Sunset was beautiful, and dark-winged gulls continually alighted on the glowing waves, alighted and swam and flew again till the night.  Then the moon lightened up the sea with silver, and all night long the waves rolled and rolled again, and broke and splashed and lapped.  The deep cavern was filled with singing sounds that at first frightened me, but at last lulled me to sleep as if a nurse had sung them.

III

Between these two beds what a glorious Night picture-book, a book telling almost entirely of the doings of the moon.  I remember how I slept once under a wild walnut-tree.  In front of me rose to heaven forested hills, and the night clothed them in majesty.  Presently the moon came gently from her apartments and put out a slender hand, grasped the tree-tops, and pulled herself up over the world.  She showed herself to me in all her glory, and then in a minute was gone again; for she entered into a many-windowed cloud castle and roamed from room to room.  As she passed from window to window I knew by the light where she was.  A calm night.  The moon went right across the sky and returned to her home.  Rain came before the dawn, and then mists crept down over the forests and hid them from my view.  Cold, cold!  The mountains were hidden by a cloud.  Loose stones rolled down a cliff continually and a wind sighed.  I snuggled myself into my blanket and waited for an hour.  Then the sun gained possession of the sky.

I went down to the river, gathered sticks—­they were very damp—­and made a fire.  Once the fire began to burn it soon increased in size, for I had gathered a great pile of little twigs and they soon dried and burned.  Then in their burning they dried bigger twigs, sticks, cudgels, logs.  I boiled my kettle and made tea.

Whilst I bathed in the river the sun gave a vision of his splendour:  a thousand mists trembled at his gaze.  An hour later it was a very hot day, and the village folk coming out of their houses could scarcely have dreamed how reluctantly the night had retired at the dawn—­with what cold and damp the morning had begun.

IV

Another night, just after moonrise, a wind arose and drove in front of it the whole night long a great thunderstorm, with lightnings and rollings and grumblings and mutterings, but never a spot of rain.  At dawn, when I looked out to sea, I saw the whole dreadful array of the storm standing to leeward like ships that had passed in the night, and as though baulked in pursuit the roll of the thunder came across the sky sullenly, though with a note of defeat.