Night
佚名 / Anonymous
Night has fallen over the country. Through the trees rises the red moon， and the stars are scarcely seen. In the vast shadow of night the coolness and the dews descend. I sit at the open window to enjoy them； and hear only the voice of the summer wind. Like black hulks， the shadows of the great trees ride at anchor on the billowy sea of grass. I cannot see the red and blue f？lowers， but I know that they are there. Far away in the meadow gleams the silver Charles. The tramp of horses’ hoofs sounds from the wooden bridge. Then all is still save the continuous wind of the summer night. Sometimes I know not if it be the wind or the sound of the neighboring sea. The village clock strikes； and I feel that I am not alone.
How different it is in the city！ It is late， and the crowd is gone. You step out upon the balcony， and lie in the very bosom of the cool， dewy night as if you folded her garments about you. Beneath lies the public walk with trees， like a fathomless， black gulf， into whose silent darkness the spirit plunges， and f？loats away with some beloved spirit clasped in its embrace. The lamps are still burning up and down the long street. People go by with grotesque shadows， now foreshortened， and now lengthening away into the darkness and vanishing， while a new one springs up behind the walker， and seems to pass him revolving like the sail of a windmill. The iron gates of the park shut with a jangling clang. There are footsteps and loud voices； — a tumult； — a drunken brawl； — an alarm of f？ire， — then silence again. And now at length the city is asleep， and we can see the night. The belated moon looks over the rooftops and f？inds no one to welcome her. The moonlight is broken. It lies here and there in the squares， and the opening of the streets — angular like bocks of white marble.
夜幕笼罩着村庄。树梢上升起一弯月牙，几乎看不到星星。在夜无边的黑暗里，空气湿凉，凝成露珠。我坐在打开的窗户边，欣赏夜色，倾听夜里唯一的夏风之声。大树的影子，像一只只锚定在绿草海洋里的黑色船只。尽管看不到红色或蓝色的花朵，但我知道那里有鲜花盛开。草地的远处，银色的查尔斯河隐约闪现。木桥上传来马蹄声，之后，便是一片寂静，只有夏夜风持续的呼呼声。有时，我分不清到底是风声还是邻近的海声。村庄的时钟敲响了，我觉得自己并不孤单。