midnight
As the black-coated troop hastened hither and thither , they jostled one another , now nodding , now shaking hands ; here , old friends passing without seeing each other ; there , a couple of strangers salute one another in the warmest manner . The doors of the houses seemed to open of themselves ; men were going in , men were coming out . The negroes looked more lustrous and light-hearted than ever ; the Paddies , cleaner and more bothered ; the regular Knickerbockers , to the manner born , were , of course , in their element . -LCB- `` visits '' = for men to make short calls at as many homes as possible on New Year 's Day was an old New York City custom ; `` Paddies '' = Irish ; `` Knickerbockers '' = traditional term for native New Yorkers -RCB- We have heard nice calculations as to the precise number of calls , that an able-bodied , well-trained New-Year 's visiter can accomplish between midnight and midnight ; allowing , of course , a couple of hours for the toilette , and a moment to snatch a mouthful at breakfast and dinner : it is affirmed , however , that as great generals have passed days of battle without food , so your chivalrous Knickerbocker should be willing to forego , on such an occasion , even a sight of the roast turkey and cranberries . Allowing the individual , however , something to sustain nature , that he may be the better enabled to perform his duties , it is supposed that a beau , in good visiting condition , should pay his court in not more than three hundred , nor less than fifty drawing-rooms . But , then , to do this , a man must have method ; he must draw up his plan of action before-hand ; he must portion out his districts , as they lie on each side of that longest of streets , Broadway ; he must not only study the map of the city closely , but he must possess an accurate knowledge of the localities ; he must remember that some houses have stoops of twelve steps , that some drawing-rooms are not on the first floor . He must NOT allow himself to be enticed into any flirtation whatever , beyond a glance or a smile ; he must NOT indulge the hope of calling twice upon the sweet creature he most admires ; he must NOT be tempted to sink , even for a moment , upon the most comfortable of ottomans or divans ; he must NOT return home to re-adjust his locks , to change either boots , gloves , or handkerchief .