nine o'clock
But if worldliness and religion are terms opposed to each other , then they were not worldly . There were always prayers for the whole household morning and evening . There were two services on Sunday , at the first of which the males , and at both of which the females , were expected to attend . But the great struggle came after dinner at nine o'clock , when Aunt Polly always read a sermon out loud to the assembled household . Aunt Polly had a certain power of her own , and no one dared to be absent except the single servant who was left in the kitchen to look after the fire . The squire himself was always there , but a peculiar chair was placed for him , supposed to be invisible to the reader , in which he slept during the whole time , subject to correction from a neighbouring daughter in the event of his snoring . An extra bottle of port after dinner was another Sunday observance which added to the irritability of the occasion , -- so that the squire , when the reading and prayers were over , would generally be very cross , and would take himself up to bed almost without a word , and the brothers would rush away almost with indecent haste to their smoking .