midnight
Annie joined Mrs. Putney . They talked at first with those who came to ask where Putney and the doctor were ; but finally they withdrew into a little alcove from the parlour , where Mrs. Munger approved of their being when she discovered them ; they must be very tired , and ought to rest on the lounge there . Her theory of the exhaustion of those who had taken part in the play embraced their families . The time wore on toward midnight , and her guests got themselves away with more or less difficulty as they attempted the formality of leave-taking or not . Some of the hands who thought this necessary found it a serious affair ; but most of them slipped off without saying good night to Mrs. Munger or expressing that rapture with the whole evening from beginning to end which the ladies of South Hatboro ' professed . The ladies of South Hatboro ' and Old Hatboro ' had met in a general intimacy not approached before , and they parted with a flow of mutual esteem . The Gerrish children had dropped asleep in nooks and corners , from which Mr. Gerrish hunted them up and put them together for departure , while his wife remained with Mrs. Munger , unable to stop talking , and no longer amenable to the looks with which he governed her in public .