In the mountains of Tyrol it is the custom of the women and
children to come out when it is the close of day and sing. Their
husbands, fathers and brothers answer them from the hills on
their way homeward. On the shores of the Adriatic such a custom
prevails. There the wives of the fishermen come down about
sunset and sing a melody, listen for a while for an answering
melody from off the water, telling that the loved one is almost
home. How sweet to the weary fisherman, as the shadows gather
around them, must be the songs of the loved ones at home that
sing to cheer them, and how they must strengthen and tighten the
links that bind together these dwellers of the sea.
(3004)