midnight
Directly before my father was placed a table , covered with a rich and gold-embroidered cloth , bordered with heavy gold fringe , upon which stood four tall wax candles , surrounding a mimic altar surmounted by an ebony crucifix . His chaplain , dressed in Popish canonicals , was mumbling forth some form of prayer , and a splendidly-illuminated missal lay open before him . There was also on the table a small marble basin of water , and a curiously inlaid box filled with bones -- relics , no doubt -- imbued with the spirit of miracle-working . The priest was perhaps performing a private midnight mass . The fitful attention that Sir Reginald gave to this office was painful to contemplate . His mind was evidently wandering , and he could bring himself to attend only at intervals . At another table , a little removed from the one I have described , sat the person of the London attorney ; he had also two lights , and he was most busily employed in turning over and indexing various folios of parchment .