seven o'clock
Every guest , after having been measured and presented with a pair of the finest black kid gloves by Mr. Povey , had to mount the crooked stairs and gaze upon the carcase of John Baines , going afterwards to the drawing-room to condole briefly with the widow . And every guest , while conscious of the enormity of so thinking , thought what an excellent thing it was that John Baines should be at last dead and gone . The tramping on the stairs was continual , and finally Mr. Baines himself went downstairs , bumping against corners , and led a cortege of twenty vehicles . The funeral tea was not over at seven o'clock , five hours after the commencement of the rite . It was a gigantic and faultless meal , worthy of John Baines 's distant past . Only two persons were absent from it -- John Baines and Sophia . The emptiness of Sophia 's chair was much noticed ; Mrs. Maddack explained that Sophia was very high-strung and could not trust herself .