about midnight
We were detained some time in getting off provisions from the shore , but by dint of hard work all was ready by ten o'clock , and the night being bright , the anchor was hove up . With every sail that we could carry set , we glided out of the harbour . It was important to get a good offing , so that we might weather Portland Point , the southernmost part of the island , before the sea-breeze should again begin to blow . We hoped that the land breeze , which generally begins to drop about midnight , would last longer than usual , so as to carry us well out to sea . There are ugly rocks off Portland which it is not pleasant to have under the lee at any time . `` Shure it would be hard to bate these nights out here , Mr Terence , '' said Larry , whom I met on deck , and who seemed to enjoy as much as I did the calm beauty of the scene , the stars like specks of glittering gold shining out of the heavens of the deepest blue , each one reflected in the tranquil ocean . The line of coast , seen astern and on our starboard quarter , rose into various-shaped mountains , their outlines clearly marked against the sky ; while every now and then a mass of silver light was spread over the water , as some inhabitant of the deep leaped upwards , to fall again with a splash into its liquid home .