three o'clock in the morning
Talk , questions followed ; Arkady talked most , especially at supper , which was prolonged long after midnight . Nikolai Petrovitch ordered up some bottles of porter which had only just been sent from Moscow , and partook of the festive beverage till his cheeks were crimson , and he kept laughing in a half-childish , half-nervous little chuckle . Even the servants were infected by the general gaiety . Dunyasha ran up and down like one possessed , and was continually slamming doors ; while Piotr was , at three o'clock in the morning , still attempting to strum a Cossack waltz on the guitar . The strings gave forth a sweet and plaintive sound in the still air ; but with the exception of a small preliminary flourish , nothing came of the cultured valet 's efforts ; nature had given him no more musical talent than all the rest of the world . But meanwhile things were not going over harmoniously at Maryino , and poor Nikolai Petrovitch was having a bad time of it . Difficulties on the farm sprang up every day -- senseless , distressing difficulties .