'T was, as the watchmen say, a cloudy night;[Z]No moon, no stars, the wind was low or loud

By gusts, and many a sparkling hearth was bright

With the piled wood, round which the family crowd;

There's something cheerful in that sort of light,

Even as a summer sky's without a cloud:

I'm fond of fire, and crickets, and all that,[AA] [71]A lobster salad[72], and champagne, and chat.