ten minutes
to noon
In a general way we understood it to be a good thing , and upon that ground -LRB- optimists that we are -RRB- believed its ultimate success to be but a question of time . But I think I may say we never regarded it as a pressing question -- such as the reform of the House of Lords , for instance . The general impression -LRB- I call it no more -RRB- was that we should all be temperate sooner or later ; possibly as the next step after espousing our Deceased Wife 's Sister . Well , our Vicar laid his copy of the 1894 almanack on the reading-room table at 11.30 a.m. , or thereabouts , looked over the local papers for a few minutes , and left the building at ten minutes to noon . I get this information from Matthias James , our respected pilot , who happened to be in the room , reading the _ Shipping Gazette _ . It is confirmed by Mr. Hansombody and four or five other members . At noon precisely , Mr. Rabling -LRB- our gasman and an earnest Methodist -RRB- came in .