Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1869-04-08
The Dark Day.

The Dark Day,
On the i2;k day OF May, 1880, was
memorable one In the annals of New
England, on account Of "A thick darkness
that overspread the Land, like a funeral
pail IL was day long 10 be remembered
aud talked of by those lho witnessed the
strange, and "a that time, fearful phe-
nomena.
There was much writing upon, and dis
cu-sion Of the subject NJ the time, aud
afterward, but | believe no satisfactory
conclusion was ever arrived at a. To it,
cause. There were some who thought IL
must have proceeded from. total eclipse
of the sun, that had. from some cause,
escaped the calculations of the mathema-
tIcIans and astronomers. but that was
easily shown 10 he impossible by facts
and figures. Public sentiment at that
time was strongly tinctured with the
superstltions that were common IN
times previous, which, though consider
ably modified, h.d not by any means dis
appeared, and thus, every phenomenal oc-
curr.uce that could not be at once xplain-
ed snd demonstrated, was by many believed
10 be direct and special manifestation of
divine or diabolical power. giving warnings
omens and ''portents dire but II l. not
strange that this occurrence. this day of
distress and glOOmines~, day OF clouds
and thick darkness, should have made "A
strong impression There were many
who firmly believed that il was the begin
nlng of the end of all things, that ''the
sun had withdrawn his light. and the
stars had ceased their shining. that 'rtle
reign of chaos and old night" had begun
+ in earnest Ii was then the darkest aud
most hopeless period of the war of the
/ revolution, and IL was thought by many
Of the deSponding and discouraged 10 be
significant of the end of that which then
aPI..rod a. tbsrn hop.ls-s strn,s.Ll.s-
some of the more slngulne insisted that
A. the hour before the dawn was always
the darkest 50 this strange and porten-
tous gloom was but the prelude Ia the
bright dawn of Liberty and lndepen-
dence that was soon TO follow.
The father of the writer was then a
boy of about thirteen years; and was at
work in the field with his father and
brothers. planting or preparing the ground.
II was a dull, hay morning. and as the
time passedit gradually thickened and by
ten o'clock the increasing darkness began
10 be quite apparent. they kept on with
their work and as the gloom increased they
observed hat he w-uld pause once in
while. and look inteutly all around the
horizon and overhead. but made no re-
mark until he directed the oldest boy to
20 TO the barn and turn the horse and al
the cattle that were inside. out into an
open lot and h close and secure every
door and window. Ii appeared that he
was apprehcnsive that some sudden and
furious gust or squall would soon mani
fest itself, aud thought that the animals
would bc in less danger out in the field
than inside of the building. Still the
sl.rlsnass i,'aw thicker and deeper, till
presently he said they might -. svoll quit
work for the present. On reaching Ihe
house the mother and sisters were about
their usual duties, pale and silent, little
was said except an occasional remark OF
direction, III low tone. No one
seemed inclined to conversation
or demonstration of any kind.
Soon dinner was ready. with candles light
ed the same a. night, but not NOR
sci was eaten. 4 dead silence seemed to
peryade all nature, broken only by the
occasional bleating of a lamb or the dist
ant lowing of the kline, which wandered
about restless and uneasy. The domestic
fowls seemed 10 be incliuced to come to
the conclusion that IT Was now night,
they could put no other construction upon
it, so, after clucking over the matter for a
while, they went 10 roost. And thus the
long and dreary hours passed away.
Along in the afternoon the veil was
lifted in some degree, and at the time OF
sunset, il was about the same as in an or
dinary dull and cloudy day.
The night which followed, was, II was
said, as dark proportionately. as was the
day. 1t was the perfect "blackness OF
Darkness not the faintest outline of any
object could be discerned against the sky.
A light would penetrate 1t but little
way, and then seemed TO disclose but q
solid wall of blackness around. Many
persons who were out, became bewild- |
cred and lost for the time. 1t was an
anxious night of watching in many a
household, but the dawn at length broke, |
bright and beautiful, and never was the |
face of the broad, bright sun more joyfully |
greeted. Ny mother, then a child OF
nine ye1ls, had perfect recollection |
of many of the incidents of that mem.
orable day, particularly that of the sud
den appearance in their midst of two ven-
cradle maiden sisters, Susan and Mary |
Stevens, better known as Aunt Susie and
Sister Mollie, who lived by themselves in
the .'old house" near by. Solitary and
alone they had endured the perils of the
hour, until they could bear it no longer.
when they "cut and rum seemingly i'm
poessed with the idea that if safety, COM
fort and consolation could anywhere be
found amid the impending wreck OF mat
ter and crash of worlds" it must be in the
presence and under the roof of their kind
friend and good neighbor Proctor. and his
family. doubt not there are some read
ers of the Advertiser who remember the
venerable mansion of these sisters. with
its dilapidsted roof and shattered case
ments, where
.sWinfers snow and Autumn's driving rain Il
Gained free Admission through each broken pane"
It stood for many years, abandoned and
dssolate, In the midst Of Susie's field at
tho ''cut." II
The Dark Day has passed into history,
- L. n 49, aav ~ A. H.