midnight
`` What if they make a hit and bring in barrels of gold in royalties , '' he said . `` I ca n't take it back with me where I live , so keep it yourself . '' Boswell was a little late in arriving the next night . He had agreed to be on hand exactly at midnight , but it was after one o'clock before the machine began to click and the bell to ring . I had fallen asleep in the soft upholstered depths of my armchair , feeling pretty thoroughly worn out by the experiences of the night before , which , in spite of their pleasant issue , were nevertheless somewhat disturbing to a nervous organization like mine . Suddenly I waked , and with the awakening there entered into my mind the notion that the whole thing was merely a dream , and that in the end it would be the better for me if I were to give up Aldus and other club dinners with nightmare inducing menus . But I was soon convinced that the real state of affairs was quite otherwise , and that everything really had happened as I have already related it to you , for I had hardly gotten my eyes free from what my poetic son calls `` the seeds of sleep '' when I heard the type-writer tap forth : `` Hello , old man ! ''