nine in the morning
He remembered that they would not have heard a syllable of or from him since he had run away from Roslyn , and he feared the effect of so sudden an emotion as his appearance at that hour might excite . So under the star-light he lay down to sleep on a cold bank beside the gate , determining to enter early in the morning . It was long before he slept , but at last weary nature demanded her privilege with importunity , and gentle sleep floated over him like a dark dewy cloud , and the sun was high in heaven before he woke . It was about half-past nine in the morning , and Mrs. Trevor , with Fanny , was starting to visit some of her poor neighbors , an occupation full of holy pleasure to her kind heart , and in which she had found more than usual consolation during the heavy trials which she had recently suffered ; for she had loved Eric and Vernon as a mother does her own children , and now Vernon , the little cherished jewel of her heart , was dead -- Vernon was dead , and Eric , she feared , not dead but worse than dead , guilty , stained , dishonored . Often had she thought to herself , in deep anguish of heart , `` Our darling little Vernon dead -- and Eric fallen and ruined ! '' `` Look at that poor fellow asleep on the grass , '' said Fanny , pointing to a sailor boy , who lay coiled up on the bank beside the gate . `` He has had a rough bed , mother , if he has spent the night there , as I fear . ''