midnight
He knew that the plea of art sounded weak before the inexorable claims of nature ; he felt that something ought to be sacrificed to the supreme passion ; but he could n't give up his tragedy . He was consumed by two indomitable passions ; and who was to say which of them was supreme ? Still , tragedies in blank verse were a luxury ; and Flossie had more than once pointed out to him he could n't afford luxuries . He would sit up working on the tragedy till long past midnight ; and when he woke in the morning his sense of guilt could not have been greater if he had been indulging in the most hateful orgies . But you ca n't burn even genius at both ends ; and his paying work began to suffer . Jewdwine complained that it was not up to his usual level . Maddox had returned several articles .