eight o'clock
One and all the O'Shaughnessys possessed beautiful singing voices , and though the carols which they rehearsed were simple in themselves , they were practised with a care which made them a joy to hear . Over and over again the Major made his choir repeat a certain phrase , until the _ diminuendo _ or _ crescendo _ was rendered to his satisfaction , until opening and closing notes sounded together to the instant , and due expression was given to every mark . Music he loved , and over music would spend time and trouble which he would have grudged in almost every other way ; but he rubbed his hands with satisfaction when the last rehearsal was over , and boasted gleefully that for carol-singing not many choirs could be found to beat his own . By eight o'clock the girls were dressed and strutting up and down the hall to exhibit themselves to the gaze of their companions . Bridgie wore her coming-out dress -- not so white as it had once been , but carefully chalked at the worst places , and swathed in lovely old lace round the shoulders . Esmeralda sported a pink moire dress which had once belonged to her mother , with a voluminous sash of white muslin , since nothing more elaborate was to hand , a wreath of roses out of last summer 's hat pinned over one shoulder , with all the crunched-up leaves ironed out smooth and flat , and white gloves cleaned with benzoline until you could hardly tell them from new . She was a vision of elegance , or looked so at least to the ordinary observer ; for when a girl is eighteen , and a beauty at that , she is bound to look charming , whatever be her clothes .