midnight
They had stopped there on their way to Bayreuth , where she was going to sing Elsa . The maidens and their gold , the fire-surrounding Brunnhilde , the death of the hero , the end of the legends : these she knew , but of `` Parsifal '' she knew nothing -- the story or the music . The time was propitious for him to tell it . The flame of the candle burnt in the still midnight , and she had listened with bated breath . She could see Owen leaning forward , telling the story , and she could even see her own listening face as he related how the poor fool rises through sanctification of faith and repudiation of doubt , how he heals the sick king with the sacred spear and becomes himself the high priest of the Grail . It had seemed to Evelyn that she had been carried beyond the limits of earthly things . The thrill and shiver of the dead man 's genius haunted the liquid ripple of the river ; the moment was ecstatic ; the deep , windless night was full of the haunting ripple of the Rhine .