" The shock " of the earthquake " was instantly followed by the fall of every church and convent , almost all the large public buildings , and more than one fourth of the houses . In about two hours after the shock , fires broke out in different quarters , and raged with such violence for the space of nearly three days , that the city was completely desolated . The earthquake happened on a holyday , when the churches and convents were full of people , very few of whom escaped ." -- Encyclopedia Americana , art . " Lisbon ," note ( ed . 1831 ). " The terror of the people was beyond description . Nobody wept ; it was beyond tears . They ran hither and thither , delirious with horror and astonishment , beating their faces and breasts , crying , ' Misericordia ! the world ' s at an end !' Mothers forgot their children , and ran about loaded with crucifixed images . Unfortunately , many ran to the churches for protection ; but in vain was the sacrament exposed ; in vain did the poor creatures embrace the altars ; images , priests , and people were buried in one common ruin ." It has been estimated that ninety thousand persons lost their lives on that fatal day .
Twenty-five years later appeared the next sign mentioned in the prophecy--the darkening of the sun and moon . What rendered this more striking was the fact that the time of its fulfillment had been definitely pointed out . In the Saviour ' s conversation with His disciples upon Olivet , after describing the long period of trial for the church , --the 1260 years of papal persecution , concerning which He had promised that the tribulation should be shortened , --He thus mentioned certain events to precede His coming , and fixed the time when the first of these should be witnessed : " In those days , after that tribulation , the sun shall be darkened , and the moon shall not give her light ." Mark 13:24 . The 1260 days , or years , terminated in 1798 . A quarter of a century earlier , persecution had almost wholly ceased . Following this persecution , according to the words of Christ , the sun was to be darkened . On the 19th of May , 1780 , this prophecy was fulfilled .
" Almost , if not altogether alone , as the most mysterious and as yet unexplained phenomenon of its kind , . . . stands the dark day of May 19 , 1780 , --a most unaccountable darkening of the whole visible heavens and atmosphere in New England ." --R . M . Devens , Our First Century , page 89 . An eyewitness living in Massachusetts describes the event as follows : " In the morning the sun rose clear , but was soon overcast . The clouds became lowery , and from them , black and ominous , as they soon appeared , lightning flashed , thunder rolled , and a little rain fell . Toward nine o ' clock , the clouds became thinner , and assumed a brassy or coppery appearance , and earth , rocks , trees , buildings , water , and persons were changed by this strange , unearthly light . A few minutes later , a heavy black cloud spread over the entire sky except a narrow rim at the horizon , and it was as dark as it usually is at nine o ' clock on a summer evening . . . .
" Fear , anxiety , and awe gradually filled the minds of the people . Women stood at the door , looking out upon the dark landscape ; men returned from their labour in the fields ; the carpenter left his tools , the blacksmith his forge , the tradesman his counter . Schools were dismissed , and
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