nearly midnight
Another struck , before the voice of the previous hour had ceased to vibrate . At eight , he would be the only mourner in his own funeral train ; at eleven -- Those dreadful walls of Newgate , which have hidden so much misery and such unspeakable anguish , not only from the eyes , but , too often , and too long , from the thoughts , of men , never held so dread a spectacle as that . The few who lingered as they passed , and wondered what the man was doing who was to be hanged to-morrow , would have slept but ill that night , if they could have seen him . From early in the evening until nearly midnight , little groups of two and three presented themselves at the lodge-gate , and inquired , with anxious faces , whether any reprieve had been received . These being answered in the negative , communicated the welcome intelligence to clusters in the street , who pointed out to one another the door from which he must come out , and showed where the scaffold would be built , and , walking with unwilling steps away , turned back to conjure up the scene . By degrees they fell off , one by one ; and , for an hour , in the dead of night , the street was left to solitude and darkness . The space before the prison was cleared , and a few strong barriers , painted black , had been already thrown across the road to break the pressure of the expected crowd , when Mr. Brownlow and Oliver appeared at the wicket , and presented an order of admission to the prisoner , signed by one of the sheriffs .