midnight
Gone was the subdued and ordered repose . Frederick was neither comfortable nor happy . There was an unwonted flurry of life and violation of sanctions and traditions . Meals were irregular and protracted , and there were midnight chafing-dish suppers and bursts of laughter at the most inappropriate hours . Frederick was abstemious . A glass of wine at dinner was his wildest excess . Three cigars a day he permitted himself , and these he smoked either on the broad veranda or in the smoking room .