midnight
Still he continued his solitary rambles , having a feeling for everything around him but man . Man only was his persecutor -- man only despised him . His own kind and his own kindred had shut him out from them and disowned him -- his sight had been hateful to them , and his form loathsome . He avoided the very sun , for it revealed his shadow ; but he wandered in rapture , gazing on the midnight heavens , calling the stars by name , while his soul was lifted up with their glory , and his deformity lost and overshadowed in the depth of their magnificence . He loved the flowers of day , the song of morning birds , and the wildness or beauty of the landscape ; but these dwindled , and drew not forth his soul as did the awful gorgeousness of night , with its ten thousand worlds lighted up , burning , sparkling , glimmering in immensity -- the gems that studded the throne of the Eternal . While others slept , the deformed wandered on the mountains , holding communion with the heavens . About the period we refer to , a gay party came upon a visit to a gentleman whose mansion was situated about three miles from the cottage of the cripple .