ECLIPSE. 
country with a circumferentor, both confi- 
dently affirmed the eclipse was begun, 
when by my watch I found it just half an 
hour after 5; and accordingly from thence 
the progress of it was visible, and very of- 
ten to the naked eye ; the thin clouds do- 
ing the office of glasses. From the time of 
the sun’s body being half covered, there 
was a very conspicuous circular iris round 
the sun with perfect colours. On all sides 
we beheld the shepherds hurrying their 
flocks into fold, the darkness coming on ; 
for they expected nothing less than a total 
eclipse for an hour and a quarter. 
“ When the sun looked very sharp like a 
new moon, the sky was pretty clear in that 
spot ; but soon after a thicker cloud cover- 
ed it, at which time the iris vanished, the 
copped hill before-mentioned grew very 
dark, together with the horizon on both 
sides, that is to the north and south, and 
looked blue ; Just as it appears in the east 
at the declension of day. We had scarce 
time to tell ten, when Salisbui-y steeple six 
miles off southward became very black ; the 
copped hill quite lost, and a most gloomy 
night with full career came upon us : at 
this instant we lost sight of the sun, whose 
place among the clouds was hitherto suffi- 
ciently distinguishable, but now not the 
least trace of it to be found, no more than 
if really absent: then I saw by my watch, 
though with difficulty, and only by help of 
some light from the northern quarter, that 
’t was 6 hours 35 minutes : just before this 
ti.3 whole compass of the heavens and earth 
looked of a lurid complexion, properly 
speaking, for it was black and blue, only 
on the earth upon the horizon the blue pre- 
vailed; there was likewise in the heavens 
among the clouds much green interspersed, 
.so that the whole appearance was really 
very dreadful, and as symptoms of sicken- 
ing nature. 
“ Now I perceived us involved in total 
darkness and palpable, as I may aptly call 
it; though it came quick, yet I was so in- 
tent that I could perceive its steps, and 
feel it as it were drop upon us, and fall on 
the right shoulder (we looking westward) 
like a great dark mantle or coverlet of a 
bed thrown over us, or like the drawing of 
a curtain on that side ; and the horses we 
held in our hands were very sensible of it, 
and crowded close to us, startling v^ith 
great surprise ; as much as I could see of 
the men’s faces that stood by me, had a 
horrible aspect : at this instant I looked 
around me, not without exclamations of ad- 
miration, and could discern colours in the 
heavens, but the earth had lost its blue, 
and was wholly black ; for some time 
among the clouds there were visible streaks 
of rays, tending to the place of the sun as 
their centre; but immediately after, the 
whole appearance of earth and sky w'as en- 
tirely black ! of all things I ever saw in ray 
life, or can by imagination fancy, it was a 
sight the most tremendous. 
Toward the north-west, whence the 
eclipse came, I could not in the least find 
any distinction in the horizon between hea- 
ven and earth, for a good breadth, of about 
60 degrees or more ; nor the town of Ambs- 
bury underneath us, nor scarce the ground 
we trod on : I turned myself round several 
times during tins total darkness, and re- 
marked at a good distance from the west 
on both sides, tliat is to the north and south, 
the horizon veiy perfect ; the earth being 
black, the lower part of the heavens light ; 
for the darkness above hung over us like a 
canopy, almost reaching the horizon in 
those parts, or as if made with skirts of a 
ligfiter colour; so that the upper edges of 
all the hills were as a black line, and I 
knew them very distinctly by their shape 
or profile; and northward I satv perfectly, 
that the interval of light and darkness in 
the horizon was between Martinsal hill and 
St, Ann’s hill ; but southward it was more 
indefinite : I do not mean that the verge of 
the shadow passed between those liills, 
which w’ere but 12 miles distant from us ; 
but, so far I could distinguish the hori- 
zon, beyond it not at all : the reason of it 
is this : the elevation of ground I was upon 
«ave me an opportunity of seeing the light 
of the heavens beyond the shadow ; never- 
theless, this verge of light looked of a dead, 
yellowish, and greenish colour; it was 
broader to tlie north than south, but the 
southern was of a tawny colour ; at this 
time behind us, or eastward toward Lon- 
don it was dark too, where otherwise I 
could see the hills beyond Andover ; for the 
foremost end of the shadow was past thi- 
ther ; so that the whole horizon was now 
divided into four parts of unequal bulk, and 
degrees of light and dark; the part to the 
north-west broadest and blackest, to the 
south-west lightest and longest. All tlie 
change I could perceive during the totality, 
was that the horizon by degrees drew into 
two parts, light and dark; the northern he- 
misphere growing still longer, lighter, and 
