Midnight
And then he said to himself , sharply , that his own feelings counted for nothing . Catherine should be tenderly shielded from all avoidable pain , but for himself there must be no flinching , no self-indulgent weakness . Did he not owe every last hour he had to give to the people among whom he had planned to spend the best energies of life , and from whom his own act was about to part him in this lame , impotent fashion . Midnight ! The sounds rolled silverly out , effacing the soft murmurs of the night . So the long interminable day was over , and a new morning had begun . He rose , listening to the echoes of the bell , and -- as the tide of feeling surged back upon him -- passionately commending the new-born day to God .