midnight
The hardiest man would be helpless . Think of the poor cab-drivers and -- oh , well , it does n't help matters to speculate on what may be happening outside . I shudder to think , though , of what the papers will tell in the morning . '' The midnight hour was close at hand before Hawkins reluctantly and tenderly laid `` Bleak House '' on the library table , stretched himself and prepared for bed . The blizzard had not lost any of its fury . Indeed , it seemed to have grown more vicious , more merciless . Hawkins , in his pajamas , lifted the curtain and sought a glimpse of the night and its terrors .