twelve o'clock
A poet could not have gone to bed on such a night , and amid such a scene of gloomy grandeur as this . But the agent of the Lady-of-the-Lake was not distinguished for enthusiasm of that sort , and he turned into his berth -- having no oyster-supper to eat -- at a very early hour , and betook himself to dreaming -- not `` of antres vast and desarts idle , '' -- or of what is sublime and glorious in creation , -- but of piston-rods and safety-valves -- pence and passengers . But his repose was disturbed in a manner alike unexpected and unwelcome ; by a catastrophe , too , which had well-nigh deprived the world of the farther services of Mr. Wheelwright , and his biographer of the pleasing duty of extending these memoirs beyond the present chapter . In plain terms , at about half-past twelve o'clock he was awakened by a choking sensation , and sprang upon his feet , already half suffocated by smoke . The awful truth of the cause was literally _ flashing _ around him upon all sides . The Lady-of-the-Lake -- the first of the fair upon whom he had ever in fact bestowed his affections -- was not only on fire , but the flames had already made such progress in the work of destruction as at once to preclude the hope of extinguishing them . From the cabin windows , the appearance rendered it certain that the whole structure was wrapped in a sheet of flame .