nearly midnight
The past , on which her mind dwelt so fondly , was not wonderful . It was her youth that was wonderful , and now she was grown old . She recognized that the street was the same , and that she had changed -- that the world is for ever beginning for some and ending for others . It was nearly midnight , and , with a shiver , she pulled the shawl over her shoulders and took a last look at the street before she went to bed . Thirty years ago since she came to live in it , when half the street was an open paddock ! If Jim could see it now he would n't know it ! The thought brought the vision of him before her eyes .