Note 44 — FIENDS, GHOSTS, AND SPRITES. (continued 2)
Reading edition
This idea has been beautifully expressed by Longfellow in the "Voices of the Night."
"When the hours of day are numbered, And the voices of the night Wake the better soul, that slumbered, To a holy calm delight, Ere the evening lamps are lighted, And like phantoms grim and tall, Shadows from the fitful firelight Dance upon the parlour wall; Then the forms of the departed Enter at the open door; The beloved, the true-hearted, Come to visit us once more." &c.
See also Washington Irving's Bracebridge Hall. St. Martin's Eve.