midnight
As the evening advanced , however , the rain poured down in undiminished cataracts ; and the doctor , trusting to the prudence and sure-footedness of his steed , had at length set forth on his return . The darkness of the night , and the roughness of the road , might have appalled him , even had his horsemanship and his courage been more considerable than they were ; but by the special protection of Providence , as he reasonably supposed -LRB- for he was a good man , and on a good errand -RRB- , he arrived safely as far as Hugh Crombie 's inn . Dr. Melmoth had no intention of making a stay there ; but , as the road passed within a very short distance , he saw lights in the windows , and heard the sound of song and revelry . It immediately occurred to him , that these midnight rioters were , probably , some of the young men of his charge ; and he was impelled , by a sense of duty , to enter and disperse them . Directed by the voices , he found his way , with some difficulty , to the apartment , just as Hugh concluded his first stanza ; and , amidst the subsequent applause , his entrance had been un-perceived . There was a silence of a moment 's continuance after the discovery of Dr. Melmoth , during which he attempted to clothe his round , good-natured face in a look of awful dignity . But , in spite of himself , there was a little twisting of the corners of his mouth , and a smothered gleam in his eye .