midnight
The rest always go out to tea without invitation . At 8 P. M. big gong again , and we meet in ` Grace , ' which is the prettiest hall , church , concert-room , that you ever saw . We have singing , lectures , theatre , dancing , talk , or what the mistress of the night determines , till the curfew sounds at ten , and then we all go home . Evening prayers are in the separate households , and every one is in bed by midnight . The only law on the statute-book is that every one shall sleep nine hours out of every twenty-four . `` Only one thing interrupts this general order . Three taps on the gong means ` telegraph , ' and then , I tell you , we are all on hand .