seven o'clock
`` Say ` father . ' We never called him papa ; and if one of my brothers had addressed him as ` governor , ' as boys do now , I really think he 'd have him cut off with a shilling . '' Madam raised her voice in saying this , and nodded significantly ; but a mild snore from the other room seemed to assure her that it was a waste of shot to fire in that direction . Before she could continue , in came Fanny with the joyful news that Clara Bird had invited them both to go to the theatre with her that very evening , and would call for them at seven o'clock . Polly was so excited by this sudden plunge into the dissipations of city life , that she flew about like a distracted butterfly , and hardly knew what happened , till she found herself seated before the great green curtain in the brilliant theatre . Old Mr. Bird sat on one side , Fanny on the other , and both let her alone , for which she was very grateful , as her whole attention was so absorbed in the scene around her , that she could n't talk . Polly had never been much to the theatre ; and the few plays she had seen were the good old fairy tales , dramatized to suit young beholders , lively , bright , and full of the harmless nonsense which brings the laugh without the blush .