midnight
The house stood obviously very high , for one could see from the windows for miles over a bleak country , coldly lit by the rays of the moon , which was almost at the full . Into the half light stole presently the sound of some lively instrument : a reel tune played , as it were , beneath one 's breath , but with all the revel and rollicking emphasis of that intoxicating primitive music . And then in correspondingly low relief , but with no less emphasis , the occupants of this singular ball-room began to dance . One might have fancied them some midnight company of the dead , risen from their graves for this secret revelry , so strange was the appearance of the moving figures , with the moonlight catching , as they passed , the faces or the hands . They danced excellently well , as to the manner born , tripping in and out among the shadows , with occasional stamping , in time to the music , and now and again that wild Celtic shout or cry that sets the nerves athrill . In spite of the whole scene 's being enacted in a low key , it seemed only to gain in intensity from that circumstance , and in fantastic effect . Among the dancers was one who danced with peculiar spirit and brilliancy , and her little cry had a ring and a wildness that never failed to set the others going with new inspiration .