midnight
`` I shall feel as if I were dancing with my green grocer , '' lamented Lady Agnes . Later on , when the dancing was at its height , she exclaimed with all the fervour of a charmed imagination : `` I feel as the Duchess de What 's - her-name must have felt , Bobby , when she danced all night at her own ball , and then dressed for the guillotine instead of going to bed . We may all be shot in the morning . '' The Indian fakirs and showmen gave a performance in the courtyard at midnight . They were followed by the Bedouin tumblers and the inspired Persians , who danced with frantic abandon and the ripe lust of joy . There was but one unfortunate accident . Mr. Rivers , formerly of the bank , got very tight and fell down the steps leading to the courtyard , breaking his left arm .