midnight
This blessing of serene freedom from the importunities of opinion lies in all simple direct acts of mercy , and is one source of that sweet calm which is often felt by the watcher in the sick-room , even when the duties there are of a hard and terrible kind . Something of that benign result was felt by Janet during her tendance in her husband 's chamber . When the first heart-piercing hours were over -- when her horror at his delirium was no longer fresh , she began to be conscious of her relief from the burden of decision as to her future course . The question that agitated her , about returning to her husband , had been solved in a moment ; and this illness , after all , might be the herald of another blessing , just as that dreadful midnight when she stood an outcast in cold and darkness had been followed by the dawn of a new hope . Robert would get better ; this illness might alter him ; he would be a long time feeble , needing help , walking with a crutch , perhaps . She would wait on him with such tenderness , such all-forgiving love , that the old harshness and cruelty must melt away for ever under the heart-sunshine she would pour around him . Her bosom heaved at the thought , and delicious tears fell .