midnight
He was drunk , ethereally drunk with the beauty of the night and with love . He opened many windows , and sat at his piano in the moonlight . The two women drew as near as they dared , to listen , while the Poor Boy 's tantalized soul went out in splendid , beseeching singing . Until after midnight Schubert and Schumann and other lovers sang through the Poor Boy to their loves , and the women listened and cried and trembled , or were carried upward as it were upon angel wings into regions of pure and disembodied bliss . At last there fell a long silence . It was now the Poor Boy who listened . He had sent forth his questing , questioning soul , and he waited for an answer .