twelve o'clock
Above him a brass head of curious workmanship held in its clenched teeth the canopy that overshadowed the bed ; and as the light occasionally flickered and brightened , the curiously carved face seemed to light up with a sort of sardonic grin ; and the grating of the curtain-rings , as the sick man tossed from side to side in his bed , would have suggested the idea that the odd supporter of the canopy was gnashing his brazen teeth at him . On the wall , immediately opposite the light , hung a portrait of Mrs. Stevens ; not the sharp , hard face we once introduced to the reader , but a smoother , softer countenance -- yet a worn and melancholy one in its expression . It looked as if the waves of grief had beaten upon it for a long succession of years , until they had tempered down its harsher peculiarities , giving a subdued appearance to the whole countenance . `` There is twelve o'clock -- give me my drops again , Lizzie , '' he remarked , faintly . At the sound of his voice Lizzie emerged from behind the curtains , and essayed to pour into a glass the proper quantity of medicine . She was twice obliged to pour back into the phial what she had just emptied forth , as the trembling of her hands caused her each time to drop too much ; at last , having succeeded in getting the exact number of drops , she handed him the glass , the contents of which he eagerly drank . `` There ! ''