Date:  Fri, 23 Jan 1998 15:57:17 -0500
From:  jerry miller <millerj[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]FRANKLINCOLL.EDU>
Subject: Re: quote source

Beverly: Before Snoopy established it as a 20th century cliche, the line was
the opening line of the novel "Paul Clifford" by Sir Edward George Earl
Bulwer-Lytton (the rest of the sentence was even worse), published in 1830
and which the Bulwer-Lytton Bad Writing Contest annually commemorates.

Jerry Miller
Franklin (Ind.) College

At 01:28 PM 1/23/98 -0500, you wrote:
>  Another cliche from 18th or 19th century fiction is of course "It was a
>  dark and stormy night"--but I've forgotten the author. Anyone?
>
>