seven o'clock
This catalogue of cottage furniture may appear to our English readers very miserable . We beg them to believe , however , that if every cabin in Ireland were equally comfortable , the country would be comparatively happy . Still it is to be remembered , that the _ dramatis personae _ of our story are of the humblest class . When seven o'clock drew nigh , the inmates of this little cabin placed themselves at a clear fire ; the father at one side , the mother at the other , and the daughter directly between them , knitting , for this is usually the occupation of a female on such a night . Everything in the house was clean ; the floor swept ; the ashes removed from the hearth ; the parents in their best clothes , and the daughter also in her holiday apparel . She was a plain girl , neither remarkable for beauty , nor otherwise . Her eyes , however , were good , so were her teeth , and an anxious look , produced of course by an occasion so interesting to a female , heightened her complexion to a blush that became her .