midnight
`` God help me , '' cried Phillip Lawson , in despairing tones as he read the letter conveying the news in as mild a form as possible . `` If Julia lives I shall never be separated from her again , '' were the reproachful thoughts that forced themselves upon the affectionate brother . Need we speak of the agonizing hours spent in the dread suspense that followed . In the midnight watches as the hours dragged slowly by , the young student was silently learning to `` suffer and be strong . '' And it was well that these lessons took deep root in good soil , for within a few weeks Phillip Lawson knelt beside the dying bed of his beloved sister , and in heart-broken accents commending her departing spirit to the loving Saviour . Ah , such a scene is too sacred for intrusion ; but it is only by such means that we can realize the true value of our esteemed friend . And as the last sod had been placed upon Julia Lawson 's grave , and the flowers that she loved strewn over it by loving hands , we can not move from the spot .