midnight
Drone -- drone -- drone -- gigantic bees that boomed in a cavern of drowsiness -- Babbitt started from his open-eyed nap , thanked the teacher for `` the privilege of listening to her splendid teaching , '' and staggered on to the next circle . After two weeks of this he had no suggestions whatever for the Reverend Dr. Drew . Then he discovered a world of Sunday School journals , an enormous and busy domain of weeklies and monthlies which were as technical , as practical and forward-looking , as the real-estate columns or the shoe-trade magazines . He bought half a dozen of them at a religious book-shop and till after midnight he read them and admired . He found many lucrative tips on `` Focusing Appeals , '' `` Scouting for New Members , '' and `` Getting Prospects to Sign up with the Sunday School . '' He particularly liked the word `` prospects , '' and he was moved by the rubric : `` The moral springs of the community 's life lie deep in its Sunday Schools -- its schools of religious instruction and inspiration . Neglect now means loss of spiritual vigor and moral power in years to come ... .