midnight
my father , do not remain in this wretched country ; take me where I may forget myself , my existence , and all the world . '' My father easily acceded to my desire ; and , after having taken leave of Mr. Kirwin , we hastened to Dublin . I felt as if I was relieved from a heavy weight , when the packet sailed with a fair wind from Ireland , and I had quitted for ever the country which had been to me the scene of so much misery . It was midnight . My father slept in the cabin ; and I lay on the deck , looking at the stars , and listening to the dashing of the waves . I hailed the darkness that shut Ireland from my sight , and my pulse beat with a feverish joy , when I reflected that I should soon see Geneva . The past appeared to me in the light of a frightful dream ; yet the vessel in which I was , the wind that blew me from the detested shore of Ireland , and the sea which surrounded me , told me too forcibly that I was deceived by no vision , and that Clerval , my friend and dearest companion , had fallen a victim to me and the monster of my creation .