--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And as we stood there, a curious thing…" description: "\"“And as we stood there, a curious thing happened: a kind of window opened in the rain, just as if a cloud had been hitched aside like a curtain, and in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/francis-brett-young-61034_black-country_and-as-we-stood-there-a-curious-thing-ha_2209333.jpg" --- # And as we stood there, a curious thing happened: a kind of… ![“And as we stood there, a curious thing happened: a kind of window opened in the rain, just as if a cloud had been hitched aside like a curtain, and in the space between we saw a landscape that took our breath away. The high ground along which the road ran fell away through a black, woody belt, and…” quote by Francis Brett Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/francis-brett-young-61034_black-country_and-as-we-stood-there-a-curious-thing-ha_2209333.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/francis-brett-young-61034_black-country_and-as-we-stood-there-a-curious-thing-ha_2209333.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/590/francis-brett-young-61034_black-country_and-as-we-stood-there-a-curious-thing-ha_2209333.jpg) > ““And as we stood there, a curious thing happened: a kind of window opened in the rain, just as if a cloud had been hitched aside like a curtain, and in the space between we saw a landscape that took our breath away. The high ground along which the road ran fell away through a black, woody belt, and beyond it, for more miles than you can imagine, lay the whole basin of the Black Country, clear, amazingly clear, with innumerable smokestacks rising out of it like the merchant shipping of the world laid up in an estuary at low tide, each chimney flying a great pennant of smoke that blew away eastward by the wind, and the whole scene bleared by the light of a sulphurous sunset. No one need ever tell me again that the Black Country isn't beautiful. In all Shrophire and Radnor we'd seen nothing to touch it for vastness and savagery. And then this apocalyptic light! It was like a landscape of the end of the world, and, curiously enough, though men had built the chimneys and fired the furnaces that fed the smoke, you felt that the magnificence of the scene owed nothing to them. Its beauty was singularly inhuman and its terror – for it was terrible, you know – elemental. It made me wonder why you people who were born and bred there ever write about anything else.”” [Francis Brett Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-brett-young/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid description of an industrial landscape that is both awe‑inspiring and terrifying, highlighting nature’s power over human industry. **In simple terms:** Industrial scenery can be beautiful and frightening. Key Takeaway Recognize both wonder and danger in human‑made environments. Themes nature industry beauty terror perspective Mood reflective melancholic reverent Type descriptive poetic philosophical When to use this quote - travel writing - historical reflection - industrial heritage tours Key Concepts industrialization apocalypse environmental awe Questions to Reflect On - How does industrial progress affect our sense of beauty? - Can awe coexist with ecological concern? A Different Perspective The description may romanticize environmental damage. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [End of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-of-the-world/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [High ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-ground/) [Industry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/industry/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Sunsets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunsets/) ## Related quotes > [It takes me a long time to get with a landscape. 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Stand on high ground; sit on level ground; walk on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-ka-shing/set-your-goals-high-make-friends-with-different-kinds-of-people-enjoy/) [Li Ka-shing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-ka-shing/) > [“Take the high road. People will rise up to join you or fall out of sight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/take-the-high-road-people-will-rise-up-to-join-you-or-fall-out-of/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Astrophysicists perfected navigation. We perfected all these things that matter to the power of nations manifest on the world stage. 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If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-brett-young/all-primitive-people-are-frightened-of-owls-said-harley-the-villagers/) [Francis Brett Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-brett-young/) > [An autumn garden has a sadness when the sun is not shining...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-brett-young/an-autumn-garden-has-a-sadness-when-the-sun-is-not-shining/) [Francis Brett Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-brett-young/) > [The longer one lives, the more mysterious life seems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-brett-young/the-longer-one-lives-the-more-mysterious-life-seems/) [Francis Brett Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-brett-young/) [Explore all 5 Francis Brett Young quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-brett-young/) ## More Apocalyptic quotes > [Texting is apocalyptic on some level. 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What we have is, the Messiah’s history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-of-kittim/in-my-view-the-gospels-are-true-not-historically-but-theologically-or/) [Eli Of Kittim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-of-kittim/) Browse all 225 Apocalyptic quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And as we stood there, a curious thing happened: a kind of window opened in the rain, just as if a cloud had been hitched aside like a curtain, and in the space between we saw a landscape that took our breath away. 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