Wesley Corpus

The fact (of the truth of which any who will be at the pains of inquiring may soon be satisficd) is this: On Tuesday, * Merchants who have lived in Portugal inform us, that the King had a large building filled with diamonds; and more gold stored up, coined and uncoined, than all the other princes of Europe together. + The title which the Inquisition of Portugal (if not in other countries also) takes to itself. March 25, last, (being the week before Easter) many persons heard a great noise near a ridge of mountains, called Black Hamilton, in Yorkshire. It was observed chiefly on the south-west side of the mountain, about a mile from the course where the Hamilton races are run, near a ledge of rocks, commonly called Whitson Cliffs, two miles from Sutton, and about five from Thirsk. The same noise was heard on Wednesday by all who went that way. On Thursday, about seven in the morning, Edward Abbot, weaver, and Adam Bosomworth, bleacher, both of Sutton, riding under Whitson Cliffs, heard a roaring (so they termed it) like many cannons, or loud and rolling thunder. It seemed to come from the cliffs; looking up to which, they saw a large body of stone, four or five yards broad, split and fly off from the very top of the rock. They thought it strange, but rode on. Between ten and eleven, a larger piece of the rock, about fifteen yards thick, thirty high, and between sixty and seventy broad, was torn off and thrown into the valley. About seven in the evening, one who was riding by observed the ground to shake exceedingly; and soon after several large stones or rocks, of some tons weight cach, rose out of the ground. Others were thrown on one side, others turned upside down, and many rolled over and over. Being a little surprised, and not very curious, he hasted on his way. On Friday and Saturday the ground continued to shake, and the rocks to roll over one another. The earth also clave asunder in very many places, and continued so to do till Sunday morning. Being at Osmotherley, seven miles from the Cliffs, on Monday, June 1, and finding Edward Abbot there, I desired him the next morning to show me the way thither. I walked, crept, and climbed round and over great part of the ruins.