midnight before
Muzzled I have been since that half a minute when I was betrayed into lowness , muzzled I am at the present time , muzzled I ever will be . '' Herbert said , `` Certainly , '' but looked as if there were no specific consolation in this , and remained perplexed and dismayed . We were anxious for the time when he would go to his lodging and leave us together , but he was evidently jealous of leaving us together , and sat late . It was midnight before I took him round to Essex Street , and saw him safely in at his own dark door . When it closed upon him , I experienced the first moment of relief I had known since the night of his arrival . Never quite free from an uneasy remembrance of the man on the stairs , I had always looked about me in taking my guest out after dark , and in bringing him back ; and I looked about me now . Difficult as it is in a large city to avoid the suspicion of being watched , when the mind is conscious of danger in that regard , I could not persuade myself that any of the people within sight cared about my movements .