midnight
Is it any wonder that a weak mind and exhausted body , wrought upon by these bugbears , should induce upon by itself , by its own terrors , the malady of derangement ? We know that nothing acts so strongly and so fatally upon reason , as an imagination diseased by religious terrors : and I regret to say , that I had upon that night an opportunity of witnessing a fatal instance of it . After having washed ourselves in the dark waters of the lake , we entered this famous prison , which is only a naked , unplastered chapel , with an altar against one of the sides and two galleries . On entering this place , a scene presented itself altogether unparalleled on the earth , and in every point of view capable to sustain the feelings raised in the mind by the midnight scenery of the lake as seen during the ablutions . The prison was full , but not crowded ; for had it been crowded , we would have been happy . It was , however , just sufficiently filled to give every individual the pleasure of sustaining himself , without having it in his power to recline for a moment in an attitude of rest , or to change that most insupportable of all bodily suffering , uniformity of position . There we knelt upon a hard ground floor , and commenced praying ; and again I must advert to the policy which prevails in this island .