midnight
I have met with a melancholy adventure . You will approve what I have done when we meet . '' This note a little perplexed Mr. Beaufort ; but , as he was very hungry , he turned a deaf ear both to his wife 's conjectures and his own surmises , till he had refreshed himself ; and then he sent for the groom , and learned that , after the accident to the blind man , Mr. Arthur had been left at a hosier 's in H -- . This seemed to him extremely mysterious ; and , as hour after hour passed away , and still Arthur came not , he began to imbibe his wife 's fears , which were now wound up almost to hysterics ; and just at midnight he ordered his carriage , and taking with him the groom as a guide , set off to the suburban region . Mrs. Beaufort had wished to accompany him ; but the husband observing that young men would be young men , and that there might possibly be a lady in the case , Mrs. Beaufort , after a pause of thought , passively agreed that , all things considered , she had better remain at home . No lady of proper decorum likes to run the risk of finding herself in a false position . Mr. Beaufort accordingly set out alone .