about nine o'clock
One row of small boys , nevertheless , fired with a desire to distinguish themselves in some way or other , tilted back the bench on which they sat so far that they completely lost their equilibrium , and indubitably proved the possibility of _ their _ getting out , at least , by finding themselves on the floor in various ungraceful positions , and with several pretty hard knocks . These had of course to be re-packed , which ceremony being accomplished , the business of eating and drinking commenced in earnest . This occupied a considerable part of the time which was thereafter filled up with games and songs supplied by the young folks themselves , Minnie and Mabel merely superintending . They departed about nine o'clock , all highly pleased with themselves , each other , and most of all with the young ladies who had provided for them this means of enjoyment . Each of them carried away some remnant of the feast , and better than that , all carried to their homes and scattered there all unconsciously , the seeds of kindness which had that night been scattered so freely in their own hearts ; for Minnie could not let them go away , even on that first night of her experiment , without saying to them a word about the kind `` Master '' who had put it into her head to give them this pleasure , and offering up a short and simple petition that her efforts might be attended with the result she aimed at , namely , the winning of these young souls for the Master 's service . There were no murmurings as they ran home about their fun being turned into a prayer-meeting , as would doubtless have been the case had the Missionary or the Curate tried such a plan , but none of those who were likely to give the matter a second thought suspected a girl not much older than themselves of such a thing , and the younger ones did not trouble themselves with motives , but thought it nice to have the young lady speaking so sweetly and gently to them , with tears in her eyes too , and determined firmly , though they were scarcely conscious of the determination , to please her by every means in their power , and from that moment were her devoted champions . Mabel and Minnie had had a slight difference of opinion on the subject of allowing the children to provide the games and songs entirely themselves .