midnight
She then thought of her unfortunate aunt , and , shuddering with grief and horror , the suggestions of imagination seized her mind with all the force of truth , and she believed , that the form she had seen was supernatural . She trembled , breathed with difficulty , an icy coldness touched her cheeks , and her fears for a while overcame her judgment . Her resolution now forsook her , and she determined , if the figure should appear , not to speak to it . Thus the time passed , as she sat at her casement , awed by expectation , and by the gloom and stillness of midnight ; for she saw obscurely in the moonlight only the mountains and woods , a cluster of towers , that formed the west angle of the castle , and the terrace below ; and heard no sound , except , now and then , the lonely watch-word , passed by the sentinels on duty , and afterwards the steps of the men who came to relieve guard , and whom she knew at a distance on the rampart by their pikes , that glittered in the moonbeam , and then , by the few short words , in which they hailed their fellows of the night . Emily retired within her chamber , while they passed the casement . When she returned to it , all was again quiet . It was now very late , she was wearied with watching , and began to doubt the reality of what she had seen on the preceding night ; but she still lingered at the window , for her mind was too perturbed to admit of sleep .