three o’clock in the afternoon
As soon as they were dressed , and at every interval when he was not upon the stage , Nicholas renewed his instructions . They prospered well . The Romeo was received with hearty plaudits and unbounded favour , and Smike was pronounced unanimously , alike by audience and actors , the very prince and prodigy of Apothecaries . Is fraught with some Danger to Miss Nickleby 's Peace of Mind The place was a handsome suite of private apartments in Regent Street ; the time was three o'clock in the afternoon to the dull and plodding , and the first hour of morning to the gay and spirited ; the persons were Lord Frederick Verisopht , and his friend Sir Mulberry Hawk . These distinguished gentlemen were reclining listlessly on a couple of sofas , with a table between them , on which were scattered in rich confusion the materials of an untasted breakfast . Newspapers lay strewn about the room , but these , like the meal , were neglected and unnoticed ; not , however , because any flow of conversation prevented the attractions of the journals from being called into request , for not a word was exchanged between the two , nor was any sound uttered , save when one , in tossing about to find an easier resting-place for his aching head , uttered an exclamation of impatience , and seemed for a moment to communicate a new restlessness to his companion . These appearances would in themselves have furnished a pretty strong clue to the extent of the debauch of the previous night , even if there had not been other indications of the amusements in which it had been passed .