midnight
said she , as she pressed her lips to the pale brow of her now hopeful husband , `` Our house is not left unto us desolate , neither has our Father forsaken us in our time of necessity . Surely He giveth bread to the hungry , and filleth the fainting soul with gladness ! '' Then spreading the tempting viands before the famished invalid , she smiled with the cheerfulness of her earlier days , as she saw with what relish he ate and drank . When they had finished their unexpected , but welcome meal , she placed the fragments carefully away , and blowing out the light , which she must save for her midnight toils , she left the house in order to seek her child . The stars were shining tranquilly , and the moon looked calmly down upon the great and noisy city , imparting their quietness and peace to the heart of the eager mother who threaded her way to her sick child . Long and tedious was the distance , but she felt it not , excepting that she shrunk from the rough contact of brawling and wicked men , who rudely pushed past her , as they hurried on to their nightly debauches . Oh !