September noon
enormous gloom ! as if the solid night Of Erebus rose suddenly to seize upon the light ! It was a time for mariners to bear a wary eye , With such a dark conspiracy between the sea and sky ! '' Past a September noon . The great canopy of dark , murky clouds fell lower and lower , until they nearly touched the earth , wrapping as in a blanket the single cocoa-nut-tree on the crag , and shutting out the light and air of heaven as they settled over the noxious lagoon , the mangrove thickets , and pure inlet . The sea-birds came screaming in from seaward , fluttering their wide-spread wings in the sultry atmosphere , and alighting on the smooth rocks , where they furled their pinions and put their heads together . The flying-fish no longer skimmed over the waves , and the dolphin and shark sank deep down in the blue water , or lay still and quiet beside the coral groves .