midnight
Shame , regret , love , seethed hotly within him . It was long since he had felt emotion like that which mastered him when her tearful eyes again met his , and now , in the enthusiastic soul of this favourite of fortune , whose lofty flight neither glory , nor fame , nor disappointment could paralyze , in the bosom of this good , high-minded young human being stirred the consciousness that a great new happiness was in store for him , and from his lips rang the cry for which Barbara had waited so long with vain yearning , `` Mother ! '' and again `` Mother ! '' It seemed to her as if the bright sun had suddenly burst in its full , dazzling radiance from midnight darkness . Three swift steps took her to Don John and , no longer able to control herself , she seized one of the hands which he had extended to her to kiss it ; but his chivalrous nature forbade him to permit this , and at the same moment he had obeyed the impulse to kiss the face upturned to his with such loving tenderness . On the way she had pondered long over the question how she should address him ; but now she knew that she need not call him `` Your Excellency , '' far less `` Your Highness . '' To impose so severe a constraint upon her poor , poor heart was no longer required and , though interrupted by low sobbing , she again cried with all the fervour of the most tender maternal love : `` My son !