midnight
The peasants began to arrive in companies , talking in the still morning . You could recognize the villagers from Wechem , from Metting , from the Graufthal and Dasenheim , by their three-cornered hats turned down in front and their square coats , and the women with their long black dresses and big bonnets quilted like a mattress hanging on their necks ; and those from Dagsberg , Hildehouse , Harberg , and Houpe with their large round felt hats , and the women without bonnets and with short skirts , small , brown , dry , and quick as powder , with the children behind with their shoes in their hands , but when they reached Luterspech they sat down in a row and put them on to be ready for the procession . Some priests from the different villages , also came by twos and threes , laughing and talking among themselves in the best of humor . And I thought , as I rested my elbows on the window-sill , that these people must have risen before midnight to reach here so early in the morning , and that they must have come over the mountains walking for hours under the trees , crossing the little bridges in the moonlight ; as I thought this I reflected that religion is a beautiful thing , that the people in towns do not know what it is , and that for thousands upon thousands of field laborers and wood-choppers , uncultivated and rude beings , who at the same time were good and loved their wives and children and honored their aged parents , supporting them and closing their eyes in the hope of a better world ; this was the only consolation . And in looking at the crowd , I imagined that Aunt Grédel and Catherine had the same thoughts , and I was happy to know that they prayed for me . It grew lighter and lighter , and the bells rang while I continued to look on . I heard Father Goulden rise and dress himself , and a few minutes after he came into my chamber in his shirt-sleeves , and seeing me so thoughtful , he exclaimed : `` Joseph , the most beautiful thing in the world is the religion of the people . ''