midnight
Beyond the fact that they were standing in the sunshine to sing and play , on opposite sides of the great window , everything was precisely as he had expected . When the song was ended , he revealed his presence by a word of approbation , and he installed himself to hear the rest of the lesson . When it was over , he himself accompanied Stradella to the stairs . Ortensia heard the bells strike midnight . She was lying on her back , her eyes wide open , and staring at the rosette in the middle of the pink canopy over her head . She could see it plainly by the dim light of the tiny oil-lamp that hung above the kneeling-stool at which she said her prayers . She had said them with great fervour to-night , and had gone to bed with the firm intention of repeating the last one over and over to herself till she fell asleep .