The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1908-04-25

TERM BLACK" APPLIED TO VA.
Rlous PERIODS OF HISTORY.
Chiefly Understood in This Country n
rs Application 70 the Financial
Panic Of Friday, September "A,
1853, In Wall street.

1853, IN Wall Street.
The designation Of Black Friday
Is popularly supposed TO be restricted
to a certain day in the financial his
tory Of New York, but in point Of fact
It has been applied to a number Of
days at various times in history. Az
used in The records Of stock specula-
ton in Wall street, 1t is applied to
two days. The first was Friday, Sep
tember "a, 1869, when panic was
caused In the money market by the
joint efforts Of Col. James Fisk and
Jay Gould to corner the gold mar
ket, the price of gold going up to
1853 49, and large number Of financial
concerns undergoing heavy stress.
The name Black Friday is also ap-
piled to September 10, 1873, when the
great financial crash in the stock ex.
change preceding the panic Of that
year occurred.
In the financial history Of England
May II, 1866, is designated as Black
Friday, as on that day began dis
astrous financial panic, which was
brought about by the failure Of the
firm of Overend, Gurney & Co., In
London, who were afterward tried and
acquitted Of conspiracy TO defraud.
In ecclesiastical history the Roman
or Western church has frequently des.
ignated Good Friday as Black Friday
as on that day all clerical vestmentl
and altar draperies are strictly Of
black. The term black-letter days ID
applied to minor holidays and saints
days whose names appear on calen
dars in black letters instead Of rec
letters, as do the high days and holl
days. In the English calendar Ger
tain black.letter days have been re
tained because they mark civil date
Of Importance, such as Hilary tern
and Martinmas summer, or becaus'
they commemorate some public bene
factor.
The name Black Monday is given Il
English history to Easter Monday
April IA, 1860, when Edward III
lay with his host before the city Q
Paris, and the weather was so storm
and bitter cold that many men died a
they sat on their horses. The teri
was afterward extended to include a
Easter Mondays, and is SO used b
Shakespeare in The Merchant
Venice" in the line Then It was nc
for nothing that my nose fell a-bleet
ing on Black Monday last" Dicken
refers to the schoolboy custom OF r
garding the day for returning
school after the long vacation as Blac
Monday, and an article in Househol
Words mentions the due observanS
Of the ancient institution Of Blee
Monday" the eve Of which was ksl
on the Saturday night, when y
school box was packed. In Irish hi
tory the term Black Monday was 3
Piled to the day when number
English we're slain In village nel
Dublin In 1903.
Australia has Black Thursday
its history, the name being given
the colony Of Victoria TO Thursda
February 6, 1851, when the most q
rlble bush fre ever known in the b
. tory OF the colony ragged over an Il
mense extent Of territory and the he
was felt far out at sea, and birds ov'
come BY II fell on the decks Of Goa
ing vessels. The loss caused by t
confagration was exceedingly grea
Black Saturday was the name Civ
in Scotland to August I, 1921, VII
: the parliament, sitting In Edinburl
ratified certain articles Introduce
Church Of England practices in
churches of Scotland which we're
posed to the religious convictions
the Scotch Presbyterians The vlols
thunder storm which occurred at
time. with much lightning and gr'
darkness, was held to be a manif
- token OF the displeasure Of heaven
So far as the records show, no oil
day Of the week has had the adject
al black attached to it, Red-letter di
are any lucky, fortunate or auspicii
DAYS, and are so called because in
older liturgieal works the greater h
days are designated by red lett'
- Dickens makes one of his charact
- in BLEAK House" say: 1T is the
girls birthday and that is the gr'
est holiday and reddest letter day
Mr.. Bagnets calendar Cha
Lamb, in his oxford in the vacatiC
writes: THE red-letter days now
come, to all intents and purpo
dead.letter days."