A Study of the Sky

"Not in the garish glory of day,

when men's eyes are well-nigh blinded by the affluence of light which the Sun pours forth,

and their minds are caged in the narrow round of daily toil,

are the wonders of the sky revealed.

But when the clangor and roar of the world's traffic have died away,

and the last glint of the retiring Sun has vanished from the mountain top;

when the soft shades of the evening twilight gradually melt into the darkness of the night,

and the blessed shadow of the Earth steals over the abodes of men, bringing rest and refreshment of mind,

then come forth the troops of radiant orbs,

filling the sky with splendid array,

and giving to the mind of the beholder

a portion of their eternal calm."

- Herbert A. Howe, A Study of the Sky, 1895