seven o'clock
It was a little after seven o'clock on the evening of December 31 , 186 -- . Inside , the little red schoolhouse was ablaze with light . Sounds of voices and laughter came from within and forms could be seen flitting back and forth through the uncurtained windows . Outside , a heavy fall of snow lay upon hill and vale , trees and house-tops , while the rays of a full-orbed moon shone down upon the glistening , white expanse .