midnight
In the tree outside the window . Coming and going in the moonlight , as the tree bent and gave . He has , ever since , been there , peeping in at me in my torment ; revealing to me by snatches , in the pale lights and slatey shadows where he comes and goes , bare-headed -- a bill-hook , standing edgewise in his hair . ` In the Bride 's Chamber , every night from midnight until dawn -- one month in the year excepted , as I am going to tell you -- he hides in the tree , and she comes towards me on the floor ; always approaching ; never coming nearer ; always visible as if by moon-light , whether the moon shines or no ; always saying , from mid-night until dawn , her one word , `` Live ! '' ` But , in the month wherein I was forced out of this life -- this present month of thirty days -- the Bride 's Chamber is empty and quiet . Not so my old dungeon . Not so the rooms where I was restless and afraid , ten years .