ticularly was its enchantment felt under the po- 

 tency exerted by the light of a great blazing camp- 

 fire. Then all the mystery of the purpose and mean- 

 ing of its teeming life descended upon one from 

 the outer darkness to dispel illusions regarding 

 one's own importance in the cosmic realm of af- 

 fairs ... In those tremendous moments, the 

 bight ceased to have being, and became a mood 

 instead. One sensed it as a benign and pervading 

 spirit, rather than as a physical fact. 



But the full power of its spell was felt only in 

 the light of a July moon — such as prevailed on the 

 night whereof I write. From a beach of blazing 

 light by day, it then became a stretch of ghostly 

 gray, dim yet definable, fading at its farther ends 

 into the mystic nothingness of the outer night. 



This applies to the bight as a whole ; but seem- 

 ingly blue were the lunar lights and shadows near 

 at hand; and here its real nocturnal beauty began. 

 The all-pervading blue, it would appear, had en- 

 tered the very sands. With every footstep, one left 

 behind an imprint glowing with the soft sapphire 

 light of phosphorescence. Nor was the water with- 

 out its part in the ethereal picture : the gentle surf, 

 breaking in waves of subdued fire, receded in rills, 



[189] 



