eleven o’clock
At dawn , some of the lighter clouds had risen into the more lofty regions of the air . In a few hours the wind had changed from a hurricane to a fresh breeze , that is to say , the rate of the transit of the atmospheric layers was diminished by half . It was still what sailors call `` a close-reefed topsail breeze , '' but the commotion in the elements had none the less considerably diminished . Towards eleven o'clock , the lower region of the air was sensibly clearer . The atmosphere threw off that chilly dampness which is felt after the passage of a great meteor . The storm did not seem to have gone farther to the west . It appeared to have exhausted itself .