midnight
He announced his bereavement from the pulpit when he had done , and the whole country was alarmed and excited . He bore the tidings to his desolate home , and his stricken wife heard it with a stern resignation . Thenceforward he preached more of the burning pit , and less of the golden city ; his eyes were full of fierce light , and his visage grew long and ghastly . He denied himself all joys and comforts ; his prayers rang in the midnight through the gloomy parsonage ; and he toiled in the ministry as if reckless of life , and anxious to lose it in his Master 's service . The end came at last ; the world closed over the grim couple , and they hoped through the grave 's portal to find their child . When Paul awoke from his nap in the sulky , he found himself far in the forest , and moving swiftly forward . A huge negro , with bloodshot eyes , was transferring him to an evil-looking white man , and he struggled in the latter 's arms , crying for his papa .