midnight
On the summit of the hill , as the goal towards which all were wending , gleamed the château , with its enormous mass of towers and gables , and its chapel steeple rising into the blue-black sky . A multitude of little lights were twinkling , coming , going , and moving about at all the windows ; they looked like the sparks one sees running about in the ashes of burnt paper . After you had passed the drawbridge and the postern gate , it was necessary , in order to reach the chapel , to cross the first court , which was full of carriages , footmen and sedan chairs , and was quite illuminated by the blaze of torches and the glare of the kitchen fires . Here were heard the click of turnspits , the rattle of sauce-pans , the clash of glasses and silver plate in the commotion attending the preparation of the feast ; while over all rose a warm vapour smelling pleasantly of roast meat , piquant herbs , and complex sauces , and which seemed to say to the farmers , as well as to the chaplain and to the bailiff , and to everybody : `` What a good midnight repast we are going to have after the mass ! '' Ting-a-ring ! -- a -- ring ! The midnight mass is beginning in the chapel of the château , which is a cathedral in miniature , with groined and vaulted roofs , oak wood-work as high as the walls , expanded draperies , and tapers all aglow .