I sprang from my bed, and ran in my nightshirt to open the window.

It was about eleven o'clock.

Together the keen night-air and the moonlight wrapped me round, thrilling me with delight.

The large courtyard lay deserted with its leafless poplars and spiked railings.
Here and there a grain of sand sparkled.

I raised my eyes, and from one constellation to another I sought the deep blue of heaven in vain; not a shadow upon it, not one dark wing outlined.