"Lascia l'amico tetto
Vien meco a navigar!"

Now on the spacious mantle--of the already darkening heavens--see,
oh, the shining wonder--how the white stars tremble:

"Ai raggi della luna
Vien meco a navigar!"

Where were they? Surely they have passed out from the darkness of the
narrow canal, and are away on the broad bosom of the lagoon. The Place
of St. Mark is all aglow with its golden points of fire; the yellow
radiance spreads out into the night. And that other wandering mass of
gold--the gondola hung round with lamps, and followed by a dark
procession through the silence of the waters--does not the music come
from thence? Listen, now:

"Sul l'onde addormentate
Vien meco a navigar!"

Can they hear the distant chorus, in there at the shore where the people
are walking about in the golden glare of the lamps?

"Vien meco a navigar!
Vien meco a navigar!"

Or can some faint echo be carried away out to yonder island, where the
pale blue-white radiance of the moonlight is beginning to touch the tall
dome of San Giorgio?