half past seven o'clock
And Mr. Geordie looked expressively at a handmaid who was rolling gingerbread , as if he were rehearsing for `` Don Giovanni . '' Evening came at last , and the ladies were forced to leave the scene of their labors to array themselves for the coming festivities . The tables had been set in a back room , the meats were ready , the pickles were displayed , the cake was baked , the blanc-mange had stiffened , and the ice-cream had frozen . At half past seven o'clock , the Colonel , in costume , came into the front parlor , and proceeded to light the lamps . Some were good-humored enough and took the hint of a lighted match at once . Others were as vicious as they could be , -- would not light on any terms , any more than if they were filled with water , or lighted and smoked one side of the chimney , or spattered a few sparks and sulked themselves out , or kept up a faint show of burning , so that their ground glasses looked as feebly phosphorescent as so many invalid fireflies . With much coaxing and screwing and pricking , a tolerable illumination was at last achieved .