midnight
Cyprian de Mulverton , fifth prior of the monastery of Saint Francis , a prelate of singular sanctity , being afflicted , in his latter days , with a despondency so deep that neither penance nor fasting could remove it , vowed never again to behold , with earthly eyes , the blessed light of heaven , nor to dwell longer with his fellowmen ; but , relinquishing his spiritual dignity , `` the world forgetting , by the world forgot , '' to immure himself , while living , within the tomb . He kept his vow . Out of the living rock that sustained the saintly structure , beneath the chapel of the monastery , was another chapel wrought , and thither , after bidding an eternal farewell to the world , and bestowing his benediction upon his flock , whom he committed to the care of his successor , the holy man retired . Never , save at midnight , and then only during the performance of masses for his soul 's repose , did he ascend from his cell : and as the sole light allowed within the dismal dungeon of his choice was that of a sepulchral lamp , as none spoke with him when in his retreat , save in muttered syllables , what effect must the lustre emanating from a thousand tapers , the warm and pungent odors of the incense-breathing shrine , contrasted with the earthy vapors of his prison-house , and the solemn swell of the Sanctus , have had upon his excited senses ? Surely they must have seemed like a foretaste of the heaven he sought to gain ! Ascetic to the severest point to which nature 's endurance could be stretched , Cyprian even denied himself repose . He sought not sleep , and knew it only when it stole on him unawares .