midnight
It was not that his first year of power had been without moments of disillusionment . He had had more than one embittering experience of intrigue and perfidy , more than one glimpse of the pitfalls besetting his course ; but his confidence in his own powers and his faith in his people remained unshaken , and with two such beliefs to sustain him it seemed as though no difficulties would prove insurmountable . Such at least was the mood in which , on the morning of his entry into Pianura , he prepared to face his subjects . Strangely enough , the state entry began at Ponte di Po , the very spot where , on a stormy midnight some seven years earlier , the new Duke had landed , a fugitive from his future realm . Here , according to an ancient custom , the sovereign awaited the arrival of his ministers and court ; and then , taking seat in his state barge , proceeded by water to Pianura , followed by an escort of galleys . A great tent hung with tapestries had been set up on the river-bank ; and here Odo awaited the approach of the barge . As it touched at the landing-stage he stepped out , and his prime minister , Count Trescorre , advanced toward him , accompanied by the dignitaries of the court .