midnight
And she thought of the dishonor this would reflect upon herself as his wife . And she shrunk shudderingly away from the burning shame of living on , the wife of a felon . In the deep compassion she could not but feel for him , and in the intense mortification she anticipated for herself , she earnestly wished that in some manner he might escape the degrading penalty of his crimes . In these harassing thoughts and distressing feelings Claudia lay tossing upon her restless bed until long after midnight , when at length she dropped into a deep and dreamless sleep . Now the circumstance that I am about to relate will be interpreted in a different manner by different people . Rationalists who pin their faith on Sir Walter Scott and his `` Demonology '' will say it was only an optical illusion ; the incredulous , who believe in nothing , will declare it was but a dream ; while Spiritualists , who follow Mr. Robert Dale Owen in his `` Footprints on the Boundaries of Another World , '' will be ready to declare that it was the apparition of a spirit ; I commit myself to no opinion on the subject . But when Claudia had slept soundly for three hours she was aroused by hearing her name called ; she awoke with a violent start ; she sat upright in bed , and stared right before her with fixed eyes , pallid face , and immovable form , as though she were suddenly petrified .