midnight
`` What o'clock is it , now ? '' `` Humph ! half-past five . I think the next time we wish to get off at sunrise , we had better arrange to start at midnight ; then , perhaps , we may succeed . '' Turning the corner of the street at this moment the sudden sight of the river , and the wood on the opposite bank , glimmering and glistening in the light of the morning sun , elicited a simultaneous burst of admiration from our travelers . Then the prospective pleasures of the rural visit were discussed , the family and friendly reunions , the dinner parties , the fish feasts upon the river 's banks , the oyster excursions and crab expeditions ; and in such pleasant anticipations the cheerful hours of that delightful forenoon slipped away ; and when , at last , the heat of the sun grew oppressive , and our sharpened appetites reminded us of the dinner-basket , we began to cast around for a cool , dry and shady spot on which to rest and refresh ourselves . The road here was wide and passed through a thick forest .