midnight
All the good people here will communicate , and the evening will be given up to such merrymaking as is befitting amongst Christians . All the ceorls and serfs will be at the Hall , and the prince will share the entertainment . Herstan and Bertha have been very busy preparing for it , as also their children , Hermann , Ostryth , and Aelfleda . But I must go and assist in decking the church for the midnight festivity . Alfgar had completely lost the reckoning of times and days since his imprisonment , but he felt that weeks must have passed away , and that the critical period foretold by Edmund must be near , so he listened anxiously for any intelligence from the world without . At last the weather became very cold , and being without a fire , his sufferings were great , until his ferocious gaoler , finding him quite stiffened , brought up a brazier of coals , which saved his prisoner 's life , while it filled the room with smoke , which could only escape by the crevices in walls and roof , for to open a window would have been as bad as to dispense with the fire , such was the state of the outer air . It was what we call an old-fashioned Christmas , in all its glory and severity -- a thing easy enough to bear , nay to enjoy , when men have warm fires and plenty of food , but hard enough to endure where these are absent .