It was now become late. The hired servant, stationed by the waterclock in the court, called the fifth hour of night, and the paschal meal was not permitted to last longer than to the end of the first watch of the night, which terminated somewhere about an hour before midnight. There were two other watches between this and daylight, divided by the two cock-crowings. They heard the guests in the other apartments reciting the song of praise, and hastened to conclude. With the same prayer as before, they washed their hands again from the silver basin, and Iddo having again blessed the cup, they drank once more from it. This was called the cup of thanksgiving. The second part of the Hallel was now sung, consisting of the 115th, 116th, 117th, and 118th psalms. Helon thought of the words of Isaiah, “Ye shall sing as on the night of a holy feast, and rejoice in your hearts as when they go with a pipe to the mountain of the Lord, to the refuge of Israel.”[116] When the Hallel was finished, hands were again washed, and the cup was blessed and sent round for the fourth and last time. Helon would gladly have joined in praying the great Hallel, as they call the series of psalms from the 120th to the 137th, after which it was customary to send round the cup a fifth time, but midnight was already too near. The company broke up, and all retired to rest, designing to be early in the temple on the following day. Footnote 116: Isaiah xxx. 29. CHAPTER V. THE DAY AFTER THE PASSOVER. While the paschal lamb was eaten by the people, the priests in the temple were cleansing the altar of burnt-offering. This was commonly done in the last watch of the night, towards the cock-crowing, but on this occasion during the first. Next they themselves partook of the paschal lamb, and soon after midnight the gates were opened, for the ingress of the children of Israel, many of whom were there, even at this early hour, in order to see the splendour of the illuminated temple. As soon as the watchman had answered in the affirmative the customary question of the priest, “Does it begin to be light as far as Hebron?” all the streets leading to the temple were filled with men, dressed in their gayest clothes. On no other occasion of the year was the temple so crowded as on the morning after the Passover.