Man’s life is but a dream—nay, less than so,
A shadow of a dream.—Sir John Davies.
Where highest woods, impenetrable
To sun or starlight, spread their umbrage broad
And brown as evening.—Milton.
The shades of eve come slowly down,
The woods are wrapped in deeper brown.—Scott: Lady of the Lake.
The term brown, applied to the evening shade, is derived from the Italian, the expression “fa l’imbruno” being commonly used in Italy to denote the approach of evening.