midnight
The tower of old Saint Saviour 's Church , and the spire of Saint Magnus , so long the giant-warders of the ancient bridge , were visible in the gloom ; but the forest of shipping below bridge , and the thickly scattered spires of churches above , were nearly all hidden from sight . The girl had taken a few restless turns to and fro -- closely watched meanwhile by her hidden observer -- when the heavy bell of St. Paul 's tolled for the death of another day . Midnight had come upon the crowded city . The palace , the night-cellar , the jail , the madhouse : the chambers of birth and death , of health and sickness , the rigid face of the corpse and the calm sleep of the child : midnight was upon them all . The hour had not struck two minutes , when a young lady , accompanied by a grey-haired gentleman , alighted from a hackney-carriage within a short distance of the bridge , and , having dismissed the vehicle , walked straight towards it . They had scarcely set foot upon its pavement , when the girl started , and immediately made towards them . They walked onward , looking about them with the air of persons who entertained some very slight expectation which had little chance of being realised , when they were suddenly joined by this new associate .