Rhode Island American And Gazette

Evening.—There are two periods in the life of man in which the evening hour is peculiarly interesting—in youth and in old age. In youth we love it for its mellow moonlight, its million of stars, its thin, rich and soothing shades, its still serenity: amid these we commune with our loves or twine the wreaths of friendship, while there is none to bear us witness but the heavens and the spirits that hold their endless Sabbath there, or look into the deep bosom of creation, spread abroad like a canopy above us; and look and listen until we can almost see and hear the waving wings, and melting songs of other worlds. To youth, evening is delightful; it accords with the flow of his light spirits, the fervor of his fancy, and the softness of his heart. Evening is, also, the delight of virtuous age: it affords hours of undisturbed contemplation; it seems an emblem of the tranquil close of busy life, serene, placid and mild, with the impress of its great Creator stamped upon it; it spreads its quiet wings over the grave, and it seems to promise that all shall be peace beyond it.