midnight
-- I felt the bank giving way . A convulsive effort to regain my equilibrium , and a stifled cry for mercy , are all I recollect -- my heart collapsed , and all consciousness ceased . How long I continued in this state I have no means of ascertaining ; my first sensation was a sickness that almost made me again relapse into insensibility , accompanied by a feeling of pain in all my limbs . Languidly I opened my eyes ; all was dark as midnight . The roar of the waters stupified every sense . The horrors of my situation chilled my soul , and annihilated all my courage . How I retained , by the energies of despair , unaided by reason , my half pendulous position , I can not explain .