midnight
His silken hair of beautiful brown is brushed smoothly back from his high , marble forehead , while gentle hands apply the cooling bath , to still if possible , its tumultuous throbbings , and he murmurs of sweet sister and of heaven . Soft words of love are whispered in his ear , and he is told of the Lamb of God that bids little children to come unto him . And thought not these weary watchers of that lonely night , of the revellers in that distant hall ? Methinks their hearts went up in fervent prayer to God that he would spare them yet a little longer , for there were immortal souls there , for whom he labored and prayed , who entered the sanctuary and heard the word of God as it fell from his lips , Sabbath after Sabbath , and he felt sensibly that the midnight revel would not prepare the heart to seek God , or make the necessary preparation for death . Towards morning the eyes of the little sufferer closed in uneasy slumber , and the parents too , were refreshed by a short interval of sleep . Passing yet in another direction was a tall youth , with a subdued expression of countenance , hurrying on , in spite of wind and rain , to the doctor 's office , to procure assistance for a sick mother , who was tossing in all the agony of brain fever . The doctor had been called away to visit a little child that had a sudden attack of the croup , that fearful disease that bears so many children to the tomb .