At that moment I beheld a
dark, shadowy being, like an angel, standing, or rather
floating in mid-air between Europe and America. Dipping water out of the ocean in the
hollow of each hand, he sprinkled
some upon America with his right hand, while he cast upon
Europe some with his left. Immediately a dark cloud
arose from each of these countries, and joined in
mid-ocean. For a while it remained
stationary, and then moved
slowly westward, until it enveloped America in its
murky folds. Sharp flashes of lightning now gleamed
throughout it at intervals, and I heard the smothered groans and
cries of the American people. A second time the angel
dipped water from the ocean, and sprinkled it as
before. The dark cloud was then
drawn back to the ocean, into whose
heaving waves it sank from view.