midnight
Some said that was not the worst of it . At nearly fifteen years old , when she was growing fast , and in an irritable state of mind and body , she had had a governess placed over her for whom she had conceived an aversion . It was whispered among a few who knew more of the family secrets than others , that , worried and exasperated by the presence and jealous oversight of this person , Elsie had attempted to get finally rid of her by unlawful means , such as young girls have been known to employ in their straits , and to which the sex at all ages has a certain instinctive tendency , in preference to more palpable instruments for the righting of its wrongs . At any rate , this governess had been taken suddenly ill , and the Doctor had been sent for at midnight . Old Sophy had taken her master into a room apart , and said a few words to him which turned him as white as a sheet . As soon as he recovered himself , he sent Sophy out , called in the old Doctor , and gave him some few hints , on which he acted at once , and had the satisfaction of seeing his patient out of danger before he left in the morning . It is proper to say , that , during the following days , the most thorough search was made in every nook and cranny of those parts of the house which Elsie chiefly haunted , but nothing was found which might be accused of having been the intentional cause of the probably accidental sudden illness of the governess .