" HOW BEAUTIFUL IS NIGHT ! " 239 



with an accompaniment ot whipcord and kicks. Then, 

 after having inhaled a long whiff of tobacco, the absurd 

 fellow again bent his knees and resumed his prayers, 

 just as if nothing had happened. 



About midnight, I woke with a start. I dreamed 

 that a hand of iron grasped my shoulders, and, when I 

 comprehended the reality of my situation, I perceived 

 that the sensation I experienced proceeded from the cold 

 which had seized me. The fire, nevertheless, was still 

 very great ; in fact, our shoes and cloaks were evidently 

 roasting and smoking. But at a distance of only three 

 feet from the flame the brandy froze in our bottles ! And 

 though we were very warmly clad, and wrapped up in 

 thick furs, I humbly confess that, prior to this memorable 

 night, I had never experienced so terrible a cold. 



I found it impossible to get to sleep again. I began to 

 think, and almost mechanically cast my eyes towards the 

 ethereal vault, which glittered with unnumbered fires. The 

 moon's disc appeared to me immense, much larger than 

 ordinary, more luminous than ever, and the motion- 

 less splendour of this unknown world enveloped the earth 

 in an awful silence. It was to my mind an irrefutable 

 evidence of the Divine majesty, which made me tremble. 

 Let me add, without further dilating on a subject to which 

 my pen is wholly inadequate, that no description can do 

 justice to the brilliancy of the nights of Upper Canada 

 during the winter season. 



" How beautiful is night ! 

 In full-orbed glory yonder moon divine 

 Rolls through the dark-blue depths 

 Beneath her steady ray 

 The desert circle spreads, 

 Like the round ocean, girdled with the sky. " 



