1885.] NEW-YORK MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. 173 



blood, or to have had their waters mixed with it, the wonder 

 lasting on one of these occasions for twenty-five days. The 

 years in which these things are supposed to have happened are 

 B.C. 340, 263, and 133, and A.D. 570, 935, 1002, loio, 1163, and 



1555- 



Streams of water are said to have been changed into or 

 tinged with blood in B.C. 459, 332, 234, 221, and go. The 

 River Danube is reported to have emitted a bloody torrent in 

 A.D. 1349, which would seem to have been at a sufficiently late 

 time to warrant our expecting some sort of careful observation 

 of the phenomenon, whatever it really was. 



We are told that in B.C. 205 and in A.D. 1552 a lake and a 

 pond flowed with blood ; that in A.D. 53, for several days, the 

 ocean on the coast of Britain rolled up blood ; and that in the 

 time of the Emperor Nero (A.D. 66) the sea on the shores of 

 Italy had the appearance of blood, while impressions of human 

 forms were left on the sands. 



Finally, Wolffhart makes mention of showers of blood which 

 occurred in B.C. 178, 163, 131, 125, 104, 102, 100, 43, 35, and 28, 

 and in A.D. 48, 541, 570, 782, 1114, 1120, 1163, 1165, 1274, 1337 

 i349» 1456, 1531, 1539. 1542, 1553. 15.S5. and 1556. Some 

 others he describes with more detail. For instance, in B.C. 

 214 there was a fall of stones with much blood. In B.C. no it 

 rained milk and blood together. In A.D. 541 real blood 

 dropped from the clouds upon men's clothes. In A.D. 864 

 there was a fall of bloody snow. In A.D. 874 it rained blood 

 for three days and three nights, at Brixia, Italy. In 1147 and 

 1555 there were descents of great numbers of butterflies 

 sprinkled with blood, and as if it rained blood with them. In 

 155 1 a bloody wisp was seen in the sky accompanied with a 

 shower of blood, at Lisbon ; and in A.D. 570, and again in 1104, 

 a fierce battle was seen to rage in the heavens, from which 

 blood fell to the earth. 



It is natural enough that in early times accounts of prodig- 

 ious and marvellous occurrences should have been published 

 principally for the entertainment and edification of the simple- 

 minded and ignorant vulgus. Hence there have been printed 

 at various times numerous catch-penny chapbooks, composed of 

 compilations of awe-inspiring annals and traditions. One of 

 the most prolific authors of this class of pseudo-historical litera- 



