midnight
Don Ferdinand Morales -- be his soul assoilized ! -- was so universally beloved , so truly the friend of all ranks and conditions of men , that to believe in the existence of any other enmity towards his person is almost impossible . We have evidence that the prisoner was at feud with him -- was harboring some design against him for weeks . It may be he was even refused by Don Ferdinand the meeting he desired , and so sought vengeance by the midnight dagger . Let the evidence of this enmity be examined , and according or not as premeditated malice is elicited , so let your judgment be pronounced . '' `` Ay , so let it be , '' muttered the King as a loud murmur of assent ran through the hall . `` We have two witnesses for this ; and , by heaven , if the one differ from the other in the smallest point , the prisoner may still be reprieved ! ''