about eight o'clock
We had baskets and vases of flowers disposed about the room , a custom which then was not so usual as it is now . It was always a delicious moment for me when we left the dining-room and went into the parlor , for the latter room had an air of great peace and comfort ; and when all the family were seated there in a circle , mother , grandmother and aunts , I began to skip about noisily in their midst from very joy at being surrounded by so many loved ones ; and I waited impatiently for them to begin the little games which they were in the habit of playing with me early in the evening . Our neighbors , the D -- 's , came to see us every Sunday ; it was a time-honored custom in our two families , between whom there existed a friendship that had its inception in the country generations before our time ; it was a friendship which had been handed down to us as a precious heritage . At about eight o'clock , when I recognized their ring , I jumped for joy , and I could not restrain myself from running to the street door to meet them , for Lucette , my dear friend , always came with her parents . Alas ! how sad is my reverie when I think of the beloved and venerated forms of those who surrounded me upon those happy Sunday evenings ; the majority of them have passed away , and their faces , when I seek to recall them , are dim and misty -- some are altogether lost from memory . Then friends and relatives would begin to play , for the purpose of giving me pleasure , the little games of which I was so fond ; they played `` Marriage , '' `` My Lady 's Toilet , '' `` The Horned Knight , '' and `` The Lovely Shepherdess . ''