What does the phrase refer to?
Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 at
9:30 am
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I didnt really want to read the question but uuuuhhhhhh…… Yea
In the Christian west around the 18-19th century, Sunday was a day of rest: a time to devote to the praise of God. In the outer islands, where deaths at sea were common, people were considered particularly God-fearing and aware of His wrath.
If I were to refer to clothing, which is perhaps a phrase you may be more familiar with. ‘Sunday best’ – was always to be worn for church (and high-holidays), basically to look presentable in the eyes of God, and your community. It was your VERY best clothing – so ideally, no holes, no patches, etc.
If you were so poor that you didn’t have anything that had no holes or patches – to show you still had a degree of pride and self-worth, you took special care with what you had, and the way in which you looked after it.
Stevenson here is describing something that is not simply black – but something that has had some additional effort to make it as black as it could ever be. Some well equipped rowing boats of that period may have benches covered with heavy hessian woven matting – to stop a man sliding off while rowing against heavy seas. With constant effort, the weight and movement of the man might effectively scour and polish the wood immediately under where he sits.
The tone of the piece you quote suggests that special preparation has been made to mourn the passing of someone or something substantial.