twelve midnight
And all the country beaus and belles of his rank in society came and danced at it . And Ishmael , in the geniality of his nature , made himself so agreeable to everybody that he unconsciously turned the heads of half the girls in the room , who unanimously pronounced him `` quite the gentleman . '' This was the last as well as the gayest party of the holidays . It broke up at twelve midnight , because the next day was Sunday . On Monday Ishmael arose early and walked over to Rushy Shore , opened his schoolhouse , lighted a fire in it , and sat down at his teacher 's desk to await the arrival of his pupils . About eight or nine o'clock they began to come , by ones , twos , and threes ; some attended by their parents and some alone . Rough-looking customers they were , to be sure ; shock-headed , sun-burned , and freckle-faced girls and boys of the humblest class of `` poor whites , '' as they were called in the slave States .