midnight
Sometimes he was satisfied simply to lie on his oars opposite the empty mansion , and think of the young girl who , so soon , was to waken it to life ; and again he tied his boat to a public wharf a hundred yards down the shore , and with the aid of the hanging vines pulled himself to the top of the seawall , and dropped into the garden . To a young man very much interested in a young woman , of whom he knew so little that it was possible to endow her with every grace of mind and character , and whose personal charm was never to be forgotten , these melancholy visits afforded much satisfaction . Even to pass the house was a pleasing exercise ; and , separating from McKildrick , he turned his steps to the Alameda , the broad avenue shaded by a double line of trees that followed the curve of the harbor , and upon which the gates of Miramar opened . As he approached the house he saw , with surprise and pleasure , that in the future his midnight prowlings were at an end . Miramar was occupied . Every window blazed with light . In this light servants were moving hurriedly , and in front of the gates the Alameda was blocked with carts loaded with trunks and boxes .