midnight
The night wore on . The boy slept , the moonbeam faded , and troubled dreams and desolate darkness alone remained behind . _ Della . _ The city clocks were tolling midnight , and the moon rode high in the heavens . In one of the most elegant houses Apollo-street could boast , sat a young girl . The room in which she was sitting presented a scene of almost oriental ease and luxury . There was the rich carpet , giving back no echo to the tread , the gorgeous divans , into which the form sank as into down , the glittering chandeliers , the rare and exquisite vases , statuary , birds , books , and all that the capricious , self-willed spirit , which presided there , could wish to draw around her .