midday
Unconsciously , he had modelled it upon an exquisite little bit by some one else , which had once been reprinted beneath a `` story '' of his own when he was on the paper . He read it aloud , to see how it sounded , and was more pleased than ever with the swing of the verse and the music of the words . `` It 's pretty close to art , '' he said to himself , `` if it is n't the real thing . '' Just then the luncheon bell rang , and he went out to the midday `` gab-fest , '' as he inwardly characterised it . The meal proceeded to dessert without any unusual disturbance , then the diminutive Ebeneezer threw the remnants of his cup of milk into his mother 's face , and was carried off , howling , to be spanked . Like many other mothers , Mrs. Holmes resented her children 's conduct when it incommoded her , but not otherwise , and though milk baths are said to be fine for the complexion , she was not altogether pleased with the manner of application . Amid the vocal pyrotechnics from the Holmes apartments , Harlan escaped into the library , but his poem was gone .