midnight
He got through it bravely until Edith 's husband incautiously said , `` You did n't kiss your little sweetheart , '' as he always called Ellie , who had been allowed to sit up . He turned suddenly , broke into agonizing sobs and ran down the steps . I went right up to my room . Suddenly the midnight stillness was broken by the sound of trumpets and flutes . It was a serenade , by her lover , to the young lady across the street . She leaves to-morrow for her home in Boston , he joins the Confederate army in Virginia . Among the callers yesterday she came and astonished us all by the change in her looks .