about four in the morning
Nelly in her despair allowed herself none of them . It merely seemed to her , in this night vigil , that she was unworthy to touch her George , to nurse him , to uphold him ; utterly unworthy of all this reverent pity and affection that was being lavished upon her for his sake . She sat up most of the night , wrapped in her fur cloak , alive to any sound from the room below . And about four in the morning , she stole down the stairs to listen at his door . There one of the nurses found her , and moved with pity , brought her in . They settled her in an arm-chair near him ; and then with the tardy coming of the November day , she watched the sad waking that was so many hours nearer death , at that moment when man 's life is at its wretchedest , and all the forces of the underworld seem to be let loose upon it . And there , for five days and nights , with the briefest possible intervals for food , and the sleep of exhaustion , she sat beside him .