midnight
The most devilish thing going as we sailed was a game of chess ! There was a night game of whist or cribbage or some other sedentary game , which closed at ten , and after that in the library the talk sagged and died like a decomposed chord in a Tschaikovsky symphony ! It was sad ! One had to go to the smoking room where there was wassail on lemon squash and insipid English beer until after midnight . But there the talk was good . Of course it sometimes bore a strong smell of man about it , but it was virile and wise . A rug dealer from Odessa , a dealer in mining machinery from Moscow , a Chicago college professer returning from Petrograd , a cigarette maker from Egypt , a brace of British naval officers going over to return with Canadian transports , an American aerial engineer , back from an inspection trip to France , a great English actor , who once played Romeo with Mary Andersen -- to give one an approximate of his age -- a Red Cross commission from Italy , and an Australian premier .