midnight
In shrouds about the cornices already lay the heart of the oak wainscot that the worm had eaten out . Surely at such an hour , in such a room , a fancy already excited by hunger and strong tea might see the ghosts of former occupants . I expected nothing less . The fire flickered and the shadows danced , memories of strange historic things rose vividly in my mind ; but midnight chimed solemnly from a seven-foot clock , and nothing happened . My imagination would not be hurried , and the chill that is with the small hours had come upon me , and I had nearly abandoned myself to sleep , when in the hall adjoining there arose the rustling of silk dresses that I had waited for and expected . Then there entered two by two the high-born ladies and their gallants of Jacobean times . They were little more than shadows -- very dignified shadows , and almost indistinct ; but you have all read ghost stories before , you have all seen in museums the dresses of those times -- there is little need to describe them ; they entered , several of them , and sat down on the old chairs , perhaps a little carelessly considering the value of the tapestries .