midnight
He was content only to exist and enjoy . Colder and louder blew the wind , A gale from the northeast ; The snow fell hissing in the brine ; And the billows foamed like yeast . Down came the storm and smote amain , The vessel in its strength ; She shuddered and paused like a frightened steed , Then leaped her cable 's length . And fast through the midnight , dark and drear , Through the whistling sleet and snow , Like a sheeted ghost the vessel swept , Toward the reef of Norman 's Woe . -- _ Wreck of the `` Hesperus _ . '' Ishmael remained upon the quarterdeck , gazing out upon the stormy glory of the sea and sky until he was interrupted by the most prosaic , though the most welcome of sounds -- that of the dinner-bell . Then he went below .