midnight
It was afterward affirmed that Sir William Howe had repeated that selfsame gesture of rage and sorrow when for the last time , and as the last royal governor , he passed through the portal of the province-house . `` Hark ! The procession moves , '' said Miss Joliffe . The music was dying away along the street , and its dismal strains were mingled with the knell of midnight from the steeple of the Old South and with the roar of artillery which announced that the beleaguered army of Washington had intrenched itself upon a nearer height than before . As the deep boom of the cannon smote upon his ear Colonel Joliffe raised himself to the full height of his aged form and smiled sternly on the British general . `` Would Your Excellency inquire further into the mystery of the pageant ? '' said he .