Three o'clock
There only remained the growl of the Gave , which his accustomed ears no longer heard . And suddenly , similar to a miraculous apparition , the Grotto blazed before him , illumining the darkness with its everlasting brasier , which burnt with a flame of inextinguishable love . He had returned thither unconsciously , attracted no doubt by thoughts of Marie . Three o'clock was about to strike , the benches before the Grotto were emptying , and only some twenty persons remained there , dark , indistinct forms , kneeling in slumberous ecstasy , wrapped in divine torpor . It seemed as though the night in progressing had increased the gloom , and imparted a remote visionary aspect to the Grotto . All faded away amidst delicious lassitude , sleep reigned supreme over the dim , far-spreading country side ; whilst the voice of the invisible waters seemed to be merely the breathing of this pure slumber , upon which the Blessed Virgin , all white with her aureola of tapers , was smiling . And among the few unconscious women was Madame Maze , still kneeling , with clasped hands and bowed head , but so indistinct that she seemed to have melted away amidst her ardent prayer .