midnight
he asked aloud of Ralston . `` I tried to come myself , but could not manage it . What was it like , if you saw it over the Falls ? '' `` I was staying at the Clifton House , then , '' said Ralston , `` and I came down to Table Rock , alone , just after midnight , and sat there from the beginning to the end of the obscuration . You should have seen '' -- and here his undeniable though repressed poetical temperament began to show itself in his cheek and eye -- `` you should have seen the dull , dismal shadow gradually creeping over the rapids as the disk grew smaller , every flashing wave seeming to be touched with a ghastly reflection that said : ` Daylight and moonlight are both gone forever -- the last darkness is creeping on -- the end of all things is at hand . ' The spray below the cataract seemed dun and lead-colored , as if it might have been the sulphurous smoke rolling up from a battle-field . All was splendidly dismal , let me tell you !