"It was while gliding through these latter waters that one serene and moonlight night, when all the waves rolled by like scrolls of silver; and, by their soft, suffusing seethings, made what seemed a silvery silence, not a solitude; on such a silent night a silvery jet was seen far in advance of the white bubbles at the bow. Lit up by the moon, it looked celestial; seemed some plumed and glittering god uprising from the sea."
Musing: I could post this passage every day and never tire of it. If you read it out loud, it reads like a wave. The repetition of the "s" moves the sentence forward as on a whisper or a breeze or a ship. This passage begs to be read out loud - to lull the reader into sense of peace - perhaps to preapre you for what is yet to come.