midnight
The following Christmas-day had been appointed by their parish Delegates to take the quarrel into consideration ; and the best means of escaping censure was certainly to express regret for what had occurred , and to terminate the hostility by an amicable adjustment of their disputes . They had now reached the chapel-green , where the scene that presented itself was so striking and strange , that we will give the reader an imperfect sketch of its appearance . He who stood at midnight upon a little mount which rose behind the chapel , might see between five and six thousand torches , all blazing together , and forming a level mass of red dusky light , burning against the dark horizon . These torches were so close to each other that their light seemed to blend , as if they had constituted one wide surface of flame ; and nothing could be more preternatural-looking than the striking and devotional countenances of those who were assembled at their midnight worship , when observed beneath this canopy of fire . The Mass was performed under the open sky , upon a table covered with the sacrificial linen , and other apparatus for the ceremony . The priest stood , robed in white , with two large torches on each side of his book , reciting the prayers in a low , rapid voice , his hands raised , whilst the congregation were hushed and bent forward in the reverential silence of devotion , their faces touched by the strong blaze of the torches into an expression of deep solemnity . The scenery about the place was wild and striking ; and the stars , scattered thinly over the heavens , twinkled with a faint religious light , that blended well with the solemnity of this extraordinary worship , and rendered the rugged nature of the abrupt cliffs and precipices , together with the still outline of the stern mountains , sufficiently visible to add to the wildness and singularity of the ceremony .