Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1857-08-19
EXTRAORDINARY Phenomenon.

The following letter from the Hon. Cnaries
Augustus Murray, Her Majestys Envoy to Per-
sis, has been handed to US for publication by
Sir Charles Lyell: "Bagdad, May 20, 1857
My dear Sir Charles We have lately witness
ed here phenomenon 50 strange that brief
description of it may not be uninterestiDg to you.
On the Goth inst, few minutes before p. m,
(Which is here about an hour before sunsetO
was sitting with my Mira reading some Persian
letters, when on o sudden became sensible OF
an unusual observation of the light on the pa.
per; jumped up, and. going to the window,
saw huge black cloud approaching from the
north west, exactly as ifa pail were being drawn
over the face of the heavens. 1t must have trav-
eIled with considerable rapidity, for in less
than three minutes we were enyelOped in total
darkness-a darkness more intense than an or
binary midnight when neither stars nor moon
are visible. Cropping my way amid chairs and
tables, I succeeded in striking light, and then,
feeling assured that simeon of some kind was
coming on, | called to my servants to come up
and shut the windows, which were oil open, the
weather having been previously very sultry.-
While they were doing so the wind increased,
and bore with it such dense volume OF dust or
sand that before they could succeed In closing
the windows the room was entirely filled, so that
the tables and furntures were speedily covered.
Meanwhile panic seized the whole city; the
Armenians and other Christian sects rushed
through the gloom to confess and pray in the
churches: women shrieked and beat their breasts
in the streets and the men OF all classes pro-
strated themselves in prayer, believing That the
end of the world had arrived. After short
time the black darkness was succeeded by red
lurid gloom such as never saw in any part OF
the world, and which l can only iken in imag.
ipation to the effect that might be produced If
all London were in conHagration in heavy No
yember fog to me it Was more striking Il may
almost say fearfuD than the previous utter dark.
ness. and reminded me of that darkness visible
In which the poetic genius OF Milton placed the
demons and horrid shapes ofthe internal regions
This lurid fog was doubtless occasioned by the
rays of the western sun shining otliquely on the
dense mass of red sand or dust which had been
raised from some distant desert, and was borne
along upon the blast. | enclose you aspecmen
of the dust. The Arabs here think thatit came
from the Nejd. The storm seems to have trav-
elled in a circular direction, having appeared
first from the south, then southwest, then west,
then northwest. After about two hours it had
80 far passed away that We were able to open
the windows again and breathe the outer air.
1t cannot have been simeon, for during those
which have experienced in Arabia and Egypt
the wind is hot and sitting. On the goth the
wind was high, but only oppressive from the
dense mass of dust that it carried with IT.
Professor J. Quekett of the Royal College OF
Surgeons, having kindly examined the specimen
of red dust from Bagdad which accompanied
Mr.. Murray's letter, has informed Sir Charles
Lyell that he could detect, under the microscope,
only inorganic particles, such as quartz-sand, in
the dust. There ore no relics of Diatomace@
apparent; and, though small portion of calca-
reous matter was present in the sand, yet he
could observe no microscopic shells or other or.
eanic mstter.-Literary Gazette.