"Ill-fated city! there were revels kept; Devoid of fear, they ate, they drank, they slept. No friendly voice like that of ancient Rome Was sent to give them warning of their doom: No airy warriors to each other clung, Such as 'tis said o'er destin'd Sion hung, But like a nightly thief their dreadful fate Unlooked for came and undermined their state.... "Lo, what a sudden change! On ruin's brink The proud turn humble, and the thoughtless think. Dark, gloomy sadness overclouds the gay, And hypocrites for once sincerely pray.... But let it not be thought their horrid deeds Had pulled this dreadful judgment on their heads, Or that for crimes too horrible to tell, Like guilty Sodom, thunderstruck they fell.... "Who can with curious eyes this globe survey, And not behold it tottering with decay? All things created, God's designs fulfil, And natural causes work His destined will. And that eternal Word, which cannot lie, To mortals hath revealed in prophecy That in these latter days such signs should come, Preludes and prologues to the general doom. But not the Son of man can tell that day; Then, lest it find you sleeping, watch and pray." Thus this first of the predicted latter-day signs bore its message to men. Its immediate scene was set in the Old World, but its warning was world-wide. The next sign foretold was to appear in the New World, but like the Lisbon earthquake, its message of warning was for all men. [Illustration: THE FLOOD "So shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matt. 24:39.] [Illustration: MIDDAY AT SEA MAY 19, 1780 "Between one and two he was obliged to light a large candle to steer by." See p. 89.] [Illustration: SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS "Can ye not discern the signs of the times?" Matt. 16:3.] THE DARK DAY OF 1780 "The Sun Shall be Darkened" We recall that in the vision of latter-day signs given to the prophet John, he saw the "great earthquake" followed by a sign in the heavens: "The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood." Rev. 6:12. Of this event our Saviour spoke, in giving the signs of His second coming which were to begin to appear following the cutting short of the days of persecution. We repeat His words: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light." Matt. 24:29. The Prophecy Fulfilled True to the order of the prophecy, following the great earthquake of 1755 in Europe, there came, in America, the second sign of the approaching end, the wonderful darkening of the sun, known in history as "The Dark Day."