The author provides several details in the fourth through seventh paragraphs to show the impact of the "strange blight" that suddenly descends upon the town. These details include:
- The flowers begin to wilt and die, and the usually vibrant colors fade away.
- The gardens that once bloomed with roses and hollyhocks are now filled with "crushed brown dust."
- The birds that once sang in the gardens are now absent, and their songs are replaced by an eerie silence.
- The narrator describes the "strange changes" that occur in the people of the town. They become listless and apathetic, and they lose interest in their usual activities.
- The people of the town become irritable and argumentative, and they turn on each other with "petty meannesses."
- The narrator notes that the people of the town are "bewildered" by the changes they are experiencing, and they are unable to explain what is happening to them.