six o'clock
`` She is more than pretty , she is lovely ; and there is a certain force and dignity about her , too , that contrasts curiously with her piquant wit and coquettish ways . It would be a bold man indeed who would attempt a familiarity with her . '' Returning home after school one February afternoon , schoolmaster and pupils found an unusual stir and commotion agitating the Rogers domain , news having arrived that the neighbors would gather there that night for a dance . Soon after six o'clock , a loud hail from the stile block proclaimed the first arrivals , a big sledload of merry folks . Others followed quickly , until in half an hour the spacious family room was overflowing with life and laughter and excited chatter . Hoods and wraps were quickly thrown aside , rumpled dresses smoothed out , loosened ribbons readjusted , refractory ringlets reduced to order , and presently the sitting-room was deserted , and the entire company had assembled in the loom-room across the yard , where the dance was to be held . `` Why do you wound me and slander yourself by such language ? ''