I had occasion, a few weeks since, to take the early train from Providence to Boston; and for this purpose rose at two o'clock in the morning.
几个星期前，我有幸乘坐早班火车从普罗维登斯来到波士顿，为此我特地凌晨两点就起床已毕。
Everything around was wrapped in darkness and hushed in silence, broken only by what seemed at that hour the unearthly clank and rush of the train.
万物陷于黑暗之中悄无声息，只是在列车发出隆隆轰鸣突然启动的那一刻，这种平静才骤然打破。
It was a mild, serene, midsummer's night,—the sky was without a cloud, the winds were whist.
这是一个温暖宁静的仲夏之夜——天空没有一丝云彩，微风和煦。
The moon, then in the last quarter, had just risen, and the stars shone with a spectral luster but little affected by her presence.
在最后四分之一路程，月亮才爬上天际。星星散发出幽灵一般的光栅，丝毫无法影响月亮的光辉。
Jupiter, two hours high, was the herald of the day; the Pleiades, just above the horizon, shed their sweet influence in the east;
木星悬于天际已经两个钟头了，预示着拂晓将至。在地平线上，昴宿星已经露出脸来，东方泛出鱼肚白。
Lyra sparkled near the zenith; Andromeda veiled her newly-discovered glories from the naked eye in the south;
天琴星座在天顶附近闪闪发光，仙女星座遮盖住从南方裸露的眼睛绽放出的刚发现的光芒。
the steady Pointers, far beneath the pole, looked meekly up from the depths of the north to their sovereign.
在地极之下，一成不变的指针温顺地从北极深处向上窥探着它们的王国。
Such was the glorious spectacle as I entered the train.
我登上列车时，眼前出现的就是这幅壮丽景象。
As we proceeded, the timid approach of twilight became more perceptible; the intense blue of the sky began to soften;
随着列车行进，黎明前的曙光羞怯地展露出来，越发容易察觉。天际一线的蓝色开始变得轻柔可亲。
the smaller stars, like little children, went first to rest; the sister beams of the Pleiades soon melted together;
那些很小的星星就像嗷嗷待哺的孩子似的，首先停止了啼哭。昴宿星系星团的光栅很快便一同隐去，
but the bright constellations of the west and north remained unchanged.
不过西方和北方那些明亮的恒星透过云层依旧散出光芒。
Steadily the wondrous transfiguration went on.
星团继续变换着奇异的形状和姿态。
