Midnight
Old Tom , with his head sunk upon his breast , sat motionless , as in a trance ; he was gloomily revolving the awakened memories of the past . Mrs. Weldon was engaged with her sick child . Scarcely one of the party was really asleep , except indeed it might be Cousin Benedict , whose reasoning faculties were not of an order to carry him forwards into any future contingencies . Midnight was still an hour in advance , when the dull air seemed filled with a deep and prolonged roar , mingled with a peculiar kind of vibration . Tom started to his feet . A fresh recollection of his early days had struck him . `` A lion !