midnight
There was plausible ground for each of these conjectures ; but it must not be concealed that more than one elderly gentleman , the victim of good cheer and slothful habits , magisterially pronounced the secret of the whole matter to be Dyspepsia ! Meanwhile , Roderick seemed aware how generally he had become the subject of curiosity and conjecture , and , with a morbid repugnance to such notice , or to any notice whatsoever , estranged himself from all companionship . Not merely the eye of man was a horror to him ; not merely the light of a friend 's countenance ; but even the blessed sunshine , likewise , which in its universal beneficence typifies the radiance of the Creator 's face , expressing his love for all the creatures of his hand . The dusky twilight was now too transparent for Roderick Elliston ; the blackest midnight was his chosen hour to steal abroad ; and if ever he were seen , it was when the watchman 's lantern gleamed upon his figure , gliding along the street , with his hands clutched upon his bosom , still muttering , `` It gnaws me ! It gnaws me ! '' What could it be that gnawed him ? After a time , it became known that Elliston was in the habit of resorting to all the noted quacks that infested the city , or whom money would tempt to journey thither from a distance .