midnight
The coincidence had no meaning . He turned by the side of the church down the lane which led to the little quay . The tide was halfway up the dark weed , and the fishing-boats were drawn near to the quay , ready for the cruise at dawn ; their dark furled sails were bowing and curtseying to one another with all ceremony , like ghosts at a stately ball . To the east and south lay the sea , vacant , except that on the eastern verge stood a palace of cloud , the portals of which were luminous with the light from within , and now they were thrown open with a golden flash , and yellow rays shot forth into the upper heavens , spreading a clear green light through the deep midnight of the sky where the other worlds wandered . Then the yellow moon came from her palace , wrapping herself at first with a mantle of golden mist , as if -- Godiva-like -- she shrank from loosening her garments ; but the need of the darkling earth pressed upon her , and she dropped her covering and rode forth in nakedness . Everything was more lovely now , for there was light to see the loveliness . The bluff wind that came from the bosom of the sea seemed only to tell of a vast silence and a world asleep .