Twelve o'clock
I found that the mind of my niece had been highly cultivated ; that her tastes were refined , and her moral sense acute . To say that I was pleased with her , would but half express what I felt . There was to be a juvenile party at the house of one of our acquaintances that evening , to which the children were invited ; and we were at work in preparing dresses and other matters suitable for them to appear in . Twelve o'clock came very quickly -- too quickly for me , in fact ; for I had not accomplished near so much as I had hoped to do . It would require the most diligent application , through every moment of time that intervened until the dinner hour , for us to get through with what we were doing , so as to have the afternoon to ourselves for the intended excursion . As the clock rung out the hour of noon , I exclaimed : `` Is it possible ! I had no idea that it was so late .