The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-05-29
Thousands Viewed the Strange and
Beautiful Phenomenon.
A QUEERLY ASSORTED CROWD
Swar1ned Upon the Piers at Old Point
and Tbronged the Battlcments OF
Fort Monroe-As Watch in the
Night the Shadow Came and
Passed Out of View on Its
Westward Way.

NEWPORT NEWS, VA, May Is
Special-In a turquoise sky. with never
a feck of fieecy cloud to mar its pure
expanse, the sun this morning was
snuffed out of the heavens and for Won
derful half minute a glorious twilight
lay resteSSly upon the startled land ana
on the cleaning waters
That brief and beautiful moment was
like a star set in the golden ring of the
century-a point of time so radianty
glorious that it will never fade from the
dazzled memory of the thousands VINO
watched the marvellous scene like the
vision of some strange, fantastic dream
of hidden and forbidden brightness.
Old Point Comfort, almost an island,
lay expectant all within the path OF the
wondrous shadow that was sweeping
across the earth with the swiftness OF
a. cannon ball and the silence OF death.
QUEER CROWD.
Thither focked the curious thousands,
with smoked glasses in their hands; III
their hearts anticipation and vague pre-
monition. They swarmed upon the pier,
they focked upon the verandas ana mousse
tops they thronged the grim battlements
of the ancient fort, they wandered I'M
patiently about the courts-as queerly as
sorted a multitude IS ever gathered TO-
eether Senators touched elbows with
bricklayers, Congressman with CRAB
fishers small boys jostled Sray-haireu
men: scholars, their refined faces aSloW.
looked into eyes that reflected vacancy
business men hobnouueu 1rreieFanty
with dreamers: fair girls. with deep eyes
and checks like MOTHER -of-pearl, had for
their shoulder neighbors old women9 with
wrinkled visage and faded garb.
Here and there an ebon negro
wormed his way and drove thrifty trade
in bits of sooty glass: lveried hackmen
drummed in vain for fares and wondered
,-, ,lr. iI1rt1yC orr
the eclipse were a point of interest to pc
visited at the rate of a dollar an hour.
A FAINT SPECK-
At twenty minutes of s a'clock falnt
black ,speck was seen to fix itself upon
the sun, and, as the thousands watched
it. eat its way into the golden disk grow
ing larger and assuming a definite shape.
AS the moon drove between the luminary
and the earth, all the effulSence Of the
orb of day seemed crowded to the part
unobscured. For fifteen or twenty min
utes there was no sensible dimlnutlon OF
the light, and TO the naked eye the sun
appeared to shine with unnatural lustre
Presently there was softenlng OF the
light, almost imperceptible at first-a
darkening Of the waters. A bugle call
rang through the air. Across the dusky
waves, muftled music crept. The band
on the Kearsarge was playing in the
deepening shadow. The white battlesh1p
swung at her anchors as beautiful as
dream. Four or five snowy yachts
nestled near. Back and forth through
the ever increasing shadow, graceful sail
boats darted in ghostly wise, their negro
crews chattering their superstitious
fancies to each other. half afraid.
CRESCENT OF FIRE.
The sum- by this. was but slender
crescent of fire. There was a hush. The
spirit of sleep brooded on river, on bay
and land. Out toward the east, Hampton
Roads was mottled with dancing silver
rnnles that rose and fell in tired and
drowsy fashion
The southwest was as black as ink, the
heavens shading off to ieaden gray.
Against the sky line uhe river was sullen
and dark save where a wicked, steel
white coil of water seemed 10 writhe
across the roads and gnaSh Its teeth
against the horizon.
Every eye was turned heavenward. The
watchers held their breath. A faint chill
settled over all. The stiffness was un-
canny; the scene weird
In the hush, in the twilight, in the
twinkling of an eye-darkness. The Sht-
tering crescent disappeared as though
some celestial wand mad waved 1t from
the sky And then-around the moons
black rim there burst glorious haio.
Around the inky disk Just the slenderest
band OF gold cleaned across the lnfinlte
space and from this tiny ring was HunS
fringe of pearl and silver, as though the
stars had been clustered TOR a crown so
wonderful that its description does not
lie within the posslbillues or language
Above this marvellous crown shot INTO
space a streamer, in length several tlmes
the diameter of the disk; In breadth,
mans hand would nave measured the
space on earth; in the heavens, ten thou-
sand thousand miles, perhaps
JAGGED uONGuES.
Inst below from the periphery of the
southern hemisphere, two Jagged tongues
slipped down In space and qulVered along
the celestial miles IKE things alive.
little further down faint, small star
shone tiraidly in the glorined space, SEEM
ing tn tremble and pale in that=vast pres
ence; then sink away
An Involuntary cheer, that was more
like cry of wonder and admiration,
broke from the multitude and died upon
tha air as the craft III the Roads whisted
a noisy salute that was out of tune, bar
barously and inexpressiby.
Tn the heavens and on land and sea
transformation had been wrought as Won
derful asSit was rapid. The skies OF. black
and gray were Hooded with gorgeous
horizon there swept a band ofzcolors that
s}u6e cIassif:ca ton. The lower strata
was almost black but it quickly shaded
into ochre, which grew to amber, to pink,
to red, to scarlet. Tne waters nashed
violet beneath this respieudent canopy
violet fretted with threads of gold and sill
yer and notified with patches of lurld
red.
All, gentle poet who wrote:
"a thing of beauty is joy foreverv'
In the memory. yes; in the soul.
THE 2COLCkS FADE.
Even as the awed and wonder-strtcken
watched. the streamers faded before their
ewes, and from the molten circle there
burst knot of fire OF Infinite brightness,
fishing like a solitaire of celestial bril-
liancy upon the golden ring. For min
ute, it sparkied there and grew. then
broke into sunlight