midnight
His good fortune , however , exempted him from the necessity of taking such a step , which at best must have been disagreeable ; for so many difficulties occurred in the inquiry which was set on foot , and so artfully did Fathom in the meantime manage the influence he had already gained over her heart , that , before her passion could obtain a legal gratification , she surrendered to his wish , without any other assurance , than his solemn profession of sincerity and truth , on which she reposed herself with the most implicit confidence and faith . He was rejoiced to find her so easily satisfied in such a momentous concern , for the principal aim of the intrigue was to make her necessary to his interested views , and even , if possible , an associate in the fraudulent plans he had projected upon her father ; consequently he considered this relaxation in her virtue as an happy omen of his future success . All the obstacles to their mutual enjoyment being thus removed , our adventurer was by his mistress indulged with an assignation in her own chamber , which , though contiguous to that of her stepmother , was provided with a door that opened into a common staircase , to which he had access at all hours of the night . He did not neglect the rendezvous , but , presenting himself at the appointed time , which was midnight , made the signal they had agreed upon , and was immediately admitted by Wilhelmina , who waited for hire with a lover 's impatience . Fathom was not deficient in those expressions of rapture that are current on those occasions ; but , on the contrary , became so loud in the transports of self-congratulation , that his voice reached the ears of the vigilant stepmother , who wakening the jeweller from his first nap , gave him to understand that some person was certainly in close conversation with his daughter ; and exhorted him to rise forthwith , and vindicate the honour of his family . The German , who was naturally of a phlegmatic habit , and never went to bed without a full dose of the creature , which added to his constitutional drowsiness , gave no ear to his wife 's intimation , until she had repeated it thrice , and used other means to rouse him from the arms of slumber . Meanwhile Fathom and his inamorata overheard her information , and our hero would have made his retreat immediately , through the port by which he entered , had not his intention been overruled by the remonstrances of the young lady , who observed that the door was already fast bolted , and could not possibly be opened without creating a noise that would confirm the suspicion of her parents ; and that over and above this objection he would , in sallying from that door , run the risk of being met by her father , who in all probability would present himself before it , in order to hinder our hero 's escape .