midnight
No busy note of this world interrupted the course of her mind ; the merry dance had ceased , and every cottager had retired to his home . The still air seemed scarcely to breathe upon the woods , and , now and then , the distant sound of a solitary sheep-bell , or of a closing casement , was all that broke on silence . At length , even this hint of human being was heard no more . Elevated and enwrapt , while her eyes were often wet with tears of sublime devotion and solemn awe , she continued at the casement , till the gloom of midnight hung over the earth , and the planet , which La Voisin had pointed out , sunk below the woods . She then recollected what he had said concerning this planet , and the mysterious music ; and , as she lingered at the window , half hoping and half fearing that it would return , her mind was led to the remembrance of the extreme emotion her father had shown on mention of the Marquis La Villeroi 's death , and of the fate of the Marchioness , and she felt strongly interested concerning the remote cause of this emotion . Her surprise and curiosity were indeed the greater , because she did not recollect ever to have heard him mention the name of Villeroi . No music , however , stole on the silence of the night , and Emily , perceiving the lateness of the hour , returned to a scene of fatigue , remembered that she was to rise early in the morning , and withdrew from the window to repose .