midnight
This rocket was but the signal for the commencement of the fireworks on the lawn . Another and another , each more brilliant than the last , succeeded . There were stars , wheels , serpents , griffins , dragons , all flashing forth from the darkness in living fire , filling the rustic spectators with admiration , wonder , and terror , and then as suddenly disappearing as if swallowed up in the night from which they had sprung . One instant the whole scene was lighted up as by a general conflagration , the next it was hidden in darkness deep as midnight . The sisters , no more than their fellow-rustics , had never witnessed the marvel of fireworks , so now they gazed from their distant standpoint on the knoll with interest bordering upon consternation . `` Do n't you think they 're dangerous , Reuben ? '' inquired Hannah .