So shines my soul before the Lamb,
My spirit before Thee;
So in mine earthly house I am
To that I hope to be!”
CHAPTER VI—“THE END OF THE PLAY”
ON the next morning, and, indeed, on all of those left of their stay, the six housekeepers were up at an alarmingly early hour, so that the sun, accustomed to being the earliest of all risers, felt himself quite behindhand and outshone.
In vain he clambered up over the hillside in a desperate hurry; the girls were always before him with lighted candles. As for the clock, it held up its hands with astonishment, and struck five shrill exclamation points of surprise to see six wide-awake young persons tumbling out of their warm nests before the world was lighted or heated.