midnight before
So saying , the king quitted the presence-chamber with the Earl of Rochester , leaving the ladies seated , and their husbands still kneeling . We shall not dwell upon what took place after the departure of the king ; one thing is certain , that the fair sex are very merciful , and as their husbands promised them that in future they should have their own way , dress as they pleased , receive whom they pleased , and spend what money they pleased , the ladies very kindly and magnanimously forgave their spouses ; and when they were summoned to the banquet , each lady entered the hall , hanging on the arm of her husband . This happy reconciliation was duly celebrated . Wine flowed , bumper after bumper was drank , pledge succeeded to pledge , and it was long past midnight before the carouse was over . The moon shone bright , and heated with the wine , Rochester proposed to the ladies that they should take a walk on the terrace before they ordered their carriages to go home . It must be confessed that the ladies had not been so cautious as they ought to have been , and that their steps were not very steady ; but could a lady refuse to drink wine with a king or an Earl of Rochester ? No !