midnight
before
The Count then explaining himself , the party removed into his gondola , which was embellished with all that taste could bestow . While they partook of a collation of fruits and ice , the whole band , following at a distance in the other boat , played the most sweet and enchanting strains , and the Count , who had again seated himself by Emily , paid her unremitted attention , and sometimes , in a low but impassioned voice , uttered compliments which she could not misunderstand . To avoid them she conversed with Signora Livona , and her manner to the Count assumed a mild reserve , which , though dignified , was too gentle to repress his assiduities : he could see , hear , speak to no person , but Emily while Cavigni observed him now and then , with a look of displeasure , and Emily , with one of uneasiness . She now wished for nothing so much as to return to Venice , but it was near midnight before the gondolas approached St. Mark 's Place , where the voice of gaiety and song was loud . The busy hum of mingling sounds was heard at a considerable distance on the water , and , had not a bright moonlight discovered the city , with its terraces and towers , a stranger would almost have credited the fabled wonders of Neptune 's court , and believed , that the tumult arose from beneath the waves . They landed at St. Mark 's , where the gaiety of the colonnades and the beauty of the night , made Madame Montoni willingly submit to the Count 's solicitations to join the promenade , and afterwards to take a supper with the rest of the party , at his Casino . If anything could have dissipated Emily 's uneasiness , it would have been the grandeur , gaiety , and novelty of the surrounding scene , adorned with Palladio 's palaces , and busy with parties of masqueraders .