midnight
'T is woman that seduces all mankind . GAY . In the days of chivalry , a dangerous post or a perilous adventure was a reward frequently assigned to military bravery as a compensation for its former trials ; just as , in ascending a precipice , the surmounting one crag only lifts the climber to points yet more dangerous . It was midnight , and the moon rode clear and high in heaven , when Kenneth of Scotland stood upon his watch on Saint George 's Mount , beside the banner of England , a solitary sentinel , to protect the emblem of that nation against the insults which might be meditated among the thousands whom Richard 's pride had made his enemies . High thoughts rolled , one after each other , upon the mind of the warrior . It seemed to him as if he had gained some favour in the eyes of the chivalrous monarch , who till now had not seemed to distinguish him among the crowds of brave men whom his renown had assembled under his banner , and Sir Kenneth little recked that the display of royal regard consisted in placing him upon a post so perilous . The devotion of his ambitious and high-placed affection inflamed his military enthusiasm .