twelve o’clock
The influence of superstition now gained on the weakness of her long-harassed mind ; she looked , with enthusiastic expectation , to the guardian spirit of her father , and , having dismissed Annette for the night , determined to watch alone for their return . It was not yet , however , near the time when she had heard the music on a former night , and anxious to call off her thoughts from distressing subjects , she sat down with one of the few books , that she had brought from France ; but her mind , refusing control , became restless and agitated , and she went often to the casement to listen for a sound . Once , she thought she heard a voice , but then , everything without the casement remaining still , she concluded , that her fancy had deceived her . Thus passed the time , till twelve o'clock , soon after which the distant sounds , that murmured through the castle , ceased , and sleep seemed to reign over all . Emily then seated herself at the casement , where she was soon recalled from the reverie , into which she sunk , by very unusual sounds , not of music , but like the low mourning of some person in distress . As she listened , her heart faltered in terror , and she became convinced , that the former sound was more than imaginary . Still , at intervals , she heard a kind of feeble lamentation , and sought to discover whence it came .