midnight
He was oppressed with the weight of his convictions and he felt almost suffocated with the air in the room . He wanted to see the stars and feel the breath of the world . The night was very still . The clock in the First Church was just striking midnight . As it finished a clear , strong voice down in the direction of the Rectangle came floating up to him as if borne on radiant pinions . It was a voice of one of Gray 's old converts , a night watchman at the packing houses , who sometimes solaced his lonesome hours by a verse or two of some familiar hymn : `` Must Jesus bear the cross alone And all the world go free ? No , there 's a cross for every one , And there 's a cross for me . ''