About eight o’clock at night
It was his practice to take a very large dose of it immediately after breakfast each morning -- or , rather , immediately after a cup of strong coffee , for he ate nothing in the forenoon -- and then set forth alone , or attended only by a dog , upon a long ramble among the chain of wild and dreary hills that lie westward and southward of Charlottesville , and are there dignified by the title of the Ragged Mountains . Upon a dim , warm , misty day , toward the close of November , and during the strange interregnum of the seasons which in America is termed the Indian Summer , Mr. Bedloe departed as usual for the hills . The day passed , and still he did not return . About eight o'clock at night , having become seriously alarmed at his protracted absence , we were about setting out in search of him , when he unexpectedly made his appearance , in health no worse than usual , and in rather more than ordinary spirits . The account which he gave of his expedition , and of the events which had detained him , was a singular one indeed . `` You will remember , '' said he , `` that it was about nine in the morning when I left Charlottesville . I bent my steps immediately to the mountains , and , about ten , entered a gorge which was entirely new to me .