ten o'clock
Certainly night-time has a mystic affinity for literature , and it is strange that the Esquimaux have created no great books . Surely , for most of us , an arctic night would be insupportable without O. Henry and Stevenson . Or , as Roger Mifflin remarked during a passing enthusiasm for Ambrose Bierce , the true noctes ambrosianae are the noctes ambrose bierceianae . But Roger was prompt in closing Parnassus at ten o'clock . At that hour he and Bock -LRB- the mustard-coloured terrier , named for Boccaccio -RRB- would make the round of the shop , see that everything was shipshape , empty the ash trays provided for customers , lock the front door , and turn off the lights . Then they would retire to the den , where Mrs. Mifflin was generally knitting or reading . She would brew a pot of cocoa and they would read or talk for half an hour or so before bed .