six
o'clock in the morning
Judge , then , of the astonishment of the world when there suddenly came upon us a darkness as in the depth of winter , falling , without warning , into the midst of the brilliant weather to which we are accustomed , and which had never failed us before in the memory of man ! It was the month of July , when , in ordinary seasons , a cloud is so rare that it is a joy to see one , merely as a variety upon the brightness . Suddenly , in the midst of our summer delights , this darkness came . Its first appearance took us so entirely by surprise that life seemed to stop short , and the business of the whole town was delayed by an hour or two ; nobody being able to believe that at six o'clock in the morning the sun had not risen . I do not assert that the sun did not rise ; all I mean to say is that at Semur it was still dark , as in a morning of winter , and when it gradually and slowly became day many hours of the morning were already spent . And never shall I forget the aspect of day when it came . It was like a ghost or pale shadow of the glorious days of July with which we are usually blessed .