midnight
This is my world . '' But the mist grew gray , the aureole of fire faded , the sun went down behind the hills , and the chill of evening deepened on the trail , and as he reapproached the scene of man 's inhumanity to man the thought of camping there beside those charred limbs called for heroic resolution . He was hungry , too , and as the air pinched , he shivered . `` At the best , the sheriff can not reach here before midnight , '' he said , and settled down to his unsought , revolting vigil . His one relief lay in the mental composition of a long letter to Lee Virginia , whose life at that moment was a comfort to him . `` If such purity , such sweetness , can come from violence and vulgarity , then surely a new and splendid State can rise even out of the ashes of these murdered men . Perhaps this is the end of the old , '' he mused , `` perhaps this is the beginning of the new , '' and as he pondered the last faint crimson died out of the west .