midnight
She was now like a goddess of earth , fallen in an effort to reconcile impossibilities in human hearts , and became the sport of the powers of wickedness . She lay upon the floor senseless , her hands in a violent clasp . Her glorious hair , torn and disordered , lay over her like the royal robe of a queen stricken from her throne and lying dead upon the floor of her palace . It was long after midnight , in the cold hours of the morning , when she woke from her swoon . She raised herself feebly upon her elbow , and looked dazedly up at the cold , unfeeling stars that go on shining through the ages , making no sign of sympathy with human griefs . Perseus had risen to his meridian , and Algol , her natal star , alternately darkened and brightened as if it were the scene of some fierce conflict of the powers of light and darkness , like that going on in her own soul . Her face was stained with hard clots of blood as she rose , cramped and chilled to the bone .