midnight
At the threshold of a new venture , we look back upon the hopes that led us into other undertakings , and upon many a failure we bestow a look of tender but half reproachful forgiveness . The trials and the final success of other men make us strong . And with his mild eyes set in review , Lyman thought that never before had he found himself so well seasoned , so well prepared to do something . He listened to the grinding of the press , to the midnight noises about the public square , the town muttering in its sleep . `` I am advancing '' he mused , looking about him . `` I was not content to skimp along in New England , nor to buy cross-ties , nor to singe the pin feathers off a chicken at night , nor to worry with the feeble machinery of a dull schoolboy 's head . And I will not be content merely to sit here and wait for clients that may never come .