midnight
The friar haunted ever beside the dark stream ; The philosopher 's stone was his thought and his dream : And day after day , ever head under heels He dived all the time he could spare from his meals . He dived , and he dived , to the end of his days , As the peasants oft witnessed with fear and amaze . The mad friar 's diving-place long was their theme , And no plummet can fathom that pool of the stream . And still , when light clouds on the midnight winds ride , If by moonlight you stray on the lone river-side , The ghost of the friar may be seen diving there , With head in the water , and heels in the air . _ Captain Fitzchrome _ . -- Well , your ballad is very pleasant : you shall show me the scene , and I will sketch it ; but just now I am more interested about your love . What heroine of the twelfth century has risen from the ruins of the old castle , and looked down on you from the ivied battlements ?