midnight
The blow was dealt in the very back of his head ; he who struck must have been a shorter man than himself , and used a horseman 's battle axe , or some such weapon , for a Lochaber axe must have struck the upper part of his head . But there he lies dead , brained , I may say , by a most frightful wound . '' `` This is inconceivable , '' said Henry Wynd . `` He was in my house at midnight , in a morricer 's habit ; seemed to have been drinking , though not to excess . He told me a tale of having been beset by revellers , and being in danger ; but , alas ! you know the man -- I deemed it was a swaggering fit , as he sometimes took when he was in liquor ; and , may the Merciful Virgin forgive me ! I let him go without company , in which I did him inhuman wrong .