sat at midnight
But if one is not fond of riding , and has had no practice in leaping , he is much to be pitied -- unless , indeed , he has a monkey on page 496 . I do not know how many hoops I had passed when I found myself face to face with the process-paper . It was an unhealthy life that we then led : leaping by day and reading by night . I sat at midnight half-way through Schweigaard 's Process , alternately putting my head out of the window and into the washhand basin , and , between whiles , rushing like a whirlwind through the withered leaves of the musty volume . However , even the most violent wind must eventually fall ; and , indeed , this was my heartfelt wish . But the juridical momentum was strong within me . I sat stiffly , peering and reading for the eleventh time : ` One might thus certainly assume ' -- ` One -- might -- thus -- certainly , ' -- combine the useful with the agreeable -- and lean back -- a little in the chair .