two
o'clock in the morning
`` There , '' she said , `` hangs before me a Master who never forgets and never abandons those who do not abandon and who do not forget Him ; it is to Him alone that we must sacrifice ourselves . '' And , thereupon , could any one have gazed into the recesses of that chamber , they would have seen the poor despairing girl adopt a final resolution , and determine upon one last plan in her mind . Thereupon , and as her knees were no longer able to support her , she gradually sank down upon the _ prie-dieu _ , and with her head pressed against the wooden cross , her eyes fixed , and her respiration short and quick , she watched for the earliest rays of approaching daylight . At two o'clock in the morning she was still in the same bewilderment of mind , or rather in the same ecstasy of feeling . Her thoughts had almost ceased to hold any communion with the things of this world . And when she saw the violet tints of early dawn visible upon the roofs of the palace , and vaguely revealing the outlines of the ivory cross which she held embraced , she rose from the ground with a new-born strength , kissed the feet of the divine martyr , descended the staircase leading from the room , and wrapped herself from head to foot in a mantle as she went along . She reached the wicket at the very moment the guard of musketeers opened the gate to admit the first relief-guard belonging to one of the Swiss regiments .