midday
There is nothing more lovely in the world than when , upon a calm evening , the sun goes down across the level and gleaming water , where it is so wide that the eye can but just distinguish a low and dark cloud , as it were , resting upon the horizon , or perhaps , looking lengthways , can not distinguish any ending to the expanse . Sometimes it is blue , reflecting the noonday sky ; sometimes white from the clouds ; again green and dark as the wind rises and the waves roll . Storms , indeed , come up with extraordinary swiftness , for which reason the ships , whenever possible , follow the trade route , as it is called , behind the islands , which shelter them like a protecting reef . They drop equally quickly , and thus it is not uncommon for the morning to be calm , the midday raging in waves dashing resistlessly upon the beach , and the evening still again . The Irish , who are accustomed to the salt ocean , say , in the suddenness of its storms and the shifting winds , it is more dangerous than the sea itself . But then there are almost always islands , behind which a vessel can be sheltered . Beneath the surface of the Lake there must be concealed very many ancient towns and cities , of which the names are lost .