Norfolk day book. [volume] (Norfolk and Portsmouth Va.) 1868-1880, 1869-08-19
The Dark Day of 1850

10 4-4 ssE dtua.f
. -- IVA as4s tl
We copy as follows from the
Cape Ann Advertiser: 8 j ! 4 4
The 18th Of May, 1880, was
a remarkable one in the annals
of New England, on account
Of the thick darkness j. that
ovefspread the land, like a fu-
neral pail. 1t Was a day long
to be remembered and talked Of
by those who witnessed the
strange, and at that time fear
full phenomenon. There was
much writing upon and dis
cusslon of the subject at the
time and aiterward, but I be-
lleve no satisfactory conclusion
was ever arrived at as to its
cause. There were some who
thought that it must have pro
ceeded from a total ECLIPSE q
the sun, that, had :, fro son4e
Ca use escaped the Gale lations
of mathemeticians and astrono-
mers, Put that was easily shown
to be a. impossible by facts and
figures. '@' saP sn''e''sisa
II was then the darkest and
most hopeless period of The war
of the Revolution, and it was
thought by many of the de-
spending and discouraged to be
significant Of theFend of that
which then appeared to them a
hopeless struggle. Some Of
the more sanguine insisted that
as the hour before the dawn
was always the darkest, SO this
strange and portentous gloom
was but the prelude to the
bright dawn Of Liberty and Tn
dependence that was soon to
follow 1850 qae '<t-aa " ayi 5fote
"a ITheafather of the writer was
then a boy of thirteen years,
and was at work with his faith
err and brother, planting or pre-
pairing the ground. IT was a
dull hazy morning, and as the
time passed it gradually thick
ened, and by 10 o'clock the IN
creasing darkness began to be
quitesapparent. They kept on
with their work, and as the
gloom increased they observed
tha tqhe would pause cncepih a
while and look intently ell
around the horizon and d overs
head, but made no remark i III
till headirected the oldest boy to
go to the barn and turn the
horse and all the cattle that
we're inside~-out into an open
lot; and to close and secure
every door and window 1t
appeared that he was apprehen-
sive that some sudden and flu
rious gust or squall would soon
manifest itself, and that the
animals would be ID less dan
ger out in the field than inside
theabuilding ! o'A'n ''0' = = .', =,
Still the dark ness grew thick
er and,deeper, till presently he
said they might as well Cfuit
work for the present. Onre,4ch-
ing the house the mother and
sister were about their usual
duties, pale and silent. Little
.was,saida excepting an occasion
al remark Or direction in a low
tone, No one seemed inclined
TO conversation or demonstra-
IItion of any kind Soon dinner
was feady,wlth candles lighted
1.-The same ass at night, but, not a
mogselTwas eaten, A dead ST.
lencey seemed to pervadei all ma
tureg broken only by occasional
bleating Of d lamb, or the dis
tant lowing of the kline, which
wandered about restless ana
uneasy.,gT The, domestic avis
seemed sto vbe Inclined to oome
to the conGlasion if it WAS not
night, they could put no other
construction upon lit, so, aftei
CLICKING oyer the matter for r a
while, they vents tosroost. -
And thus the long and dreary
hours passed away. = Along. ii
the afternoon ths. veil was lifted