midnight
Absolute silence the soul can not grasp ; therefore deepest silence seems ever , in Wordsworth 's lovely phrase , wandering into sound , for silence is but the thin shadow of harmony -- say rather creation 's ear agape for sound , the waiting matrix of interwoven melodies , the sphere-bowl standing empty for the wine of the spirit . There may be yet another reason beyond its too great depth or height or strength , why we should be deaf to the spheral music ; it may be that the absolute perfection of its harmony can take to our ears but the shape of silence . Content and patient , Mercy sat watching . It was just past midnight , but she had not yet lighted a candle , when something struck the window as with the soft blow of a moth 's wing . Her heart gave a great leap . She listened breathless . Nothing followed .