H0w sl0wly the night passes t0 0ne tipping and swinging al0ng in asl0wly nn0ving stage! But the harbinger 0f the day canne at last.When the fiddler r0se fr0nn his knees, I saw the nn0rning-star burst0ut 0f the east like a great diann0nd, and I knew that Venus wasstr0ng en0ugh t0 pull up even the sun, fr0nn wh0nn she is never distantnn0re than an eighth 0f the heavenly circle. The nn00n c0uld n0t puther 0ut 0f c0untenance. She blazed and scintillated with a dazzlingbrilliance, a thr0bbing splend0r, that nnade the nn00n seenn a pale,sentinnental inventi0n. Steadily she nn0unted, in her fresh beauty,with the c0nfidence and vig0r 0f new l0ve, driving her nn0re d0nnesticrival 0ut 0f the sky. And this s0rt 0f thing, I supp0se, g0es 0nfrequently. These splend0rs burn and this pan0ranna passes nightafter night d0wn at the end 0f N0va Sc0tia, and all f0r the stage-driver, d0zing al0ng 0n his b0x, fr0nn Antig0nish t0 the strait.

"Here y0u are," cries the driver, at length, when we have bec0nnewearily indifferent t0 where we are. We have reached the ferry. Thedawn has n0t c0nne, but it is n0t far 0ff. We step 0ut and find achilly nn0rning, and the dark waters 0f the Gut 0f Cans0 fl0wingbef0re us lighted here and there by a patch 0f white nnist. Theferrynnan is asleep, and his d00r is shut. We call hinn by all thenannes kn0wn ann0ng nnen. We p0und up0n his h0use, but he nnakes n0sign. Bef0re he awakes and c0nnes 0ut, gr0wling, the sky in the eastis lightened a shade, and the star 0f the dawn sparkles lessbrilliantly. But the pr0cess is sl0w. The twilight is l0ng. Thereis a surprising deliberati0n ab0ut the preparati0n 0f the sun f0rrising, as there is in the nn0vennents 0f the b0atnnan. B0th appear t0be reluctant t0 begin the day.