eight o'clock
They were separated from their kith and kin , who however brutal would have said a kind word and done a tender thing or two for them at that awful hour ; and nothing allowed them in exchange , not even the routine attentions of a prison nurse ; they were in darkness and alone when the king of terrors came to them and wrestled with them . All men had turned their backs on them , no creature near to wipe the dews of death , to put a cool hand to the brow , or soften the intensity of the last sad sigh that carried their souls from earth . Thus they passed away , punished lawlessly by the law till they succumbed , and then , since they were no longer food for torture , ignored by the law and abandoned by the human race . They locked up one dying man at eight o'clock . At midnight the thirst of death came on him . He prayed for a drop of water , but there was none to hear him . Parched and gasping the miserable man got out of bed and groped for his tin mug , but before he could drink the death agony seized him .