five o’clock
in the morning
It was well that there was this interest of narrative to keep under the vague but fierce sense of triumph over Wakem , which would otherwise have been the channel his joy would have rushed into with dangerous force . Even as it was , that feeling from time to time gave threats of its ultimate mastery , in sudden bursts of irrelevant exclamation . It was long before Mr Tulliver got to sleep that night ; and the sleep , when it came , was filled with vivid dreams . At half-past five o'clock in the morning , when Mrs Tulliver was already rising , he alarmed her by starting up with a sort of smothered shout , and looking round in a bewildered way at the walls of the bedroom . `` What 's the matter , Mr Tulliver ? '' said his wife . He looked at her , still with a puzzled expression , and said at last : `` Ah !