midnight
` Oh , cease these courtesies ! ' said Julia ; ` it is a love-charm , indeed , that I would ask from thy skill ! ' ` Fair stranger ! ' replied Arbaces , somewhat scornfully , ` love-spells are not among the secrets I have wasted the midnight oil to attain . ' ` Is it indeed so ? Then pardon me , great Arbaces , and farewell ! ' ` Stay , ' said Arbaces , who , despite his passion for Ione , was not unmoved by the beauty of his visitor ; and had he been in the flush of a more assured health , might have attempted to console the fair Julia by other means than those of supernatural wisdom .