Final answer:
The narrator's use of the phrase 'strange to relate' conveys irony and critiques the disparity between the respect given to factual news versus spiritual omens at the time. It also reflects the intent to engage and challenge the expectations of the educated and affluent readership of the Atlantic magazine.
Step-by-step explanation:
When the narrator says "strange to relate" in paragraph 3, he is using irony to show that real news was not always as well respected as spiritual omens in 1775. The phrase suggests that what is to follow is unusual or hard to believe, underscoring the contrast between the factual and the phenomenal, between the reality of the news and the significance people placed on omens and superstitions during that time. This usage indicates the writer's intent to challenge conventional expectations and engage the reader rhetorically.
The passage reveals the narrator's intent to address this discrepancy head-on, as the original readers of the novella in the Atlantic magazine were likely educated and affluent, quite unlike the iron workers described in the story. Furthermore, the narratives within the text invoke a sense of superstition and belief in divine intervention or otherworldly influences, as characters recount experiences that defy logical explanation but are deeply entrenched in the human psyche.