midnight
Three years before , on Christmas Eve , the boys had stood about the red-hot stove , undressing for their bath , and Finn , who was naked , had , in the general scrimmage to get first into the bath-tub , been pushed against the glowing iron , the ornamentation of which had been beautifully burned upon his back . He had to be wrapped in oil and cotton after that adventure , and he recovered in due time , but never quite relished the distinction he had acquired by his pictorial skin . It was long before Albert fell asleep ; for the cold kept up a continual fusillade , as of musketry , during the entire night . The woodwork of the walls snapped and cracked with loud reports ; and a little after midnight a servant came in and stuffed the stove full of birch-wood , until it roared like an angry lion . This roar finally lulled Albert to sleep , in spite of the startling noises about him . The next morning the boys were aroused at seven o'clock by a servant , who brought a tray with the most fragrant coffee and hot rolls . It was in honor of the guest that , in accordance with Norse custom , this early meal was served ; and all the boys , carrying pillows and blankets , gathered on Albert 's and Ralph 's bed and feasted right royally .