midnight
He knew , of old , that her bark was worse than her bite ; that she really loved both him and his daughter ; but she had a queer way of showing it . And unfolding the paper , he read aloud , to the great annoyance of the fair writer , the fragment of a ballad , of which , to do him justice , he understood not a single word ; and had he called upon her to explain its meaning , she would , in all probability , have found it no easy task . LADY LILIAN . Alone in her tower , at the midnight hour , The lady Lilian sat ; Like a spirit pale , In her silken veil , She watches the white clouds above her sail , And the flight of the drowsy bat . Is love the theme of her waking dream ? Her heart is gay and free ; She loves the night , When the stars shine bright , And the moon falls in showers of silver light Through the stately forest tree . And all around , on the dewy ground , The quivering moonbeams stray ; And the light and shade , By the branches made , Give motion and life to the silent glade , Like fairy elves at play .