midnight
He wished to speak of his sisters , to hint at their circumstances , but the thing was impossible . In desperation , he broke into some wholly foreign subject , and for this morning , all hope of the decisive step had passed . The day brought no other opportunity . Towards midnight , Dymchurch sat at the open window of his chamber , glad to be alone , anxious , self-reproachful . To-morrow he must discharge what had become an obvious duty , however difficult it might be . He had received a long letter from the younger of his sisters . It spoke of the other 's ill health , a subject of disquiet for the past month , and went on to discuss a topic which frequently arose in this correspondence -- the authority of the Church of Rome .