midnight
With the men forward it was totally different . Their minds were thoroughly imbued with the seaman 's maxim : `` Let those look out who have the watch , '' and those whose watch it was below turned in without the slightest hesitation or qualm of anxiety , trusting implicitly to those in charge of the deck to do everything that might be necessary to ensure the safety of the ship . To me it seemed as though that terrible night would never end , and even when at length the hour of dawn arrived there was no perceptible amelioration in the conditions . The darkness remained as intense as it had been at midnight , and it was not until eight bells -- in this case eight o'clock in the morning -- that a feeble glimmer of daylight came filtering through the opaque blackness of the firmament over our heads , dimly revealing the shapeless masses of flying cloud and scud , and permitting us to view our surroundings for a space of about a quarter of a mile . But , contracted as was our view , it was more than sufficient to impress us with a deep and overwhelming sense of the impotence of man in the presence of God 's power as manifested in this appalling demonstration of elemental fury . Now , even more than during the hours of darkness , did we appear to be constantly on the point of being lifted out of the water by the terrific strength of the wind . As often as the schooner was hove up on the summit of a sea , and thus exposed to the full force of the hurricane , we could feel her tremble and perceptibly lift when the wind struck her beneath her upturned bilge .