twelve o’clock
Then he wandered down to the Thames Embankment , and sat for hours by the river . The moon peered through a mane of tawny clouds , as if it were a lion 's eye , and innumerable stars spangled the hollow vault , like gold dust powdered on a purple dome . Now and then a barge swung out into the turbid stream , and floated away with the tide , and the railway signals changed from green to scarlet as the trains ran shrieking across the bridge . After some time , twelve o'clock boomed from the tall tower at Westminster , and at each stroke of the sonorous bell the night seemed to tremble . Then the railway lights went out , one solitary lamp left gleaming like a large ruby on a giant mast , and the roar of the city became fainter . At two o'clock he got up , and strolled towards Blackfriars . How unreal everything looked !