midnight
The door opened so quickly that Dainty , leaning against it , lost her balance , and fell blindly forward into the arms of the man who had opened it -- Lovelace Ellsworth , who had not yet retired , because his heart and mind were so full of her he knew he could not sleep . `` Ah , sweet , thou little knowest how I wake and passionate watches keep ; And yet while I address thee now , Methinks thou smilest in thy sleep . 'T is sweet enough to make me weep , That tender thought of love and thee , That while the world is hushed in sleep , Thy soul 's perhaps awake to me . '' It was almost midnight , yet Love Ellsworth 's lamp still burned dimly as he sat by his open window in the flood of white moonlight , going over and over in his mind the events of the day , unable to turn his thoughts from the artless little beauty who had charmed him so . He was five-and-twenty , and he had had his little fancies and flirtations , like most young men of his age , but this was the first time that his heart had been really touched . Love 's glamour was upon him , and he could not rest or sleep for thinking of shy , winsome Dainty , whose charms had wiled the heart from his breast , so that it was with difficulty he had refrained from declaring his love and begging for her heart in return . He mused , tenderly : `` How it would have startled her -- shy little dove -- if I had followed my impulse to tell her of my love during that blissful drive over from the station !