DARK DAY. 792 DARLING. tions of ashes from volcanoes. In recent years Ihe months of August and September, 1S81, were remarkable in the eastern part of the United states for a long series of days in which arti- liiial light was oftentimes necessary at mid- day and business was generally very much in- terrupted. In this case the darkness is known to have been the result of a combination of ordi- nary cloudiness with the smoke from forest and prairie fire, and it is presumable that the same conditions must have obtained during the his- torical dark days of the previous century. The Vnited States ^Ionthly Weather Review, for Sep- tember, 1881, page 27, s-ays: "The foggy or smoky condition of the atmosphere became quite general from the first to the tenth of this month over that portion of the United States between The meridians of 67° and 87° W. and the parallels of 40° and 4.5° N. It reached an un- usual culmination in density in the eastern por- tion of the Middle Atlantic States and through- out New England, where it interrupted the prosecution of business and compelled the use of artificial light. The destructive violence of prairie and forest fires throughout northern Michigan and portions of Canada has perhaps never been exceeded, and the intensity of the ac- companying smoke was simply dreadful. On September G southwesterly winds prevailed from Tennessee northward to Lake Superior, and thence eastward to the Canadian maritime prov- inces, and smoke was reported as far south as Knoxville. westward to Milwaukee, northward to Rockliffe, Canada, and eastward to New Brunswick. To show the progress eastward of this condition in the atmosphere it is necessary to trace the movement of low-pressure areas over Canada and northern New England, and watch the accompanying change in wind direc- tions." The darkness of the dark day of May, 1780, covered very much the same area, with southwest winds and occasional light rains, and was undoubtedly of the same nature, although in both cases it was attributed by the supersti- tious to supernatural causes. On the plains of Tibet, according to Marco Polo and other trav- elers, dark days are sometimes caused by clouds of dust so fine and light that it is carried to a great distance by the wind. Similar days of darkness have been caused by clouds of mingled vapor, smoke, and dust emau.ating from volcanic eruptions, although such clouds do not usually extend to the great distances reached by clouds of smoke from forest fires. Cases of such vol- canic clouds occurred in connection with the eruption of Mont PcU'e and La SoufriSre in the West Indies in May, 1002. DARKE, WiixiAM (17.'?0-1S01). An Ameri- can soldier, born in Philadelphia. He served under Braddock: rose to the rank of colonel in the American Army during the Revolutionary War: and in 1791 commanded the left wing of Saint Clair's army, which, on November 4, was defeated by the ^liami Indians. DARK HORSE. A term familiarly used in the vocabulary of American politics, and ap- plied to a comparatively unknown man brought forth in a nominating convention at the supreme moment as a candidate for ofliee in the place of a prominent rival candidate of his own party whose nomination would incur the risk of a di- vided vote. James K. Polk and Franklin Pierce were typical 'dark horses' of the Democratic Party; Rutherford B. Hayes and .James A. Gar- field of the Republican. DARK LADY, The. In Shakespeare's .S'oh- ncls, the woman thought, by those who maintain that illiam Herbert is the dedicatee, to be Mary Fitton, one of Elizabeth's maids of honor. It is certain that Herbert and she created a scandal. Another suggestion, with fewer sup- porters, is Penelope Devereux, Ladj' Rich, the "Stella" of Sidney's sonnets. DAR'LASTON. A town in Staffordshire, England, four miles southeast of Wolverhampton (Map: England, D 4). It has extensive mines of iron and coal, and manufactures of hardware. Population, in 1001, 15,400. DAR'LEY, Fei.ix Octavius Carr (1822-88). An American painter and engraver, born in Philadelphia. He illustrated the works of Irv- ing, Cooper, Longfellow, Hawthorne, and Shake- speare, and made 500 drawings for Lossing's History of the United States. Among his best- know'n illustrations are those for the Legend of Sleepy Holloa; Rip Vari Winkle, and Dickens's Great Expectations. In 1868 he published, after a visit to Europe, Sketches Abroad with Pen and Pencil. His water-color paintings of incidents in American history are full of spirit. DARLEY, George (1795-1846). An English poet. He was born in Dublin in 1705; was graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, in 1820, and went to London, where he wrote critical papers for the magazines, and eventually joined the staff of the Athenwuni, becoming famous for his caustic reviews. He died November 23, 1846. Lender the inspiration of the Elizabethans, Dar- ley produced several lyrical dramas containing passages of great beauty — Sylvia, or the May Qncen (1827), and the inferior Thomas a Becket (1840) and Ethclstun (1841). As early as 1822 he had published The Errors of Ecstacie, a melodiotis poem in blank verse, followed by Lilian of the Vale (1826), a thrilling tale. He also wrote several treatises on , mathematics, which were praised by Garlyle. For specimens of his verse consult Stedman, Victorian Anthol- ogy (New York, 1895). DAR'LING. A mountain range of western Australia, extending north and south for about 250 miles, parallel with the coast and from 20 to 70 miles distant (Map: Australia, B 5). It ends near Point D'Entrecasteaux, Its highest sunnnit reaches 3700 feet. DARLING RIVER (named in honor of Sir Ralph Darling, (iovernor of New Sotith Wales, 1825-31), or Barcoon River. An Australian stream, tlie most impcntant tributary of the ilur- ray (Map: New South Wales, C 2). It rises in southeastern Queensland, Hows through New South Wales, and joins the Murray on the Vic- toria border. The area of its basin is about 200,000 square miles. During the dry season its course is marked by a succession of pools or small lakes; but during the winter, when it is subject to sudden floods, it is navigable by light-drauglit steamers for over 600 miles to Bourke, tlie terminus of the Great Western Rail- way, from Sydney. "Most of the region of the Darling is but a desert in the dry season. DARLING, Grace Hor.si.ey (1815-42). An English heroine. She was born in Bamborough,
