midnight
It is a morsel of certainly snatched from the midst of the uncertainties of life ; it is a sunny moment gleaming out kindly on a cloudy day : and he who has advanced some way on the pilgrimage of existence knows the importance of husbanding even morsels and moments of enjoyment . `` Shall I not take mine ease in mine inn ? '' thought I , as I gave the fire a stir , lolled back in my elbow-chair , and cast a complacent look about the little parlor of the Red Horse at Stratford-on-Avon . The words of sweet Shakespeare were just passing through my mind as the clock struck midnight from the tower of the church in which he lies buried . There was a gentle tap at the door , and a pretty chambermaid , putting in her smiling face , inquired , with a hesitating air , whether I had rung . I understood it as a modest hint that it was time to retire . My dream of absolute dominion was at an end ; so abdicating my throne , like a prudent potentate , to avoid being deposed , and putting the Stratford Guide-Book under my arm as a pillow companion , I went to bed , and dreamt all night of Shakespeare , the jubilee , and David Garrick .