about midnight
And all the strange objects of these wild woods , -- how they would interest and amuse , were there `` two '' to wonder at and admire them ! How I wished she might be pretty ; what a disappointment if she were not ; what a total rout to all my imaginings if she were to have red hair , -- how terrible if she should squint ! These thoughts at last became too tantalizing for endurance , and so I tried to fall asleep and forget them ; but in vain , they had got too firm a hold of me , and I could not shake them off . It was now about midnight , the fire waxed low , and `` the Friar '' was sound asleep . What connection was there between these considerations and her of whom I was thinking ? Who knows ? I arose and sat up , listening with eager ear to the low long breathings of the Friar , who , with his round bullet-head pillowed on a pine-log , slept soundly ; the gentle hum of the leaves , scarcely moved by the night wind , and the distant sound of the falling water , were lullabies to his slumber .