midnight
One of them would go to see , while the other waited impatiently in the study , where a lamp burned dully on the table . This was repeated every fifteen minutes until midnight . The fathomless eyes , full of gloom and of an immense despair , did not close . A little before midnight Felicite installed herself in an armchair at the foot of the bed , resolved not to leave the spot until her granddaughter should have fallen asleep . From this forth she did not take her eyes off Clotilde , and it filled her with a sort of fear to remark that the girl scarcely moved her eyelids , looking with that inconsolable fixity which defies sleep . Then she herself began to feel sleep stealing over her . Exasperated , trembling with nervous impatience , she could remain where she was no longer .