two o'clock in the morning
Fraught with these prepossessions , the civilities that had once or twice occurred in the bustle of a public circle , the restoring her fan which she had dropped , or the disembarrassing her of an empty tea-cup , made her heart palpitate , and gave birth to the wildest chimeras in her deluded imagination . About this time an event happened , that helped to give a precise determination to the fluctuations of Miss Melville 's mind . One evening , a short time after the death of Mr. Clare , Mr. Falkland had been at the house of his deceased friend in his quality of executor , and , by some accidents of little intrinsic importance , had been detained three or four hours later than he expected . He did not set out upon his return till two o'clock in the morning . At this time , in a situation so remote from the metropolis , every thing is as silent as it would be in a region wholly uninhabited . The moon shone bright ; and the objects around being marked with strong variations of light and shade , gave a kind of sacred solemnity to the scene . Mr. Falkland had taken Collins with him , the business to be settled at Mr. Clare 's being in some respects similar to that to which this faithful domestic had been accustomed in the routine of his ordinary service .