The Death of Night

Whilst writing about the morning in one of my novels I realized how often I'd read the same or similar descriptions of mornings from my favorite authors. Writing about a new day beginning happens quite often once you look for it. I have a whole string of posts on this subject (here) and although I have not been as diligent in this as I have in my First Lines (here) or Last Lines (here) posts, I think I shall rededicate myself to the effort if only because of pearls like the one below.

"Morning drew on apace. The air become more sharp and piercing, as its first dull hue--the death of night, rather than the birth of day--glimmered faintly in the sky. The objects which had looked dim and terrible in the darkness, grew more and more defined, and gradually resolved into their familiar shapes. The rain came down, thick and fast, and pattered noisily among the leafless bushes. But, Oliver felt it not, as it beat against him; for he still lay stretched, helpless and unconscious, on his bed of clay."

Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist

I love the fact that he wrote "the death of night, rather than the birth of day."