midnight
I unfolded the paper , and found in it an invitation to be on the bridge which is called Ponto Vecchio that night exactly at midnight . I was thinking for a long time as to who it might be who had invited me there ; and not knowing a single soul in Florence , I thought perhaps I should be secretly conducted to a patient , a thing which had already often occurred . I therefore determined to proceed thither , but took care to gird on the sword which my father had once presented to me . When it was close upon midnight I set out on my journey , and soon reached the Ponte Vecchio . I found the bridge deserted , and determined to await the appearance of him who called me . It was a cold night ; the moon shone brightly , and I looked down upon the waves of the Arno , which sparkled far away in the moonlight . It was now striking twelve o'clock from all the churches of the city , when I looked up and saw a tall man standing before me completely covered in a scarlet cloak , one end of which hid his face .