four o’clock
in the morning
The fishermen , who were hired for the occasion , revolted to the very life , positively refusing to play without an increased allowance of spirits ; and , their demand being complied with , getting drunk in the eruption-scene as naturally as possible . The red fire , which was burnt at the conclusion of the second act , not only nearly suffocated the audience , but nearly set the house on fire into the bargain ; and , as it was , the remainder of the piece was acted in a thick fog . In short , the whole affair was , as Mrs. Joseph Porter triumphantly told everybody , ` a complete failure . ' The audience went home at four o'clock in the morning , exhausted with laughter , suffering from severe headaches , and smelling terribly of brimstone and gunpowder . The Messrs. Gattleton , senior and junior , retired to rest , with the vague idea of emigrating to Swan River early in the ensuing week . Rose Villa has once again resumed its wonted appearance ; the dining-room furniture has been replaced ; the tables are as nicely polished as formerly ; the horsehair chairs are ranged against the wall , as regularly as ever ; Venetian blinds have been fitted to every window in the house to intercept the prying gaze of Mrs. Joseph Porter . The subject of theatricals is never mentioned in the Gattleton family , unless , indeed , by Uncle Tom , who can not refrain from sometimes expressing his surprise and regret at finding that his nephews and nieces appear to have lost the relish they once possessed for the beauties of Shakspeare , and quotations from the works of that immortal bard .