midnight
_ 16th September . _ The forest which once formed part of the demesnes of the abbey , now belongs to a wealthy landed proprietor of the district , the Marquis de Malouet , a lineal descendant of Nimrod , whose chateau seems to be the social center of the district . There are almost daily at this season grand hunts in the forest ; yesterday , the party ended with a supper on the grass , and afterward a ride home by torch-light . I felt very much disposed to strangle the honest miller , who gave me this morning , in vulgar language , this explanation of my midnight ballad . There is the world , then , invading with all its pomp my beloved solitude . I curse it , Paul , with all the bitterness of my heart . I became indebted to it , last night , it is true , for a fantastic apparition that both charmed and delighted me ; but I am also indebted to it to-day for a ridiculous adventure which I am the only one not to laugh at , for I was its unlucky hero .