should be given and followed. If we neglect precautionary, measures, the whole force of tbe plague will perhaps sweep fifteen millions of the inhabitants of America into their graves 1_ 1887 the •* Star of Bethlehem " will ooce more be seen in «• Cassiopia'a Ch tir," and it wilt be accompanied by a total eclipse of tbe sun and moon. This star ooly makes its appearance every 315 years. It will appear and illumine the heavens, and exceed in brilliancy even Jupiter, when in opposition to the sun, and, therefore, nearer to the earth and brightest. The marvellous brilliancy of the " Star of Bethlehem"' in 1887 will surpass any of its previous visitations. It will ba seen even at noonday, shining with a quick fl ishing light the entireyear, after which it will gradually decrease in brightn as and finally disappear, not to return to our heavens till the year 2202, o 315 years from from 1887. Thia star first attracted tbe attention of modern astronomers in the year 1572. It was then called a new star. It was no new star, however, for this was the star tbat shone so brightly 4 8.C., and was tbe star tbat illumined the heavens at the Nativity of Christ. It hss reappeared every 315 years since, ani every educated astrologer is certain that it will appear in August, 1837. The appearance of this s.ar, accompanied aa it will be by solar and lunar eolipae, together with < the baleful influence that follows tbe positions that Mara and Saturn will occupy, will causa an universal war and portentous floods and feirful shipwrecks. North America will be involved in civil strife, and a reign of terror will prevail io the Atlantic States, unless a Napoleon arises to quell it. There will be a war of classes — the rich will array them- I selves against the poor, and vice versa. During those terrible days the Pacific States will be in a veritable Paradise of peace compared to the hellish strife that will be waging througho ut the world.