midnight
Husbands are prone to think -LRB- in their simplicity -RRB- that if they take a little of everything palatable they find in the refrigerator , but thus distributing their forage over the viands the general effect of the depradation will be almost unnoticeable . Whereas wives say -LRB- and Mrs. Mifflin had often explained to Roger -RRB- that it is far better to take all of any one dish than a little of each ; for the latter course is likely to diminish each item below the bulk at which it is still useful as a left-over . Roger , however , had the obstinate viciousness of all good husbands , and he knew the delights of cold provender by heart . Many a stewed prune , many a mess of string beans or naked cold boiled potato , many a chicken leg , half apple pie , or sector of rice pudding , had perished in these midnight festivals . He made it a point of honour never to eat quite all of the dish in question , but would pass with unabated zest from one to another . This habit he had sternly repressed during the War , but Mrs. Mifflin had noticed that since the armistice he had resumed it with hearty violence . This is a custom which causes the housewife to be confronted the next morning with a tragical vista of pathetic scraps .