midnight
The friar returned . They re-entered the cottage , and sat some time conversing on the phenomenon they had seen . The friar sipped his wine , and after a time , said : `` There is a tradition of a damsel who was drowned here some years ago . The tradition is -- '' But the friar could not narrate a plain tale : he therefore cleared his throat , and sang with due solemnity , in a ghostly voice : A damsel came in midnight rain , And called across the ferry : The weary wight she called in vain , Whose senses sleep did bury . At evening , from her father 's door She turned to meet her lover : At midnight , on the lonely shore , She shouted `` Over , over ! '' She had not met him by the tree Of their accustomed meeting , And sad and sick at heart was she , Her heart all wildly beating . In chill suspense the hours went by , The wild storm burst above her : She turned her to the river nigh , And shouted , `` Over , over ! ''