midnight
On the last evening , Mr. Harvey took all the boys to a branch of the river about seven miles off , to enjoy a sail in a boat , on the water . It was a beautiful moonlight evening , and they rode to the place in a carriage . Samuel thought that the sight of the water , sparkling in the moon-beams , and stretching away so wide and still , with the dark bushes on each side , was the finest thing he had yet seen . When they were in the middle of the stream , and gliding slowly down it , Mr. Harvey and his sons joined in singing some simple song ; and as they had brought plenty of food with them , they staid on the water until midnight . Next morning , Samuel started for town , at nine o'clock . He had received many beautiful and useful things from his cousins , and as he pressed their hands , and again and again , bade them good bye , he felt how much he would miss their company when he would be in the city . But they promised to write to each other , and as often as they could , send presents from one to another .