midnight
Some friends are torn from thee by death ; others desert thee in the hour of trouble . '' He took out his pencil to answer this distressing epistle , but he stopped at the first word ; he durst not write that his father would fulfil any one of those engagements which he had so largely promised ; and throwing away the pencil and the paper , he left a verbal declaration of his sorrow at what had happened , and an assurance of calling next day . Turning his back on a house which he had left on the preceding night with so many joyful hopes , he remounted his horse , and , melancholy and slow , rode about the country until evening , -- so unwilling was he to return to that home which now threatened him with the frowns of his father , the tears of Mary Beaufort , and the miserable reflections of his own wretched heart . Doctor Cavendish having been detained beyond his expected time with his invalid friend at Stanford , was happily still there , and set off for Harrowby the instant Mr. Constanine 's messenger arrived , and before midnight alighted at the Abbey . When he entered Lady Tinemouth 's chamber he found her supported in the arms of Thaddeus , and struggling with a second rupture of her lungs . As he approached the bed , Thaddeus turned his eyes on him with an expression that powerfully told his fears . Dr. Cavendish silently pressed his hand ; then taking from his pocket some styptic drops , he made the countess swallow them , and soon saw that they succeeded in stopping the hemorrhage .