"Twas on a May-day of the far old year
Seventeen hundred eighty, that there fell
Over the bloom and sweet life of the Spring
Over the fresh earth and the heaven of noon,
A horror of great darkness.
Men prayed, and women wept; all ears grew sharp
To hear the doom-blast of the trumpet shatter
The black sky, that the dreadful face of Christ
Might look from the rent clouds, not as he looked
A loving guest at Bethany, but stern
As Justice and inexorable Law.
Meanwhle in the old State House, dim as ghosts,
Sat the lawgivers of Connecticut,
Trembling beneath their legislative robes.
'It is the Lord's Great Day! Let us adjourn,'
Some said; and then, as if with one accord,
All eyes were turned to Abraham Davenport.
He rose, slow cleaving with his steady voice
The intolerable hush. 'This well may be
The Day of Judgment which the world awaits;
But be it so or not, I only know
My present duty, and my Lord's command
To occupy till He come. So at the post
Where He hast set me in His providence,
I chose, for one, to meet Him face to face, --
No faithless servant frightened from my task,
But ready when the Lord of the harvest calls;
And therefore, with all reverence, I would say,
Let God do His work, we will see to ours.
Bring in the candles.'"
-- John Greenleaf Whittier, "Abraham Davenport," in His "Complete Poetical Works" (Cambridge ed.; Boston: Houghton, 1894), p. 260.
The great dark day of May 19, 1780, is also well attested to by history:
"In some places, the darkness was so
great, that persons could not see to read common print in the
open air, for several hours together: but I believe this was not
generally the case. The extent of this darkness was very
remarkable."
Samuel Williams, "An Account of a Very Uncommon Darkness
in the States of New England, May 19, 1780," in 'Memoirs of
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences: to the End of the Year
1783' (Boston: Adams and Nourse, 1785), Vol. 1, pp. 234, 235.
"The darkness of the following evening
was probably as gross as ever has been observed since the
Almighty fiat gave birth to light. It wanted only palpability to
render it as extraordinary, as that which overspread the land of
Egypt in the days of Moses .... if every luminous body in the
universe had been shrouded in impenetrable shades, or struck our
of existence, the darkness could not have been more complete. A
sheet of white paper held within a few inches of the eyes was
equally invisible with the blackest velvet. Considering the small
quantity of light that was transmitted by the clouds, by day, it
is not surprising that, by night, a sufficient quantity of rays
should not be able to penetrate the same strata, brought back the
shifting of winds. to afford the most obscure prospect even of
the best reflecting bodies."
Letter of Samuel Tenney (an eye-witness of Rowley, (Mass.?),
dated Exeter (NH?), Dec., 1785, in "Collections of the
Massachusetts Historical Society," Vo. 1, 1792 (Boston:
Belknap and Hall, 1792), pp. 97, 98.
"The 19th of May, 1780, was a
remarkable day. Candles were lighted in many houses; the birds
were silent and disappeared, and the fowls retired to roost. The
legislature of Connecticut was then in session at Hartford. A
very general opinion prevailed, that the day of judgment was at
hand. The house of Representatives, being unable to transact
their business, adjourned. A proposal to adjourn the Council was
under consideration. When the opinion of Colonel [Abraham]
Davenport was asked, he answered, 'I am against an adjournment.
The day of judgment is either approaching, or it is not. If it is
not, there is no cause of an adjournment: if it is, I choose to
be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that candles my be
brought."
Timothy Dwight, quoted in "Connecticut Historical
Collectons," compiled by John Warner Barber (2d ed.; New
Haven: Durrie & Peck and J.W. Barber, 1836), p. 403.
This page maintained by Allen Roy. Last update on 09/13/98