Weatherlawyer wrote:

METEOROLOGICAL IMAGINATIONS and CONJECTURES. By BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, LL.D
F. R. S. and acad. reg. Scient. Paris. Soc. etc. Communicated by Dr.
PERCIVAL. Read December 22, I784.

[snip]

Hence perhaps the winter of 1783-4, was mor fevere, than any that had
happened for rnany years.

The caufe of this univerfal fog is not yet afcertained. Whether it was
adventitious to this earth, and merely a fmoke, proceeding from the
confumption by fire of fome of thofe great burning balls or globes
which we happen to meet with in our rapid courfe round the fun, and
which are fomecimes feen to kindle and be deftroyed in paffng our
atmofphere, and whofe fmoke might be attracted and retained by our
earth; or whether it was the vaft quantity of fmoke, long continuing;
to iffue'during the fummer fiom IIecla in Iceland, and that other
volcano which arofe out of the fea near that ifland, which rmoke might
be fpread by various winds, over the northern part of the world, is yet
uncertain.

Franklin was right to suspect that the 1783 Laki eruption in Iceland
was to blame. See for example the pages on most deadly historic
eruptions and on Laki in particular.

http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/Gases/laki.html
http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/volc_i...asia/laki.html

It had a particularly strong effect on E coast USA winters (and a very
damaging effect on Iceland 10000 dead by starvation, and livestock
annihilated by flouride poisoning).

It would seem that the year 1783 was not that dissimilar to last year.

Utter ********!

Regards,
Martin Brown