|
Ethel Archer Diary Entry Sunday, 25 February 1912
I remember hearing a voice from somewhere say “goodnight, Ethel” or goodbye. I forget precisely which, but I know that I felt it was final, and thought perhaps the grandmaster is dead. I remarked on it to Bunco [Eugene John Wieland] but he didn't take much notice. Sometime afterwards I felt a flash of vivid yellow light, so distinct was it that a storm was brewing I imagined and asked Bunco if he saw the lightning, he said “No.” When this happened I was fully awake; afterwards I slept. It was a curious dream I had. I remember looking out of the window and admiring the jagged stormy looking clouds and the deep indigo sky, then to my astonishment I perceived an immense full moon coming up above the horizon, much after the manner of the targets at a rifle-range, that's strange, I mused, because there is a moon in the sky already, perhaps it's the sun, but it doesn't look like her. Bunco and I both looked at it without much astonishment, rather curiosity, then the dream changed.
I was on the top of a bus going to Victoria, it was very late at night and it was practically the last conveyance, suddenly I found that I was going completely wrong and got down in a great hurry I asked a policeman the right direction and whilst he was good naturedly chaffing me at not knowing London better, I suddenly saw an immense golden shooting star; as it fell to the earth it changed to a crystal globe about the size of a large tennis ball, while we were exclaiming numbers of stars appeared in the sky many of them were meteors [?] but they were all as crystal globes, and they looked strangely beautiful. Some moved in a sort of sinuous chain and I remember likening them to an opal necklace, lit by the fire of the moon. By this time there was collected a small crowd of persons—unlike ourselves they seemed somewhat frightened at the phenomena and were speculating on the probability of one of these falling globes setting fire to their barges! By the way by this time I was by the side of a canal or it may have been the Thames in the reign of Charles II or thereabouts; also there was snow and ice on the ground and in a vague manner I knew that it was the fire of the stars.
Then by the side of the river I saw what at first appeared to be two immense grey cats fighting and playing. I subsequently discovered that they were small panthers and belonged to a lady, one of the owners of the barges. Afterward the dream became more or less incomprehensible.
|