midnight
His quickness of conception , his pleasantness of wit , his variety of knowledge , his tales , his judgment of men -- all these were beyond anything that I have ever met in any other man . There was silence made every now and then for the French boy to sing another song ; and this singing affected me very deeply , so long as I did not look at the lad ; for he was a silly-looking creature all dressed up like a doll ; but he sang wonderfully clear and sweet , and one of the King 's chapel-gentlemen played for him . His songs were all in French , and the substance of some of them was scarcely decent ; but I had not the pain of hearing any that I had heard in Hare Street . During the singing of the last of these songs , near midnight , again that mood fell on me that all was but a painted show on a stage , and that reality was somewhere else . The great chamber was pretty hot by now , with the roaring fire and all the folks , and a kind of steam was in the air , as it had been in the theatre ten days ago ; and the faces were some of them flushed and some of them pale with the heat . The Duchess of Cleveland was walking up and down before the fire , with her hands clasped as if she were restless ; for she spoke scarce a word all the evening . When the song was done the King clapped his hands to applaud and stood up ; and all stood with him .