Research source

I am still near, Watching the smiles I prized on earth, Your converse mild, your blameless mirth.[64

Date of account: Late nineteenth-century compilation
Source: The Ghost World
Reference: The Ghost World · selected passage 51
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

There must have been great numbers of them, as they were also observed at the same time in the counties of Northampton, Leicester, and Lincoln

Published source text

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Source passage

Source text · mention only

There must have been great numbers of them, as they were also observed at the same time in the counties of Northampton, Leicester, and Lincoln. The next day, as my servant was driving me to a neighbouring village, this phenomenon of the flight of birds became the subject of conversation, and on asking him what birds he thought they were, he told me they were what were called the "Seven Whistlers," and that whenever they were heard it was considered a sign of some great calamity, and that the last time he heard them was the night before the great Hartley Colliery explosion. He had also been told by soldiers, that if they heard them they always expected a great slaughter would take place soon.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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