seven o'clock
They had odd names for girls in those days . Among the nobles and gentry , most were like ours ; young ladies of rank were Alice , Cicely , Margaret , Joan , Isabel , Emma , or Agnes : a strange name being the exception . But among working women the odd names were then the rule : they were Yngeleis , Sabelina , Orenge , Pimma , Cinelote , Argentella , and very many more of the same high-sounding kind . When the apprentices left the work-room , they were free to do as they liked till seven o'clock , when they must all re-assemble there , answer to their names called over , repeat some prayers after Mrs de la Laund , and go to bed in a large loft at the top of the house . Characters came out on these occasions . The majority showed themselves thoughtless and giddy : they went to run races on the green , and to play games -- the better disposed only among themselves : but the wild , adventurous spirits soon joined a lot of idle youths as unsteady as themselves , with whom they spent the evening in rough play , loud laughter , and not altogether decorous joking . The little group of sensible girls kept away from such scenes .