midnight
There is one witness who can bear testimony to her innocence , and in Him she still puts her trust . But the charitable have closed their ears to her ; and the outside world is too busy to listen to her story . Those words of the poor woman who said , `` You are still richer than me , '' again ring their sweet music in her ear , and give strength to her weary soul . They come to her like the voice of a merciful Providence , speaking through the hushed air of midnight , and breathing the sweet spirit of love into the dusky figures who tenant that dreary cell . To Maria it is the last spark of hope , that rarely goes out in woman 's heart , and has come to tell her that to-morrow her star may brighten . And now , reader , turn with us to another scene of hope and anxiety . The steamer which bears Tom to Charleston is off Cape Romaine .