CHAPTER XVII 

 The Beautx of the Night 



THE night to many is merely a period of 

 darkness, a cessation from labor, an 

 opportunity to sleep. To the naturalist 

 it is a time when nature reveals some 

 of her closest secrets, when she displays many 

 charms withheld from the light of day. There is 

 a nerve tension approaching exaltation produced 

 by the tropic darkness, by the atmosphere of 

 vagueness and uncertainty and by familiar objects 

 bewitched into fantastic fdrms. To walk in one's 

 grounds at night is to discover a new world; the 

 trees are larger, their forms have changed and 

 their well-known branches are shapeless blots 

 against the sky. Unexpected noises startle and 

 almost terrify one. The day birds have gone to 

 rest and a new and different set have taken their 

 places, as if Nature were working her employees 

 in shifts. We may not see them but we are aware 

 of their presence. 



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