midnight
This , however , was quickly made , not forgetting the design of Giacomo Gradenigo on the life of his auditor . The felucca , which had been previously provided with the necessary pass by the agents of the police itself , had quitted the port under easy sail by the very inlet through which the gondola made its way into the Adriatic . The water was smooth , the breeze fresh from the land , and in short all things were favorable to the fugitives . Donna Violetta and her governess were leaning against a mast , watching with impatient eyes the distant domes and the midnight beauty of Venice . Occasionally strains of music came to their ears from the canals , and then a touch of natural melancholy crossed the feelings of the former as she feared they might be the last sounds of that nature she should ever hear from her native town . But unalloyed pleasure drove every regret from her mind when Don Camillo leaped from the gondola and folded her in triumph to his heart . There was little difficulty in persuading Stefano Milano to abandon for ever the service of the Senate for that of his feudal lord .