Half after midnight
He smiled somewhat grimly at his own fanciful musings , and then , shutting the window , retired . The house was soon buried in profound silence and darkness , and over the city tuneful bells rang the half-hour after midnight . Four miles distant from the ` quarter of the poor , ' and high above the clustering houses of the whole magnificent metropolis , the Royal palace towered whitely on its proud eminence in the glimmer of the moon , a stately pile of turrets and pinnacles ; and on the battlements the sentries walked , pacing to and fro in regular march , with regular changes , all through the night hours . Half after midnight ! ` All 's well ! ' Three-quarters , and still ` All 's well ' sounded with the clash of steel and a tinkle of silvery chimes . One o'clock struck , -- and the drifting clouds in heaven cleared fully , showing many brilliant stars in the western horizon , -- and a sentry passing , as noiselessly as his armour and accoutrements would permit , along the walled battlement which protected and overshadowed the windows of the Queen 's apartments , paused in his walk to look with an approving eye at the clearing promise of the weather .