EVENING, is that part of the night which commences with sunset, and properly terminates when the prudent and industrious repair to their couch—long before midnight.
In countries surrounded by the ocean, the evenings are generally damp and chilly, so that the temperature of the air is many degrees colder than in the preceding day. Hence the necessity of adopting a warmer dress than usually worn, if we are obliged to expose ourselves to the evening-air: invalids and convalescents ought not to leave their apartments after sunset, even though the sky be ever so serene, and the weather uncommonly mild.
Nor is it proper for the healthy to pursue those occupations in the evening, which are attended with proportionally greater fatigue of mind or body: such pursuits ought to bo followed in the morning, and the easiest purposely deferred to the latter part of the day; an arrangement by which a more composed and refreshing night's rest will be ensured. Beside this inconvenience, the eyes necessarily suffer from candle-light.—See also Bed-time.